Misconceptions About Islam

Islam has had violence in its history. But religious conflict is not original to only Islam. Judaism and Christianity have also had their share of bloodshed. Each of these religions have had people willing to die for their beliefs. Many in the West have the idea that most Muslims were forced to convert to Islam. When one considers the number of Muslims in the world today (~1.3 billion) and the fact that it is growing by leaps and bounds faster than any other religion, then it becomes evident how preposterous this notion is. Especially considering that it is the fastest growing religion in the U.S. and Europe, where there are no wars, campaigns, or possibility of force conversions.

Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the entire world has never had a Muslim army enter its borders. The same goes for the east coast of Africa, a region that went through phenomenal growth in the 20th Century.

The misconceptions stem from the media's concentration on fundamental Muslims, which are a very small minority, and condemned by the majority of Muslims. Combine that with the false propaganda campaigns of Missionaries, and it creates the negative image some hold towards the religion. Even still, Islam still is, and has been for over 50 years, by far the fastest growing religion in the United States and Europe.

The Christian Crusades led to the slaughter of many Muslim men, women, and children. Muslim armies fought humane wars limited to only combatants, while showing respect for the religious practices of civilians.

Spain was ruled by Muslims for 800 years, and India for 1,000 years, yet nobody was ever forced to convert under the threat of violence. After the European armies reclaimed Spain, they forbade Muslims for giving the call to prayer, and repressed and murdered many Muslims.

Also, there are over 14 million Coptic Christians Arabs today. If Islam forced conversion, then these Christians would not exist today. The Qur'an forbids forced conversion:

Qur'an 2:256 "Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error"

"History makes it clear however, that the legend of fanatical Muslims sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of the sword upon conquered races is on of the most fantastically absurd myths that historians have ever repeated."

I wanted to know the best of the life of one who holds today an undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind.... 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. When I closed the second volume (of the Prophet's biography), I was sorry there was not more for me to read of that great life.

"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."

Incidentally these well-established facts dispose of the idea so widely fostered in Christian writings that the Muslims, wherever they went, forced people to accept Islam at the point of the sword.

#2. Islam is less civilized than other religions because it allows men to have up to four wives.

While Islam does allow men to marry up to four wives, it recommends they marry only one. No other holy book in existence gives such advice. You may search through the Entire Tao Te Ching, Vedas, the Ramayan, Bhagavad-Gita, Book of Mormon, the Mahabharat, the Geeta, the Talmud or the Bible, such advice does not exist except in the Qur'an. The Old Testament gives many accounts of polygamy. Solomon, for example, had hundreds of wives.

Before the Qur'an, many men in Arabia had hundreds of wives. The Qur'an, however, placed a restriction on this act:

Qur'an 4:3 "If ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans, Marry women of your choice, Two or three or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one"

Qur'an 4:129 "Ye are never able to be fair and just as between women, even if it is your ardent desire"

So it becomes evident that polygamy according to the Qur'an is an exception and not a rule or requirement. The Bible has no such restriction. In fact, Solomon (pbuh) had over 600 wives and hundreds of concubines, and David (pbuh) had at least 7 wives. The Christian Church themselves placed this restriction a few centuries ago, with no scriptural support to back them on the issue. It wasn't until the eleventh century that the Jews stopped practicing Polygamy, based on an edict by Rabbi Gershom ben Yehudah. Although a western misconception, polygamy is not a common practice among Muslims today.

"If the Koran's teachings on marriage seem unfamiliar or strange to Western observers, it's fair to observe in turn that Western tolerance of adultery and promiscuity, and the saturation of the Western media with sexual imagery, is just as disorienting to many Muslims. It is possible that these practices -- evident enough even to non-Muslims -- have contributed to high divorce rates, or damage to the children of the West? Many Muslims would answer "yes," and would be concerned about the long-term implications to any society of the prevailing attitudes towards marriage and sexuality in the United States. By comparison, in the Islamic view, the Koran's teachings on these matters, which include a limited sanction on polygamy have resulted in enduring social stability and a tradition of respect or the varying roles of men and women in society."

