Misconception Of Islam Research Paper

The religion of Islam is the second largest religion in the world with over 1.6 billion Muslims all around the globe. It has been around since the seventh century, and in those times Islam was represented as a religion of peace. However, in recent times, with the rise of terrorism, ISIS, and the mainstream media, many misconceptions arise about Islam. The main culprit is the mainstream media. For example, Fox News is always proclaiming how Muslims disparage women by forcing them to wear a hijab. Frequently, they also talk about how there is no value or even an intention of peace in Islam. Sometimes, they even go so far as to say that Islam despises all religions besides Islam. These untrue and false ideologies are just propaganda spread by

One misconception complains that Islam mistreats women by oppression. This misconception about Islam is clearly not true. Muslim women are equal to men in Islam. They are respected, appraised, and loved in Islam. More often than not, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) has frequently preached the message of respecting women. He wanted to make sure that women would be respected even if he wasn’t there to tell them or he was dead. Usually, when Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was addressing his Muslim community, he always made sure to completely preach the message of respecting women. For example, he says, "Observe your duty to Allah in respect to the women, and treat them well" (Al-Islam). A similar piece of evidence has also been beautifully portrayed by Abu Dawud. Abu Dawud was a Persian scholar who preached the message of Islam all around the world. Like Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), he had also preached the message of respecting women. As narrated by Abu Dawud, "A companion asked the Prophet of God what is the right of a wife over her husband?’ He said, 'That you feed her when you eat and clothe her when you clothe yourself and do not strike her face. Do

This huge fallacy is the meaning of jihad. Many people view jihad as some type of "holy war" against the "infidels" to either get them to become a Muslim or kill them. In the mainstream media, the word jihad is almost a synonym of terrorism, and that Islam qualifies to be militaristic religion. (Sarah) This is usually believed because the mainstream media is always is showing news of so-called Islamic terrorist fighting the United States of America, so people are automatically lead to believe that they are committing some kind of ‘holy war” because they are called jihadis. Another reason the media or the people to believe for this false ideology is that when in the pure, non-linguistic, and non-contextual sense, it does technically mean ‘holy war’. When put religiously, jihad could have many meanings. For example, it could refer to an internal and external struggle to inform about Islam. In some cases the military is needed only for dire situations. First diplomatic and economic methods are used. If war is the only choice, there are strict regulations. War can only be declared with religious motives and proper authority (not ISIS) and advised by religious scholars. (Kabbani and Hendricks) Even when war is declared, the motive for war is different. While other people have mixed motive for