Presentation to encorepreneur! by Malik Kahn and Anjum Ali. RIchmond, VA 2 2 2016

1. Presented by: Malik Khan and Anjum Ali
Presented to: Encoreprenours
February 2, 2016
At Muslim Community Center, Chesterfield VA

2. Ten Misconceptions about Islam and
Muslims
1. The Qur’an teaches Muslims to kill Christians
and Jews
2. Muslims cannot have Christians and Jews as
friends
3. Islam does not tolerate other religions
4. Women have little or no rights in Islam

3. Ten Misconceptions about Islam and
Muslims
5. Jihad means to kill for God
6. Most Muslims are Arab or Middle
Eastern and speak Arabic
7. Muslims and Jews have never lived
in peace

4. Ten Misconceptions about Islam and
Muslims
8. Americans and overseas Muslims
have not condemned 9/11 and other
heinous crimes
9. Suicide bombings are the way to get
to heaven
10. Muslims hate the West
…. ..and there are many more misconceptions that
should be responded to …

5. Misconception #1: The Qur’an teaches
Muslims to kill Christians and Jews
 There are verses that encourage the Muslims to engage in combat, however, it
is important to know the frame of reference
 When Islam was introduced in Makka, it was inhabited by pagan Arabs
who were idolaters.
 They were extremely hostile to the Monotheistic message of Islam.
 They killed Muslims, they took away their homes, they put the Muslims in a
restricted area (more like a concentration camp), took away their wealth etc.
This is who the Quran is referring to.
 The word used in these verses is Qital. The translation within the proper
frame of reference would be ‘to engage in combat’ with Pagan Arabs.
 The Quran refers to the Christians and Jews as ‘People of the Book’.
Individually the Quran refers to the Christians as Nassara (helpers of Jesus
pbuh ) and Yehud or Bani Israel for the Jews.
 NOTE: the verses have been taken completely out of context.

6. Misconception #2: Muslims cannot have
Christians and Jews as friends
A verse in the Quran says Muslims should not have
Christians and Jews as Awliya. Some translations use
the word friends. In Arabic wali is singular, and
awliya is plural. But it does not mean friend, it means
spiritual protector.
The Quran allows Muslims to marry Christians or
Jews. How could it tell us that they can be spouses
but not friends?
Note: Not logical and Incorrectly understood.

7. Misconception #3: Islam does not
tolerate other religions
From the Quran:
La ikraha fid-deen ‘There is no compulsion in religion’
lakum deenakum wal yadeen ‘to you your religion and to
me mine’
wa laqad karramna bani Adam which means ‘We (God)
have bestowed dignity on the descendants of Adam’
meaning all of mankind.
NOTE: While some Muslims are not practicising this, it
should not be generalized to include all Muslims

8. Misconception #4: Women have little or
no rights in Islam
Marriage (She has the right to choose her husband) & Divorce (She
can initiate divorce proceedings)
Islam allowed prenuptial agreements 1400 years ago
Right to dispense her wealth as she pleases (after marriage i.e.)
Right to own Property, and through inheritance & marriage
Raising a family is extremely important in Islam (btw husbands have
an equal responsibility in raising a family. Husbands must bear
financial responsibility)
Must maintain balance, if handling a career & family at home
Muslim women are forced to wear the hijab and other Islamic
clothing.
NOTE: Women in some countries do live subservient lifestyles. But
this is not because of Islam, it’s the culture (which does not make it
right).

9. Misconception #5: Jihad means to kill for
God
Jihad is derived from the word Jahd which means ‘to
struggle’.
The best jihad according to a tradition narrated from
Prophet Mohamad ‘the best Jihad is to speak the
truth in front of a tyrant or an oppressive ruler’.
Prophet Mohammad encouraged Muslims to better
themselves, to be better human beings, to control our
desires.
He is recorded to have said when he came back from
the battlefront, that we have come back from a lesser
jihad to a higher jihad.

10. Misconception #6: Most Muslims are
Arab or Middle Eastern and speak
Arabic
There are close to 1.5 billion Muslims
only 15 to 20% are Arabs
Most of the overseas (80 to 85%) Muslims reside
either in Southeast Asia or Southwest Asia.
Indonesia and Bangladesh have the largest Muslim
populations
A sizable population of Arab Christians live in the
Middle East:
7 million Christians live in Egypt
45% of the Lebanese population is Christian.

11. Misconception #7: Muslims and Jews
have never lived in peace
How many Arab-Israeli wars were there prior to the creation of
Israel? None! Were the Jews treated better under Muslim or
under Christian rule?
The Golden Age of Jews was under Muslim rule in Spain
Arab Muslims ruled Spain from 711 CE to 1492 C.E., almost
800 years.
The Coexistencia – when all three faiths - Christianity,Islam,
and Judaism not just coexisted but actually thrived.
During WWII Bosnian Muslims gave refuge to Jews who were
fleeing Nazi Germany.

12. Misconception #8: Americans and
overseas Muslims have not condemned
9/11 and other heinous crimes
This is a false allegation against US Muslims as well as
Muslims overseas.
Condemnation of 9/11 attacks from US and Muslims
abroad were immediate.
Muslims in the US have condemned and continue to
condemn these heinous crimes repeatedly on Radio,
TV and the newspaper.
If the media does not reflect Muslim condemnation,
it does not mean it is not happening.

13. Misconception #9: Suicide bombings are
the way to get to heaven
Contrary to popular belief, suicide is not acceptable
or permissible in Islam.
Renegade organizations consider suicide attacks
(World Trade Center, Paris for example) as
martyrdom. This is against Islamic tenets.
Killing innocent people is the worst crime:
‘…….If anyone kills an innocent person, it is like
killing the entire humankind……… (Quran 5:32)

14. Misconception #10:
Muslims hate the West
Millions of refugees pouring into Europe is proof that
this is not true. If you have the chance to visit a
Muslim country, just stop by the US Embassy or
Consulate. The Immigration lines are huge.
Overseas Muslims might not agree with US
governmental policies or European governmental
policies, just as we do sometimes. But it does not
mean they hate the West.
However, renegade and terror organizations are a
different story.

15. Additional Misconceptions:
…. ..and there are many more misconceptions that should
be responded to …
All Muslims want Sharia law to be imposed upon
non- Muslims in the US. (This is ludicrous!)
Islam does not support Democracy ( ditto)
All Muslims are recent immigrants

16. Verses from other scripture –
what if taken out of context?
Numbers 31: 17-18 – Now therefore kill every male
among the little ones, and kill every woman who has
known man intimately.
Deuteronomy 7:1-2 … when you defeat them, you
shall utterly destroy them…
Deuteronomy 20:10-17 …Do not leave any thing alive
that breathes...
Luke 19:26-27 …But these enemies of mine who did
not want me to reign over them – bring them here
and slay them in my presence.

17. Shukran!
Thank you for attending the program today
It was a pleasure to meet with all of you
Contact us for more questions….
Malik Khan
Anjum Ali
Annette Khan