It 's Time With An Honest Talk About Islam

At first, the history of Islam is connected to Mohamed’s life. Mohamed was born in to a wealthy merchant Clan, which is now Saudi Arabia. On the other hand Muslims thought Islam began with God. Mohamed was raised by his uncle, because his parents and grandparents passed away. Mohamed lived the life of a Quryash Merchant then later married a girl by the name of Khadija. Mohamed started hearing voices and though he was going mad. But Khadija thought differently and told Mohamed that he was the chosen one. Mohamed searched for the true faith of Judaism and Christianity. Mohamed isolated himself in to the mountains near Mecca for retreat and mediation. Gabriel the Angel told Mohamed to recite the Koran. The Koran was only originally recited and not written down in one volume until after Mohamed’s death. This has brought controversy over the authentic composition. Mohamed’s wife was the first to convert.

Islam, a religion of people submitting to one God, seeking peace and a way of life without sin, is always misunderstood throughout the world. What some consider act of bigotry, others believe it to be the lack of education and wrong portrayal of events in media; however, one cannot not justify the so little knowledge that America and Americans have about Islam and Muslims. Historically there are have been myths, many attacks on Islam and much confusion between Islam as a religion and Middle Easter culture that is always associated with it. This paper is meant to dispel, or rather educate about the big issues that plague people’s minds with false ideas and this will only be touching the surface.

One of the most widely discussed issues in the U.S. Muslim community is the negative image of Islam in the American media, an issue that was cause for concern even before 9/11. While appeals to the media for accuracy and fairness continue, newspaper headlines regularly print the words “Islam” and “Muslim” next to words like “fanatic,” “fundamentalist,” “militant,” “terrorist” and “violence.” Uses of the term “jihad” in television programs

Within a society that is places a great deal of importance on the pursuit for truth, there must be discourse on the controversial Maclean’s articles regarding the prominence of Islam in the West – rather than leaving it as a one-sided argument. It is very easy for those opposing Islam, or for argument sake, anything that contrasts the Western majority’s views or background, to disguise their hate speech under the guise of free speech, and one can see that is the case for Mark Steyn’s arguments. Not only is Mr. Steyn using selective quotations and certain ‘facts’ as a means of defending his position on the suggested Islamic takeover of the West, but he is also contributing to rhetoric that can be taken by readers that already have a biased and negative outlook on Islam as a vehicle to further their distaste in the religious practice. Painting a religion of over a billion followers with the same brush is not only extremely detrimental to society, but to only showcase Mark Steyn’s opinions as well as the many articles that posit an unfavourable view of Islam which were highlighted in Maclean’s is harmful for a society such as Canada and in no way contributes to achieving truth. In order to grow and develop as a democratic society, the values of the majority should not overpower those of the minority and the government should have intervened on the basis that the rhetoric could be interpreted in a manner that can lead to the hate of a group by those who already hold a negative

Once again, humans succeeded in destroying something beautiful. Unfortunately, this religion which allows its people to surrender to the power of a higher being has turned into a hideous mess due to society’s disgusting lack of religious understanding. Recently, Muslims are undergoing extreme persecution due to the stereotype that was created, being that if one is a Muslim, then they could also be a terrorist. And yet, they still do not lose their utter devotion to their God.

The word “Islam” is taken from the Arabic word “Salema”, which translates to obedience, peace, purity, and submission. There are many people who don’t know that these traits are the foundation of Muslim religion. Ignorance on a subject often leads to false judgment, and the deep-rooted conflict between the United States and the Islamic State is largely due to such ignorance. An entity cannot involve itself in another’s affairs and make calculated decisions if it does not educate itself on the entirety of the situation. This neglect to learn has led to greater issues because of events that have transpired as a result of harsh judgment. There is a huge misconception of the difference between the natural devotion to Islam and the radicals who

The face of Islam in western society has changed in light of the recent Paris attacks on November 13, 2015. Muslims in Canada are effectively trying to distance themselves from the extremist group associated with the Paris attacks. Due to the prejudice response to the attacks, Muslim Canadians are speaking up against the extremist group ISIS as written in the article by Sheema Khan in the national newsprint ‘The Globe and Mail’. The title of this article is “In the fight against terrorism, Muslims must own their message”, The Globe and Mail, 18 November 2015 (http://bit.ly/1lNjmYr).

Tolerance and freedom of religion have long been considered pillars of America’s overall appeal. We preach it and shove it in the faces of less liberal countries, all while failing to practice it in our own backyard. People come here from all over the world in hopes of experiencing a life free from oppression and degradation, but are instead welcomed with more hatred and ignorance. This is especially true with the Muslim community. A resolution towards the acceptance of Islam can be achieved only through applying what are supposed to be basic American rights and ideals, which would require an overhaul of the completely negative stigma surrounding this community.

