Heidegger

I came across this interesting and very simple explanation concerning the
beasic tenets of Islam.
Cheers,

Jud.

Misconception #1: Muslims worship a different God.
First of all, there is only One God who created the Universe and all of
mankind. Throughout history, people have created false gods in their minds and
come up with false ideas about Almighty God, but regardless of this there is
still only One True God - and He alone is worthy of worship. Unfortunately,
some non-Muslims have come to incorrectly believe that Muslims worship a
different God than Jews and Christians. This might be due to the fact that Muslims
sometimes refer to God as “Allah”, but also because over the centuries there
have been many lies and distortions spread by the enemies of Islam. In
actuality, Muslims worship the God of Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus — the same
God as Christians and Jews. The word “Allah” is simply the Arabic word for
Almighty God and it is the same word that Arabic speaking Christians and Jews use
to refer to God. If you pick up an Arabic translation of the Christian Bible,
you will see the word “Allah” where “God” is used in English.
But even though Muslims, Jews and Christians believe in the same God, their
concepts about Him differ quite a bit. For example, Muslims reject the idea
of the Trinity or that God has become “incarnate” in the world. Also, the
teachings of Islam do not rely on or appeal to “mystery” or “paradox” — they are
straightforward and clear. Islam teaches that God is Merciful, Loving and
Compassionate and that He has no need to become man (nor do humans need for Him
to). One of the unique aspects of Islam is that it teaches that man can have
a personal and fulfilling relationship with Almighty God without
compromising the transcendence of God. In Islam there is no ambiguity in Divinity —
God is God and man is man. Muslims believe that God is the “Most Merciful”, and
that he deals directly with human-beings without the need of any
intermediary. Actually, the phrase “In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful” is one of the most repeated verses in the Holy Qur’an. Additionally, the
pure and straightforward teachings of Islam demand that Almighty God be
approached directly and without intermediaries. This is because Muslims believe that
God is completely in control of everything and that He can bestow His Grace
and Mercy on His creatures as He pleases - no Atonement, Incarnation or blood
sacrifice is necessary. In summary, Islam calls people to submit to the One
True God and to worship Him alone.
Misconception #2: Muslims worship Muhammad
According to Islamic belief, the Prophet Muhammad was the last Messenger of
God. He, like all of God’s prophets and messengers - such as Noah, Abraham,
Moses and Jesus — was only a human being. Christians came to the mistaken
assumption that Muslims worship Muhammad by formulating an incorrect analogy -
they worship Jesus so they assumed Muslims worship Muhammad. This is one of
the reasons that they called Muslims by the incorrect name “Mohammedans” for so
many years! Muhammad, like Jesus, never claimed divine status. He called
people to worship only Almighty God, and he continually emphasized his humanity
so that people would not fall into the same errors as Christians did in
regards to Jesus. In order to prevent his deification, the Prophet Muhammad always
said to refer to him as “the Messenger of God and His slave”. Muhammad was
chosen to be God’s final messenger — to communicate the message not only in
words but to be a living example of the message. Muslims love and respect him
because he was of the highest moral character and he brought the Truth from
God - which is the Pure Monotheism of Islam. Even when Islam was in its very
early stages, God revealed that Muhammad “was sent as a mercy to all of
mankind” - thus informing us that the message of Islam would become very
widespread. Muslims strive to follow the great example of Muhammad, peace be upon him,
but they do not worship him in any way. Additionally, Islam teaches Muslims
to respect all of God’s prophets and messengers - but respecting and loving
them does not mean worshipping them. All true Muslims realize that all worship
and prayer must be directed to Almighty God alone. Suffice it to say that
worshipping Muhammad — or anyone else — along with Almighty God is
considered to be the worst sin in Islam. Even if a person claims to be Muslim, but
they worship and pray to other than Almighty God, this cancels and nullifies
their Islam. The Declaration of Faith of Islam makes it clear that Muslims are
taught only to worship God. This declaration is as follows: “There is nothing
divine or worthy of being worshipped except for Almighty God, and Muhammad is
the Messenger and Servant of God”.
