Common misconceptions about Islam - help needed
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I read that today also. In any case, this thread is about providing a website resource/tool to educate and thus hopefully prevent/reduce such things.
In such websites, content is king, hence this thread.
Misconception Women confined to houses
Background Some think that in Islam a woman's place is in the home and they are not allowed outside or without the permission of their husbands or male family members. Some also think that women should not be allowed out by themselves unless chaperoned.
The Quran has several examples in which women are able to go freely and be amongst the community. The most clear example are in the references to Mary, some of which are shown below
And relate in the Scripture Mary, when she withdrew herself from her family to a place which was to the east.
So she was pregnant with him, and she retired to a far place.
"So eat and drink and be happy. If you see any person, then Say "I have made a vow of abstention for the Almighty, and I will not talk today to any person."
Then she came to her people carrying him. They said "O Mary, you have come with something totally unexpected!"The above verses prove beyond doubt that she was alone in a location where it was possible other people may have met her, and then she returned to her people.
The example of Mary is very important because The Quran gives her a special status
And when the angels said O Mary! surely God has chosen you and purified you and selected you above the women of all the beings.
The Quran also gives an example in which believing women were allowed to be amongst the community even in times of hostility
And those who harm the believing men and the believing women, with no just reason, shall bear the guilt of slander and an evident crime.
O prophet, tell your wives, your daughters, and the wives of the believers that they should lengthen upon themselves their outer garments. That is better so that they would be recognized and not harmed. God is Forgiver, Merciful.
If the hypocrites, and those with disease in their hearts and those who spread lies in the city do not refrain, then We will let you overpower them, then they will not be able to remain as your neighbours except for a short while.Women were also free to petition the prophet directly (who would have been the leader of the community at the time)
God has heard the woman who pleads with you regarding her husband, and she complained to God. And God hears the argument between you. God is Hearer, Seer.
There is also an example in which an engaged couple may meet in secret if they have something righteous to discuss
And there is no sin upon you if you openly propose marriage to these women, or you keep it between yourselves. God knows that you will be thinking of them, but do not meet them secretly, unless you have something righteous to discuss...
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peace all,
The site is now live for proofreading/testing
http//www.misconceptions-about-islam.com
Nothing on the website is final, i.e. feedback on any part of it is welcome, including content. Either personal message me or post comments here.
The site search function does not work yet because it is a new site so google has not indexed the site yet. The "more" and "acknowledgements" page content is not done yet.
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Peace Wakas,
I just checked out the website, and it's very good and informative. Keep up the good work...
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peace all,
The site is now live for proofreading/testing
http//www.misconceptions-about-islam.com
Nothing on the website is final, i.e. feedback on any part of it is welcome, including content. Either personal message me or post comments here.
The site search function does not work yet because it is a new site so google has not indexed the site yet. The "more" and "acknowledgements" page content is not done yet.
Another site with the same content will be created using content management system software, so it will look a bit different. The address for that website will be islam-and-muslims.com
Peace,
Quick comments
Marriage to 9 year olds is missing...
http//www.muhammadanism.org/Hadith/Topics/Marriage.htmInheritance verses revolve around and are depended on #of females thus exists a situation where an only daughter gets twice as much as her brothers.
411 ...and if she was one, so for her the half
Perhaps links to articles which further clarify or give alternate points of view.
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Peace brother Wakas,
The site is now live for proofreading/testing
http//www.misconceptions-about-islam.com
Nothing on the website is final, i.e. feedback on any part of it is welcome, including content. Either personal message me or post comments here.
The site search function does not work yet because it is a new site so google has not indexed the site yet. The "more" and "acknowledgements" page content is not done yet.
Another site with the same content will be created using content management system software, so it will look a bit different. The address for that website will be islam-and-muslims.comGood work.
You might want to add that the most common and fatal misconception that resulted in all other misconceptions is in the title of the website. Fortunately, there are no common misconceptions about peacemaking so all the misconceptions would instantly vanish.
Peace,
Ayman
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Wakas - thanks for all the hard work that you do. My first comment on your website
Many articles and books have been written about a religion followed by over one billion people worldwide
I believe the concept of your statement to be contrary to the teachings of the Quran. What exactly is "a muslim"? I suspect that this number you are referencing is a count of the number of people that refer to themselves as "a muslim". I believe that this excludes from your count the number of people that follow God's guidance but do not call themselves "muslims". It also includes (in my experience) a tremendous number of people who call themselves "muslims" but do a poor job of following God's guidance.
