Although there are many Pakistani watchmen and businessmen and many Indonesian domestic helpers in Hong Kong, not really many Chinese understand what Islamic beliefs and practices are. As a result, there are a great many popular misconceptions about this world religion. According to the About. Islam. Com, an organization dedicated to promoting a more balanced understanding of what Islam is all about, there are about 10 such misconceptions or myths about Islam.
1. That Muslims worship a moon god.
Some non-Muslims believe that Allah is a purely Arab god whilst others believe that Muslims worship a moon god. They do not, they worship the same God as the Jews, viz. the God of Abraham and except for the fact that they do not believe that God is a trinity or more specifically that Jesus is God the Son but merely one of God's messengers, they believe in the same God as the Christians, with more or less the same kind of attributes e.g omnipotence, omniscience and all merciful, the creator and sustainer of the universe who would judge the living and the dead on the final Judgment Day when every person will be physically resurrected and rewarded or punished for all eternity according to their belief and deeds.
2. That Muslims do not believe in Jesus.
This again is not true. There are many stories in the Q'uran about the life and teachings of Jesus (called in Arab "Isa") e.g. his miraculous birth, his sermons and the miracles he performed with God's permission and there is even a chapter about Jesus' mother Mary (called "Miriam" in Arab) but they do not believe that Jesus is divine but only one of God's prophets.
3. That most Muslims are Arabs
This is certainly untrue. Although one in five person in the word are Muslims, Arabs only make up just about 15% of the world's Muslim population. The largest Muslim country is in fact Indonesia and other Asian countries which together account for 69% of the total Muslim popular with 27% in Africa and 3% in Europe.
4.That Islam treats its women badly.
1. That Muslims worship a moon god.
Some non-Muslims believe that Allah is a purely Arab god whilst others believe that Muslims worship a moon god. They do not, they worship the same God as the Jews, viz. the God of Abraham and except for the fact that they do not believe that God is a trinity or more specifically that Jesus is God the Son but merely one of God's messengers, they believe in the same God as the Christians, with more or less the same kind of attributes e.g omnipotence, omniscience and all merciful, the creator and sustainer of the universe who would judge the living and the dead on the final Judgment Day when every person will be physically resurrected and rewarded or punished for all eternity according to their belief and deeds.
2. That Muslims do not believe in Jesus.
This again is not true. There are many stories in the Q'uran about the life and teachings of Jesus (called in Arab "Isa") e.g. his miraculous birth, his sermons and the miracles he performed with God's permission and there is even a chapter about Jesus' mother Mary (called "Miriam" in Arab) but they do not believe that Jesus is divine but only one of God's prophets.
3. That most Muslims are Arabs
This is certainly untrue. Although one in five person in the word are Muslims, Arabs only make up just about 15% of the world's Muslim population. The largest Muslim country is in fact Indonesia and other Asian countries which together account for 69% of the total Muslim popular with 27% in Africa and 3% in Europe.
4.That Islam treats its women badly.
Whilst it may be true that many women in the Muslim world are treated badly, the way they are treated relate more to local culture and traditional practices than on the teachings of Islam. Practices like forced or arranged marriage, spousal abuse and
lack of freedom of movement for women are against Islamic law and teachings on the subject. (about this, more later)
5 That Muslims tend to be violent, extremists and terrorists.
In fact, terrorism
cannot be justified under any valid interpretation of the Islamic
faith. The entire Qur'an, taken as a complete text, gives a message of
hope, faith, and peace to a faith community of more than one billion people. The
overwhelming message is that peace is to be found through faith in God,
and justice among fellow human beings. Many conscientious Muslim leaders and scholars do
speak out against terrorism in all its forms and some of them have explained why there is such a twisted picture of the Muslim in the West and within certain Islamic communities.
6. That Islam is intolerant of any other faiths.
This again is not true. Muslims are constantly reminded in the Q'uran that they are not the only ones who worship the God of Abrahmam, that the Christians and the Jews too are "people of the Book" ie. that they have received revelations from the same God worshiped by all of them. The Qur'an also expressly commands Muslims to
protect not only mosques, but also monasteries, synagogues,
and churches -- because "God is worshipped therein.
