I named my column "You think you know" not to be condescending but to convey a message that everything you thought you knew about Islam and the Middle East is probably wrong.
Last week I distributed a non-scientific survey to my Public Relations and Geography classes about the basics of Islam. First of all, I would like to thank the 200 students who participated and also my professors for allowing me to distribute them.
The results were depressing to say the least. Since I primarily write about Islam and things related to the Middle East I wanted to get a feel for just how much people actually knew and what areas I need to concentrate on.
You may think, "Ok, what's the big deal? Why is it important to learn about Islam?" Learning about Islam is one of the most beneficial things a person can do today.
Why? Because Islam is at the center of world affairs and media coverage. Understanding the religion will open the door for peace making and appreciation, and shutting it out of your knowledge will only lead to an increase in turmoil and hate in the world.
I'd like to dedicate a number of my columns this semester to debunking the myths surrounding Islam, so as to educate people on the basics and relate them to the things they hear and see in the media. Because, as the popular saying goes, "Everything is not as it seems."
The following were some of the questions I asked in my survey. I picked the most important ones to talk about briefly now, and later I will expand on some of the other issues, such as how Islam views women, Jihad and the fundamentals of a Muslim's belief.
1. What percent of Muslims are Arabs? 85 percent of the 200 people surveyed said Arabs make up 50 percent or more of Muslims.
5 percent said Arabs are 21-49 percent.
10 percent said Arabs are 1-20 percent.
Correct Answer? Arabs make up only 18 percent of the total Muslim population. There are millions of Muslims everywhere in the world such as China, Southeast Asia, England and America.
2. Who do Muslims Worship?
68 percent - Allah
30 percent - Muhammad
2 percent - Buddha
Yes, I also was a little taken back by the Buddha answer.
Correct Answer: Allah, the Arabic word for God. Many people who took the survey said we worship the "Muslim God, Allah." But in fact, if you go to the Arab world, you would find that Jews and Christians also use the name Allah when praying.
We do not give the Prophet Muhammad higher status than he deserves. He is a highly respected Prophet of God, but he is also a human being. We further believe no one and nothing has the right to be worshipped but God alone. The meaning of Islam is submission to God alone.
3. What do Muslims think of Jesus?
84 percent - They believe he is a Prophet.
5 percent - He was just a man.
11 percent - Don't know
Correct answer: He is a Prophet of God.
When some think of Islam, they automatically think we only revere the Prophet Muhammad. But that can be farthest from the truth. We believe in, respect and honor all the prophets from Adam until Muhammad, and we make no distinction between any of them. Muslims do not accept the trinity.
We believe that Jesus came with the same message as all the other prophets that you should worship God alone and do good deeds to enter paradise. Muslims also believe it is not befitting for God to be human nor to have a son.
The fact is Jesus ate, slept, used the bathroom, etc, which according to Islam are not characteristics befitting for a God.
4. Do you feel any prejudice against Muslims?
7 percent - Yes
59 percent - No
34 percent - Sometimes
I can't go further without thanking those who participated for being honest. Prejudice is a term that carries a negative connotation. And when people see the word, they usually disassociate themselves from it.
But, realistically a rather large percentage of people admitted to being prejudice all or some of the time. My goal this semester is for people to learn to disassociate terrorism from Islam. In reality these terms are complete opposites, and those who commit these heinous crimes in the name of Islam have done a great wrong and are ignorant of their own religion.
5. How does Islam view women?
97 percent - Women are lower class/ Subservient to man
3 percent- Other
Correct answer: Islam views women as pearls and as equals. I was the most shocked out of all the responses to see that such a huge percentage held this view.
This is one of the main topics I would like to target in a different column because of the huge misunderstanding behind it. Also, 98 percent said they think Muslim women are oppressed.
There are other questions asked that were very important but because of space constraints I could not add them. I would like to expand upon these questions next week.
Learning about Islam is not one of those things where it will take a collective effort among people in order to change the condition in the world. Every single person that learns about the religion and understands it will have some sort of effect on society, whether locally or beyond.
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