A lot of the people I have met are clueless to what Islam truly is, for what they’ve heard comes from the media or ill-informed so called Muslims who confuse them with their lack of true knowledge. To make one thing clear; a Muslim believes that ‘no one and nothing deserves to be worshipped except Allah and Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is his Prophet and Messenger.’ If an individual believes the meaning of this statement without believing anything else that contradicts it is Muslim. There are people who think that “Allah” is another God but Allah is the name of God in Arabic. There are many people who believe in this statement but remain ignorant about many other teachings in Islam. The media focuses on “Islamic Terrorists”, “Al-Qaida”, and the “Taliban”, however these terrorists are not true pious Muslims. They are very ignorant; they recruit poor individuals promising money, food, and protection for their family if they join their “terrorist group”. Nowhere in the Quran does it state that those who kill, or bomb, innocent people will be rewarded and will go heaven. These people forget to acknowledge the teachings of our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and that Suicide is one of the biggest sins an individual can commit. As much as I blame the media, I also blame the people who listen to them and don’t bother finding out the truth, and those who don’t bother defending Islam. There are many non-Muslim extremists but no-one seems to criticize their nationality or religion based on their actions. Hitler claimed to be Roman Catholic, The Ku Klux Klan claimed to be Christians, then there are those people who bomb abortion clinics; all these people are terrorists. Yet no matter how much they influence history somehow Muslims remain as the top definition of terrorism.
What I realized is that most people who hate Muslims have either never met a true Religious Sunni Muslim or are simply very close minded. Islam is like a Jewel which has a value that one treasures and cares for daily. It is not something cheap and it may not be compromised. Islam is a way of life, it teaches us good manners, it teaches us to respect our elders and be patient and gentle with the young, it teaches us to respect ourselves and not use what God gave us in an inappropriate way. These are few examples of what we learn and none of them include violence and evil. I, for one, am 100% proud to be an Arab. I am not an Alien. I was born in America and I lived here most of my life. I shop, go to the movies, I study, I occasionally eat fast food (not a fan), and I work. The only thing that divides me from the other people is what I believe in and the limits I set for myself.