Misconception #3: Islam is a religion only for Arabs
The fastest way to prove that this is completely false is to state the fact
that only about 15% to 20% of the Muslims in the world are Arabs. There are
more Indian Muslims than Arab Muslims, and more Indonesian Muslims than Indian
Muslims! Believing that Islam is only a religion for Arabs is a myth that
was spread by the enemies of Islam early in its history. This mistaken
assumption is possibly based on the fact that most of the first generation of Muslims
were Arabs, the Qur’an is in Arabic and the Prophet Muhammad was an Arab.
However, both the teachings of Islam and the history of its spread show that
the early Muslims made every effort to spread their message of Truth to all
nations, races and peoples. Furthermore, it should be clarified that not all
Arabs are Muslims and not all Muslims are Arabs. An Arab can be a Muslim,
Christian, Jew, atheist - or of any other religion or ideology. Also, many
countries that some people consider to be “Arab” are not “Arab” at all — such as
Turkey and Iran (Persia). The people who live in these countries speak languages
other than Arabic as their native tongues and are of a different ethnic
heritage than the Arabs. It is important to realize that from the very beginning
of the mission of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, his followers came
from a wide spectrum of individuals — there was Bilal, the African slave;
Suhaib, the Byzantine Roman; Ibn Salam, the Jewish Rabbi; and Salman, the Persian.
Since religious truth is eternal and unchanging, and mankind is one
universal brotherhood, Islam teaches that Almighty God’s revelations to mankind have
always been consistent, clear and universal. The Truth of Islam is meant for
all people regardless of race, nationality or linguistic background. Taking a
look at the Muslim World, from Nigeria to Bosnia and from Malaysia to
Afghanistan is enough to prove that Islam is a Universal message for all of mankind
— not to mention the fact that significant numbers of Europeans and
Americans of all races and ethnic backgrounds are coming into Islam.
Misconception #4: Islam degrades women
Even though many aspects of Islam are misunderstood by non-Muslims, the
ignorance, misinformation and incorrect assumptions that are made in regards to
Islam’s treatment of women are probably the most severe. Numerous verses of
the Qur’an make it clear that men and women are equal in the site of God.
According to the teachings of Islam, the only thing that distinguishes people in
the site of God is their level of God-consciousness. Due to this, many people
are surprised to find out that Islamic Law guaranteed rights to women over
1400 years ago that women in the Europe and America only obtained recently. For
example, Islam clearly teaches that a woman is a full-person under the law,
and is the spiritual equal of a male. Also, according to Islamic Law, women
have the right to own property, operate a business and receive equal pay for
equal work. Women are allowed total control of their wealth, they cannot be
married against their will and they are allowed to keep their own name when
married. Additionally, they have the right to inherit property and to have their
marriage dissolved in the case of neglect or mistreatment. Also, Islam does
not consider woman an “evil temptress”, and thus does not blame woman for the
“original sin”. Women in Islam participate in all forms of worship that men
participate in. Actually, the rights that Islam gave to women over 1400 years
ago were almost unheard of in the West until the 1900s. Less than fifty
years ago in England and America, a woman could not buy a house or car without
the co-signature of her father or husband! Additionally, Islam gives great
respect to women and their role in society — it gives them the right to own
property, marry who they want and many other rights. Also, it should be
mentioned that the Prophet Muhammad’s mission stopped many of the horrible practices
in regards to women that were present in the society of his time. For
example, the Qur’an put an end to the pagan Arab practice of killing their baby
daughters when they were born. Additionally, Islam put restrictions on the
unrestricted polygamy of the Arabs of the time, and put many laws in place to
protect the well-being of women. Today, most of the so-called reforms in the
status of women came about after the West abandoned religion for secularism. Even
those in the West who claim to follow the so-called “Judeo-Christian
tradition” really follow the values of Western liberalism — but just to a lesser
degree than their more liberal countrymen. For more on this subject, please
read: _Women in Islam versus Women in the Judaeo-Christian Tradition — The Myth
and The Reality_  http://www.muslim-answers.org/Womens-Iss…) . If
women in the Muslim World today don’t have their rights, it is not because
Islam did not give them to them. The problem is that in many places alien
traditions have come to overshadow the teachings of Islam, either through
ignorance or the impact of Colonialization.
