Top Ten Misconceptions about Muslims...
I got this from Friendster's Bulletin Board. I liked it, so I posted it back so that my "friendsters" (especially the non-Muslim ones) would also get to read it and find out a little bit more about Islam and Muslims. A good friend of mine, Kuya Mike, commented that it would have been better if I had explained or expounded on some things because that way it would be easier to see things clearly. So, in this entry, I will try to expound on things and explain each item in the best way I could.
The explanations I will give are based on the knowledge that I have gained from reading, from listening to wasi'at (sermons) and from the Madrasah (Islamic school). I would just like to emphasize that I am not THAT knowledgeable. God knows best. :)
The Top Ten Misconceptions about Muslims:
1. Muslims are violent, terrorists and/or extremists.
-- Muslims are peace-loving people. The term Islam came the Arabic letters S-L-M, where the word "salaam" (peace) is also derived from. More or less, Islam also means peace. To be a Muslim to follow Islam. To be a Muslim is to devote one's life to God (Allah)... everything that a Muslim does is for and in praise of Allah. To be a good Muslim is basically to be a good person (inside and out), and good persons, I think we all know, are not violent, terrorists and/or extremists.
2. Islam oppresses women.
--Women are given a very important place in Islam. It is said that women are the most beautiful creatures in the world and men the weakest! A man's greatest weakness is a woman. Men are powerless if women were to use their "powers". This is why we, Muslim women, have to cover certain parts of our bodies that can attract the opposite sex. Thus, we have to cover our hair and wear clothes that will not emphasize our "assets" and the curves of our bodies. Muslim women can work, do business, educate themselves and even fight in wars, etc.
3. Muslims worship a different God.
--There is only one God and Muslims call this one God, Allah. Allah comes from the Arabic term "al-ilah" which means "the God". The kalimah shahada says: "There is none worthy of worship but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God." To accept this is the first step to becoming a Muslim.
4. Islam was spread by the sword and intolerant of other faiths.
--Islam was never intolerant of other faiths. If we look at our history, it has always been mentioned that when Muslims ruled over a certain country/nation, the people of this country were free to practice their own religion/faith. Islam was spread in a peaceful manner when Muslim traders went to other places to do business and eventually settled in these places.
5. All Muslims are Arabs.
--Now, if this were true then I wouldn't be a Muslim. I am a full-blooded Filipino and I am a Muslim. Muslims are all over the world and in every race.
6. The Nation of Islam is a Muslim group.
--The Nation of Islam (Ummah) is not a group. It is the community of Muslims. Whatever kind of person you are, wherever you come from, if you are a follower and a believer of Islam, you are part of the Muslim Ummah!
7. All Muslim men marry four wives.
--This is one of the biggest misconceptions about Islam, especially here in the Philippines. Most non-Muslims think that every Muslim man should and must marry four wives. There is something wrong with the modals "should" and "must" in this sentence. The modals shouldn't be "should" and "must" because the most appropriate modal is "can". Men CAN marry up to four wives. There are conditions to be met before a man can marry more than one wife. The man should have enough money and time to divide equally among his wives. There shouldn't be favorites. It is actually rather hard for a man to be married to more than one woman. Thus, more and more Muslim men opt or choose to marry only one. Oh, and the first wife has a say before a man can marry. The husband must have the first wife's consent.
8. Muslims are a barbaric, backward people.
--It is always wrong to say a certain culture is barbaric and backward. Just because a ceratin people's culture is different from one's own doesn't mean that that certain culture is barbaric and backward.
9. Muhammad was the founder of Islam and Muslims worship him.
--Islam was there even before the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). He was, in fact, the last and final Messenger of God. He's like the "seal" to all those who came before him. This makes him very, very important- the most important prophet/messenger of God. Muslims do not worship him. Only Allah is worthy of worship.
10. Muslims don't believe in Jesus or any other prophets.
--Muslims believe in Adam, Moses (Musah), David (Daud), Noah (Nuuh), Solomon (Sulayman), Joseph the Dreamer (Yusuph), Abraham (Ibrahim)
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