1. Misconceptions of Islam
Presented by:
Brianna Bartelsmeyer
Brittany Franklin
&
Olivia Caldwell

2. We asked some of the student body at Herrin High School what they thought of Muslims and the Islamic culture...

3. STEREOTYPE TRUTH “Arabs and Muslims refer to the same people”
- Arabs are those who use the Arabic language as their primarty language and identify themselves as Arabs.
- Not all Arabs are Muslims and vice versa.
- There are over a billion Muslims and only 15% are Arabs.
- The majority of Muslims live in and around Indonesia,Thailand, Malaysia, India, and Pakistan.
- Because the Arabic language is the the language of the Islamic faith, much like Latin is for Catholicism, many people neglect to distinguish between the two.

4. “The Islamic religion is nothing like Christianity or Judaism.”
STEREOTYPE #2
TRUTH
- All three religions worship the same God, Muslims just refer to God as Allah.
- The Islamic religion recognizes the same prophets as those found in the Christian and the Jewish religion like: Jesus, Moses, Abraham, and Noah.
- All three religions have a book of what they consider the word of God. Jews have the Torah, Christians have the Bible, and Muslims have the Coran.
- Although there are some differences in the religions, similar values can be found among the three.

5. STEREOTYPE #3 TRUTH “Women are oppressed in the Islamic world.”
- The nation of Islam was amongst the first to have major reforms for women and granted them rights, including the right to agree to their marriage partner, to education, and share of family inheritance.
- Muslim cities interpret the rights of women very differently. In most countries, women can vote, work, and run for office.
- While some places restrict fashion choices or independent access to public life, others believe women should have equal and independent roles in society, without restriction by the law, family, or custom.
- The Coran states that a woman should be modest and cover themselves, but it is the women's choice as to whether or not they want to wear the headscarves.

6. TRUTH STEREOTYPE #4 “Muslims are fanatics”
- The Islamic culture has tended to be more tolerant to other religions than the West.
- While there is some disagreement with the American Foreign policies, it is purely political and not religious.
- There are some religious fanatics in the Islamic world, just as there are in Christianity and Judaism, but those few only represent a very very small amount.

7. TRUTH “Islam is violent” S T E R E O T Y P E
- Muslims condemn the use of violence to spread the Islamic religion.
- Those who use violence against others in the name of the Islamic religion are not considered true Muslims.
- Unlike what is portrayed about the jihads, for most Muslims, the word jihad holds a personal meaning, the internal struggle to be a moral person.
- The Coran permits war to defend and expand Islam, but it must not be used to force others to convert.

8. Why?
- The Media sensationalizes the actions of the Taliban and neglect to mention the majority of the Muslim population who are not radicals.
- The average American lacks knowledge of the Islamic culture and believe only the stereotypes of 'a what a Muslim is”
- We hear on the news about only 7% of the Muslim population, and not about the other 93% who represent the true values of the Islamic religion.

9. How do we change these misconceptions?
We must educate ourselves about the Islamic culture and learn to distinguish between the radicals and the rest of the Muslim population. We must learn not to pass judgment before acquiring the truth. What it all comes down to is, we must learn.

10. Works Cited