10 Misconceptions about Muslims

There is a lot of fear and confusion around the religion of Islam and the media’s focus on extremist behavior does not do it any favors. Terrible things have happened in the name of Islam, this is true. People have been subjected to terrible hostility and outright depravity; women have been oppressed and limited in the name of religion.

That being said, positive stories around the Muslim community never seem to make it to news headlines leading many to believe that these instances of violence constitute the religion itself when that is not the case. Unfortunately, Islam has been used by people in power to control the public sending out the wrong message of what Islam is. Apart from what the media purports, Muslims have an unbelievable level of hospitality and their humility is something we can all learn from. I have never seen a group of people serve others the way that muslims do, even to non-muslims, sitting on the floor to offer you a seat and catering to your every need. The goal of this article is to emphasize the reality of a majority of the muslim world rather than the singular image we get on the news. I would also like to make it clear that this article is not about corrupt leaders or violent acts of extremism by those in power. This is about the people and the culture, not the leaders who are purported to represent them. If you find anything here limiting please refer to my article of the ethics of morality here.

Who am I and what authority do I have to speak on this topic? I am not muslim, this is true. However I married into a muslim family and have lived in Turkiye, a predominantly muslim country, for four years. I think I can offer a unique perspective from someone who was full of preconceived notions when I arrived here and learned that things weren’t always as they appeared. As a non-muslim, perhaps I can offer a neutral opinion as there are indeed things in the religion and the culture that I find hard to accept - that I won’t deny. That being said, I have spent a lot of time in a muslim country, I’ve seen the misconceptions first-hand, studied many books on the history of Islam, and I actively try to learn from the people around me. Without further adieu, here are 10 misconceptions about Muslims.

#1 All Muslims are very religious & extremists

Just like in Christianity, there are levels of religiousness and this also depends on the culture. There are countries that are more religious than others thus there is a higher sense of duty to God. Similar to Christianity, a lot of Muslims claim to be Muslim but they do not follow the rules or do the religious duties, just like most Christians I know don’t follow the Bible word for word, still have premarital sex, and don’t do anything to be Christian other than have the title. Many less conservative Christians are put off by highly religious members of the church and it is no different in the Muslim world. 

In Islam, violence is forbidden and forcing others to adopt Islam is not allowed. Muslims do not consider themselves to have any relation to extremist groups. We have to remember that these groups make up a very tiny percentage of Muslims and almost all religions have radical leaders. Much like the rest of the world, Muslims do not support radical Islamist groups and they suffer under their power more than others. If we look at Afghanistan, the Taliban is in power and the people are not necessarily thrilled because they too, are subject to hostility from the group and are forced to abide by their radical ideology. As I said before, not all Muslims are religious and they do not like being forced to adhere to rules in the same way that many Christians do not like being forced to obey the word of the Bible. 

#2 Muslim men don’t respect women

There is a stereotype of men looking down on women and perhaps even physically abusing them, requiring them to be submissive. I’ve already covered the topic of being submissive, so let's move on to disrespecting women. This is a highly preconceived notion that is often confirmed through faulty perception of behavior. For one thing, respect is shown differently. Muslim men might not look you in the eye or they may even completely ignore you. I originally perceived this as a sign of me being beneath them and I burned with rage all the way up to my eyelids. Why did I think this way? Because I was told that this was the case all my life so I immediately noticed signs of it. In reality, not looking at you, not shaking your hand, or talking to you is out of respect and so they don’t make you uncomfortable. They cannot touch you unless you allow it. Many Muslim men will engage with you once you start talking because they realize you are okay with it. A lot of times they will avoid sitting next to you on the train until there are no seats left. This is because they don’t want to make you uncomfortable. Catcalling is non-existent and a man cannot just approach you and talk to you. It's almost an insult and the women typically don’t take kindly to this. I can honestly say that I feel an unparalleled level of respect here.

#3 Muslims don’t believe in Jesus

In the Quran, Jesus is a prophet and Muslims regard him as a holy figure, they just don’t believe that he is God. They don’t believe in the idea of putting God into human form because he is not human and trying to do so is a sin. So, Jesus, a human, cannot be God according to this belief. In Islam, it is not even allowed to paint pictures of God, the prophet Mohammed, or other religious figures like Jesus because that means you are taking them from their holy status and trying to bring them down to your level. When there are representations of Holy figures, their faces are made to look like a sun, or a big glowing white spot.