What exactly do you mean by ""? Are you suggesting that they are "following the 'religion' in conformance with God's guidance"? Or do you simply mean that these people have labeled themselves "muslims" and so they get to be counted as one who "" the "religion" regardless of whether they are actually following it or not?
I believe that the PRIMARY misconception of non-"muslims" and "muslims" alike is the misconception that the Quran suggests that only those people who recognize the Quran as God's guidance should be counted as "muslims".
I suggest that from the start, you are fueling the most damaging misconception with your statement above. You are claiming that the "religion" that is "followed" is ONLY followed by "one billion people" - and that this "religion" is "Islam" and is "followed " by "muslims".
I believe the Quran teaches us that AlKtab was given to all prophets and that the Quran is an explanation of AlKtab. I don't find that other sects have corrupted AlKtab any more than people who call themselves "muslims" have done. Yet those who call themselves "muslims", who HAVE the Quran (i.e. the only accurate recording of God's guidance), behave no differently than the other sects by taking the same position as the other sects, a position that I find the Quran teaches us NOT to take
"We are the ones who follow God's true guidance and this is what we are called. We are different from you other sects and we will try and teach you how to follow God's true guidance".
In peace-
SamsonPS - I don't want my post to 'derail' this thread, so I have created a new thread for those who may have something to say on this topic
http//free-minds.org/forum/index.php?topic=9598127.0
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Salaam Samson/all
I do not think you are derailing the thread; but yes, it's a good idea to have a seperate thread on the greatest misconception the concept of "islam" and "muslim". I think Ayman also points to this, and adds that all these misconceptions are the result of the main one.
On the other hand, I believe that when these "secondary" misconceptions are pointed out, people, especially "Muslims", would be more interested in the whole topic instead of turning them off by the "big" misconception. Let them find it themselves. -
Thanks Samia. I am pleasantly surprised that the first response to my post was a supportive one. In my experience, that is highly unusual for the position I stated!
As I am unaware of Ayman's posts, I am afraid that the new thread I created may be redundant...
I would be grateful if someone can point me towards Ayman's writeups on this matter and I agree in principle to the primary/secondary misconceptions as you've described.
In peace-
Samson -
As I am unaware of Ayman's posts, I am afraid that the new thread I created may be redundant...
I would be grateful if someone can point me towards Ayman's writeups on this matter and I agree in principle to the primary/secondary misconceptions as you've described.
You're welcome.
Ayman's posts are on this thread and here are their links
http//free-minds.org/forum/index.php?topic=16793.msg177074#msg177074
http//free-minds.org/forum/index.php?topic=16793.msg177240#msg177240
http//free-minds.org/forum/index.php?topic=16793.msg197498#msg197498
and I do not think your new thread is redundant. It's an elaboration on the concept of what really "islam" is. There's another thread which changed into discussing the meaning of "muslim"
http//free-minds.org/forum/index.php?topic=9598099.0
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peace all,
Thanks for the feedback.
Re marriage of 9yr old
This will be added to the list when/if a response is written, other than saying it is not in The Quran.Re Inheritance 411
I have not studied the fractions involved in the system. Mainly because there is inconsistancy in translations on this. Out of curiousity, is there a website that provides a mathematical formula for each or all situations? I would have thought this would have been done by someone.Re Perhaps links to articles which further clarify or give alternate points of view.
I was thinking of having links at the end of some of the response for extra information.You might want to add that the most common and fatal misconception that resulted in all other misconceptions is in the title of the website. Fortunately, there are no common misconceptions about peacemaking so all the misconceptions would instantly vanish.
I am looking into this meaning. However, I would like to point out there is no way all the other misconceptions would vanish if this one was clarified. Unless, you mean a new concept will be made, e.g. "peacemaking" and since no misconceptions exist for any new concept, then all problems solved. Fair enough, then how about this
X Why does The Quran give more share to males than females in inheritance?
Y "islam" actually means "peacemaking"
X oh that clears it up, thanks!Obviously not.
I believe the concept of your statement to be contrary to the teachings of the Quran.
I do not consider "Islam" (capital "I" and islam (small "i" as the same thing. Secondly, to describe Islam as a religion is perfectly correct, however one cannot describe islam as a religion. I recommend reading the rest of the website, as it rather obviously covers what you highlighted.
In any case, I have changed the "I" and "i" in the opening statement, for accuracy.
You are free of course to propose an alternative for consideration. As stated, nothing on the website is final.
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In inheritance there are two misconceptions apart from the share of the female
- Non Muslim relatives do not inherit.
