Running head: THE RELIGION OF ISLAM

The Truth Behind the Religion of Islam

Brandi Pace
University of Kentucky

THE RELIGION OF ISLAM

Abstract

The religion of Islam is one of the most misunderstood religions in the world, along with its
followers, Muslims, being some of the most misunderstood people. There are many stereotypes
associated with this religion, and they all have answers to them that will change opinions once
they are known. Common stereotypes consist of the major beliefs of the religion, that Islam is
associated with terrorism, women and children are mistreated and have no rights, all Muslims are
very spiritually dedicated and strict, and they do not tolerate any other people or religions that
are different from their own. In reality, the beliefs of the religion are extremely similar to those
of other major religions such as Catholicism and Judaism. Islam promotes love, kindness, and
peace, not terrorism. Muslim women and children have the same basic rights as every human
being in the United States. There are Muslims who are very relaxed when it comes to their
religion, and no Muslim is instructed to look down upon other religions and beliefs. These
stereotypes and the truths behind them construct two very different outlooks on Muslims and this
beautiful religion.

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The Truth Behind the Religion of Islam

The world is filled with misunderstood people, cultures, and religions. One that became
particularly relevant to my life when I started my freshman year of high school was the Islamic
religion. Prior to high school, I had not been subjected to very much diversity in my life.
Private, catholic grade schools are filled with typically all the same kinds of people. High
school, however, is a different story. I continued my private, catholic education through high
school, but there were students there who were obviously part of a different religion. At first, it
all seemed very strange. I will admit that I had my questions. Why would they go here if they
arent Catholic? Why would they voluntarily sit through a required religion class about stuff
they dont even believe in? The whole idea of it was so unnatural to my peers and me simply
because of the extreme stereotypes that had been places in our heads from the media throughout
our lives. Our naivety led us to believe that everything we read and heard from the media and
society had to be true and is kept us from knowing the actualities behind this incredible creed.
The Muslim community has been the target of discrimination for many years now. Islam
is one of the most misunderstood religions in the world, even though it is the second largest. The
overall major beliefs of the religion are unknown to the majority of our worlds non-Muslim
population. Muslims are misconceived as terrorists, and the women and children of the religion
are thought to have no rights and to be mistreated, Muslims are perceived as people who dedicate
anything and everything they have to their religion 100% of the time, and they are also thought
to be completely intolerant of other people with different faiths, beliefs, or outlooks on life. The
truths behind all of these stereotypes will leave a person with a completely new outlook on Islam
and its followers.

THE RELIGION OF ISLAM

Major Beliefs
In reality, Muslims have very little variation in their beliefs in comparison to
Catholicism. When asked to explain her religion, interviewee M. Safdar (personal

communication, October 6, 2014) explained that the major belief of Islam is that Allah is their
one god, and that the prophet Muhammad is the last messenger. A common misconception
about Islam is that Muslims worship Muhammad, however they actually view him as equally
important as the other prophets. He is just believed to be the last one. When asked to compare
her religion to others that she was familiar with, she stated, Islam is very closely associated with
the Christianity and Judaism. In fact, the Old Testament of the Bible consists of nearly the exact
same stories as in the Quran (M. Safdar, personal communications, October 7, 2014).
Unfortunately, the belief that Muslims worship Muhammad is not the only incorrect idea people
have about Islam.
Stereotypes
In all reality, it was extremely normal for non-Catholic students to attend a Catholic high
school. There is nothing wrong with wanting an astounding education. However, it was
originally perceived as strange by myself and by many others simply because we knew nothing
about Muslims religion other than what society had taught us. Unfortunately, this idea from
society was badly tainted by stereotypes and misconceptions. The most common stereotypes
associates with Islam are (a) what values Islam teaches to its followers, (b) how Muslim women
and children are treated via the teachings and beliefs of the religion, (c) the level of dedication
Muslims tend to put towards their religion, and (d) how Muslims tolerate other faiths and beliefs.
Through my research, I found that all of the usual stereotypes are extremely incorrect.

