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Message: <blockquote data-quote="sirajstc" data-source="post: 13596192" data-attributes="member: 91140"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JAvMpBdeXrA/Tk3jszlOYeI/AAAAAAAADDc/Hz8f7GgwU3Q/s1600/islam20a620web1.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JAvMpBdeXrA/Tk3jszlOYeI/AAAAAAAADDc/Hz8f7GgwU3Q/s1600/islam20a620web1.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></a> 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 IRguerrilla 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 i.e. 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." [Quran 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". [Quran 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." [Quran49:13] 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.</blockquote>

Verification: Hath warak paha keeyada? (hatha wadikireema paha)

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