@intelligent086 Thank you for your
beautiful reply...in
addition i am going to post a very long argument...i
hope you have time to read it
Why Is Islam Misunderstood
Misconception #1: Muslims are violent, terrorists and/or extremists.
This is the biggest misconception in
Islam, no
doubt resulting from the constant stereotyping and bashing the media gives
Islam. When a gunman attacks a
mosque in the name of Judaism, a Catholic IRA guerrilla sets off a bomb in an urban area, or
Serbian Orthodox militiamen rape and kill innocent
Muslim civilians, these acts are not used to stereotype an entire faith. Never are these acts attributed to the religion of the perpetrators.
Yet how many times have we heard the words ‘Islamic,
Muslim fundamentalist. etc.’ linked with violence.
Politics in so called “
Muslim countries”
may or
may not have any Islamic basis. Often dictators and politicians will use the name of
Islam for their own purposes. One should remember to go to the source of
Islam and
separate what the true religion of
Islam says from what is portrayed in the media.
Islam literally means ‘submission to God’ and is derived from a root word meaning ‘peace’.
Islam may seem exotic or even extreme in the modern world. Perhaps this is because religion doesn’t dominate everyday life in the West, whereas
Islam is considered a ‘way of life’ for Muslims and they
make no division between secular and sacred in their lives.
Like
Christianity,
Islam permits fighting in self-defense, in defense of religion, or on the part of those who have been expelled forcibly from their homes. It lays down strict
rules of combat which include prohibitions against harming civilians and against destroying crops, trees and livestock.
NOWHERE DOES
ISLAM ENJOIN THE KILLING OF INNOCENTS.. The Quran says: “Fight in the cause of God against those who fight you, but do not transgress limits. God does not love transgressors.“
(Quran 2:190)
“If they seek peace, then seek you peace. And trust in God for He is the One that heareth and knoweth all things.”
(Quran 8:61) War, therefore, is the last resort, and is subject to the rigorous conditions laid down by the sacred law. The
term ‘
jihad‘ literally means ‘struggle’. Muslims believe that there are two kinds of jihad. The other ‘
jihad‘ is the inner struggle of the soul which everyone wages against egotistic desires for the sake of attaining inner peace.
Misconception #2: Islam oppresses women.
The image of the typical
Muslim woman wearing the veil and forced to stay home and forbidden to drive is all too common in most peoples thoughts.
Although some
Muslim countries
may have laws that oppress women, this should not be seen as coming from
Islam. Many of these countries do not rule by any kind of Shari’ah (Islamic law) and introduce their own cultural standpoints on the issue of gender equity.
Islam on the other hand gives men and women different roles and equity between the two is laid down in the Quran and the example of the
Prophet (peace be upon him).
Islam sees a woman, whether single or married, as an individual in her own right, with the right to own and
dispose of her property and earnings. A
marriage gift is given by the groom to the bride for her own personal use, and she keeps her own family name rather than
taking her
husband’s. Both men and women are expected to dress in a way that is modest and dignified. The Messenger of God (peace be upon him)
said: “The most perfect in faith amongst believers is he who is best in manner and kindest to his
wife.”
Violence of any kind towards women and forcing them against their will for anything is not allowed. A
Muslim marriage is a simple, legal
agreement in which either partner is free to include conditions.
Marriage customs thus vary widely from country to country. Divorce is not common,
although it is acceptable as a last resort. According to
Islam, a
Muslim girl cannot be forced to marry against her will: her
parents simply suggest
young men they think
may be suitable.
Misconception #3: Muslims worship a different God.
Allah is simply the
Arabic word for God.
Allah for Muslims is the greatest and most inclusive of the Names of God, it is an
Arabic word of rich meaning, denoting the one and only God and ascribing no partners to Him. It is exactly the same word which the
Jews, in
Hebrew, use for God (eloh), the word which Jesus Christ used in
Aramaic when he prayed to God. God has an identical name in Judaism, Christianity, and
Islam;
Allah is the same God worshiped by Muslims, Christians and
Jews. Muslims believe that
Allah’s sovereignty is to be acknowledged in
worship and in the pledge to obey His teaching and commandments, conveyed through His messengers and prophets who were sent at various times and in many places throughout
history. However, it should be noted that God in
Islam is One and Only. He, the Exalted, does not get tired, does not have a son ie Jesus or have associates, nor does He have
human-
like attributions as found in other faiths.
