This document discusses several common misconceptions about Islam, providing clarification on each topic. It summarizes that Islam is often misunderstood and negatively portrayed in Western countries, especially since 9/11. However, the document clarifies that Islam is not an inherently violent religion by comparing it to violence endorsed in other religious texts. It also dispels myths that women are suppressed in Islam by highlighting women's rights in areas like inheritance, participation in religious activities, and the purpose of hijabs. The document aims to correct negative perceptions of Islam prevalent in Western societies.

1. MISUNDERSTOOD
ISLAM
THE SANGER
JYOTI YADAV
Second year
ECE 3rd semester
NIT KURUKSHETRA

2. INTRODUCTION
A majority of Americans have an
unfavorable impression of Islam,
alone among major religions, a new
poll finds.
infamous Quran-burner Terry
Jones.[2].This video can now be
added to the lengthening list of
wrong potrayals of Mohammad and
that had led to violence.
The survey by the Gallup Center for
Muslim Studies found 53 percent of
Americans view Islam
unfavorably.The negativity comes
even as 63 percent of Americans
said they don‘t know anything about
Islam or know just a little bit about
the religion.Dalia Mogahed,
executive director of the Gallup
center, said that, while other
religious extremists are portrayed as
being outside the mainstream,
Islamic terrorists are described as
representatives of their religion.[1]
The above examples clearly shows
the negative attitude of the world
towards Islam.
In the next few sections, I will be
clarifying many of the negative
impressions persisting among the
non-muslimsabout Islam.
WHAT IS RELIGION?
Religion is a collection of belief
systems, cultural systems
and worldviews that relate humanity
tospirituality and, sometimes, to
moral values.What is the real
purpose of religion? It is supposed to
help people curb their lower nature;
man transiting from the animal to
the human specie, has so much of
the lower nature ingrained in him.
As a human being, you have the
technology of mind, senses,
intellect, and self awareness; all this
equipment is supposed to help you
to accelerate your evolution. Being
steeped in lower nature, humans just
create more problems and
degradation in the world; they create
imbalance, destroying the rest of
humanity. Religion was formulated
I want to give the latest example
when the American Ambassador to
Libya and three others were killed
after an anti-Muslim movie trailer
for "Innocence of Muslims" sparked
protests at the US consulate in
Benghazi. Bacile, who wrote and
directed the controversial film,
spoke to the AP by phone from an
undisclosed location, calling Islam
"a cancer" and saying he "intended
his film to be a provocative political
statement condemning the religion."
According to The Hollywood
Reporter, Bacile is "a California real
estate developer who identifies
himself as an Israeli Jew, believes
the movie will help his native land
by exposing Islam's flaws to the
world." It has been promoted by
1

