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Misconception #1: Islam is a religion that condones violence With the constant negative portrayal of Muslims and Islam in the media, it is no wonder that this is the number one misconception. Islam means peace and submission. Peace means to be at peace with yourself and your surroundings, and submission means submission to the will of Allah. A Muslim is one who willingly submits to the will of Allah. Nowhere in the Qur’an is violence advocated. Islam is a religion that stresses the sanctity of life. A verse in the Qur’an states “anyone who saved one life, it is as if he has saved the whole of mankind and anyone who has killed another person it is as if he has killed the whole of mankind.” (5:32) About war, 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. As Muslims see it, injustice would be triumphant in the world if good men were not prepared to risk their lives in a righteous cause. The Quran says: “Fight in the cause of God against those who fight you, but do not transgress limits. God does not love transgressors.” (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.” (8:61) War, therefore, is the last resort, and is subject to the rigorous conditions laid down by the sacred law.
Misconception #2: Islam was spread by the sword and forced conversion "No other religion in history spread so rapidly as Islam. The West has widely believed that this surge of religion was made possible by the sword. But no modern scholar accepts this idea, and the Qur’an is explicit in the support of the freedom of conscience." (James Michener in ‘Islam: The Misunderstood Religion’, Reader’s Digest, May 1955, pp. 68-70). “…I became more than ever convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the Prophet, the scrupulous regard for pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission. These and not the sword carried everything before them and surmounted every obstacle.” (Mahatma Gandhi in a statement published in ‘Young India’, 1924). The notion that Islam was spread by the sword and is a religion that forces conversion is another great misconception. In his book, The Preaching of Islam, a History of the Propagation of the Muslim Faith, Christian missionary, Sir Thomas W. Arnold states "...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 Protestantism penal in France, or the Jews were kept out of England for 350 years. The Eastern Churches in Asia were entirely cut off from communion with the rest of Christiandom throughout which no one would have been found to lift a finger on their behalf, as heretical communions. So that the very survival of these Churches to the present day is a strong proof of the generally tolerant attitude of [Muslim] governments towards them.” (80) Islam does not teach, nor do Muslims desire, conversion of any people for fear, greed, marriage or any other form of coercion. Misconception #3: Islam is intolerant towards other religions “In the eyes of history, religious toleration is the highest evidence of culture in a people. It was not until the Western nations broke away from their religious law that they became more tolerant, and it was only when the Muslims fell away from their religious law that they declined in tolerance and other evidences of the highest culture. Before the coming of Islam, tolerance had never been preached as an essential part of religion.” (Pickthall, 1927) One of the most common allegations against Islam historically is that it is an intolerant religion. Despite this allegation, the tolerance within the body of Islam was, and still is, something without parallel in history. Class, race and color barriers are diminished and vanished by the prevalence of Islam. It is a function of Islamic law to protect the privileged status of minorities, and this is why non-Muslims places of worship have flourished all over the Islamic world. History provides many examples of Muslim tolerance toward 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. Intolerance is not a part of Islam, the Quran speaks only of human equality and how all people 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 #4: Islam oppresses women As a Muslim woman, I always find this stereotype frustrating. No, Islam does not oppress women; No, Islam does not force women to wear the veil; No, Islam does not discourage women from being educated or pursuing a career; and no, Islam does not condone forcing women into marriage. In reality, Islam provides great empowerment to women. 1400 years ago, Islam elevated the status of women by giving them the right to divorce, the right to have financial independence and support, and the right to be identified as dignified women (Hijab) when in the rest of the world, including Europe, women had no such rights. In Islam: · Women are equal to men in all acts of piety (Quran 33:32). · Women are allowed to keep their maiden name after marriage. · Women have the right to keep their earned money and spend it as they wish. · Women have the right to be educated. · Women have the right to choose or reject who they shall marry. It is true that some Muslim men oppress women today, however this is not Islam, rather this is due to their cultural habits or their ignorance about their religion.
Misconception #5: All Muslim men have four wives. In Islam, although men are allowed to have more than one wife, they are not encouraged to do so. When this rule was revealed, it came at a time when the norm was for a man to have many wives, some even had hundreds. Therefore this permission placed an upper limit on the number of women a man was permitted to marry. In addition, this rule came down with the strict condition, that a man may not have more than one wife unless he has the ability and means to treat them and care for them in an equal and just manner. For example he must provide separate living accomodation for each of his wives. As stated in the Qur'an, "marry women of your choice, two, or three, or four; but if you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one" (4:3). This condition places a heavy responsibility on men. Since it is very difficult to be just with all wives, in practice, most of the Muslim men do not have more than one wife. One of the major reasons for the allowance of multiple wives was to address the issue of the widows and orphans of war. During wartimes, many women are unable to find husbands; at that time they might prefer being a co-wife rather than not being a wife at all. It should be mentioned that men are prohibited from cheating on their wives, meaning a man cannot marry another woman without the knowledge of his wife. He is obliged to tell her, and if she refuses the idea, then she has the right to ask for a divorce. |
