What Are Misrepresentation Of Islam?

By definition, Islam is a religion of those who obey the doctrines of the Prophet Muhammad. Muhammad, who in the 7th century lived in Arabia, initiated a religious movement that throughout the Middle East was supported by the Arabs. Today, not only in Middle East origins, Islam has adherents, where it is the dominant religion in all countries (Non-Arab, and Arab), but also in other parts of Africa, Asia and, of course, as well as in the United States. Those who are loyal to Islam are called Muslims. The Sunni, Shiite conflict in Iraq started long before the ruling of Saddam Hussein, but when Hussein became Prime Minister of the country the conflict between the two religious sects was taken to a new level. Right when Hussein gained full power, under his control, began years of persecution of the Shiite Muslims in the country. But, before this happened, the conflict was based upon Muhammad and who was to rule after he had died. When Muhammad had died there were many disputes on who should succeed the Prophet Muhammad after his death in 632. Shiites believed that the prophet’s son-in-law, Ali, was to be the successor. Both consider the Koran the word of God. But, devoutness and religious practice distinguish between the two sects. However, Islam teaches that all Islam is equal so Sunni and Shiite sects fight with each other not only because of “hatred” but, also because of religious

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.

Accustomed to stereotypical depictions, Westerners are told that Middle Eastern women are passive, weak, and always veiled. It is often assumed that the severe conditions in Saudi Arabia—where women are not even allowed to drive cars—represent the norm for women throughout the Middle East and in the larger Muslim world. In reality, Saudi Arabia’s versions of both Islam and sexism are rather unique in their severities, although the rule of the Taliban in Afghanistan is now emulating the sexist Saudi model. Women enjoy political and social rights in many Muslim countries, and Egypt has recently granted women the right to divorce their husbands. In Tunisia, abortion is legal, and polygamy is prohibited. Women have served as ministers in the Syrian, Jordanian, Egyptian, Iraqi, and Tunisian governments, and as Vice President in Iran.

Islam: suppressor of women, enemy of Western nations, and breeder of terrorists. The West has many stereotypes and misconceptions about Islam that are due to the media, prejudice, and ignorance. Islam is often seen as an "extremist" or "terrorist" religion. Often, the media's reports about Islam are incorrect due to ignorance or not wanting to acknowledge its true teachings. This is one of the reasons why Westerners are often wary of Muslims. In contrast to what the media portrays, Islam is a peaceful religion, which does not promote violence or terrorism.

The religion of Islam has become a controversial issue in today’s 21st century. In spite of excessively negative representations by Western propaganda, increasing numbers of the population are pursuing to learn more about the wonderful religion of Islam. More frequently than not, these people are becoming more pleasantly startled by the product of their exploration. In fact, increasing numbers of people are embracing Islam nowadays then they did prior to the horrific attacks on September 11th, 2001; which evoked much attention to misconceptions about Islam and Muslims. Yet, there does endure an abundant amount of misconception and misinterpretations about Islam, frequently invigorated by political policies which reckon their interest’s to patronage Islam 's enemies. Islam is a religion which elucidates the way of life and is the second largest religion after Christianity, with approximately one-fifth of the world 's population and is currently the fastest growing religion. Muslims are existent all around the world and come from diverse nationalities, cultures and races. However, Islam instills that all people are principally equal no matter the differences (colour, class, culture, etc.) as long as they are peaceful and law-abiding citizens. The behaviour of particular erroneous groups or individuals outside mainstream Islam cannot be accredited to Islamic beliefs and practices as correspondingly hostility in North Ireland or illegal mafia activities being attributed

A common misconception is that Muslim women are oppressed all around the world, but this is a fallacy created through the use of propaganda and misinformation. The so-called "oppression of women" is not a characteristic of Islam at all and to say otherwise would be out of ignorance. Reza Aslan (2015), a scholar of all religions, makes it clear that oppression of women is not related to Islam but to particular countries. A common propaganda technique is to use Saudi Arabia as the standard of Islam. This could not be further from the truth, as many Muslim countries view women equally if not beyond that. There are dozens of Muslim countries who have had more female heads of state than the US; Algeria, Turkey, Sudan, Senegal. There are a handful of Muslim countries around the world, who mention women's equal rights in their constitution, whereas the U.S is one of 32 countries who does not include an explicit gender equality guarantee (Ravitz, 2015). Using an uneducated generalization, that holds no merit, causes inconsistencies and mistaken impressions of a particular

