Abstract
Islam is a religion shrouded in mystery. This misconstrued mystery has led to the formation of many misconceptions. The fallacies are the main source for religious stereotyping. However, the paper looks at these misconceptions and analyzes them based on information derived from believers. Looking at Islam and the common misconceptions people have towards the religion. The basis of these misconceptions is clearly identified as ignorance. People’s views tend to have an impact on the overall view on a religion. In order to foster cohesion, it is important for these views to change. Accordingly, this can only be achieved through enlightenment. The paper looks at first hand experience with Islamic believers and brings me to a greater and true understanding of the religion. The solution to this is by encouraging education among individuals. These new earned knowledge will enable them understand other people religions. Instead of forming wrong beliefs about it, they will instead appreciate the differences.
Myths and Misconceptions on Islam
Islam, as a religion, is monotheistic in nature. Guided by their holy book the Quran they use it as their moral guide. Muslims consider the Quran to be the word of God. As a part of their religion, they believe in the last prophet of God Muhammad. According to this religion, their existence has only one purpose to love and serve God. Furthermore, the foundation of their belief is the knowledge that there is only one God. It is a belief of the Muslims that Islam is a universal version of primordial faith. Under this faith Abraham, Moses and Jesus are all prophets under the service of God.
In this perspective, there has been a cloud of mystery around Islam. There are myths and misconceptions about the religions origin, purpose and their holy wars better known as jihad. These misconceptions have led to outright discrimination against the religion and its adherents in some regions of the world. Worse still, this has led to racial profiling of Muslims especially in terror activities. A common misconception is one where people believe that Muslims worship a moon god. This belief arises from the fact that, during their fast, they use the moon as a tool to judge the duration of the fast. It dictates when the fast starts and when it ends. This fuels the misconception to many non-Muslims. Ignorance is mostly to blame for this myth; people do not take the time to find out about the religion. If they did then, this myth would be put to rest; seeing that a fundamental belief to the Muslims is the existence of one God.
Additionally, it is a common belief amongst non-Muslims that Muslims do not believe in Jesus. It is believed that Islam is the direct opposite of Christianity, even though Jesus or as known in Islam Isa is a major theme in the Quran. The Quran talks about His miraculous birth, an aspect that is a major theme in Christianity. The only difference arises from the fact that Muslims believe Jesus to have been a normal human prophet and in no way a divine being. Islam is manly associated with Arabs; therefore, a common misconception is that all Muslims are Arabs. This based on facts is a lie as only 15 percent of Muslims are of Arab descent. Islam like any religion is open to any race.
Moreover, based on the emphasis in Islam on how women should be submissive to their husbands, most believe that Islam is oppressive to women. This is, however, not the case. People fail to recognize that Islam is a religion that encompasses many cultures. The cultures subject their women to this ill treatment while Islam ends up receiving the blame.
A more controversial belief is that Muslims are violent and terrorists. However, based on the Quran in no way does Islam support or promote terrorism, in fact, the Quran preaches and promotes peace, love, hope and faith. Terrorists use some teachings in Islam and misinterpret them to support their cause. However, Muslim clerics and leaders speak out against terrorism.
Furthermore, it is a belief that Muslims are proud and this breeds arrogance. This arrogance is what has led to the belief that Islam is intolerant to other faiths. The Quran, however, clearly reminds Muslims that they are not the only ones who worship God. It has named Jews and Christians as ‘people of the book’. This simply means people to whom revelations of God has been made to though in a different way. The routine nature of Islamic prayer has led to the belief that it is a performance, which has become a ritual to its adherents. Prayer should be heartfelt and meaningful and this misconception rules out such for Islamic prayer. However, according to Islam during prayer one has to show respect, be submissive and display humbleness. This makes it mandatory for them to have led and organized prayers. As an addition to humility, it unites them creating a long lasting peace.
During the encounter with the religion and its faithful, clarity was bestowed upon my understanding on the faith. The main issue was the hurry to believe rumors that were non-factual. Various issues became clear to me and the veil of ignorance removed. According to my understanding of the religion, I had failed to conduct sufficient research on these matters. These led me to believe the worst out of the religion. However, this journey has been a revelation and I have found a newfound respect for the faith. The religion is not oppressive to women, in fact; it holds women in high esteem. Furthermore, it promotes the self-respect of women preserving their dignity. This came as a revelation on seen how the religion values their women. Views on the oppression of women come from the fact that some communities that are believers of Islam have cultures that subject women to embarrassment. This revelation has allowed me to separate their actions as a community from the actions a religion.
Thus, based on this ignorance, misconceptions on other people’s religions are very common. This arises from the fact that most people deem their religions superior to others. This causes them to hold ill feelings towards other people’s religions. Additionally, most do not understand the nature of other religion or what they believe in, instead of finding out these people come up with their own explanations leading to numerous misconceptions. To overcome this, it is important for people to respect each other’s beliefs and religions. Most importantly, however, people should stop coming up with their own explanations and instead get real facts. This will create clarity and prevent false beliefs.
In a nutshell, many religions have different practices and belies. These practices and beliefs are based on revelations by a higher power. Stopping people from coming up with lies or misconceptions based on this practices is no easy task. However, by simple research it is possible for individuals to find out about other religions and form this understanding and knowledge form respect to the religion and an appreciation to the difference in beliefs.
References
Hitti, P. K. (1970). Islam: A Way of Life (2, illustrated ed.). Minnesota: U of Minnesota Press.
Lawrence, B. B. (1998). Shattering the Myth: Islam beyond Violence. New Jersey: Princeton University press.
Samovar, L. A., Porter, R. E., & McDaniel, E. R. (2011). Intercultural Communication: A Reader (13 ed.). London: Cengage Learning.