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Islam and Terrorism

One of the most common stereotypes connected to Islam is that it promotes terrorism
(Minai, 2014). The idea of terrorism originated from the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers. Due
to the fact that the attackers were of a middle eastern descent, society automatically began
assuming that their reasoning behind the act had to be something they all had in common:
religious beliefs. A. Raman writes in his article, despite efforts by the White House and others
to discourage Americans from targeting blame at the Muslim community, the number of attacks
against people who looked Muslim rose exponentially (2002, p. 13). This quickly led to the
overall idea that Islam and the Muslims that follow the religion are terrorists and promote
violence.
Muslim organizations and individuals were suddenly under scrutiny. Muslim student
associations on college campuses were under secret surveillance by police and people with that
Middle Eastern look to them would be randomly selected at airports for extra security
inspections. Unfortunately, some of this discrimination still exists in our world today despite the
fact that the truth behind this stereotype is that Islam has the same moral values shared among all
religions and Muslims actually demote violence and enforce a life of peace.
Muslim Women
Another huge misconception of Islam is the idea that women are treated unfairly and
have no rights. It is no secret that the image of a woman wearing a veil, not being allowed to
leave the house, and being perceived as only good for bearing children is an all too familiar
notion when it comes to how women are thought to be treated in Islam. While there are Muslims
in the world that do implement harsh rules against the women of their country, it is not because
that is the belief that Islam promotes. In fact, whenever that is the case it is almost always

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because the country has cultural differences that go against the beliefs of Islam. In reality, Islam
gives many human rights to Muslim women. In an interview by Julian Portilla (2003),
interviewee M. Abu-Nimer states, Muhammad was even reported saying that women are the
twin halves of men (2003). There is nothing in Islam that forbids a woman from exiting the
house and, in regards to education and the kind of power that women are perceived as being
hidden from, it is actually a Muslim womans obligation to seek knowledge and is considered a
sin if she refuses.
Muslim Children
Similarly, children of Islam are also thought to have no rights. However, this is as untrue
as the idea of women having no rights. According to Islamic law, Muslim children do have
various rights. One of these rights is to be properly raised and educated (Raman, 2002, p.13).
Children must also be treated equally. If a family has more than one child, it is an expectation is
the Islamic religion that financial gifts to children be equal, regardless of circumstance, age, or
the number of children in the family. It is also an Islamic law that children are not allowed to be
hit in the face for any reason, and if they are going to be hit anywhere else on their body it cannot
be by anything larger than a pencil (2002).
Spiritually Strict Followers
Another misconception associated with the Islamic religion is that all of its followers are
extremely religious and very strict to the obligations the religion holds. For example, there are
plenty of Catholics who do not agree with everything the Bible and the faith teaches, and there
are also many followers who do not attend Church every Sunday. On the contrary, it is often
believed that Muslims are the ones who attend prayers every Friday at the Mosque for their Holy
day, pray whenever they are expected to pray throughout the day, fast whenever they are

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expected to fast, and read the entire Quran before they reach a certain age. These are a few of
the expectations of Muslims through their religion.
However, there are many Muslims who consider themselves to be more moderate and
liberal followers of Islam, such as Safdar does. In her interview she talked about how she has
become more and more irregular with the amount she prays throughout the day, especially now
that she has begun college and finds herself to be much busier than she was at home. She also
admits that she has not read the Quran even though she is older than the age she was supposed to
read it by, and also that there are many controversies (such as abortion, gay marriage, and birth
control use) that she does not agree with (2014). Just as in all other religions, there are many
Muslims who lead a relaxed life in relation to Islam and its beliefs and traditions.
Traditions. There are several traditions that Muslims are expected to participate in
throughout their life. The first of these traditions is to pray five times every day, depending on
the position of the sun. The first prayer is Fajr, and this is known as the Dawn Prayer. This
prayer is to occur just before the sun rises in the morning. The second is Dhuhr, also known as
the Noon Prayer, performed midday when the sun appears to be directly in the center of the sky.
The third prayer is called Asr, and is known as the Afternoon Prayer, and this prayed when the
sun is about half way between noon and sunset. The fourth prayer of the day is Maghrib, known
as the Sunset Prayer, performed just before the sun sets for the night, and lastly the fifth and final
prayer is called Isha, also known as The Evening (Night) Prayer. This prayer is performed at
night, after the sun has set, typically before one goes to sleep (Safdar, 2014).
The second tradition is to fast during the month of Ramadan, which is the ninth month of
the Islamic calendar. During this month, Muslims are expected to spend all daylight hours
completely fasting. Muslims are called upon this month to re-evaluate their lives in light is