As can be seen, of the over 1.3 billion Muslims in the world, only a little over 200 million are Arab.

Indonesia, the country with the most Muslims in the world has 215,998,410 Muslims. Indonesia is a non-Arab country. So, as you can see, there are almost the same number of Muslims in the world that are Arab, as there are that are Indonesian. Muslims are spread all throughout the world, and the religion is currently on a rapid expansion into the Western World. Islam today is the fastest growing religion by leaps and bounds all throughout the world, but especially in Europe and the United States.

For more information, please see the following link:

Fastest Growing Religion in the World

This misconception usually stems from non-Muslims misunderstanding of the Hijab. Consider the following verses from the Qur'an:

Qur'an 2:187 "You [believers] are permitted to lie with your wives during the night of the fast: they are [close] as garments to you, as you are to them."

Qur'an 30:21 "Another of his signs is that he created spouses from among yourselves for you to live with in tranquility: He ordained love and kindness between you. There truly are signs in this for those who reflect."

Qur'an 33:35 "For men and women who are devoted to God -- believing men and women, obedient men and women, truthful men and women, steadfast men and women, humble men and women, charitable men and women, fasting men and women, chaste men and women, men and women who remember God often -- God has prepared forgiveness and a rich reward."

Qur'an 58:1 "God has heard the words of the woman who disputed with you [Prophet] about her husband and complained to God: God has heard what you both had to say. He is all hearing, all seeing"

The above verse shows that women in Islam can even dispute with the prophet and God will listen.

Qur'an 2:36 "But Satan made them slip, and removed them from the state they were in."

Qur'an 7:20 "Satan whispered to them so as to expose their nakedness, which had been hidden from them: he said, 'Your Lord only forbade you this tree to prevent you becoming angels or immortals, 21. and he swore to them, "I am giving you sincere advice' --22. he lured them with lies. Their nakedness became exposed to them when they had eaten from the tree: they began to put together leaves from the Garden to cover themselves. Their Lord called to them, 'Did I not forbid you to approach the tree? Did I not warn you that Satan was your sworn enemy?"

Qur'an 20:120 "But Satan whispered to Adam, saying, 'Adam, shall I show you the tree of immortality and power that never decays?' 121. and they both ate from it. They became conscious of their nakedness and began to cover themselves with leaves from the garden. Adam disobeyed his Lord and was led astray--122. later his Lord brought him close, accepted his repentance, and guided him"

These verses above shows that women are not to blame for the first sin, as many Christians proclaim. In the Qur'an, both the first man and woman were both equally responsible.

"O People, it is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women but they also have rights over you. Remember that you have taken them as your wives only under Allah's trust and with His permission. If they abide by your right, then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness. Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers. And it is your right that they do not make friends with anyone of whom you do not approve, as well as never to be unchaste."

The following verse shows that you must have evidence when accusing a woman of fornication.

Qur'an 24:4 "As for those who accuse chaste women of fornication, and then fail to provide four witnesses, strike them eighty times, and then reject their testimony ever afterwards: they are the lawbreakers"

In Islam, men receive a higher inheritance than women. The reason for this is because men are obligated to care for the family. A woman's wealth is her own. If she chooses to help, it is purely because she wants to. She will even receive a double reward from God. Below is one of many Hadith that attest to this.