American Muslims are having their civil rights violated more and more and are constantly being discriminated against. Haddad says that “Post 9/11 American Muslims were linked to enemy others and were expected to prove their loyalty to the nation-state in ways other Americans were not expected to do. The trope of Muslims as enemies within lingers.” The national media still portrays American Muslims as enemies to the United States. These unquestioned beliefs about Muslims leads to Islamophobia and Said says “To most Americans, Islam is nothing but trouble. The use of the label Islam, to either explain or indiscriminately condemn Islam, becomes a form of attack.” Said goes on to say that “Islam is used to define a small portion of extremism instead of the billion Muslims

Ever since 9/11 people have associated terrorism with people of the Islam faith, causing a tension between Islam and racist people. I’ve heard a lot about mosques being fire bombed and vandalized just in the last year alone. In the days after the 9/11 attacks many muslims were mugged and beaten just because of their faith. The real Islam preaches love and happiness, but the terrorist followed a radical version that employs if someone's not muslim than they deserve death. I must stress this is not the true Islam, too many people have the preconceived idea that Islam preaches hate and death, which has lead to racism. Islamic racism is an ongoing topic and will be for a long

Irshad Manji is a Muslim author who has a non Muslim following because of her international best seller book, The Trouble with Islam. This book is incredibly damaging to the Muslim community and she is a damaging voice as well. Her lifestyle choices fail to align with a Muslim lifestyle and her political views are completely opposite of other Muslims. Her influence among non Muslims is powerful because she is all but confirming their stereotypes and fearful beliefs. “To many non-Muslims, however, she is the voice of “progressive” Islam. Why Progressive? Because Manji’s prescription for correcting the “troubles with Islam” is for the faith to conform to the ideas of Western philosophy. Essentially, Islam would cease to be Islam.” Manji proves how apparent it is that there is not always a united front when it comes to groups of people, there are going to be individuals that will work against what the majority is working for. Manji is giving room for more challenges to arise for Muslim Americans, their citizenship will be challenged more because she is feeding into the misconceptions of Muslim Americans, and non-Muslims are following

Islam relations with foreign countries have the most profound impact on political stability. These relations aren’t directly affecting the Islamic nations’ political stability as much as the nations’ they are interacting with. Take example, the United States. Ever since September 11, 2001 Americans have been divided over the issue of Muslims in America, this issue has been dividing our country more than theirs. Liberals believe the U.S. government should cooperate with them, hoping to achieve peace on a personal level, whereas the conservatives hope to confront them and give them the same low tolerance treatment they have been dishing out. The Liberals hold the belief that Muslim politics in America are a positive aspect because it’s making us better-rounded; through learning about Muslim culture and government we are able to appeal towards a greater number of people—creating the ultimate democracy. In contrast, Conservatives believe that war is the sole solution because it will prove to the Islamic governments that American strength is far superior, thus intimidating them. Muslim immigration

Islam - A Highly Controversial Sensitive Issue in Today's World: Examination of Misconceptions and Beliefs

The connection between Islam and terrorism was not intensified until the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center that pushed the Islamic faith into the national and international spotlight (Smith, 2013). As Smith (2013) articulated, “Many Americans who had never given Islam a second thought before 9/11 now had to figure out how to make sense of these events and relate to the faith tradition that ostensibly inspired them” (p. 1). One way in which people made sense of these events was through the media channels that influenced their overall opinions by shaping a framework of censored ideas (Yusof, Hassan, Hassan & Osman, 2013). In a survey conducted by Pew Forum (2012), 32% of people reported that their opinions of Muslims were greatly influenced by the media’s portrayal of Islam that depicted violent pictorials and fundamentalist Muslims. Such constant negative depiction is likely to lead to the inevitable—prejudice and hate crime. For instance, in 2002 alone there were approximately 481 hate crimes that were carried out against Muslims (Smith, 2013). Ever since the 9/11 attacks Muslim people have been the target of “suspicion, harassment and discrimination” (Talal, n.d., p. 9).

This survey reveals that the problem with the Islam faith is not racial: The Muslim people are welcomed, the Islam faith is not. The violence that has been perpetrated against America, whether executed or planned, has brought to fruition religious persecution not seen since the persecution of the Jews in W.W.II. This “trust no Arab” attitude has brought shame to the Constitutional intentions of freedom of religion intended by our forefathers, and has set religious tolerance back 200 years. Looking at media representation of Muslim Americans prior to 9-11, it shows religious diversity in America, depicting Muslim America as just another religious community seeking to advance and protect their interests, not unlike other Americans. After 9-11 the media portrayed representations of threat and fear, creating boundaries between Muslims and other Americans. Such depiction transforms the identity of Muslims and American religious pluralism (Byng, M. pg. 3).