Misconception #5: Muhammad wrote the Qur’an
In addressing this misconception, it is interesting to not that no other
religious scripture claims to the direct word of Almighty in toto as clear and as
often as the Holy Qur’an. As the Qur’an clearly says: “if had been written
by man, you would have found many discrepancies therein”. At the time the
Qur’an was revealed, the Arabs recognized that the language of the Qur’an was
unique and that it was distinctly different from the language normally used by
the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. The Arabs of that time, by the way,
were known for their beautiful poetry and Muhammad was known to be an
illiterate man! The Qur’an clearly says that Muhammad was unable to read and write,
so if this wasn’t true, certainly his contemporaries would have protested and
rejected him. However, there are no reports of this. Certainly there were
people who rejected Muhammad’s message, just like other prophets were rejected,
but none for this reason. On the contrary, Muhammad, peace be upon him, had
thousands of loyal followers and the results of their efforts spread Islam
from Spain to China in just over a century! It is also interesting to note that
even though the Qur’an is not poetry, the Arabs more or less gave up writing
poetry after it was revealed. It could be said that the Qur’an is the piece
of Arabic literature par excellence - and Muhammad’s contemporaries realized
that they couldn’t out do it. Additionally, it is easy to prove that Muhammad
did not possess a great deal of the knowledge which is expounded in the
Qur’an: such as knowledge of historical events, previous prophets and natural
phenomenon. The Qur’an says in several places that Muhammad and his people did
not know these things - so, again, if this wasn’t true, certainly his
contemporaries would have rejected his claims. Suffice it to say that not only is the
Qur’an the most memorized and well preserved scripture on earth, it is also
unequaled in eloquence, spiritual impact, clarity of message and the purity
of its truth.
Misconception #6: Islam was spread by the sword
Many non-Muslims, when they think about Islam, picture religious fanatics on
camels with a sword in one hand and a Qur’an in the other. This myth, which
was made popular in Europe during the Crusades, is totally baseless. First of
all, the Holy Qur’an clearly says “Let there be no compulsion in religion”.
In addition to this, Islam teaches that a person’s faith must be pure and
sincere, so it is certainly not something that can be forced on someone. In
debunking the myth that Islam was “spread by the sword”, the (non-Muslim)
historian De Lacy O’ Leary wrote: “History makes it clear, however, that the legend
of fanatical Muslims sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point
of the sword upon conquered races is one of the most fantastically absurd
myths that historians have ever accepted.” (Islam at the Crossroads, London,
1923, p. 8.). It should also be known that Muslims ruled Spain for roughly 800
years. During this time, and up to when they were finally forced out, the
non-Muslims there were alive and flourishing. Additionally, Christian and
Jewish minorities have survived in the Muslim lands of the Middle East for
centuries. Countries such as Egypt, Morocco, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan
all have Christian and/or Jewish populations. If Islam taught that all people
are supposed to be killed or forced to become Muslims, how did all of these
non-Muslims survive for so long in the middle of the Islamic Empire?
Additionally, if one considers the small number of Muslims who initially spread Islam
from Spain and Morocco in the West to India and China in the East, one would
realize that they were far too few to force people to be members of a religion
against their will. Additionally, the great empire and civilization
established by the Muslims had great staying power — its citizens were proud to be
part of it. The spread of Islam stands in contrast to the actions of the
followers of Christianity, who since the time of the Emperor Constantine have made
liberal use of the sword - often basing their conduct on Biblical verses.