#4 Men have four wives

While this is technically allowed in the Quran, it is illegal in countries like Turkiye as polygamy is a violation of the law. In other countries where it is permitted, it is much less common than you would think because the man has to have enough money to support each woman along with the children she bears. 

#5 Women are passive and just listen to men

On the surface, it may look like the men are in charge. In reality, the women run the show and put much more pressure on other women to follow the rules than men do. There is a lot of judgment among women and they are usually the ones who have something to say if you don’t clean the house or take care of your husband. It’s almost like a competition of who’s the best wife. 

#6 Muslims don’t believe in the Bible.

I was raised to believe that Muslims did not like Christians and that I might face violence if I were to tell a Muslim I was Christian. However, in Islam, it is believed that the Bible is an earlier version of God’s message and the same goes for the Torah. Therefore, they have to believe in the Bible otherwise they don’t believe in the Koran. Both of these religions are recognized by Islam, they are just considered to be the unrefined message of God that were true in their time. The Torah was true until the Bible was written and then the Koran completed the law. The Koran says that the Prophet Mohammed was the last prophet sent from God and there would never be another, that he would deliver the final, truest form of the message. This is why many stories in the Bible are similar, but make a little bit more sense logically in the Koran. For example, the story of Adam and Eve in the garden is the same, however Adam and Eve had a son and a daughter so they could procreate and that was the only time that brother and sister relations were allowed. Because Christianity and Judaism are recognized as earlier forms of God’s message, Muslim men are allowed to marry Christian or Jewish women. They aren’t allowed to marry atheists or members of other religions, however. So, if you tell them you are Christian, they just think you are following the incomplete message of God.

#7 Women are the only ones who have to cover themselves

In Islam, men should also cover their bodies and are not permitted to wear shorts. In less religious countries like Turkiye, wearing shorts among men and women is much more common. Thus, this is also not followed by everyone, however in traditional households, it also applies to children. Many more conservative Muslim men wear long sleeve shirts buttoned up to the neck with long pants in the middle of summer to abide by this rule. 

In addition, people may feel that Muslims want them to cover up to abide by their rules. However, the reason they want you to cover up a little bit is because typically it makes them uncomfortable if you display too much of your body. It would be like a man sitting in your living room wearing a speedo. It's awkward. 

#8 Head coverings are always required

Head coverings, along with many other things such as service, are largely cultural rather than religious. The style of how headscarves are worn and the type of headscarf changes from country to country showing us that culture plays a large part. Many Muslim women do not cover their hair and it is a choice for many. There are, however, countries like Iran that force women to cover their heads due to leaders with extreme ideas, again we are talking about the people rather than the leaders. A lot of it has to do with tradition and culture. For example, burqas (the one that covers the face as well) are very rarely worn by Turks and are much more common among Arabs. In the same way, men in Arabia wear head coverings while men in Turkiye do not except for in Eastern Turkiye where different style turbans are worn by some people(mainly for protection against the sun). 

#9 They will force you to convert to Islam

It is not allowed to force people to convert because the Quran says that there is no compulsion in religion, that coercing or acts of violence to do so are forbidden. No one is required to convert and everyone has the right to decide. Of course, forced conversion has happened before but it is not permitted. Preference on conversion depends on the family in the same way it does with Christian families. Many people think that I converted because I married my husband who is from a Muslim family. Many feared that I would be forced to do so and that I would be covered up immediately. I never converted and I most likely never will because I am not a religious person and neither is my husband. In my situation, I was only asked once at a table full of my husband's family members if I wanted to be muslim. I said no and the conversation was closed. 

In history, Christians and Jews were allowed to live in muslim nations without the need to convert. They were allowed to follow their religions, they just had less rights than muslims, however there are records of Christians holding office in ancient muslim countries despite these differences in rights. The same can’t be said for non-christians in ancient Christian Europe.

#10 Only women are pressured to get married.

In Islam, getting married is a requirement because they believe that it makes you more, more whole. There are no monks in Islam for this reason. Both men and women are equally pressured to get married and the parents seem to want it to happen as soon as possible. Family is extremely important and it usually comes before careers. The mothers, I have found, are particularly insistent on marriage and having kids. Therefore, in the same way it is believed that women need men, men also need women.

Final Thoughts

These are the ten most common misconceptions people have about Islam and questions that I get quite often as a non-muslim who married into a Muslim family. I hope I was able to clear some things up and shine some light on the side of Muslim culture that has been long neglected. If you enjoyed this article, please leave a comment, rate the article, and subscribe to our newsletter for more! As always, thank you for reading and supporting the blog.