As A Muslim Woman living in America post 911, fighting stereotypes has become part of my daily routine.

In my experience, the attacks directed towards my family, friends, and I stem from misconceptions that most people who have not come in contact with Islam (excluding the media) might have. So, I have compiled a short list of some of these common misconceptions in order to finally clear the air, and give

Muslims the portrayal that we deserve.

1. We Worship An Exclusive God Called "Allah"

Actually, anyone who believes in a single God technically worships Allah. Confused yet? Let me give you a little Arabic lesson.

Image result for allah

The Arabic word "Illah" refers to God. Since we are Monotheists, we refer to our object of worship as

"The God". Therefore, we add the article "the", which in Arabic is "Al". Adding "Al" to the word

"Illah" creates the word "Allah" (The God). Therefore, for Arabic speakers, the word "Allah" can refer to

the God of the Abrahamic faiths, the creator of Adam and Eve. The same God of Noah, Moses, Abraham,

and Jesus (Peace Be Upon Them), and the "Father" part of the Holy Trinity. Since "God" in English does

not have the same meaning of Allah, Muslims use it regardless of our native tongue.

2. We Hate Jesus

Actually, we respect and revere Jesus. In my opinion, his tradition of love, peace, and gentleness is needed

now more than ever. In the Quran (our holy book) Jesus (Isa) is recognized as a prophet of God is mentioned 93 times. His Mother Mary (Maryam) is revered as well and not only has a whole chapter

Image result for mary in the quran

of the Quran named after her but dedicated to her as well. Some verses in that chapter include

"O, Mary! Allah gives thee glad tidings of a Word from him: His name will be Christ Jesus, the son

of Mary, held in honor in this world and the hereafter and of those nearest to Allah," (Quran 3:45), and "Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, the Apostle of Allah," (4:171).

3. The Definition of Jihad
When most people hear the word "Jihad", they think of suicide bombers and a possible looming

Image result for jihad definitioncrusade. When I hear the word Jihad, the first thing that comes to mind is my feat of the morning:

dragging my body away from the box of perfectly fried, chocolate-oozing, circles of dough and instead

grabbing a plain granola bar because I prefer healthiness over happiness. Do I sound shady?

Well, (here comes another Arabic lesson) the literal definition of "Jihad" is a "struggle" or "effort", and

if you don't consider choosing granola over donuts an effort than something is seriously wrong

with you. Of course, Jihad also applies to much more serious situations. When I unexpectedly lost my aunt last summer, I went through a serious period of Jihad.

Jihad can also mean using physical effort to fight off enemies and oppressors. But it is only used as an

act of self-defense like any other nation would use if they were attacked or oppressed. The Quran

explicitly says "Fight in the cause of God against those who fight you, but do not transgress limits.

God does not love transgressors," (Quran, 2:190).

4. Islam Oppresses Women

Yikes. I cannot begin to tell you the number of times I've had people offer me some sort of "escape"

from my "controlling and abusive father, who will undoubtedly sell me to another man". Trust me,

my father dreads the day that I settle down and is probably more of a feminist than most.

Unfortunately, many people tend to intertwine traditional beliefs and practices with Islam. Yes, there

are Muslim societies that tend to degrade women, but that has nothing to do with my religion. If

Image result for muslim women are not oppressedanything, they go against the teachings of Islam. There's A LOT of stuff that I could mention, but this article by MuslimInc summarizes women's rights in Islam much better than I can, so check it out: The Role of Women in Islam.

There is, however, one story that I want to mention. It is said that a man came to Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) and said, "O Messenger of God! Who among the people is most worthy of good companionship (AKA who has the highest rank). The prophet replied, "Your Mother". The man then said, "Then who?" and once again, the Prophet replied, "Your Mother". The man, flabbergasted, asked, "Then who?". The Prophet replied, "Your Mother, then your father," (Bukhari and Muslim).

How could a religion that values the role of a mother so highly oppress Women?

While I touched on some major topics, this is not, by far, all of the misconceptions about Islam.

My Goal for this blog is to continue clearing any doubts like these, and I might write another post if I

find enough time to compile more misconceptions. So, if there is anything you feel like you don't know

well enough about Islam and/or Muslims, and want more clarity, comment down below and I'll try to

address your questions in my next post!