Islam was spread by sword

There is no record in history that shows people being forced by sword point to convert to Islam. Muslims ruled Arabia for over 1400 years yet today there are over 14 million Arabs who are Coptic christians. If the Muslims had used the sword there would not have been a single Arab who had remained christian.

Another Example is India, where Muslims ruled India for nearly a thousand years. If they had wanted, they had the power to convert each and every non Muslim to Islam but today 80% Indian population are non Muslims. All these 80% Non Muslim Indians are bearing witness today that Islam was not spread by Sword. If one consider the small number of Muslims who initially spread to the west all the way from Morocco and Spain and into east from India and China one would realize that such a small group of people could not force others to be members of a religion against their will.

It is also interesting to know that when the Mongols invaded and conquest large portion of the Islamic Empire they themselves Embraced Islam. And None of the Muslim General has ever invaded or conquest Indonesian and Malaysian region, yet both countries holds a large portion of Muslims.

Muslims believe in different God

Some Non Muslims incorectly believe that the Muslims worship a God different than Jews and Christians. This might be due to the fact the Muslims refer to God as “ALLAH”. In Actuality, Muslims worship the God of Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus.

The word ALLAH is simply the Arabic word for Almighty God. The word ALLAH is very unique. Nothing else except God can be called ALLAH. The term has no plural or gender. This shows its uniqueness when compared with word God which can be made plural, Gods, or feminine, Goddess.

Christian Arabs also refer to God as ALLAH.

Muslims Do not Believe in Jesus PBUH

Many people are amazed to find out that according to Muslims belief, Jesus PBUH is one of the greatest messenger of God. One can not be Muslim without believing int the Virgin Birth and the many miracles of Jesus PBUH. Jesus PBUH is also mentioned in many verses of the Glorious Quran and is often used as an example of good virtue and character. However, the main difference between christianity and Islam is that Muslims do not believe that Jesus PBUH was God or the son of God. Muslims believe that the Jesus was a Prophet and a messenger of God.

Muslim women are oppressed

One of the most disturbing misconceptions is the negative portrayal of women in Islam namely that Islam degrades and oppresses women. I believe, this misconception is due to the negative culture and traditions that people all over world still hold (Afghanistan, Tribal Pakistan & Southern parts of Indian) on to. Unfortunately, these traditions sometimes overshadow the “Islamic Teachings” and people from the outside believe that the traditions and Islam are the same when in reality they are not.

For Instance, Women in pre-Islamic Arabia and in Greeks and roman traditions had almost no rights. They were viewed as objects and were constantly humiliated. Their purpose was nothing more than to obey men and have children for him. When a female baby was born it was considered a disgrace to the family and they were often buried alive.

Islam brought positive change to Arabia. People who embraced Islam had to let go of these harmful cultural practices and the women were finally given the rights and respect that they deserved.

For every male convert to Islam today, four females converts to the religion. No one would convert the religion that oppresses them. The truth is that Islam provides women with the rights they deserve to be successful in this world and the next.

Muslims are terrorists and extremists

This is by far the biggest misconception of Islam given unfairly by stereotyping and the public image that the media gives. Has anyone else noticed how when a specific group of people attack another group of people it is labeled as a hate crime but when a Muslim opens fire on anybody it is quickly regarded as terrorism.

Many political dictators and officials or extremist groups use the name of Islam as a strategy to gain followers and attention when many of their practices go against the teaching of Islam. Islam does not support terrorism under any circumstances. Terrorism goes against every principle in Islam and if a Muslim engages in a terrorism, he is not following Islam. Islam prohibits Muslims from attacking or killing any innocent person.
Allah says, “Whoever kills a person unjustly, it is as though he has killed all mankind”.
Quran, Chapter 5:32