Sam Harris, Lecture https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDMOxjHIt0U at the First Congregational Church of Berkeley (November 10, 2010)
2010s
Context: "Religion" is a nearly useless term. It's a term like "sports". Now there are sports like Badminton and sports like Thai Boxing, and they have almost nothing in common apart from breathing. There are sports that are just synonymous with the risk of physical injury or even death … There is, I'm happy to say, a religion of peace in this world, but it's not Islam. The claim that Islam is a religion of peace that we hear ceaselessly reiterated is completely delusional. Now Jainism actually is a religion of peace. The core principle of Jainism is non-violence. Gandhi got his non-violence from the Jains. The crazier you get as a Jain, the less we have to worry about you. Jain extremists are paralysed by their pacifism. Jain extremists can't take their eyes off the ground when they walk lest they step on an ant... Needless to say they are vegetarian. So the problem is not religious extremism, because extremism is not a problem if your core beliefs are truly non-violent. The problem isn't fundamentalism. We often hear this said: these are euphemisms... The only problem with Islamic fundamentalism are the fundamentals of Islam.
“Islam is not the religion of peace, but the religion "rest in peace."”
“Islam was never a religion of peace. Islam is the religion of fighting.”
As quoted in "Islamic State releases 'al-Baghdadi message'", BBC (14 May 2015)
2014, 2015
Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32744070
On Islamic extremism at 2015 Lord Mayor’s Banquet - "Lord Mayor’s Banquet 2015: Prime Minister’s speech" Gov.uk (16 November 2015) https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/lord-mayors-banquet-2015-prime-ministers-speech
2010s, 2015
Sam, Harris, Losing Our Spines to Save Our Necks, Huffingtonpost.com, 19 March 2011, 5 May 2008 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sam-harris/losing-our-spines-to-save_b_100132.html, (updated 25 May 2011)
2000s
“Islam is not a religion of peace; it never has been and never will be.”
Tommy Robinson on The O'Reilly Factor (Fox News, 2013) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH106IsoRjA
2013
“If Islam is this "religion of peace", why is everyone so scared?”
Commenting on the refusal of British newspapers to reprint the Charlie Hebdo cartoons — Tommy Robinson Discusses Life Before and After the EDL w/ NOTA (24 February 2015) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tp50xJR8gxM&feature=youtu.be&t=1h28m35s
2015
“I believe in the religion of Islam. I believe in Allah and peace.”
"Presidential Candidates Proposing to Ban Muslim Immigration to the United States" http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/muhammad-ali-hits-trump-misguided-murderers-sabotaging-islam-n477351 (9 December 2015).
Context: I am a Muslim and there is nothing Islamic about killing innocent people in Paris, San Bernardino, or anywhere else in the world... True Muslims know that the ruthless violence of so called Islamic Jihadists goes against the very tenets of our religion... We as Muslims have to stand up to those who use Islam to advance their own personal agenda... They have alienated many from learning about Islam. True Muslims know or should know that it goes against our religion to try and force Islam on anybody.
http://mediamatters.org/research/200804110003
Source: Answering Jihad: A Better Way Forward (2016), p. 28, Question 1: What is Islam?
