Is Islam misunderstood?

Is Islam misunderstood?
on december 13, 2013 at 12:00 pm in facing the
ka'aba
By ADERONKE ADEYERI
‘Kill the infidel’ is not Islam
— Alhaji Abdulbari Yoosuph Afini
Many non-Muslims misunderstand Islam, in fact,
some Muslims, also have a wrong notion about the
religion. Sentiment have crept in to the practice of
Islam in some areas. Some Muslims who do not
have a full knowledge of the religion often diffuse
their culture into the religion and as such give a
wrong impression about Islam.
Another misconception about Islam is a popular
phrase ‘Kill the infidel’ which many people believe
is the ideology that Muslims have towards the non
Muslims.
*Muslims at prayer
This is not a correct portrayal of Islamic law. Islam
gives respect and freedom of religion to all faiths.
The Quran says “God does not forbid you with
regards to those who fight you not for religion nor
drive you away out of your homes, from dealing
kindly and justly with them, for God loves those who
are just.”
There are many historical examples of Muslim
tolerance towards other faith. One example was
when the Caliph Umar was ruler of Jerusalem from
634 to 644 AD granted freedom to all religious
communities and said that the inhabitants of his city
were safe and that their places of worship would
never be taken away from them. He also set up
courts that were designated to the non Muslim
minorities.
Yet another misconception is that Muslims worship
Prophet Muhammad. This is entirely untrue, and is
easily refuted by the actual saying of the Prophet
(peace be upon him): “Do not over praise me as the
Christians over praised Jesus, the son of Mary. I
am His slave, so refer to me as ‘God’s slave and
Messenger.”
Islam teaches Muslims to respect all of God’s
Prophets and Messengers but respecting and loving
them does not mean worshipping them.
A related claim is that Muslims worship the “moon
God” which is also totally incorrect. Worshipping the
moon, or anything other than Allah, is strictly
prohibited in Islam.
Islam is not terrorism — Haruna Rasaq
I agree with the fact that Islam as a religion that
suffers misconceptions. These misconceptions are
often created by two groups which are the Muslims
and the non Muslims.
These groups have injected wrong practices into
the religion. Today, there is a misconception of
Jihad often propagated by  the antagonists of the
religion. They mis-interprete jihad to mean “Holy
war” and they belief it is the reason behind the
incessant  killings and terrorism in the Northern
part of the country. However, jihad does not totally
mean war but a word with a compound scope. Jihad
was coined from an Arabic word “Juhb” which
means striving and also synonymous to “Taaqah”
that means capacity and power.
It can also be likened to “maslagah’’ the ability to
endure hardship.  Therefore, Jihad means striving
to endure hardship in Islamic act. Jihad could be
the act of traveling to Hajj which is the last pillar of
Islam. Jihad can also be explained as the act of
enduring hardship in the course of establishing
religious act and charitable deeds. An hadith says
“he who strive to meet the needs of the widow and
the poor has done Jihad.
The status of women is another area of
misconception. Some believe that women are
regarded as slaves in Islam which is not true. There
is an hadith specially for women (Surat) and Nisai.
In Islam, women are as vital to life just as the male
counterpart and not to be treated as a weaker
specie. When  girls were born in Arab before Islam,
they were killed because they felt they had nothing
to offer but this religion eradicated this practice.
Some also believe that Islam permits forced
marriages. Arranged marriages are cultural
practices which are predominant in certain
countries throughout the world. In Islam, both males
and females have the right to choose or reject their
potential spouse, and a marriage is considered null
and void if a woman’s genuine approval is not
granted prior to the marriage.