Misconceptions

Arranged Marriages
Marriage by definition is a voluntary union of two people. Women and men are not forced by Islamic Law
to marry someone against their will. In some cultures, arranged marriages are common such as in Japan,
India, and China.

Oppression of Women
Islamic Law does not enable or condone the oppression of women. In contrast, the Holy Qur'an makes
it clear that women are not to be oppressed. Islam guaranteed these and other rights to women over 1400
years ago. Women in western nations have only obtained these rights recently. With that said, there are
some Muslim countries and groups that have strayed from this -- interjecting old customs into their law
books. The western media also lends to this misconception. The depiction of women covering their heads,
chest, arms, and figure is looked upon as oppression. Yet they fail to notice that men dress in the exact
same way -- often wearing long robes and loose clothing. That's equality in modesty. All Muslims are
required to dress modest.

Islam is a new religion - unrelated to other monotheistic faiths

Islam has been around long before Christianity and Judaism, it has been around since the time of Adam
(saw). The Prophet Muhammad (saw) is the last of a long line of prophets sent to us by ALLAH (swt).
These prophets include Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, David, Solomon, John the Baptist,
and Jesus -- peace be upon them all. Therefore, Islam is a religion for those that believe in the Oneness of
God and the line of Prophets. It is directly related to Judaism and Christianity and there are many
similarities among them.

Muhammad (saw) is the founder of Islam

As with Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, and the other Prophets (peace be upon them all), Muhammad
(saw) was chosen by ALLAH (swt) to deliver the Message of God. This Message is for all peoples in every
nation for all time. The Angel Gabriel came to the Holy Prophet with revelations that were to be called the
Qur'an. Like Jesus (saw), Muhammad (saw) emphasized that people should worship the One God, and not
a man. It would follow, that Christians (named after "Christ") would assume that Muslims are named after
Muhammad (saw) -- even calling Muslims "Mohammedans" for many years. This is not the case. Muslims
worship ALLAH (swt) and not any Messenger.

Muhammad (saw) wrote the Qur'an

Muhammad (saw) did not write the Qur'an. It was revealed to him by the Angel Gabriel. The Qur'an states
that Muhammad (saw) was not literate. This is an important revelation because if Muhammad (saw) was
literate, surely there would have been protests about that claim -- but none exist. In fact, some called him a
sorcerer and magician. Also, the type of phrasing and style used in the Qur'an was completely unknown to
the people of Arabia.

Linguistics aside, there are other proofs in the Qur'an that its origin could only be from ALLAH (swt).
Mathematical miracles exist as if to preserve the message from tampering. For example, the Holy Qur'an
states that men and women are equal, then mathematically confirms it by mentioning men and women
each 24 times. 24=24*. This world (115) and the hereafter (115), Angels (88) and Satan (88), life (145) and
death (145), calamity (75) and thanks (75), spending (73) and satisfaction (73), desire (8) and fear (8),
hardship (114) and patience (114) are all additional examples of this -- but many more exist. Also consider
that the word 'prayer' is mentioned five times, 'month' 12 times, and 'day' 365 times. Or that land (13) and
sea (32) when added together equals 45, with land (13) being 28.889% of the sum and sea (32) being
71.111% of the sum. Modern science has confirmed that land makes up 28.889% of the earth's surface,
while water makes up 71.111% of its surface.

Muslims are Arab

There are more than a billion Muslims in the world today, ranging in ethnicity from Arab to Russian to
Malaysian to Chinese. Race, culture, and nationality have no bearing on Islam or who is or can be a
Muslim.
Nation of Islam
The Nation of Islam (NOI) is not Islamic, nor are they an accepted sub-group of Islam.