- Daughter/s who do not have a brother cannot inherit all the inheritance (here, the Islamic Law gives the uncles the remaining share, in clear violation of the definiton of the kilala, who is defined as some one without children, and which is the only case where brothers can inherit).
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peace all,
The site is now live for proofreading/testing
http//www.misconceptions-about-islam.com
Nothing on the website is final, i.e. feedback on any part of it is welcome, including content. Either personal message me or post comments here.
The site search function does not work yet because it is a new site so google has not indexed the site yet. The "more" and "acknowledgements" page content is not done yet.
Another site with the same content will be created using content management system software, so it will look a bit different. The address for that website will be islam-and-muslims.com
Peace Wakas
When it comes to feedback i got some feedback information i think might interest you
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First of i think basic information that everyone can accept and grasp (which is simple to understand) is important to have in the site.
That means that anything which is too radical or too controversial like for instance Prophets did not perform miracles or angels were only mental forces should be information for later, for the advanced through seekers, not the beginners. And by advanced i am talking about those that already have finished to learn about the basic stuff and wants to learn more about Islam based on Quran alone. Many people might automatically reject the whole site if they see things they can not verify like for instance the claims that prophets did not perform any miracles, or that the angels are mental forces etc. Since most muslims don't know classical arabic they can't verify these claims, and that might make them leave the site and put them in a state of confusion. Even me that is very open-minded struggled to accept the most controversial theories and sometimes was confused about too controversial issues. And those who know me on the site, know that i always try to keep an open mind and never limit myself in any way when it comes to Islam. So if open-minded people reach plateaus, i wonder what harm (not literally) extreme controversial information will do the average joes and janes. -
Since the majority is the audience which the founders of this site wants to reach, it is important to get into their minds by reflecting upon which controversial info which opened your own eyes and put that same information in the site. For me it personally was the fact that hadiths are not accepted according to hadiths themselves, the history about hadiths and the fact that quran tells us to not follow any other hadith than the Quran itself. Other information that opened my eyes was that music was not unlawful, that most foods were lawful, that headscarf is not something which women have to wear and other basic and simple information that was easy to grasp for the beginner. So i recommend articles/info about things that most people truth seekers can agree on, things that are not complex or too controversial. Because as mentioned earlier the complex might put people into a state of confusion, and the extreme controversial info might scare them away from the site and the new belief system.
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By the way, is the mission of this site to reach only non-muslims, or muslims as well?
Because if its mission is only to reach non-muslims, hadiths may not be important to mention much about. But if its mission is to reach both muslims and non-muslims, i think it is vital that a separate section for hadiths and their history is included in the site. And when it comes to hadiths, to convince people, it should never be said that hadiths are not a part of islam and that all hadiths should be rejected. The best thing to do in my opinion is to just show the non-muslims and muslims about the history of the hadiths, the contradictions in the hadiths, verses in the Quran that tells us that hadiths should not be followed, the hadiths that violates the Quranic verses, and other important information about hadiths ---------------) After having wrote articles about these issues the readers of the articles (non-muslims/muslims) can rationalize the information themselves and hopefully they will see the falseness in the hadiths. It is no point in saying that hadiths should be rejected. The audience must come to that conclusions by themselves. Since the primary aim of the site (according to how i interpreted it) is to educate people about common misconceptions about islam, then this might be enough for the beginner. If the majority of muslims stop believing that stoning, wife-beating or other cruel things are a part of the islamic faith, it is these things that matter the most, and if people change their ways when it comes to false violent beliefs then the rest will flow naturally. If people abandon these violent acts but still want to believe in hadiths that don't contradict the quran, then enough contribution has been done in the first stage. The most important things is too make people to abandon the violent acts totally. The thing which harms the muslim countries most is the violent acts which are against, not belief that hadiths are divine. because a person can believe that some hadiths are a part of islam and STILL be non-violent. To make changes and create a better world making people abandon violence is one of the most important things we have to focus on. -
I think the design of the site is very important. Colors are persuasive and should be used wisely. what people see (the visual) is very important. Drawings and pictures can make the ideas in the articles stronger and more visual as well.
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I think it also important to get inspiration from other sites which have had success like submission.org, 19.org, rationalreality.com etc. The sections of the articles in these sites are placed in a structural and good order. there is no point in reinventing the wheel. Getting ideas and inspiration from sites that already have had a certain amount of success when it comes to reaching a wide audience is therefore important in my opinion. It is also a good idea to have original sections and new concepts that have never been presented in a simplistic way in other sites.
