10 LIES YOU WERE TOLD ABOUT ISLAM

10. MUSLIMS HATE THE WEST

Christian online news publication ‘Now The End Begins’, which has over 150,000 followers, stated that ‘all Muslim children are taught to hate the West’. However an extensive survey conducted by the Institute of Social Policy and Understanding contradicts this theory. The study involved asking 50,000 Muslims across 35 countries: ‘What do you admire most about the West?’ Research found that this idea widespread negative opinion toward the Western world is completely false, and only 2% of Muslims in Iran and 6% in Saudi Arabia said they admired nothing.

9. TERRORIST TRAINING CAMPS

Martin Mawyer, founder on the anti-Islam ‘Christian Action Network’, claimed that secret camps exist across America, training Muslims for terrorist activity. In his book ‘Twilight in America’ he describes the town of Islamberg in New York that supposedly holds bunkers, automatic weapons, and an airfield where Muslims can receive training. Islamberg is in fact just a tranquil town of 40 families, founded in the 1980s by African American Muslims escaping racism from New York City. Mawyer’s claims were quashed by the New York State Police, who explained that ‘the state police were invited to their lands. I don’t know any other place where, if something nefarious was occurring, they would willingly invite law enforcement officers to come and have lunch’.

8. NO GO ZONES

In January 2015 KT McFarland, the National Security Analyst for Fox News, exposed the existence of 750 no go zones across France. She revealed that the areas prohibit non-Muslims for entering, and operate under strict Sharia Law, where ambulances have access only by police escort.  McFarland’s statements were found to be pure speculation, as these supposed ‘no-go zone’ areas were simply towns that French authorities prioritized for urban renewal and state aid. Subsequently, the Paris city council approved a lawsuit to sue Fox News for reporting such nonsense.

7. ISLAMIC TERRORIST WORLD DOMINATION

During his presidential campaign, Jeb Bush stated ‘the biggest threat today is Islamic Terrorism’. However, research conducted by the University of North Carolina found that out of the 190,000 Americans murdered since 9/11, only 37 were linked to Islamic extremists. It was found that in the US people were more likely to die from an accidental gunshot from a toddler than at the hands of a terrorist. Moreover, Europol found that Islamists were responsible for just 0.7% of terror attacks in Europe between 2006 and 2013.

6. CELEBRATING 9/11

In 2015, as part of his presidential campaign, Donald Trump made a speech claiming that he saw TV footage of thousands and thousands of Muslims in New Jersey cheering as the World Trade Center was attacked. The controversial accusation prompted a media investigation into the matter, which found no video evidence. Jerry Speziale the Police Commissioner of Paterson, New Jersey, which has the second largest Muslim population in the US, stated: ‘There were no flags burning, no one was dancing. That is totally false’.

5. ISIS REPRESENTS ISLAM

Father Douglas al Bazi, a Catholic Parish Priest in Erbil, Iraq, stated that ‘anyone who still thinks ISIS doesn’t represent Islam, know they are wrong. ISIS represents Islam one hundred percent’. In reality, ISIS is not just Un-Islamic, it is Anti-Islamic, and in the first 8 months of 2015, ISIS was responsible for the deaths of over 9000 Muslims in Iraq. The terror organization has also claimed responsibility for repeatedly bombing mosques across in Middle East.

4. MUSLIMS SUPPORT VIOLENCE

The Center for Security Policy, a US think tank known for engaging in conspiracy theories, claimed that 25% of Muslim Americans supports violence against other Americans. Donald Trump subsequently used this statistic during his presidential campaign. Closer investigation found that the Center is run by Frank Gaffney, an identified anti-Muslim, and that a mere 600 people were interviewed during research. Extensive research conducted by the Pew Research Center identifies 1.6 billion Muslims in the world, of which only 0.006625% identify with extremism.

3. ONLY MUSLIMS IN BIRMINGHAM

In 2015 Fox News brought American journalist and supposed Islamic extremism expert, Steven Emerson, on the show. Emerson proceeded to claim that the city of Birmingham in England is entirely Muslim, and non-Muslims are banned from entering. Emerson’s statement has been disapproved by the UK National Office of Statistics, which states the only 14.5% of Birmingham residents are Muslims. In response to the vastly incorrect claims, Prime Minister David Cameron said ‘frankly, I choked on my porridge and thought it must be April Fool’s Day. This guy’s clearly a complete idiot’.

2. MUSLIM WOMEN ARE OPPRESSED

Britain First, the far-right, fascist political party state that ‘Women are oppressed by Islam. Muslim women are expected to cover their entire bodies with the Niqab or Burka’. In fact, the Qur’an merely sates that women should ‘guard their modesty’, and does not order any particular dress. Moreover, the claim that Islam oppresses women is a sweeping generalization. In many cases women are often highly educated, such as in Iran, where more women attend higher education than men.

1. MUSLIMS MUST KILL PEOPLE OF OTHER RELIGIONS

2016 Republican Presidential Candidate Ben Carson took to Facebook to voice his opinion that he would not support a Muslim President. He slandered Islam further, writing: ‘Under Sharia Law, women must be subservient and people following other religions must be killed’. The Qur’an specifically says the opposite, stating ‘one who kills a non-Muslim person under protection will not even smell the fragrance of Paradise’, and ‘whoever hurts a non-Muslim, I shall be adversary to him on the Day of Resurrection’.