Myths Clarified

By : Haddad

Haddad, a Christian, was asked to clear up some misconceptions about Islam.

Here is what she had to say about:

Women aren’t equal: “In the religion of Islam according to the teachings of the Qur’an, God created man and woman of the same cell. They’re supposed to be equal. They are equal in the sight of God. The only distinction is in their marriage. Every unit must have a leader, and the man is seen as the leader. When you have to make a final decision in the Islamic social system, the husband makes the last decision.”

Women can’t drive: “The other day I had an interview and the reporter was asking me questions. And he said, “Well, Muslim women cannot drive.” That is nonsense. There are about 1 billion Muslims in the world. There are about 50 Muslim countries. There is one country Saudi Arabia that doesn’t allow women to drive. And suddenly, Muslim women cannot drive. Muslim women drive all over the world except in Saudi Arabia.”Muslims come from the Mideast:“The Arabs are just 15% of the Muslim population of the world. There are only about 150 million Arab Muslims in the world. The majority of Muslims are not Arab. In fact there are more Indonesian Muslims than Arab Muslims.”

The holy war: “The holy war is a very interesting one because the word “Jihad, has come to mean holy war in American terminology. But in Islam, there is the interpretation of the lesser Jihad and the higher Jihad. The lesser Jihad is holy war and the higher jihad, the more important, is the struggle of the self, the relationship with God and to resist the tendency toward evil. That is the primary struggle of the human being. The lesser Jihad, which is war, is sanctioned only in conditions when Muslims are subjected to persecution.”

Fundamentalism: “Fundamentalism is an even funnier word to use because there is no Arabic word for fundamentalism. Fundamentalism is an American word…”

Note: This Christian professor’s concept of jihad in Islam is incorrect from the Islamic Perspective. Jihad is not only sanctioned when Muslims are subjected or under persecution but its central theme is to free mankind from all forms of oppression even if this means that the Muslim has to be the aggressor. Her division of Jihad is also subject to clarification. For information about this Islamic subject please contact the learned.