3. to help man rise above and subdue
the lower nature through fear and
superstition. The great masters, the
enlightened beings, have been
saying for thousands of years that
we need to adopt and develop higher
qualities of love, mercy, generosity
and so on. In this way, society will
be of higher quality and we will be
better human beings. This will help
to create a better world. That should
be the purpose of religion.
2:190 ) Contrary to popular
misconception, the Qur‘anic verse
stating, “Kill them wherever you
encounter them”(2:191) does not
categorically permit (let alone
promote!) killing of Non-Muslims.
Rather, this verse was revealed in
relation to a specific stage of
persecutory war against Muslims in
the history of Islam; and its
ordinance is obviously confined to
warfare. The fourteen-hundred-year
heritage of Islamic rule in Arabia
and beyond testifies to religious
tolerance exhorted by the
Qur‘an. And why—if there is any
explanation other than deliberate
mischaracterization and slander—
why can‘t critics who use this verse
read other general decrees that place
strict limits on warfare? For
instance, the verse just before it,
which says, ―But begin not
hostilities. Lo! God loveth not
aggressors‖ (2:190). Or the verses
just after it, stating, ―But if they
desist, then lo! God is Forgiving,
Merciful‖ (2:192). Scenarios under
which taking a life is permissible
according to the Qur‘an are
extremely limited. The Qur‘an
permits between-group killing, or
―collateral damage‖, during warfare
in hand-to-hand combat with male,
combatant enemy soldiers. In
domestic affairs, Islamic law permits
execution by judicial sentence in
cases of premeditated manslaughter
; a tooth for a tooth whether Muslim
or Non-Muslim. In Islam, it is never
permissible to attack or kill noncombatant enemy citizens, children,
elderly, or women. Non-Muslims
Islam is not an exception.
PERCEPTIONS OF THE
WESTERN WORLD
ISLAM IS A VIOLENT
RELIGION
Islam is an Arabic word that means
―acceptance‖,―surrender‖,‖submissi
on‖, or ―commitment ― and is
closely related to the Arabic word
for peace. Adherents of Islam are
called Muslims, literally those who
make peace. But after 9/11 attack on
the WTC by Osama Bin laden, as is
assumed by most of the world, the
terms ―Muslim‖ and ―terrorist‖ have
become synonymous in many
western countries. Muslims are
called ―extremists‖, ―radicalists‖ and
―fundamentalists‖. Various verses of
Quran, one of the religious book of
muslims, are hijacked by extremists
to justify their actions. For
example―Fight in the way of God
against those who fight against you,
but begin not hostilities. Lo! God
loveth not aggressors.”(Qur‘an,
2

4. not waging war against Muslims
possess Islamic state‘s protection of
their right to life, according to the
Qur‘an. In fact, the Qur‘an enjoins
forgiveness, indulgence, tolerance,
and kindness toward NonMuslims. [3] Quran is realistic , it
accepts violence as reality in human
life but it puts moral limits on
violence.
with torture) of heretics, church
splinter groups, dissenters, atheists,
agnostics, deists, pagans, infidels
and unbelievers was supported by
almost all mainstream Christian
theology for over a thousand years,
starting with the intolerant St.
Augustine (died 430 AD).Witchhunting - perhaps Christianity's
worst crime. Think how many poor
innocents have been killed for God;
how few have ever been killed for
Satan.Many people think 1
million innocents were killed by the
witch-hunters. The Catholic church
has suppressed even basic freedom
of religion. In Franco's Spain (up to
1975) non-Catholics were subject to
severe restrictions on worship and
speech (rather similar to the status
of dhimmis under Islam).The
Catholic church in Ireland supported
the denial of civil liberties in
Censorship and Bans on
contraception and homosexuality[4]
Violence in the Quran is largely a
defense against attack. "By the
standards of the time, which is the
7th century A.D., the laws of war
that are laid down by the Quran are
actually reasonably humane," .
"Then we turn to the Bible, and we
actually find something that is for
many people a real surprise. There is
a specific kind of warfare laid down
in the Bible which we can only call
genocide." It is called herem, and it
means total annihilation. Consider
the Book of 1 Samuel, when God
instructs King Saul to attack the
Amalekites: "And utterly destroy all
that they have, and do not spare
them," God says through the prophet
Samuel."But kill both man and
woman, infant and nursing child, ox
and sheep, camel and donkey."
Mahabharta and Ramayana , both
are full of violence. So, how can we
call only Islam inherently violen.Not
every muslim is an extremist. Many
people call muslims cruel as mass
slaughtering of goats is done on
BAKRA-EID , in the name of Allah.
Let us take examples from
christainity .The Church started
killing unbelievers as early as
the 4th century. The killing (often
The word jihaad is used many times
in the quran. This term is the most
misinterpreted term.Jihad has the
literal meaning of exerting our best
and greatest effort to achieve
something. It is not the equivalent of
war, for which the Arabic word is
qital. Jihad has a much wider
connotation and embraces every
kind of striving in God‘s cause. A
mujahid is one who is sincerely
devoted to his or her cause; who
uses all physical, intellectual, and
spiritual resources to serve it; who
confront any power that stands in its
way; and, when necessary, dies for
this cause.
3