[2:24:545] Narrated `Amr bin Al-Harith: Zainab, the wife of `Abdullah said, "I was in the Mosque and saw the Prophet (p.b.u.h) saying, `O women ! Give alms even from your ornaments.' " Zainab used to provide for `Abdullah and those orphans who were under her protection. So she said to `Abdullah, "Will you ask Allah's Apostle whether it will be sufficient for me to spend part of the Zakat on you and the orphans who are under my protection?" He replied "Will you yourself ask Allah's Apostle ?" (Zainab added): So I went to the Prophet and I saw there an Ansari woman who was standing at the door (of the Prophet ) with a similar problem as mine. Bilal passed by us and we asked him, `Ask the Prophet whether it is permissible for me to spend (the Zakat) on my husband and the orphans under my protection.' And we requested Bilal not to inform the Prophet about us. So Bilal went inside and asked the Prophet regarding our problem. The Prophet (p.b.u.h) asked, "Who are those two?" Bilal replied that she was Zainab. The Prophet said, "Which Zainab?" Bilal said, "The wife of `Adullah (bin Masud)." The Prophet said, "Yes, (it is sufficient for her) and she will receive a double rewards (for that): One for helping relatives, and the other for giving Zakat."

[4:4] And give women their dowries as a free gift, but if they of themselves be pleased to give up to you a portion of it, then eat it with enjoyment and with wholesome result.

When it comes to the issue of polygamy, which was discussed above (See misconception #2), women do have the right to refuse a marriage proposal. So if a man marries more than one, a woman would know of it, and can refuse the proposal. It is a big misconception that only Islam allows polygamy. The Bible and other holy books have absolutely no restrictions on this, and some prominent biblical figures had multiple wives.

As for the hijab, which would you consider more degrading and elevating in inferior status towards women, a land were women are respected, and thus have their beauty covered so as to not be judged by that attribute and to protect them from ill-deeds and thoughts, or a land were women are exploited? Consider this: Women in the U.S. are constantly commented on by men as they walk by, they are referred to as "B*tch*s", "ho's" and even worse in songs. They are exploited in music videos, movies, on the internet, advertisements, and much more. In some cases they are hired because of their looks (As multiple studies have shown throughout the years). They receive special treatment based on beauty rather than who they are. In Islam, Hijab protects women against derogatory remarks, ill-thoughts, inequality, among many other things.

The Qur'an does state that God will not accept any religion other than Islam from those that have heard the message of Islam, as the following verse explains:

[3:85] "And whoever desires a religion other than Islam, it shall not be accepted from him, and in the hereafter he shall be one of the losers."

Yet, in the Sunnah, it is made clear that Muslims are to be tolerant towards those with differing beliefs:

The Messenger of Allah (saas) said, "One who kills a non-Muslim person under protection (Arabic: dhimmi) will not even smell the fragrance of Paradise."

Whoever hurts a non-Muslim person under protection, I am his adversary, and I shall be an adversary to him on the Day of Resurrection.

In short, Islam is intolerant of false ideas, however it is tolerant of the people who hold to those ideas. One historical example of Muslims living up to the standard of Islam can be found from the time of the Spanish Inquisition. During that disaster sprung by misguided Catholics, some Spanish Jews fled to Muslim Turkey and to this day, there is a community of Spanish-speaking Jews in Turkey. Another example may be found during one of the Crusader invasions from Western Europe. Some of the the Catholic Western European knights were so likely to rape, murder, and pillage the Jews and Orthodox Christians, that when the Muslims won, they were treated as a liberating force by those non-Muslims.

Below is a translation of a letter from Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to the monks at St. Catherine's Monastery. This charter was granted in 628 C.E. (So much for an intolerant religion)

This is a message from Muhammad ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far, we are with them.

Verily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and by Allah! I hold out against anything that displeases them.

No compulsion is to be on them.

Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries.

No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims' houses.

Should anyone take any of these, he would spoil God's covenant and disobey His Prophet. Verily, they are my allies and have my secure charter against all that they hate.

No one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to fight.

The Muslims are to fight for them.

If a female Christian is married to a Muslim, it is not to take place without her approval. She is not to be prevented from visiting her church to pray.

Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants.

No one of the nation (Muslims) is to disobey the covenant till the Last Day (end of the world).

This charter of privileges has been honoured and faithfully applied by Muslims throughout the centuries in all lands they ruled.

World population	6,525,170,264
Percentage of Muslims	20.12%
Number of Muslims	1,312,864,257
Percentage of Arab Muslims	17%
Number of Arab Muslims	223,186,923