Islam and Misconceptions

Islam and Misconceptions

Introduction

The conceptual meaning of the word Islam means “To Surrender”. Surrendering to the will of God leads to inner peace and tranquility (Mirbagheri, 2010). The religion of Islam has teaches its followers through the revelation of four major scriptures namely Torah, Zabur, Injil and Quran (Kitabevi, 2000). Over time, these scriptures have experienced cutting and clipping as per the modifications in time and culture. It is only Quran that has remained the same since its revelation (Ali, 1996). The five basic pillars of Islam include living with the code of life prescribed by Allah, offering timely prayers, fasting for the will of Allah, giving timely charity and pilgrimage to Allah's home in Mecca, Saudia Arabia (Zeeno, 2008). Yet the advent of Islam in the whole world and some recent events of terrorism linked to the core beliefs of the religion have raised many questions in the minds. Is Islam really a religion of Peace? Are the controversies in the religion creating a chaos in the present world? Is racism promoted or demoted in Islam? And most importantly, can Islam be molded as per requirement of the cultural beliefs and traditional values of every region around the world?

To understand the core concepts and teachings of Islam that are embedded in the hearts of true Muslims we have to know the most important fact that Islam teaches tolerance. Islam never lets any Muslim hurt any other innocent Muslim to without any reason. Islam also teaches the love of equal human right and love of children. Islam believes in repentance of deeds and submission to Muslim's only God; Allah. No part of its scripture has ever taught the terrorism. This paper clearly depicts the result of in depth literature study which lead to understanding true meaning of Islam.

Discussion

Misconceptions about beliefs, values, and goals of Islam

Following are the misconceptions about Islam all around the world.

Islam is only confined to Arab World

Islam is a universal religion which is not only the faith of majority population in the Arab World but Muslims reside all around the world. As seen in the map below, the global distribution of Muslims is divided into Shia and Sunni communities. Apart from these sections, Muslims occupy as a majority in regions such as South Asia, Middle East, Northern Africa, Indonesia and some parts of Russia. The Muslim population is expected to increase by approximately 30% over the span of next 20 years. The census shows that in 2010 the Muslim population was 1.6 billion globally. According to the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life this may increase to 2.2 billion by 2030 (PRCF, 2011). 75% of the American Muslims are either Immigrants or Second Generation.

Source: http://islamicweb.com/begin/muslim_distribution.jpg

Source: http://www.pewforum.org/The-Future-of-the-Global-Muslim-Population.aspx

Rights of Children

Children are underprivileged in an Islamic society and are often exploited. This is the part of the picture seen in the news channels these days. On the contrary, Islam believes that Children are a vulnerable part of the society (UNICEF, ...