Women are denied many basic human rights, along with the ability to partake in many activities that us as Westerners would consider to be rights, simply because of their gender. The most infamous example is Saudi’s ban on women driving cars. This takes away a woman’s independence and therefore makes her further dependent on males. The stratification doesn’t stop there however; the enrollment in academic institutions is strictly contingent on the approval of the male guardians. This means women can be denied the basic right to an education if their male guardian so chooses, with no ability to protest. Women are then further marginalized in the work force. According to the Saudi labor code, “women shall work in all fields suitable to their nature.” Although this law is vague in terms of what these fields are, it is clear that this piece of legislation further restricts women’s rights in Saudi Arabia. Women also have severe restrictions on their legal rights. Females in Saudi Arabia must be granted permission from their male guardian in order to sue or take a case to court. This makes it virtually impossible to prevent domestic abuse, as the perpetrator is the one who must grant permission to get the legal procedures started. This puts women at a seriously compromised and defensively position creating further stratification between males and

11 we have been extremely racist toward Arabian-Americans and people of the Muslim faith. For some reason, America always struggles with discrimination and racism.When many people think of the Muslim religion or Arabians they think of terrorism. But anyone could be a terrorist, not just these people. Yes, there are terrorists who are Muslim and Arabian, but it certainly doesn’t mean all of those people are.For some reason, people love it when a group can be pigeonholed. Like in high school, there are the jocks, the preps, the artists, the nerds, etc. The TV and media just love to do this, too.For some reason, all Arabian men have to be rich and terrorists, and all women are belly dancers and sex toys. They are not like that at all. It’s like saying all Americans are obese and love McDonalds. Is everyone in America obese and in love with McDonald’s? No. Is every British person kind and polite? No. So why must we do this to these people? They were either born here or came to America for a better life. Why do we have to make it so hard for them? They are people just like us, and they can be kind, or angry, just like every single person on earth. Isis is also destroying the picture of Islam by killing innocent people by the name of Islam. That is why some people think that all Muslims are

It is no secret that post 9/11, there was a newfound apprehension toward Muslims that would change their world for years to come. Since then, research has revealed that approximately half of all British mosques have been subjected to violent Islamophobic attacks. The antagonism has not stopped - and continues to fester throughout Europe, Australia and the United States. The scare mongering from politicians have not helped the situation either. David Cameron has insisted that British Muslims are failing to conform to British norms, and if people are not careful, are secretly condoning ISIS. Donald Trump has sworn that when he is elected, he will implement tighter border controls and rip potential terrorists of their American citizenships, in order to "make America great again". All around the western world, Muslims are feeling like they are having to choose between their religion and their national identity.

As a woman, I have witnessed the progress that American women have made and continue to make, in fighting for women's basic human rights. However, the road has been far more difficult for Muslim women in the Middle East. Muslim women in the Middle East are currently being oppressed. They don’t have the liberty to freedom of speech, and choice of marital status/marital spouse. They are also prone to violent crimes, and sexual assault. All under a systematic government that is dedicated to dominate women. (CNN Wire) The Islamic religion does not oppress women, men within their patriarchal society do.

In 1900, the world was made up of 12.3 % Muslims. In 2010, The number rose to 22.5% making Islam the fastest growing religion in the entire world, exceeding even the growth rate of Christianity. The American Muslim Council has estimated that there are 2,000 mosques and Islamic community centers in the United States. More than 80% percent have been built in the past 12 years.

Islam is portrayed and is commonly accepted as the most violent and largest direct threat to the West. This is a generalization made by most of the West, but it is not particularly the West or the Islamic people’s fault. There is constant turmoil in Islamic countries in the Middle East and these conflicts are what make the news in the West. The only representation in the media that the Islamic nation gets is that of war. Though most Islamic people are not violent, the select few that do participate in terrorist groups give the rest of the Islam nation a bad image.

In every country around the world, women's lives are shaped by the influences of both society and by religion. “The Quran, Islam’s holy book, mandates that women have the right to seek education, choose their own mates, work, possess and inherit wealth or property, divorce, and remarry” (Hurley 76). So despite the Quran’s clear support for women’s rights and equality, why do many people feel that Muslim women are oppressed? The hijab head covering worn by Muslim women has been in the news on and off for some time now and has been a topic of many debates. Here in America, one would feel this requirement on women as oppressive, but most Muslim women feel that this is a way to be looked at not for their beauty, but for their minds. The issues here is that people have a hard time differentiating between culture and religion, two things that are completely different but have a huge effect on each other. People also have a hard time understanding things that are different. Just because it is different than how we live, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s wrong.

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

The first thing that one should know and clearly understand about Islam is what the word "Islam" itself means. The religion of Islam is not named after a person as in the case of Christianity which was named after Jesus Christ, Buddhism after Gotama Buddha, Confucianism after Confucius, and Marxism after Karl Marx. Nor was it named after a tribe like Judaism after the tribe of Judah and Hinduism after the Hindus. Islam is the true religion of "Allah" and as such, its name represents the central principle of Allah's "God's" religion; the total submission to the will of Allah "God". The Arabic word "Islam" means the submission or surrender of one's will to the only true god worthy of worship "Allah" and anyone who does so is termed a