Haters Gonna Hate

Thanks to and especially thanks to Sunshine, a sweet Muslim girl, for all the help~



Haters Gonna Hate
I have never been surprised by intolerance or misinformation, especially on the internet. What does surprise me, however, are the people that can stare right into the truth and ignore it.

I would like to house here some information and common misconceptions that I am sick of arguing with.

About me:
I am not a Muslim, nor am I an expert on the Islamic faith. I don't even live in an area with a high population if Muslims. I'm an ordinary American citizen prompted to research Islam by events such as 9-11 and a sweet friend of mine who's quite enamored with her Islamic faith.

I was raised Christian and while I'd describe myself as agnostic, I do sometimes entertain the idea of returning to my old faith.

About Islam:
Islam is every bit as peaceful a religion as Christianity or Judaism. Yes, it is. If you intend to argue this point with me, by all means, make your attempt—but know that you will never change my mind, and I might just hide your comment depending on how foolish you look. Now that that's out of the way...

Muslims (those who adhere to Islam) are strict monotheists who believe that God (Allah) chose humans to be his messengers, called Prophets. Among Prophets named in the Qur'an are familiar figures to other religions, such as Adam, Moses, and Jesus. While Muslims believe God, through these Prophets, delivered older Holy texts (the Torah or Old Testament and the New Testament), they believe that these texts were for a specific time and community and have been corrupted and altered from the original message of God.

Mohammed is the final Prophet of Islam, and Muslims believe that the Final Testament was revealed to Mohammed by the angel Jibril (or Gabriel). Mohammed memorized and dictated the message exactly to his followers who transcribed it, word-for-word, over approximately two decades. This collection is called the Qur'an. Shortly after Mohammed's death, the Qur'an was compiled into one book.

The Qur'an is considered the verbatim word of God, is universal, and the Final Testament which is to be followed until the end of time.

Hadith:
From Wikipedia ( [link] ),
In Islamic terminology, the term hadith refers to reports of statements or actions of Muhammad, or of his tacit approval of something said or done in his presence.
While the Qur'an is the word of God (as explained above) a hadith is a statement or action or story attributed to Mohammed, as written and collected by people interviewing those close to Mohammed. The source of a hadith is documented and explored by Scholars to verify its authenticity. While there are widely accepted hadiths, keep in mind that the word hadith itself does not imply truth, only that it is an act, saying, or tacit approval attributed to Mohammed.

If a Muslim is in need of guidance, they would first consult the Qur'an, then an accepted hadith, and if their questions are still unanswered, they would ask an Imam or Sheikh.

I read a verse / hadith / news article that upset me!
When many Westerners are curious about the Qur'an, they often sit down to read the translated Qur'an (as opposed to the Qur'an in its original language) which is a jump already; much is lost or made confusing when translated. (for more information on this phenomena, give this a read: [link] , but really that's common sense if you ask me.) Some background knowledge on the time and place that the Qur'an was written couldn't certainly hurt, either.

It always astounds me when someone studies the religion of their choice for years with the guidance of clergymen and close friends, then does a few google searches on Islam and decides they've learned all there is to know, but it happens.

You'd be surprised at how many complaints about specific Qur'anic verses can be resolved by simply reading the verse before and after (you can look them up here [link] ) but you should also consider that any Qur'anic verse needs to be taken in full context of the whole book, or at least the chapter.

I'd like to explain often misunderstood verses of the Qur'an as I do more research on the subject. If any Muslims would like to help, it'd be appreciated (;

If your issue is with hadith, first verify it's validity and understand the definition of hadith (above).

As for the media, use common sense. If you have none, then there are nifty check-lists ( [link] ) and articles ( [link] ) to help you cope with this unfortunate handicap.

Only Muslims can be Extremists or Terrorists.
This is laughably far from the truth. Christianity has a long history of jackassery (sorry if that's too blunt for you, but it's true.) Unpleasant aspects of its history include the Spanish Inquisition and the Crusades.

Need something more recent?

The KKK ( [link] ) and the Army of God (who's site can be accessed if you google them, however I HIGHLY recommend you avoid their site) have a history of listing religion (citing the Old and New Testaments) as their justification for violence.

Extremists don't represent Islam any more than the Westboro Baptist Church represents Christianity.

If you still choose to hold a grudge against Islam...
Understand that Islam is the second most popular religion in the world, with 1.5 billion practicing Muslims world-wide. Many sources speculate that the events of 9-11 actually increased the conversion rate in Western countries (probably because it prompted people to study Islam) and that Muslim families are having more children than Christian families.

If you choose to remain intolerant, you will effectively cut yourself off from at least 20% (one fifth!) of the world, and if current projections hold, that number will only grow.