Common Myths about Islam

[Abu Ilyas]

as salamualaikum,

I have been asked to prepare something on Myths about Islam. And I want to know what people think are some of the most commonly held myths that Muslims have about Islam or perhaps some of the most dangerous ones.For example often people confuse their cultural practices as Islamic.

Anecdotes and personal stories wold be much appreciated.

Jazakhallah Khair

Was Salam

[UmmAbdulMalikStorm]

The biggest one has got to be Muslim women having no rights-particularly saudi women. Forget the non-Muslims believing this, alot of Muslims I know think this aswell (about our sisters in the Middle East)

We feel sorry for them coz they cant drive, they cant really go out on their own, they have to fully cover (no choice) We think the man has it all, he dominates everything.

Truth is saudi women are spollt rotten. They're treated like princesses!!! I WISH the West could see how the men treat their women here..there's too much emphasis on the unfortunate, negative circumstances that occur.

[UmmAbdulMalikStorm]

The concept of an arranged marriage.

[Abu Ilyas]

Jazakhallah Khair for your Inputs so far.

I am trying to collect myths Muslims have about their Islam, rather than what non Muslims beleive.

What about arranged marriages sister? Could you elaborate a little?

[UmmAbdulMalikStorm]

Female circumcision. (quite common throughout Africa)

[UmmAbdulMalikStorm]

Yeah, Muslims believe that too.

As for arranged marriages, its the assumption that the woman has no say regarding her marriage and that she must remain silent and accept whatever arrangement her father makes.

I know one sister who got engaged to a guy she had never seen/met because her father didn't think it was appropriate.

(They got divorced after a year!)

[muslim2301]

wearing a see though 'dupatta' on the back of ur head is "hijaab"....

[hkrespect]

honour killings

[UmmAbdulMalikStorm]

Kissing ur elders feet.

[Fajr]

Wa `alaykumusalaam wa rahmatullaah

- Muslims will sometimes excuse themselves from practising Islam by saying things like 'Islam is in my heart', 'Allaah is the Most Forgiving' etc

- Confusion over some fiqh issues? Sometimes people will skip praying salaat al-dhuhr altogether (at uni/work etc) and when I ask them why, they reply that they don't have time to pray all 10 raka'at! Just the faraa'idh will do?

[Magoo]

that you have to make isthinja even when you have just released wind......

[Milk Shaykh]

^Lol. That you have to pray nawaafil e.g chaar suntah, chaar farz, daw suntah, daw nafal, thraa witr, daw nafal! (Pakistani accent)

[UmmAbdulMalikStorm]

Treh witr lol.

Thats not so bad tho. It keeps u in the habit..we prayed it all growing up coz we thought we HAD to. Now I know, I still wouldn't leave it out.

[Abu Ilyas]

Jazakhallah Khair all for your Ideas. Yeah I think I have seen most of these myths in action at some time or another.

About the witr, I beleive the Hanafis do regard it as Wajib. Interesting how a lot of the myths are about womens issues.

[Abu Muslim1]

As Salamu'Alaikum

Whos is your target audience? Muslims or non-Muslim? If non-Muslims then:

Islam has a monolpoly over terrorism
All Muslim are terrorists
All Muslim are Rich Arab sheikhs
Muslim women are oppressed by their men
Islam is against Human rights
Islam restricts freedom of speech

wasalam

[abu hafs]

that shaithan prays in the prayer mat , it left unfolded....

[just a guy]

that the quran is to be wrapped and embroidered and kept on the highest shelf...most of the time collecting dust and opened only where there is death or birth...

and children are rebuked for just touching it

[Magoo]

that if you dont read taraweeh your fast is null and void!

[Hamza]

that the quran is to be wrapped and embroidered and kept on the highest shelf...most of the time collecting dust and opened only where there is death or birth...

and children are rebuked for just touching it

Is that why some people used to put it upstairs or in the Attic? lol

[Umm Ahmed]

that shaithan prays in the prayer mat , it left unfolded....

That the shaytan reads the Quran if you leave it open.

That a knife placed under the matress of a baby keeps the shaytan away , and that salt placed on the walls will also keep the shaytan away , I am sure some kaffir European brought that here.
All the biddahs that are done when someone dies , the reading of sura yasin , telling the person in the grave the stages they will now go through, the visit of the angels ect .
The covering of all mirrors in the house of the widow. ( no idea what that is for)

[UmmAbdulMalikStorm]

That women cant pray/shouldn't go in the masjid.

[UmmAbdulMalikStorm]

All the biddahs that are done when someone dies

Actually that reminds me...

I opened my fast with a date and threw the stone. There were a group of gujjy's nearby (no offence to the gujjy's) and they just gasped and started looking at each other shocked.

I know they use the date stone to count tasbih when someone dies but since when is the stone so holy? Where does that practice come from?

[Yasir]

That a knife placed under the matress of a baby keeps the shaytan awayDo people actually do that?!

[Tuwaylib]

Female circumcision. (quite common throughout Africa)

the myth amongst western muslims that female circumcision is not Islamic. (if we are speaking of the total removal of that piece of flesh, than that is a different issue)

[ibnYaseen]

that Muslims fast non-stop for 30 days and somehow don't die of starvation or thirst

(how many times have you had to correct people on that one huh?!!)

[morbius]

I wouldn’t say that mistreatment of women in Islam is a myth.
By official data, almost two out of three married women in Bangladesh complain to police about their husbands beating them. And considering that domestic violence is usually more often not reported than reported, this paints a very grim picture.

I am not saying that Islam is solely to blame for this, but it should be blamed in minor part. Although Islam teaches men to treat wives with respect, it still gives them too much right over their wives, including beating them if there is no other way to discipline them. Few years ago an Egyptian threw his wife through a second-story window, she fell and broke several bones, but he was freed later in court because he managed to prove that his wife was disobedient and didn’t properly respect her husband.

And let’s not even mention the Muslims on this forum that were arguing that women are intellectually inferior to men in one other thread.

[ummghazi]

a common and most awful myth that i am often told by non muslims and even some muslims, is that there is nothing in the Quran telling a woman to wear hijab and that this is just a custom of the arabs.. one muslim man went as far as to say that it was only used by arab women to go to the bathroom at night so no one would recognise them and that with the advent of indoor toilets the hijab is now not necessary...

dont know wether to laugh or cry when u hear stuff like that ..