Misconception #4: Islam was spread by the sword and intolerant of other faiths.
Many
social studies textbooks for students show the image of an Arab horseman carrying a sword in one hand and the Quran in the other conquering and forcibly converting. This, though, is not a correct portrayal of
history.
Islam has always given respect and freedom of religion to all faiths. The Quran says: “God forbids you not, with regards to those who fight you not for [your] faith nor drive you out of your homes, from dealing
kindly and justly with them; for God loveth those who are just.
(60:8)
Freedom of religion is laid down in the Quran itself: “There is no
compulsion(or coercion) in the religion (
Islam). The right
direction is distinctly clear from error“.
(2:256) Christian missionary, T.W. Arnold had this
opinion on his study of the question of the spread of
Islam: “.. of any organized attempt to force the acceptance of
Islam on the non-
Muslim population, or of any systematic persecution intended to stamp out the
Christian religion, we hear nothing. Had the caliphs chosen to adopt either course of action, they might have swept away Christianity as easily as Ferdinand and
Isabella drove
Islam out of Spain, or Louis XIV made Protestanism …“
It is a function of Islamic law to protect the privileged status of minorities, and this is why non-
Muslim places of
worship have flourished all over the Islamic world.
History provides many examples of
Muslim tolerance towards other faiths: when the caliph
Omar entered Jerusalem in the year 634,
Islam granted freedom of
worship to all religious communities in the city. Proclaiming to the inhabitants that their lives, and property were safe, and that their places of
worship would never be taken from them, he asked the
Christian patriarch Sophronius to accompany him on a visit to all the
holy places. Islamic law
also permits non-
Muslim minorities to set up their own courts, which implement family laws drawn up by the minorities themselves. The life and property of all citizens in an Islamic
state are considered sacred whether the person is
Muslim or not.
Racism is not a part of
Islam, the Quran speaks only of
human equality and how all peoples are equal in the sight of God. “O mankind! We created you from a single soul, male and female, and made you into nations and tribes, so that you
may come to know one another. Truly, the most honored of you in God’s sight is the greatest of you in piety. God is All-Knowing, All- Aware.”
(49:13)
Misconception #5: All Muslims are Arabs
The
Muslim population of the world is around 1.2 billion. 1 out of 5 people in the world is a
Muslim. They are a vast range of races, nationalities, and cultures from around the globe–from the Phillipines to Nigeria–they are united by their common Islamic faith Only about 18% live in the Arab world and the largest
Muslim community is in Indonesia. Most Muslims live east of Pakistan. 30% of Muslims live in the
Indian subcontinent, 20% in Sub-Saharan Africa, 17% in Southeast Asia, 18% in the Arab world, and 10% in the Soviet Union and China.
Turkey, Iran and
Afghanistan make up 10% of the non-Arab Middle East.
Although there are
Muslim minorities in almost every area, including
Latin America and Australia, they are most numerous in Russia and its newly independent states, India and central Africa. There are about 6 million Muslims in the United States.
Misconception #6: The Nation of Islam is a Muslim group.
Islam and the so called “Nation of
Islam‘” are two different religions. NOI is more of a political organization since its members are not limited to a single faith. Muslims consider this group to be just one of many cults using the name of
Islam for their own gain. The only thing common between them is the jargon, the language used by both. “The Nation of
Islam” is a misnomer; this religion should be called Farrakhanism, after the name of its propogator, Louis Farrakhan.
Islam and Farakhanism differ in many fundamental ways. For example, Farakhan followers believe in racism and that the ‘black man’ was the original man and therefore superior, while in
Islam there is no racism and everyone is considered equal in the sight of God, the only difference being in one’s piety. There are many other theological examples that show the ‘Nation’s teachings have little to do with true
Islam. There are many groups in
America who claim to represent
Islam and call their adherents Muslims.
