1. Media maligns Islam Islam is without doubt the best religion but the media is in the hands of the westerners who are afraid of Islam. The media is continuously broadcasting and printing information against Islam. They either provide misinformation about Islam, misquote Islam or project a point out of proportion, if any.
When any bomb blasts take place anywhere, the first people to be accused without proof are invariably the Muslims. This appears as headlines in the news. Later, when they find that non-Muslims were responsible, it appears as an insignificant news’ item.
If a 50 year old Muslim marries a 15 year old girl after taking her permission, it appears on the front page but when a 50 year old non-Muslim rapes a 6 year old girl, it may appear in the news in the inside pages as ‘Newsbriefs’. Everyday in America on an average 2,713 cases of rape take place but it doesn’t appear in the news, since it has become a way of life for the Americans.
2. Black sheep in every community:
There might be some Muslims who are dishonest, unreliable, who cheat, etc. but the media projects this as though only Muslims are involved in such activities. Those Muslims most of the time do not even pray or practice Islam.Yet we all take the blame for them. Today I went to the doctor and lo and behold in the news September 11 news. I was the only Muslim in the room all eyes were on me. It feels awful to have people judge you just from how you look, point fingers and laugh. I can not say hey at that time I was not even Muslim. Hey I am a convert. Hey I am an American... But you know what I can't because why say this I have already been judged
sad but true!
3. Muslims best as a whole:
Inspite of all the black sheep in the Muslim community, Muslims taken on the whole, yet form the best community in the world. We are the biggest community of tee-totallers as a whole, i.e. those who don’t imbibe alcohol. Collectively, we are a community which gives the maximum charity in the world. There is not a single person in the world who can even show a candle to the Muslims where modesty is concerned; where sobriety is concerned; where human values and ethics are concerned.
4. Don’t judge a car by its driver:
If you want to judge how good is the latest model of the "Mercedes" car and a person who does not know how to drive sits at the steering wheel and bangs up the car, who will you blame? The car or the driver? But naturally, the driver. To analyze how good the car is, a person should not look at the driver but see the ability and features of the car. How fast is it, what is its average fuel consumption, what are the safety measures, etc. Even if I agree for the sake of argument that the Muslims are bad, we can’t judge Islam by its followers? If you want to judge how good Islam is then judge it according to its authentic sources, i.e. the Glorious Qur’an and the Sahih Hadith.
5. Judge Islam by its best follower i.e. Prophet Mohammed (pbuh):
If you practically want to check how good a car is put an expert driver behind the steering wheel. Similarly the best and the most exemplary follower of Islam by whom you can check how good Islam is, is the last and final messenger of God, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Besides Muslims, there are several honest and unbiased non-Muslim historians who have acclaimed that prophet Muhammad was the best human being. According to Michael H. Hart who wrote the book, ‘The Hundred Most Influential Men in History’, the topmost position, i.e. the number one position goes to the beloved prophet of Islam, Muhammad (pbuh). There are several such examples of non-Muslims paying great tributes to the prophet, like Thomas Carlyle, La-Martine, etc.
Questions I often get asked that make me want to run and hide:
1- Why some Muslim women do not cover properly?
2- Why are people who say they are Muslim but you do not see them praying?
3- That guys says he is Muslim but I noticed he does not eat halal
You know is tough, when you take religion very very seriously and someone approaches you and asks these questions. You know I can not answer for everyone but the majority of people who do this are not as religious and we should see that muslims come from everywhere all backgrounds and we are not cookie cutters. Specially the folks here that came from Muslim countries and do not practice because for them religion and culture are one and the same. But don't be fooled they are not!
So please judge our religion by bad examples.
When any bomb blasts take place anywhere, the first people to be accused without proof are invariably the Muslims. This appears as headlines in the news. Later, when they find that non-Muslims were responsible, it appears as an insignificant news’ item.
If a 50 year old Muslim marries a 15 year old girl after taking her permission, it appears on the front page but when a 50 year old non-Muslim rapes a 6 year old girl, it may appear in the news in the inside pages as ‘Newsbriefs’. Everyday in America on an average 2,713 cases of rape take place but it doesn’t appear in the news, since it has become a way of life for the Americans.
2. Black sheep in every community:
There might be some Muslims who are dishonest, unreliable, who cheat, etc. but the media projects this as though only Muslims are involved in such activities. Those Muslims most of the time do not even pray or practice Islam.Yet we all take the blame for them. Today I went to the doctor and lo and behold in the news September 11 news. I was the only Muslim in the room all eyes were on me. It feels awful to have people judge you just from how you look, point fingers and laugh. I can not say hey at that time I was not even Muslim. Hey I am a convert. Hey I am an American... But you know what I can't because why say this I have already been judged
sad but true!3. Muslims best as a whole:
Inspite of all the black sheep in the Muslim community, Muslims taken on the whole, yet form the best community in the world. We are the biggest community of tee-totallers as a whole, i.e. those who don’t imbibe alcohol. Collectively, we are a community which gives the maximum charity in the world. There is not a single person in the world who can even show a candle to the Muslims where modesty is concerned; where sobriety is concerned; where human values and ethics are concerned.
4. Don’t judge a car by its driver:
If you want to judge how good is the latest model of the "Mercedes" car and a person who does not know how to drive sits at the steering wheel and bangs up the car, who will you blame? The car or the driver? But naturally, the driver. To analyze how good the car is, a person should not look at the driver but see the ability and features of the car. How fast is it, what is its average fuel consumption, what are the safety measures, etc. Even if I agree for the sake of argument that the Muslims are bad, we can’t judge Islam by its followers? If you want to judge how good Islam is then judge it according to its authentic sources, i.e. the Glorious Qur’an and the Sahih Hadith.
5. Judge Islam by its best follower i.e. Prophet Mohammed (pbuh):
If you practically want to check how good a car is put an expert driver behind the steering wheel. Similarly the best and the most exemplary follower of Islam by whom you can check how good Islam is, is the last and final messenger of God, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Besides Muslims, there are several honest and unbiased non-Muslim historians who have acclaimed that prophet Muhammad was the best human being. According to Michael H. Hart who wrote the book, ‘The Hundred Most Influential Men in History’, the topmost position, i.e. the number one position goes to the beloved prophet of Islam, Muhammad (pbuh). There are several such examples of non-Muslims paying great tributes to the prophet, like Thomas Carlyle, La-Martine, etc.
Questions I often get asked that make me want to run and hide:
1- Why some Muslim women do not cover properly?
2- Why are people who say they are Muslim but you do not see them praying?
3- That guys says he is Muslim but I noticed he does not eat halal
You know is tough, when you take religion very very seriously and someone approaches you and asks these questions. You know I can not answer for everyone but the majority of people who do this are not as religious and we should see that muslims come from everywhere all backgrounds and we are not cookie cutters. Specially the folks here that came from Muslim countries and do not practice because for them religion and culture are one and the same. But don't be fooled they are not!
So please judge our religion by bad examples.