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Islamic guidance (Abdu, 2005). At the end of this month, Muslims celebrate an Islamic holiday
known as Eid-al-fitr as a celebration of thanks. Another very important Islamic tradition is for
all Muslims to travel to their Holy city once in their lifetime. This is called the Hajj Pilgrimage,
and it is a journey to Mecca where Muslims surround a common structure in the middle of the
grounds and take turns walking up to the structure to touch it and say a prayer (see Figure 1).
The Hajj is a journey full of symbolism, representing the souls journey toward God. Each stage
of the journey is glutted with profound meaning about life and realities of faith. The only
exceptions to making this journey are medical and financial disabilities (Abdallah, n.d.).

Figure 1. Muslims gathering in Mecca during the Hajj Pilgrimage. Adapted from Muslim
Youth Foundation, by MYF Team, 2013. Retrieved from http://myf.org.uk/
Tolerance of Others
While this next stereotype can be considered for people of many cultures and religions, it
is particularly relevant to Muslims due to 9/11. After the event, Americans developed a strong
dislike for Muslims and everything they stand for, and that is probably an understatement. In
turn, it was always assumed that Muslims felt the same dislike towards Americans.

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It seemed as if everyone was asking, why would they do this if they didnt have
something against us? What people didnt understand is that it wasnt us who hijacked
those planes and hurt all those people and families. It was a small fraction of people who
just so happened to be a part of the same religion that the rest of us were. And they
clearly werent true to Islam, or those buildings would still be standing. (Raman, 2002, p.
14)
In reality, Muslims are just as accepting to other people with different beliefs and lifestyles as
anyone else.
Kill the infidel, meaning to slay anyone who adheres to a religion other than ones
own, is a phrase many people tend to associate with the Muslims. However, this is not a correct
portrayal of Islamic law. Islam has always given respect and freedom of religion to people of all
faiths. The Quran states, God does not forbid you, with regards to those who fight you not for
religion nor drive you away out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them, for god
loves those who are just. This means that even though Allah and Islamic law view people who
disrespect others beliefs as wrong, one must still show respect for them, because that is what is
right and just. This is very similar to The Golden Rule stating to treat others how you would
want to be treated. While this rule is not specific to any one religion, it is an ethical outlook that
all religions share, and Islam is no exception.
There are many examples throughout history of Muslim tolerance towards different
faiths. One example is when the caliph, which is the chief Muslim civil and religion ruler, Umar
was the ruler of Jerusalem from 634 to 644 AD. He granted religious freedom to everyone in the
community and stated that everyone in his city was safe and that he would never take away or let
anyone else take away their places of worship. He also set up courts that were designated to

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non-Muslims (Minai, 2014). Any Muslim who forsakes anothers religion is going against the
teachings of Islam.
Conclusion
Despite these truths behind all of the stereotypes placed on Muslims, many American
Muslims in todays world continue to be victims of Islamophobia, or the fear of Muslims
(Safdar, 2014). Many Muslim individuals and communities are finding ways to be innovative
and evident in an attempt to drive away some of these stereotypes being propagated about Islam.
Mosques across the country hold open houses and invite non-Muslims to lectures about Islam or
to attend their Friday prayers. Muslim student groups are holding Islam Awareness Weeks on
their college campuses, and individuals as well are attempting to educate non-Muslims about the
Islamic traditions and values on their own (Huda, 2013). While there are many strong Muslim
and non-Muslim voices trying to spread the truths about Islam and eliminate the corrupt
connotations that accompany the religion, groups and individuals still exist who seem insistent
on believing and promoting fear-inducing understandings about Islam and its followers. As
Muslim communities and their supporters continue to find ways to counter these negative
stereotypes, there is future hope of the day when a fear of Islam and Muslims is an idea of the
past and no longer a living reality.

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References

Abdallah, M. (n.d.). Hajj- Journey of Devotion. Emel Magazine, 48-53. Retrieved from
http://emel.com
Abdu, T. (2005, January 1). Ramadan Eid (Eid-al-Fitr) and Bakri Eid (Eid-al-Adhaa). Retrieved
from http://islamawareness.net
Huda, M. (2013, June 3). What is Ramadan? Retrieved from http://islam.about.com
Raman, A. (2002). Struggling Against Stereotypes. Islam in America, 1, 13-14. Retrieved from
http://pluralism.org