TOP TEN MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT ISLAM Muslims are violent, terrorists and/or extremists. Islam oppresses women. Muslims worship a different God. Islam was spread by the sword and intolerant of other faiths. All Muslims are Arabs The Nation of Islam is a Muslim group. All Muslim men marry four wives. Muslims are a barbaric, backward people. Muhammad was the founder of Islam and Muslims worship him. Muslims don't believe in Jesus or any other prophets. 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 the  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 570.   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).