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I think links to other sites like free-minds.org, rationalreality.com, G.A parwez, studyquran and ourbeacon should be included in the site as well. This can be the bridge for further studies, and advanced information (for truthseekers that wants to learn more about islam based on quran alone).
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Misconception That without hadiths there is no info about prophet muhammed in the quran. As we know there are many verses in the Quran that tells us about Prophet muhammeds characters and life through stories (about how he handled struggles) and other information. If this information is included in the site, then the traditional islam followers won't have any excuses about Prophet muhammed life and deeds not being included in the quran.
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Misconception Prophet muhammed is set as an example therefore people should follow hadith. Well as we know, Abraham is also set as an example, does that mean that we should follow the hadiths and sayings of abraham? of course not.
604 There has been a good example set for you by Abraham and those with him, when they said to their people ?We are innocent from you and what you serve besides God. We have rejected you, and it appears that there shall be animosity and hatred between us and you until you believe in God alone.? Except for the saying of Abraham to his father ?I will ask forgiveness for you, but I do not possess any power to protect you from God.? ?Our Lord, we have put our trust in You, and we turn to You, and to You is the final destiny.?
I have not practiced writing english for a while so ignore my grammer mistakes or other language mistakes. The context is important right? not the worlds
I hope this information which have provided will be helpful.
David_K
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Peace Wakas,
Thanks for the feedback.
Re marriage of 9yr old
This will be added to the list when/if a response is written, other than saying it is not in The Quran.This is all over the place, saw it on CNN as was about to post; would put it as a top priority...
http//www.stoptheaclu.com/archives/2009/03/27/8-year-old-bride-in-saudi-arabia/
Re Inheritance 411
I have not studied the fractions involved in the system. Mainly because there is inconsistancy in translations on this. Out of curiousity, is there a website that provides a mathematical formula for each or all situations? I would have thought this would have been done by someone.All done here
http//free-minds.org/forum/index.php?topic=16179.msg177780#msg177780The internet is loitered by supposed contradictions on inheritance verses.
http//www.answering-islam.org/Quran/Contra/i001.htmlOne of the main issues arises from not reading Qur?an precisely as stated especially the term...
411 ...to the male equal share the two females...
Most all interpret the above as a general case regardless # of females when it is simple to see the equation ONLY applies when there are EXACTLY two females; then over two, then one?
http//i29.tinypic.com/ictj0k.jpg
Case example 2 daughters; 1 son
1/4 + 1/4 + 1/2 = 1 (the amount allocated to CHILDREN)Equal #of boys and girls share equally which God favors especially an only daughter?
Example 1 daughter, 4 sons (1f; 4m) ratio is 11
1 daughter gets 1/2
4 sons all share 1/2Peace Samia,
In inheritance there are two misconceptions apart from the share of the female
- Non Muslim relatives do not inherit.
- Daughter/s who do not have a brother cannot inherit all the inheritance (here, the Islamic Law gives the uncles the remaining share, in clear violation of the definiton of the kilala, who is defined as some one without children, and which is the only case where brothers can inherit).
Correct that a sole inheritor naturally inherits the whole since there is none to divide with. Kalala however, can have children; main difference between 412 (has children) and 4176 no child else it is unknown which verse to use...
Example mother, sister ? what amount to give the sister, 1/6 according to 412 or 1/2 per 4176?
Spouseless fatherless man/woman kalala with children
412...and if is a man to be inherited kalalatan or a woman, and for him a brother, or a sister, so for each one from them the 1/6, so if they were more than that, so they are partners in the 1/3Spouseless fatherless man/woman kalala without child
4176 They ask your clarification, say "God decides in alkalalati, if (a) human died, not for him a child, and for him a sister, so for her 1/2 what he left, and he inherits her if was not for her a child, and if they were two, so to them the two thirds from what he left, and if they were brethren men and women, so to the male equal share the two females?Therefore; mother, sister, no child
Sister = 1/2
Mother = 1/2The traditional schools (Abu-Haneefa, Malik, Shafii, Ibn Hanbal, et al) all contradict themselves on inheritance verses and state differences like 412 applies only to half siblings, 4176 to full siblings and all sorts of bad math which does not add up nor follow the Qur?an precise instructions.
No half siblings ? those born of a mother or fathered by the same father are siblings, period.
4176 ?God clarifies for you that you not be misguided, and God is with everything knowledgeable.
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I do not consider "Islam" (capital "I" and islam (small "i" as the same thing. Secondly, to describe Islam as a religion is perfectly correct, however one cannot describe islam as a religion.