5. For some reason while calling Islam
the religion of violence we tend to
forget that none of mullahs even
tried to burn Bible instead the
Koran was burnt by a preacher in the
USA.And many more…Thus calling
any religion violent because of the
irrational crimes commited by its
adherents is not right.
a share of that and whatever women
earn, they have a share in that." Sura
4:31.
PARTICIPATION IN
RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES
Sufism is remarkably open to
women's public performance of
worship. There are famous female
Sufis, whose careers and
hagiographies date to as early as the
late 8th- and early 9th-century C.E.
Rabia al-'Adawiyya (d. 801) was
famous for her desire to worship
God neither for fear of hell nor
desire for paradise but out of
love. But women's participation in
teaching and learning among Sufis is
not limited to the modern period. Ibn
Arabi (d. 1240 C.E.) listed two
female Sufis among his teachers,
Shams and Fatimah. He referred to
Fatimah as a Gnostic whom he
served for several years. Another
famous Fatimah, Fatimah Nishapuri,
lived in Mecca in the 9th century,
and was regarded among the greatest
of Sufis by her male contemporaries.
WOMEN ARE SUPRESSED IN
ISLAM
The issue of women in Islam, is
topic of great misunderstanding and
distortion due partly to a lack of
understanding, but also partly due to
misbehavior of some Muslims which
has been taken to represent the
teachings of Islam.According to the
Quran, men and women have the
same spirit, there is no superiority in
the spiritual sense between men and
women.(Qur'an 4:1,7:189,42:11).
AREA OF ECONOMIC RIGHTS
We have to remember that in Europe
until the 19th century, women did
not have the right to own their own
property. When they were married,
either it would transfer to the
husband or she would not be able to
dispense of it without permission of
her husband. In Britain, perhaps the
first country to give women some
property rights, laws were passed in
the 1860's known as "Married
Women Property Act." And it was a
political action not religious. More
than 1300 years earlier, that right
was clearly established in Islamic
law. "Whatever men earn, they have
[5]
The Catholic church has not yet
allowed women to be ordained as
priests (they are only allowed to
become nuns), and the Pope is
selected from the world's cardinals-who were once priests.
POLYGAMY
Polygamy has become so mythical
in the minds of many people that
they assume being Muslim means
having four wives. This is a false
4

6. notion, of course. A very renowned
anthropologist, Edward
Westenmark, in his two-volume
work, "History of Human Marriage,"
notes that there has been polygamy
in virtually every culture and
religion, including Judaism and
Christianity. In Ramayna itself Raja
Dashratha had four wives. But the
point here is not to say, "Why blame
Islam?" Actually, Islam is the only
religion even among Abrahamic
faiths, that specifically limited the
practice of polygamy that existed
before Islam and established very
strict conditions for guidance. The
question, "How could any man have
two wives? That's terrible!" reflects
ethnocentrism. We assume that
because we're living in the West and
it seems strange, and we assume it
must apply to all cultures, all times,
under all circumstances. This simply
isn't true. Let me give you one
current-day example. In the savage
attack on Afghanistan, genocide was
committed on the Afghani people. It
is estimated that 1-1.5 million
people lost their lives, a great
majority of whom were men of a
marriageable age. Now, with a great
shortage of men, what will happen
to their widows, their orphans and
their daughters of marriageable age?
Is it better to leave them in a camp,
with a handout? Or better a man is
willing to take care of his fallen
comrade's wife and children?
female and 20% male, which is an
impossibility on the aggregate level.
The only verse in the Quran that
speaks about polygamy, speaks
about limiting not instituting
polygamy. The verse was revealed
after the Battle of Uhud in which
many Muslims were martyred,
leaving behind wives and children in
need of support. This verse shows
the spirit and reason of the
revelation.
ISLAMIC SCARF
CONTROVERSY
In recent years, a small piece of
cloth has managed to cause quite a
stir. The scarf or hijab that Muslim
women wear on their heads is
making headlines around the world.
Hijab is banned in French public
schools and other European
countries have adopted, or are
drafting similar legislation. In
Australia, a radio presenter triggered
both debate and outrage when he
called for the face veil (niqab) to be
banned from banks and post offices.
Even predominantly Muslim
countries such as Turkey and
Tunisia ban the hijab in certain
government buildings. When a
small piece of fabric causes such
controversy and conflict, wouldn‘t it
be easier to remove it? Why then,
under such circumstances, do
Muslim women wear scarves?The
literal meaning of hijab is to veil, to
cover, or to screen. Islam is known
as a religion concerned with
community cohesion and moral
boundaries, and therefore hijab is a
It is obvious that monogamy is the
norm for Muslims. If we assume that
having four wives is the norm, then
we assume a population of 80%
5