Any serious student of
Islam has a duty to investigate and
find the true
Islam. The only two authentic sources which bind every
Muslim are 1. the Quran and 2. authentic or sound Hadith. Any teachings under the label of “
Islam” which contradict or at variance with the direct understanding of fundamental beliefs and practices of
Islam form the Quran and authentic Hadith should be rejected and such a religion should be considered a
Pseudo-Islamic Cult. In
America there are many
pseudo-Islamic cults, Farrakhanism being one of them. An honest attitude on the part of such cults should be not to call themselves Muslims and their religion
Islam. such an example of honesty is Bahaism which is an off-shoot of
Islam but Bahais do not call themselves Muslims nor their religion,
Islam. In fact Bahaism is not
Islam just as Farrakhanism is not
Islam.
Misconception #7: All Muslim men marry four wives.
The religion of
Islam was revealed for all societies and all times and so accommodates widely differing
social requirements. Circumstances
may warrant the
taking of another
wife but the right is granted, according to the Quran, only on condition that the
husband is scrupulously fair. No woman can be forced into this kind of
marriage if they do not
wish it, and they
also have the right to
exclude it in their
marriage contract.
Polygamy is neither mandatory, nor encouraged, but merely permitted. Images of “sheikhs with harems” are not consistent with
Islam, as a man is only allowed at most four
wives only if he can fulfill them stringent conditions of treating each fairly and providing each with
separate housing etc. Permission to practice polygamy is not associated with mere satisfaction of passion. It is rather associated with
compassion toward widows and
orphans. It was the Quran that limited and put conditions on the practice of polygamy among the Arabs, who had as many as ten or more
wives and considered them “property“.
It is both honest and accurate to say that it is
Islam that regulated this practice, limited it, made it more humane, and instituted equal rights and status for all
wives. What the Qur’anic decrees amount to, taken together is discouragement of polygamy unless necessity for it exists. It is
also evident that the general rule in
Islam is monogamy and not polygamy. It is a very tiny percentage of Muslims that practice it over the world. However, permission to practice limited polygamy is only consistent with
Islam’s realistic view of the nature of man and woman and of various
social needs, problems and cultural variations.
The question is, however far more than the inherent flexibility of
Islam; it
also is the frank and straightforward approach of
Islam in dealing with practical problems. Rather than requiring hypocritical and superficial
compliance,
Islam delves deeper into the problems of individuals and societies, and provides for legitimate and clean solutions which are far more beneficial than would be the case if they were ignored. There is no
doubt that the second
wife legally married and treated
kindly is better off than a mistress without any legal rights or expermanence.
Misconception #8: Muslims are a barbaric, backward people.
Among the reasons for the rapid and peaceful spread of
Islam was the simplicity of its doctrine-
Islam calls for faith in only one God worthy of
worship. It
also repeatedly instructs man to use his powers of intelligence and observation. Within a few years, great civilizations and universities were flourishing, for according to the
Prophet (pbuh), ‘seeking knowledge is an obligation for every
Muslim man and woman‘.
The synthesis of Eastern and Western ideas and of new thought with old, brought about great advances in medicine, mathematics, physics, astronomy, geography, architecture, art,
literature, and
history. Many crucial systems such as algebra, the
Arabic numerals, and
also the concept of the zero (vital to the advancement of mathematics), were transmitted to medieval Europe from
Islam.
Sophisticated instruments which were to
make possible the European voyages of discovery were developed, including the astrolabe, the quadrant and good navigational maps.
Misconception #9: Muhammad was the founder of Islam and Muslims worship him.
Muhammad(pbuh) was born in Mecca in the year 570AD. Since his
father died before his birth, and his
mother shortly afterwards, he was raised by his uncle from the respected tribe of Quraysh. As he grew up, he became known for his truthfulness, generosity and sincerity, so that he was sought after for his ability to arbitrate in disputes. The historians describe him as calm and meditative.