This was especially true of the colonization of South America and Africa, where
native peoples were systematically wiped-out or forced to convert. It is
also interesting to note that when the Mongols invaded and conquered large
portions of the Islamic Empire, instead of destroying the religion, they adopted
it. This is a unique occurrence in history - the conquerors adopting the
religion of the conquered! Since they were the victors, they certainly could not
have been forced to become Muslims! Ask any of the over one billion Muslims
alive in the world today whether they were forced! The largest Muslim country
in the world today is Indonesia — and there were never any battles fought
there! So where was the sword? How could someone be forced to adhere to a
spiritually rewarding and demanding religion like Islam?
Misconception #7: Muslims hate Jesus
Many non-Muslims are surprised to find out that according to Muslim belief,
Jesus, the son of Mary, is one of the greatest messengers of God. Muslims are
taught to love Jesus, and a person cannot be a Muslim without believing in
the virgin birth and miracles of Jesus Christ, peace be upon him. Muslims
believe these things about Jesus not because of the Bible or any other religion,
but simply because the Holy Qur’an says these things about him. However,
Muslims always emphasize that the miracles of Jesus, and all other prophets, were
by “God’s permission”. This having been said, many Christians feel to not
believe that Jesus is the “Son of God”, “God Incarnate” or the “Second Person”
of the Trinity. This is because the Qur’an clearly says that Almighty God
does not have a “Son” — neither allegorically, physically, metaphorically or
metaphysically. The Pure Monotheism of Islam rejects the notion of “defining”
God (which is basically what the “Doctrine of the Trinity” does), saying
that someone is “like” God or equal to him, or praying to someone else besides
God. Also, Islam teaches that titles such as “Lord” and “Savior” are due to
God alone. In order to avoid misunderstanding, it should be clarified that
when Muslims criticize the Bible or the teachings of Christianity, they are not
attacking “God’s Word” or Jesus Christ, peace be upon him. From the Muslim
point of view, they are defending Jesus and God’s Word — which they have in
the form of the Qur’an. Muslim criticism is targeted at writings that some
people claim are God’s word, but Muslim’s simply don’t accept their claim that
they are really God’s word in toto. Additionally, Christian doctrines such
as the Trinity and the Atonement are criticized by Muslims precisely because
they did not originate from Jesus, peace be upon him. In this way, Muslims are
the true followers of Jesus, peace be upon him, because they defend him from
the exaggerations of the Christians and teach the Pure Monotheism that Jesus
himself followed.
Misconception #8: Islam is fatalistic
Most Muslims find it rather odd that their religion, which strikes a
beautiful balance between faith and action, could be accused of being “fatalistic”.
Perhaps this misconception came about because Muslims are taught to say
“Praise be to God!” whenever anything good or bad happens. This is because Muslims
know that everything comes from Almighty God, who is the All-Knowing
Sustainer of the Universe, and that since a Muslim should rely completely on God,
whatever happened must have been for the better. However, this does not mean
that Muslims are not taught to take action in life — just the opposite is
true. Islam requires not only faith, but action — such as regular prayer,
fasting and charity. To be more precise, in Islam actions are part of one’s
faith. Islam total rejects the extreme beliefs of some religions that teach that
you shouldn’t go to a doctor when sick, but only pray for God to heal you.
Islam’s outlook is very positive, since it teaches that human beings can take
positive action in this life. This was certainly what was taught by Prophet
Muhammad, peace be upon him, to his followers — since they obviously took the
action of spreading Islam from Spain to Morocco in a very short period of
time. Even though Islam teaches that God knows what human beings will do before
they do it, human beings still have free will. Certainly God, who is
All-Knowing and All-Wise, knows what is going to happen to everyone before it happens
– to deny this would be a denial of God Himself. However, if human-beings
did not have free will, it would be ridiculous and un-just for God to demand
that they do certain things and believe certain things. Far from being
“fatalistic”, Islam teaches that a human-being’s main purpose in life is to be
God-conscious. Due to this, Muslims worry less about material matters and view
their earthly life in a proper perspective. This is due to the fact that Islam
clearly teaches that if people worship and depend on Almighty God alone, then
they have nothing to worry about - since God wants what is best for them.