7. way of ensuring that the moral
boundaries between unrelated men
and women are respected. In this
sense, the term hijab encompasses
more than a scarf and more then a
dress code. It is a term that denotes
modest dressing and modest
behaviour. For instance, if a Muslim
woman was wearing a scarf but at
the same time using bad language,
she would not be fulfilling the
requirements of hijab.The majority
of Muslim women wear hijab, to
obey God, and to be known as
respectable women. (Quran
33:59) However, in the last 30 years
hijab has emerged as a sign of
Islamic consciousness. Many
women see wearing the hijab as
indicative of their desire to be part
of an Islamic revival, especially in
countries where the practice of Islam
is discouraged or even
forbidden.While those who seek to
ban hijab refer to it as a symbol of
gender based repression, the women
who choose to don a scarf, or to
wear hijab, in the broadest sense of
the word, do so by making personal
decisions and independent choices.
They view it as a right and not a
burden. Nor do these women regard
hijab as a sign of oppression.
Women who wear hijab often
describe themselves as being ―set
free‖ from society‘s unrealistic
fashion culture.It is true that in some
families and in some cultures
women are forced to wear hijab but
this is not the norm. The Quran
clearly states that there is no
compulsion in religion (2:256).
Women who choose to wear hijab
do not make the decision lightly. In
fact many women testify that they
faced great animosity from their
Muslim or non-Muslim families
when they decided to cover. Across
the globe there are numerous
instances of women having to
defend their right to wear the hijab.
FEMALE GENITAL
MUTILATION
The worst practice against females is
FEMALE GENITAL
MUTILATION. FGM has been a
social custom in Northern Africa for
millennia. Many people associate
FGM with the religion of Islam.
Actually, it is a social custom that is
practiced by Animists,
Christians, and Muslims in those
countries where FGM is common.
There are many Muslim countries in
which the mutilation is essentially
unknown, including Algeria, Iraq,
Iran, Kuwait, Pakistan and Saudi
Arabia. A women‘s health advocate
in Somaliland has insisted
undergoing FGM is not a
requirement of her faith.Edna Adan,
who founded Edna Adan University
Hospital, takes care of many victims
of the procedure in her capacity as a
nurse and midwife, the Somaliland
Sun reports.However, she has
insisted the notion that FGM is
required by Islam is not true and
argued other factors are actually
behind this continuing problem.
"Female circumcision is not an
Islamic religious obligation," she
told PBS documentary Half the Sky:
Turning Oppression into
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8. Opportunity for Women Worldwide.
"It's traditional - our religion does
not require it."
The World Health Organization
(WHO) has argued FGM violates
the human rights of females and
believes it is a particularly big
problem in Africa.[6]
to validate any point you want to
make. I call it ―fatwa shopping. Let
us take example from India .The
police were in a fix over the
whimsical diktat of a ‗khap
panchayat‘ in a western UP village
after a senior minister virtually
endorsed the kangaroo court‘s order.
Union home minister P
Chidambaram has decried the diktat,
while state women‘s commission
has asked the Baghpat SP to submit
a report on the matter.The panchayat
held in Asara village of Baghpat had
decreed that women below the age
of 40 years should not be allowed to
go to market. They should also
cover their faces and heads
whenever venturing out of their
houses, and should not be allowed to
use mobile phones. The panchayat
even ruled that love marriages were
not permissible and couples who
tied the knot in love would not be
allowed to live in the village.[7]Will
you say the same things about hindu
dharma now?
FATWA SHOPPING
An email pinged around the world,
claiming that a Muslim cleric
―residing in Europe‖ issued a, well,
interesting fatwa, or religious ruling,
banning Muslim women from
touching bananas or cucumbers: ―He
said that these fruits and vegetables
‗resemble the male penis‘ and hence
could arouse women or ‗make them
think of sex,‘‖ according to a report
in a supposed Egyptian website ran
the story: ―Islamic cleric bans
women from touching bananas.‖It‘s
hard to confirm that the fatwa is
true, but the fact that we, in the
Muslim community, would even
think it‘s possible is a reflection of
just how insane the phenomenon of
fatwas has become in the Muslim
community. The idea of
the fatwa became notorious when an
Iranian cleric called for the killing of
author Salman Rusheede when he
published the novel The Satanic
Verses, about an erased portion in
the Koran supposedly inspired by
the Devil.The fatwas used to carry
the authority of divine ordination.
But the years since have revealed
that, indeed, there is nothing to
fear—or revere—about the fatwa. In
fact, nowadays, you can get a fatwa
THE INDO-MUSLIMS CASE
India –pakistan cricket matches are
considered high voltage
matches.India lost the series: doesn‘t
matter, but lost the match with
pakistan, big deal buddy. Indians too
have a negative feeling towards
muslims but their reasons are
different . We, Indians , associate
muslims with pakistan. The partition
of india in 1947 created a deep
everlasting ditch .The kashmir
debate also worsens the relations of
the two countries.
7

