answer:
In the past the epithet "religion of peace and good will towards men" has been applied to Christianity.[1]
In the 1960s, Malcolm X, acting as a spokesman for the Nation of Islam, said on multiple occasions that Islam was a "religion of peace".[2][3]
In 1996, the Organisation of The Islamic Conference agreed to call for "pragmatic and constructive steps to counter the negative propaganda against Islam; to remove and rectify misunderstandings; and to present the true image of Islam: the religion of peace and tolerance."[4]
In September 2001, in the wake of the September 11 attacks, U.S. President George W. Bush said: "The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That's not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace. These terrorists don't represent peace. They represent evil and war."[5][6][7][8] Some have pointed out that the word "Islam" is etymologically related to the Arabic word salām meaning "peace".[9] This prompted criticism from some quarters[10] and a poll of United States Evangelical Protestant leaders taken in 2002 revealed that only 10% agreed with Bush that Islam was synonymous with peace.[11]
Mahathir bin Mohamad, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia said in 2002, "Islam, as I said, is a religion of peace. However through the centuries, deviations from the true teachings of Islam take place. And so [people who call themselves] "Muslims" kill despite the injunction of their religion against killing especially of innocent people.[12]
Dalil Boubakeur, mufti of the Paris Mosque, said in 2006, "The prophet did not found a terrorist religion, but a religion of peace."[13]
Following the 2015 San Bernardino attack, US President Barack Obama used the term, as part of his efforts to counter a perceived anti-Muslim bias, in an address following the attack,[14] and in his first visit to a US mosque.[15]
On March 18, 2016, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Islam a religion of peace and called terrorism a dividing force, lauding the peaceful message of Sufism, at World Sufi Conference.[16]
