Unfortunately, being one of the only Muslim students on campus, many stereotypes and myths exist regarding my faith. I have been asked many of the same questions repeatedly and therefore would like to debunk some of the myths about Islam

Myth #1 - Muslims hate Jesus Christ (May the peace and blessings of God be upon him).

Unfortunately, some people believe that Muslims hate Jesus Christ (May the peace and blessings of God be upon him), and this is far from the truth. Muslims are commanded to love and believe in the Blessed Prophet and Messenger of God Jesus Christ (May the peace and blessings of God be upon him) and are not allowed to mention his name without praying for God to shower his peace and blessings upon him. A Muslim who does not believe in our Master Jesus Christ (May the peace and blessings of God be upon him) has left Islam, and insulting his honor and dignity is considered a crime.

Muslims do not, however, believe that Jesus Christ (May the peace and blessings of God be upon him) is God, part of God, fully divine, or begotten--the Muslim belief is that God is the only uncreated and all others are created.

Myth #2 - Islam is a terrorist religion

This is far from the truth as well. Islam, far from being a terrorist religion, has some of the strictest rules governing warfare. Traditional Islamic jurisprudence has declared bombing and all other types of indiscriminate weapons sinful if used in an area where civilians are present. Islam forbids the killing of women, children and civilians in battle. Imam Nawawi, the chief jurist of the Shafii School of Islamic jurisprudence (comparable to someone, such as St. Augustine for Catholics) said that not praying for your enemy during battle is considered jealousy.

Suicide is totally prohibited in Islam and is considered one of the agreed-upon major sins The Prophet Muhammad (May the peace and blessings of God be upon him) said that whoever kills himself with a weapon will continue to kill himself with that weapon forever in hellfire.

As with other holy scripture, the Qur'an, must be taken in context and not interpreted by sole opinion. It is absolutely prohibited in Islam to interpret the Qur'an by one's sole opinion. Any Muslim who does so is committing a grave sin and should repent. The verses in the Qur'an dealing with war have been misconstrued and taken out of context.

The Qur'an does give the right to self defense for those who have been driven out of their homes because of their faith to fight aggression and injustice.

It says in the Qur'an (60:8): "God forbids you[,] not with regard to those who fight you[,] not for (your) Faith, nor drive you out of your homes from dealing kindly and justly with them: for God loveth those who are just. God only forbids you, with regard to those who fight you for (your) Faith, and drive you out of your homes, and support (others) in driving you out, from turning to them (for friendship and protection). It is such as turn to them (in these circumstances) that do wrong.”

I think the average American citizen would agree with the right to defend himself when driven out of his home and fought solely for his faith. In the Roman Catholic Church this is called the "Just War Theory" of St. Augustine, and in many, if not all Protestant churches, war is permitted for self defense. There is a great difference between this and terrorism, or the use of force or threatened force upon the civilian populace in pursuit of a goal.

The actions of Muslims do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of Islam. Just as some Christians murder and rape, this does not reflect the Christian belief of murder and rape being sinful.

The verse of the Qur'an which has been misconstrued and misunderstood by many people is verse 9:5. This verse must be taken in its proper context. The verse reads:

"But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the Pagans wherever ye find them, an seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war); but if they repent, and establish regular prayers and practice regular charity, then open the way for them: for Allah is Oft- forgiving, Most Merciful."

This verse refers to a specific incident of Islamic history--when the pagans had breached a treaty in a battle against the Muslims. The word "pagans" in this verse is known to refer specifically to those pagans who breached the treaty in this specific incident. The words "wherever you find them" refer to whether in the Holy Mosque of Makkah or outside of the Holy Mosque of Makkah, as the Holy Mosque is considered a sacred precinct.

This again is referring to a specific historical situation and not a legal ruling. Those who attack Islam and the Qur'an due to this one verse should do some research into how many Pagans were killed in result of this verse. The ironic truth of the matter is that not a single person was killed, and a general amnesty was declared!

Islamic scholars have traditionally said that there are three cases in which fighting and warfare are obligatory: if the Caliph or his authorized representatives drafts one into the Muslim army; if the enemy attacks one, ones family, or ones property with weapons of war; and if a nearby Muslim populace is attacked by weapons of war and cannot defend itself. These are the only three occasions when warfare is considered obligatory.

One will find the same basic ideology in the laws of the United States: if one is drafted in the army, one is obligated to fight; if one is attacked, he is expected to defend himself; and if ones neighbors are attacked, it is expected of one to at least be of some assistance.

Concerning the first situation, being drafted into the Muslim army must be understood in its proper context. Muslim jurists have declared that conscription to the army is only obligatory when the state is invaded by a hostile non-Muslim force, but only until this hostile force is repelled. Like Christianity's history, which does not necessarily reflect the beliefs of Christianity, all episodes in Islamic history do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of Islam.

Muslims do not deny their own history. The Islamic empire famous for advocating the thesis of perpetual warfare with non-Muslims was the Umayyad Dynasty of Syria, which lasted for the years 661-750 AD. After the end of the Ummayad Dynasty, in most times and places the perpetual warfare thesis did not exist (see the book by Dr. Khalid Blankinship, End of the Jihad State, for more details).

The word "Jihad" has been misinterpreted by many into being defined as a "holy war to kill all non-Muslims," and this is also far from the truth. "Jihad" comes from the root word "jahada," which means to struggle, exert oneself and strive. There are two major types of Jihad as defined by the Prophet Muhammad (May the peace and blessings of God be upon him), and these include the lesser Jihad and the greater Jihad. The lesser Jihad is considered combat and warfare. The greater Jihad is the struggle against ones own desires and ego. The greater Jihad is when one fights against his lowly desires to sin and purifies himself of anger, envy, greed, hatred, malice and other diseases of the heart. The root of combative Jihad is not aggression, but actually to remove aggression is the root of combative Jihad.

These are just a few main myths that some people tend to believe concerning Islam. There are many more, and unfortunately the voice of traditional Islam is being suppressed due to the voices of both an extremist radical minority and an extreme liberal untraditional minority.

The Prophet Muhammad (May the peace and blessings of God be upon him) said: "Beware of extremism in religion." Islam believes in a middle way between two extremes in all aspects of life. The Prophet Muhammad (May the peace and blessings of God be upon him) also said that nobody truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself. Hopefully, through debunking these myths, Muslims, Christians, Jews and others can all love for their brothers what they love for themselves and not be blinded by hatred and ignorance.