9. own shortcomings to Washington,
Arab leaders distract their subjects'
attention from the internal
weaknesses that are their real
problems. And thus rather than
pushing for greater privatization,
equality for women,democracy, civil
society, freedom of speech, due
process of law, or other similar
developments sorely needed in the
Arab world, the public focuses
instead on hating the United States.
Also the religious leaders were
seeing the values of secular and
more powerful west as a threat to
muslim cultural identity. In most
place of the world outside the
middle east, the Africa, and parts of
south asia, most find themselves to
be immigtrants wherever they live.
Immigrants status in itself can be
source of a lot of grievance and
frustration. Thus ,the illiterate and
poverty stricken subjects started
seeing themselves as inferiors and
put the demand of a separate muslim
state, where they believe their
conditions will improve.
WHY MUSLIMS
CONSIDER
THEMSELVES AS
INFERIORS?
To trace the roots of the problem, we
have to go back to the cold war era
when USA was in war with soviet
union. The US has not kept a single
policy towards the islamic nations
during and after the cold war.
During the cold war , the US had
been a supporter of some islamic
movements in islamic nations, as an
instument in fight against the soviet
union. Whereas in other countries
America had been acting the same
movements. America supported
israel and unpopular ,oppressive
Arab regimes so as to fulfil its own
motto. The United States became the
great outside power in the Middle
East, wiyh three main concerns:
Persian Gulf oil; support and
protection of the new nation of
Israel; and containment of the Soviet
Union.The infamous face of terror,
Osama Bin Laden was a also a
product of U.S spy agencies. Bin
laden and some other groups
fighting against the Soviet Union
originally received their training
from the CIA during that period.
WESTERNMEDIA
CRUSADES AGAINST
ISLAM
Global and regional political,
economic and social development,
in recent years, has troubled
the relationship between Western,
European and Islamic societies
strongly and manifold. Throughout
the world, people are witnessing
unsettling changes. Non-Muslims
and Muslims alike became victims
of terror and violence by people
After the collapse of communist
regime in soviet union, it started
seeing muslims as a threat to
western christendom.The political
leaders used America as an excuse
for political and social oppression
and economic stagnation. By
assigning responsibility for their
8