True freedom, from the Islamic perspective, does not mean aimlessly following
all of your human desires for food, drink, wealth and sex. On the contrary,
freedom means being able to control one’s base desires and fulfilling them in a
proper and legal way. This brings one’s desires in tune with what God wants
for us — only then is a person truly free!
Misconception #9: The Islamic Threat
In recent years, a great deal of attention in the media have been given to
the threat of “Islamic Fundamentalism”. Unfortunately, due to a twisted
mixture of biased reporting in the Western media and the actions of some ignorant
Muslims, the word “Islam” has become almost synonymous with “terrorism”.
However, when one analyzes the situation, the question that should come to mind
is: Do the teachings of Islam encourage terrorism? The answer: Certainly not!
Islam totally forbids the terrorist acts that are carried out by some
misguided people. It should be remembered that all religions have cults and misguided
followers, so it is their teachings that should be looked at, not the
actions of a few individuals. Unfortunately, in the media, whenever a Muslim
commits a heinous act, he is labeled a “Muslim terrorist”. However, when Serbs
murder and rape innocent women in Bosnia, they are not called “Christian
terrorists”, nor are the activities in Northern Ireland labeled “Christian terrorism”.
Also, when right-wing Christians in the U. S. bomb abortion clinics, they
are not called “Christian terrorists”. Reflecting on these facts, one could
certainly conclude that there is a double-standard in the media! Although
religious feelings play a significant role in the previously mentioned “Christian”
conflicts, the media does not apply religious labels because they assume that
such barbarous acts have nothing to do with the teachings of Christianity.
However, when something happens involving a Muslim, they often try to put the
blame on Islam itself — and not the misguided individual. Certainly, Islamic
Law allows war — any religion or civilization that did not would never
survive — but it certainly does not condone attacks against innocent people,
women or children. The Arabic word “jihad”, which is often translated as
“Holy War”, simply means “to struggle”. The word for “war” in Arabic is “harb”,
not “jihad”. “Struggling”, i.e. “making jihad”, to defend Islam, Muslims or
to liberate a land where Muslims are oppressed is certainly allowed (and even
encouraged) in Islam. However, any such activities must be done according to
the teachings of Islam. Islam also clearly forbids “taking the law into your
own hands”, which means that individual Muslims cannot go around deciding who
they want to kill, punish or torture. Trial and punishment must be carried
out by a lawful authority and a knowledgeable judge. Also, when looking at
events in the Muslim World, it should be kept in mind that a long period of
colonialism ended fairly recently in most Muslim countries. During this time, the
peoples in this countries were culturally, materially and religiously
exploited - mostly by the so-called “Christian” nations of the West. This painful
period has not really come to an end in many Muslim countries, where people
are still under the control of foreign powers or puppet regimes supported by
foreign powers. Also, through the media, people in the West are made to believe
that tyrants like Saddam Hussein in Iraq and Moamar Qaddafi in Libya are
“Islamic” leaders — when just the opposite is true. Neither of these rulers
even profess Islam as an ideology, but only use Islamic slogans to manipulate
their powerless populations. They have about as much to do with Islam as Hitler
had to do with Christianity! In reality, many Middle Eastern regimes which
people think of as being “Islamic” oppress the practice of Islam in their
countries. So suffice it to say that “terrorism” and killing innocent people
directly contradicts the teachings of Islam.

Author: Daniel Masters, Isma’il Kaka and AbdurRahman R. Squires

_http://www.muslim-answers.org/Introducing-Islam/miscons.htm_
 http://www.muslim-answers.org/Introducin…)

Posted on Saturday, June 3rd, 2006 at 10:25 am
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