Issues Concerning Islam Essay

Muslims fill been accused of mutilating women. This practice, however, is denied by the followers of Islam. accord to them, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), which is actu onlyy a surgical procedure performed on girls onward they reach the age of puberty for the purpose of terminating or reducing their sexual feelings, is not an Islamic practice. They explain that FGM is a tradition of Animists, Christians, and some Muslims in those countries where FGM is common. Women atomic number 18 given equal rights under Islam. In fact, the Quran decreed that when it comes to humankind life, men and women should have equal rights and participation.During the time of Muhammad, women were allowed to participate actively in their baya which is the equivalent of at presents practice of political endorsements. Evidence of this Muslim womens status is the voting rights granted to women in the predominantly Muslim countries like Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman. The women in Kuwait followed suit by ear ning their right to vote and chafe elected sometime in 2005. In fact, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, Kuwaits Prime Minister, divulged a project to appoint a woman minister in Kuwait soon (Robinson, 2007).Muslims as terrorists and pro-violence Yusuf (n. d. ) said that volume of the Muslims are convinced that while the U. S. government has been blaming terrorism on Islam for years, it was the 9/11 incident which dealt the most prescribeing blow on the credibility and reputation of their religion. This was because the international media was able to depict that many Muslims about the world rejoiced after that incident. The truth is, however, that majority of the Muslim world was saddened by that incident and the repercussions it caused.They would like to tell the world that terrorism is not an official policy of Islam and that, in fact, Muslims also consider terrorists as enemies of their religion. He laments the fact that When a crazy Christian does something terrible, everyone in the West knows it is the actions of a mad man because they have some knowledge of the core beliefs and ethics of Christianity. When a mad Muslim does something evil or asinine they assume it is from the religion of Islam, not because they hate us but because they have never been told by a Muslim what the teachings of Islam are all about.Yusuf blames this lack of Islamic knowledge among Christians to the fact that there is a dearth of credible spokespersons who could defend Islam from its attackers. As a matter of fact, Yusuf stressed that Islam is the middle look between dissipation and neglect and that terrorism is the preoccupation of zealots and extremists who are, in fact, a plaque of Islam. According to him, there are ii types of Muslim extremists whose acts destroy Islam. The first he calls reactionary extremists. This group rejects any form of religious pluralism.According to these reactionary extremists, the world consists of good and evil with nothing in between. G ood, according to them, means the reactionary extremists and all those who oppose their actions are evil. Yusuf further explains that these kind of extremists are in the habit of excommunicating otherwise Muslims who reject the way they interpret the Quran. However, this kind does not usually resort to violent acts to achieve their goals. Instead, they employ character blackwash or takfir to ward their critics (Yusuf, n. d. ).The second type is the radical extremist. These Muslims extremists, according to Yusuf, are the ones who resort to violent acts and tactics to further their objectives. Yusuf stressed that these Muslims act as if they belong to some secret, wicked baseball club whose members believe in the dictum that the end justifies the means. In other words, any method, even the most violent method, is acceptable as long as their cause is advanced. According to Yusuf, this is destroying Islam because the methods employed by Islam should be reflecting the noble ends of the religion.Secondly, Islam is not a secret society of conspirators rather, it is open with its objectives and traditions which have already been accepted and recognized by people from other religious denominations (Yusuf, n. d. ). Muslims confused with Arabs Muslims object to their being confused with Arabs because it would never be accurate to equate Islam, a religious denomination, with Arab, which is an ethnic grouping. According to Muslims, the reason for this erroneous identification could be the fact that Islam emerged from the culture and society of Arab Bedouins of the 8th century.Another reason might be the fact that the Quran was written in Arabic. However, beyond these facts, Muslims should not be identified as Arabs, and vice versa because, according to statistics, there are many non-Muslim Arabs, and far, far more than non-Arab Muslims in the world. In fact, out of the estimated one billion Muslims worldwide, only about 200 million are Arabs (DHinMl, 2006). Looking at the table below of the top ten countries with the highest Muslim population, only Egypt (at number seven) is an Arab rude (Aneki. com, n. d. ).ReferencesAneki.com. (n.d.). Largest Muslim Population in the World. Retrieved November 26, 2007from http//www.aneki.com/muslim.htmlFisher, M.P. (2005). Living Religions, Sixth Edition. Prentice-Hall.Philips, A.A.B. (n.d.). The True Religion. Retrieved November 26, 2007 fromhttp//www.islamworld.net/