Islam & Peace

Does Islam promote peace? As a Muslim, my instant response is, "of course". But as evident by the 3 ex-terrorists talk at Stanford a few weeks ago some people might have a different response. Can i defend my claim? My instant response will be, "of course".

But the truth is i can't. At least not through a solid argument. If you are a statistician you know from hypothesis testing that it matters a lot how you frame your test - what's your null hypothesis.

If you are a social scientists you r familiar with confirmation bias which makes you unconsciously bend evidence to reach the desired conclusion. Both of these effects are in play when a Muslim tries to answer the question whether or not Islam promotes peace.

What does it take for a Muslim to get rid of these biases and objectively answer the question? To be open to either of the two conclusions, not to take a defensive position, and to be prepared to reach the conclusion that Islam is a non peaceful religion, even if you initially believe it is a peaceful one.