Wakas - Thanks for the clarification. I like your distinction on Islam vs. islam and Muslim vs. muslim.
I recommend reading the rest of the website, as it rather obviously covers what you highlighted.
Wakas - After having reviewed your site again, your conclusion suggests that either I have missed something obvious, or maybe that my points were unclear.
One of my points is that by 'validating' the misuse (as I see it) of the terms Islam and Muslim, I argue that you are reinforcing / promoting the most fundamental misconception.
For example, under "All Muslims are Arabs"
A) "While Islam is often associated with Arabs, they make up only 15% of the world's Muslim population. The country with the largest population of Muslims is Indonesia (which is a non-Arab country). Muslims make up about 1/5 of the world's population"
If I am not mistaken, your message reaffirms the belief that
- a Muslim is one who "claims" to be a Muslim.
- The members of Islam are Muslims
- People who are not Muslims are not associated with Islam
I am arguing that such a belief is the most important of misconceptions. I argue that this belief is contrary to one of the most fundamental of themes in the Quran ""
If I have missed something obvious on your website, my apologies... and would you please help me to see what I have missed.
I do acknowledge that you have addressed one of my points in some areas of your website, for example, in "Muhammad was the founder of Islam"
B) "The Quran specifically mentions the term "muslim" for those before prophet Muhammad, including Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Jacob, and the companions of Jesus. . Thus, the prophet Muhammad was not the founder of islam/submission, but simply continued this universal message as one of many messengers of God."
However, I do not see that you acknowledge the point you make here as a critical misconception by LISTING it as such (i.e. "Misconception What is a Muslim" / "Misconception What is Islam". And I find there to be a contradiction between the two quotes I have referenced above (A & B). Yes, I see that you have distinguished between Muslim/muslim and Islam/islam (I had missed that until you pointed it out), but I think it would be helpful to add to your LIST of misconceptions the misconceptions that I am describing. Yes, maybe one could deduce what I consider to be truer meanings of muslim and islam from B above, but I would argue that "Misconception What is a Muslim" / "Misconception What is Islam" might be the most effective means of interesting a non-"Muslim" to learn more - because I believe that the TRUE meaning may not result in the reader feeling EXCLUDED. I believe that MOST non-"Muslims" who make it to your site are of the mindset "I am not a 'Muslim' - I knew that before I clicked on this site". But if the definition of muslim makes it clear that you don't have to be a member of the sect of Muslims in order to meet the definition of muslim in the Quran, then maybe a reader might think "Hmmm... this definition does NOT exclude me - before reading this definition, I would have sworn that I was not a Muslim because I am not a member of that Muslim sect".
I find that you alluded to the difficulty I see with addressing this misconception in an earlier post when you said
if the above is true that would mean almost everyone has made a totally basic error in understanding the term "aslama", and consequently "islam".
Although I am quoting you out of context, I found your point to be relevant here I am arguing that most people who call themselves Muslims and most people who call their religion Islam have made a basic error in understanding the meaning of those words in the Quran. I am arguing that changing to Capital M and Capital I resulted in a sect.
To me it is no wonder that the world views the Quran as the holy book of the Muslims because it is those who call themselves Muslims that promote such a belief. I am arguing that people who call themselves Muslims have fostered the most important of misconceptions by promoting that Islam is the Muslim religion as documented in the Quran, I find that MOST people who already HAVE a religion dismiss the Quran as being irrelevant (i.e. if I am interested in learning about ANOTHER RELIGION, then I might be interested in Islam and the Quran)
I am trying to argue that your website contains language that promotes and reinforces this misconception, such as in A above.
In summary, I find that
- Some of your language PROMOTES what I am suggesting is the most important of misconceptions
- Your list does not not have an entry that clearly addresses these misconceptions
My apologies for the length of my response... I often suffer from the delusion that other people want to hear everything that I have to say
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I have the desire to respond but my time is limited. A few points in brief...
I would appreciate it if you did not refer to it as my site, my language, my list etc.
The concepts you discuss are mentioned in several of the misconceptions, not just one.
I think having a spearate misconception is good and probably the option that will be done. Two issues re-wording the rest of the site so it does not cause confusion to the majority "layman" target audience, second, the content needs to be created.
The site is not planned for launch until the second half of the year, hence felt no rush to reply.
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Peace
One other common misconception of Islam by the muslims themselves is that ...it is haram for muslim men to wear gold or silver jewellery , but is halal for them to wear Iron or cheap metal rings etc , Qur'an 732 . Please correct me if I misconceived this misconception about Gold and Silver Jewelleries for muslim men .
Cheers
