5 Major Misconceptions About The Religion Islam

In present times, one of the major fears that has surrounded the world and has influenced the people of world today is of Islam. The Western media and the lack of Muslims ability to defend themselves properly and give their opinion in a better manner has caused Islam phobia among people and the connotations associated with the name of Islam and Muslims are seldom good.

Due to all this false information propagated across different channels against Islam and because of the fact that people have less time to do research and inquire about the truth, certain misconceptions regarding Islam have surfaced. Therefore, in order to clear the misconceptions of the non-believers, the duty rests upon the shoulders of believers who know about things.

This writing by the Online Quran Tutoring Academy is one such reply where it is intended that the major misconceptions regarding Islam be discussed and the truth about them be told to the audience.

1. Islam Is Terrorism:

Due to the biased reporting of the Western media, the first impression of Islam that comes to the mind of the people is terrorism. People of the world think that Islam is all about terrorism where Muslims have nothing to do then to be violent towards others and kill them. This is a truly wrong concept of Islam and is destructive to the true message of Islam as the word Islam literally means ‘peace’. Therefore, if the ultimate objective of Islam is to create peace in the world and for that it is against all kinds of undue and useless terrorism, oppression and violence. Moreover, people also think that in Islam there is undue killing of innocent people and killing innocent is allowed in Islam. It is wrong and Islam does not encourage any such activity, for Allah says in Quran:

“Fight in the cause of God against those who fight you, but do not transgress limits. God does not love transgressors.” (2:190)

Form this ayah it is clear that Allah Almighty forbids crossing the limits and wants Muslims to only fight in self defense. Moreover, war is the last resort in Islam, the example of which is evident from the life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) where He always encouraged settling matters with discussion and kept force as the second resort.

2. Women Are Oppressed in Islam:

The second major misconception about Islam is that in Islam women are oppressed. People think that Muslim women have no freedom whatsoever and all they do in their life is be subservient to men.  This is also a wrong concept about Islam and the truth is that Islam gave women their rights when they were truly considered nothing better than slaves and a subordinating species. In Islam, women have rights as mothers, as daughters, as sisters and above all as wife. Therefore, there is no truth to the claim that Islam oppresses women, rather what Islam does is liberates women. One such example the status and reverence given to women in Islam can be seen in the form of the following hadith by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH):

 “The most perfect in faith amongst believer is he who is best in manner and kindest to his wife.” (Abu Dawood)

Therefore, women have all sorts of rights in Islam, but like the rights of men, the rights of women also need to be practiced in moderation. They can do business, work, teach, support family and so on without any compulsion. Therefore, if Islam does anything for women, it is giving them freedom and rights and not what is misconceived about it at present.

3. Islam Was Spread By Sword:

The third biggest misconception about Islam is that Islam spread with force and Muslims since their beginning relied on sword as a means of spreading Islam. People with this opinion believe that Muslims are intolerant to other religions, therefore, in order to eliminate the people of other religions they used force so that they would either turn Muslim or die. This is also a misconception as Muslim did not go against the preaching of Islam during its spread and the only thing they relied upon which attracted other people towards Islam is the height of character of good Muslims and their attributes. Pertaining to this Allah Almighty 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)

This ayah explains that Muslims are only to fight against those who expel Muslims from their houses or fight their faith, other than that, all the people are to be dealt with justly and with kindness, hence, the argument of the use of force holds no strong grounding.

4. Muslims Do Not Believe In Jesus:

The fourth major misconception about Islam is that people think that Muslims do not believe in any other Prophet other than Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and they deny all the other Prophets, especially Jesus. This is a wrong conception and Muslims believe in the other Prophets sent by Allah Almighty such as Jesus, Moses, Abraham and so on. Allah Almighty says about Jesus in Quran in the following way:

“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.”  (3:45-46)

5. Muhammad (PBUH) Was The Founder Of Islam:

The fifth misconception about Islam is that people think that Muhammad was the founder of Islam and He on His own came up with the idea of Islam and started preaching a religion without any divinely force guiding Him. This idea about Islam is also wrong and Muhammad (PBUH) as a Prophet sent by Allah and all He did was on the instructions of Allah and nothing from His own side. Allah Almighty says about it in Quran in the following way:

“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.” (33:45-46)

Conclusion:

In a nutshell, Islam is a religion of peace that was sent by Allah Almighty which preaches people to be kind and loving, gives rights to women, forbids oppression of all sorts and commends its followers to be considerate towards other people in general and people from other religions in particular.