Muhammad (pbuh) was of a deeply religious nature, and had long detested the decadence of his
society.
It became his habit to meditate from time to time in the Cave of Hira
near Mecca. At the age of 40, while engaged in a meditative retreat,
Muhammad (pbuh) received his first revelation from God through the
Angel Gabriel. This revelation, which continued for 23 years is known as the Quran. As soon as he began to recite the words he heard from
Gabriel, and to preach the truth which God had revealed to him, he and his small group of followers suffered bitter persecution, which grew so fierce that in the year 622 God gave them the
command to emigrate.
This event, the
Hijra ‘migration‘, in which they left Mecca for the city of Medina, marks the beginning of the
Muslim calendar. After several years, the
Prophet and his followers were
able to return to Mecca, where they forgave their enemies and established
Islam definitively. Before the
Prophet saw dies at the age of 63, the greater part of Arabia was
Muslim, and within a century of his death
Islam had spread to Spain in the West and as far East as China. He died with less than 5 possessions to his name.
While
Muhammad (pbuh) was chosen to deliver the
message, he is not considered the “founder” of
Islam, since Muslims consider
Islam to be the same
divine guidance sent to all peoples before. Muslims believe all the prophets from
Adam,
Noah, Moses, Jesus etc. were all sent with
divine guidance for their peoples. Every
prophet was sent to his own people, but
Muhammad(pbuh) was sent to all of mankind.
Muhammad is the last and final messenger sent to deliver the
message of
Islam. Muslims revere and honor him (pbuh) for all he went through and his dedication, but they do not
worship him. “O
Prophet, verily We have sent you as a
witness and a bearer of glad tidings and a warner and as one who invites unto God by His leave and as an illuminating lamp.“
(33:45-6)
Misconception #10: Muslims don’t believe in Jesus or any other prophets.
Muslims respect and revere Jesus, upon him be peace, and await his Second Coming. They consider him one of the greatest of God’s messengers to mankind. A
Muslim never refers to him simply as ‘Jesus‘, but always adds the phrase ‘upon him be peace‘ (abbreviated as (u) here). The Quran confirms his virgin birth (a chapter of the Quran is entitled ‘
Mary’), and
Mary is considered the purest woman in all creation. The Quran describes the Annunciation as follows:
“Behold!” the
Angel said, “God has chosen you, and purified you, and chosen you above the women of all nations. O
Mary, God gives you good news of a word from Him whose name shall be the Messiah, Jesus son of
Mary, honored in this world and the Hereafter, and one of those brought
near to God. He shall speak to the people from his cradle and in maturity, and shall be of the righteous.” She
said: “O my Lord! How shall I have a son when no man has touched me?” He
said: “Even so; God creates what He will. When He decrees a thing, He says to it, “Be!” and it is”
(Quran 3:42-47)
Jesus (u) was born miraculously through the same power, which had brought
Adam (u) into being without a
father: “Truly, the likeness of Jesus with God is as the likeness of
Adam. He created him of dust, and then
said to him, ‘Be!’ and he was.”
(3:59) During his prophetic mission Jesus (u) performed many miracles. The Quran tells us that he
said: “ I have come to you with a sign from your Lord: I
make for you out of
clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, and breath into it and it becomes a bird by God’s leave. And I heal the blind, and the lepers, and I raise the dead by God’s leave.”
(3:49) Neither
Muhammad (pbuh) not Jesus (u) came to change the basic doctrine of the brief in One God brought by earlier prophets, but to confirm and renew it.
In the Quran Jesus (u) is reported as saying that he came: “To attest the law which was before me. And to
make lawful to you part of what was forbidden you; I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, so fear God and obey Me.”
(3:50)The
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)
said: “Whoever believes there is no god but God, alone without partner, that
Muhammad (pbuh) is His messenger, that Jesus is the servant and messenger of God, His word breathed into
Mary and a spirit emanating from Him, and that Paradise and Hell are true, shall be received by God into Heaven.”
(Hadith related by Bukhari).
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