7. That Islam promotes "jihad" to spread its faith by the sword and killing all unbelievers
In fact, the word "jihad" is an Arabic word meaning "strive", "effort', "labour" and "fatigue". It refers to an effort to practice religion in the face of oppression and persecution. It refers to fighting the evil in your own heart,
or in standing up to a dictator. Although military action is not excluded, it is to be used only as a last resort and should never be related to "the spread Islam by the sword." ( see post)
8.That the Q'uran was written by Muhammad by copying from Jewish and Christian sources.
According to tradition, the Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad over a period of two
decades. It calls upon people to worship One Almighty God and to live their
lives according to this faith. Although it contains many stories about Jewish prophets, it does so only because such prophets also preached the message of God. Such stories came from oral traditions of the people in the Middle East and are not "copied" from the Christian Bible.
9. That Islamic prayers are just a ritualized performance with little meaning
According to Islamic teachings, prayer time is a time for one to stand before God, to renew one's faith, to give thanks for one's blessings, to seek forgiveness and guidance from God. During Islamic prayers, one
is humble, modest, submissive and respectful to God: by bowing and prostrating
on the ground, the Muslim seek to express their utmost humility before the
Almighty.
10. The crescent moon is a universal symbol of Islam
In fact, early Muslim community did not really have any religious symbols. In the time of the Prophet Muhammad, Islamic caravans and armies flew simple
solid-colored flags (generally black, green, or white) for
identification purposes only. The crescent moon and star symbol actually
pre-dates Islam by several thousand years, and wasn't affiliated with
Islam at all until the Ottoman Empire placed it on their flag.
To be cont'd
lack of freedom of movement for women are against Islamic law and teachings on the subject. (about this, more later)
5 That Muslims tend to be violent, extremists and terrorists.
In fact, terrorism
cannot be justified under any valid interpretation of the Islamic
faith. The entire Qur'an, taken as a complete text, gives a message of
hope, faith, and peace to a faith community of more than one billion people. The
overwhelming message is that peace is to be found through faith in God,
and justice among fellow human beings. Many conscientious Muslim leaders and scholars do
speak out against terrorism in all its forms and some of them have explained why there is such a twisted picture of the Muslim in the West and within certain Islamic communities.
6. That Islam is intolerant of any other faiths.
This again is not true. Muslims are constantly reminded in the Q'uran that they are not the only ones who worship the God of Abrahmam, that the Christians and the Jews too are "people of the Book" ie. that they have received revelations from the same God worshiped by all of them. The Qur'an also expressly commands Muslims to
protect not only mosques, but also monasteries, synagogues,
and churches -- because "God is worshipped therein.
7. That Islam promotes "jihad" to spread its faith by the sword and killing all unbelievers
In fact, the word "jihad" is an Arabic word meaning "strive", "effort', "labour" and "fatigue". It refers to an effort to practice religion in the face of oppression and persecution. It refers to fighting the evil in your own heart,
or in standing up to a dictator. Although military action is not excluded, it is to be used only as a last resort and should never be related to "the spread Islam by the sword." ( see post)
8.That the Q'uran was written by Muhammad by copying from Jewish and Christian sources.
According to tradition, the Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad over a period of two
decades. It calls upon people to worship One Almighty God and to live their
lives according to this faith. Although it contains many stories about Jewish prophets, it does so only because such prophets also preached the message of God. Such stories came from oral traditions of the people in the Middle East and are not "copied" from the Christian Bible.
9. That Islamic prayers are just a ritualized performance with little meaning
According to Islamic teachings, prayer time is a time for one to stand before God, to renew one's faith, to give thanks for one's blessings, to seek forgiveness and guidance from God. During Islamic prayers, one
is humble, modest, submissive and respectful to God: by bowing and prostrating
on the ground, the Muslim seek to express their utmost humility before the
Almighty.
10. The crescent moon is a universal symbol of Islam
In fact, early Muslim community did not really have any religious symbols. In the time of the Prophet Muhammad, Islamic caravans and armies flew simple
solid-colored flags (generally black, green, or white) for
identification purposes only. The crescent moon and star symbol actually
pre-dates Islam by several thousand years, and wasn't affiliated with
Islam at all until the Ottoman Empire placed it on their flag.
To be cont'd
看來要消除人與人之間、種族之間、國家之間、宗教之間的誤解與偏見，毫不容易。
回覆刪除[版主回覆12/02/2011 10:52:26]Misunderstandings can be cleared only by giving people some means of getting access to the "facts". It may not always be easy to do so. But we must never on that account be daunted. We owe it to ourselves to create a world with less misunderstanding and less misconceptions. .