10. pretending to act "in the name of
Islam". Misunderstanding and
prejudice seem to grow on both
sides even though information
systems and means of
communication are highly
sophisticated. In the era of
communication, wars begin,continue
and end with media war. The Media
shapes public opinion and covers
realities by their censorship. The
mass media are used as the most
important weapon. There is a
connection between the role of
media and post-modernity. The
media shapes the world how we see
it. It is a common observation that
crises such as wars, recessions, stock
market meltdowns, ethic scandals,
and natural catastrophes often drive
the public policy making process. A
crisis reveals a problem and then a
public consensus emerges that
policymakers must do something
about it .These crises reveal
broadcasters' important role in
communicating crisis information.
They provide emerging information
to the public in times of crisis. But
choosing negative and frightening
names for people or groups that
powerful policymakers dislike, or
using positive names for describing
wildly acts - are parts of media
tricks.Nowadays, numerous media
campaigns are going on against
Islam and Muslims. Most
Western media with considerable
financial resources and multiple
channels try to show a rough picture
of Islam to their public. At the same
time Muslim groups through various
media outlets are trying to convey
their messages, but in comparison to
the global dominance of the
western media, their efforts are
somehow in vain. In this regard you
can visit the website of the Islamic
community in Croatia
www.islamska-zajednica.hr and
many others. Most western media
are using the September 11th event
to capitalize its political gain. These
media depict Islam as
"fundamentalism", "extremism" and
"radicalism". Of course, in the
modern world where the role of
media is central, the image of reality
can be manipulated to misrepresent
the actual facts. The media have
tried to represent Muslims as
"terrorists" posing a threat to the
western security. By doing so, they
try to justify the wars in Afghanistan
and Iraq. In recent years, this
approach has led to the emergence
of "Islamophobia". However, little
effort has been made to respond to
these negative campaigns.
CONCLUSION AND
SUGGESTIONS
The middle east is going through a
rough phase of political transition.
Instead of blaming islam the
government of all other countries
must help them to form a stable
political regime so that illiteracy and
poverty can be reduced in muslim
nations.
To improve the image of Islam in
the West it requires a strong and
9

11. persistent effort from Muslims
themselves, both in the Islamic
world and in the Muslim
communities in the West.These
efforts should include a
comprehensive process of reforms.
Muslims will never be able to
improve their image in the world if
they fail to appear as a nation of
culture and civilization. Effective
initiatives must also be undertaken
to educate non-Muslims concerning
correct Islamic concepts of peace
and tolerance and to clarify the
incorrect views of Islam held by
some. The muslims must not
continue to wallow in the nostalgia
of a golden age. The muslims have a
built a hellish hole for themselves.
It‘s time to stop digging. It‘s time to
start climbing out.
Nature has created diverse people so
that they learn about each other, they
know each other, not that they hate
each other. Human beings were
created for a beautiful purpose of
living together , for learning to live
together and that‘s the message
every religion gives.
10

12. REFERENCES
[1]http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2010/01/22/poll_am
ericans_have_negative_view_of_islam
[2]www.businessinsider.com/heres-the-low-budget-american-film
[3]
http://english.islammessage.com/articledetails.aspx?articleId=649
[4]
http://markhumphrys.com/christianity.killings.html
[5]http://www.patheos.com/Library/Sufism/Ethics-Morality-Community/Gender-andSexuality.html
[6]http://www.figo.org/news/fgm-not-religious-requirement-0010480
[7]http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_up-khap-panchayat-bans-women-from-stepping-outand-minister-endorses-it_1714849
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