Misconceptions

Misconceptions Arranged Marriages Marriage by definition is a voluntary union of two people. Women and men are not forced by Islamic Law to marry someone against their will. In some cultures, arranged marriages are common such as in Japan, India, and China. Oppression of Women Islamic Law does not enable or condone the oppression of women. In contrast, the Holy Qur'an makes it clear that women are not to be oppressed. Islam guaranteed these and other rights to women over 1400 years ago. Women in western nations have only obtained these rights recently. With that said, there are some Muslim countries and groups that have strayed from this -- interjecting old customs into their law books. The western media also lends to this misconception. The depiction of women covering their heads, chest, arms, and figure is looked upon as oppression. Yet they fail to notice that men dress in the exact same way -- often wearing long robes and loose clothing. That's equality in modesty. All Muslims are required to dress modest. Islam is a new religion - unrelated to other monotheistic faiths Islam has been around long before Christianity and Judaism, it has been around since the time of Adam (saw). The Prophet Muhammad (saw) is the last of a long line of prophets sent to us by ALLAH (swt). These prophets include Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, David, Solomon, John the Baptist, and Jesus -- peace be upon them all. Therefore, Islam is a religion for those that believe in the Oneness of God and the line of Prophets. It is directly related to Judaism and Christianity and there are many similarities among them. Muhammad (saw) is the founder of Islam As with Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, and the other Prophets (peace be upon them all), Muhammad (saw) was chosen by ALLAH (swt) to deliver the Message of God. This Message is for all peoples in every nation for all time. The Angel Gabriel came to the Holy Prophet with revelations that were to be called the Qur'an. Like Jesus (saw), Muhammad (saw) emphasized that people should worship the One God, and not a man. It would follow, that Christians (named after "Christ") would assume that Muslims are named after Muhammad (saw) -- even calling Muslims "Mohammedans" for many years. This is not the case. Muslims worship ALLAH (swt) and not any Messenger. Muhammad (saw) wrote the Qur'an Muhammad (saw) did not write the Qur'an. It was revealed to him by the Angel Gabriel. The Qur'an states that Muhammad (saw) was not literate. This is an important revelation because if Muhammad (saw) was literate, surely there would have been protests about that claim -- but none exist. In fact, some called him a sorcerer and magician. Also, the type of phrasing and style used in the Qur'an was completely unknown to the people of Arabia. Linguistics aside, there are other proofs in the Qur'an that its origin could only be from ALLAH (swt). Mathematical miracles exist as if to preserve the message from tampering. For example, the Holy Qur'an states that men and women are equal, then mathematically confirms it by mentioning men and women each 24 times. 24=24*. This world (115) and the hereafter (115), Angels (88) and Satan (88), life (145) and death (145), calamity (75) and thanks (75), spending (73) and satisfaction (73), desire (8) and fear (8), hardship (114) and patience (114) are all additional examples of this -- but many more exist. Also consider that the word 'prayer' is mentioned five times, 'month' 12 times, and 'day' 365 times. Or that land (13) and sea (32) when added together equals 45, with land (13) being 28.889% of the sum and sea (32) being 71.111% of the sum. Modern science has confirmed that land makes up 28.889% of the earth's surface, while water makes up 71.111% of its surface. Muslims are Arab There are more than a billion Muslims in the world today, ranging in ethnicity from Arab to Russian to Malaysian to Chinese. Race, culture, and nationality have no bearing on Islam or who is or can be a Muslim.

Nation of Islam The Nation of Islam (NOI) is not Islamic, nor are they an accepted sub-group of Islam.