by Dr. Ali Shehata
Demystifying Islam
Your Guide to the Most Misunderstood
Religion of the 21st. Century
By
Dr. Ali Shehata
Edited by
Julie Samia Mair. JD MPH
2019
Contents
Author’s Introduction
Important Terms
Evidences for God
Allah—His Very Name Means Love
Monotheism—the Bedrock of Islam
The Quran – the Spoken Word of God
Modern Science and the Quran
The Preservation of the Quran
Hadith and the Sunnah of Muhammad —the Second Divine Revelation
Can Hadith be Trusted as Authentic?
A Sampling of Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad
Muhammad —the Messenger of God
The Character and Teachings of the Prophet Muhammad
Was Muhammad Prophesied In Other Scriptures?
Prophet or Liar? Looking Into the Matter of Prophecy
Relevance of the Prophet Muhammad Today
Jesus Christ—the Revered Son of Mary in the Islamic Scriptures
Why Don't Muslims believe that Jesus is God?
Why Don't Muslims believe that Jesus is the Son of God?
How do Muslims view Salvation?
Blind Faith?
Jesus in Islam
The Shariah of Islam—an Often Misunderstood Complete Way of Life
Distinctive Features of Islamic Law
The Islamic Criminal Punishment System
The Issue of “Honor Killings”
Islamic State or Muslim Country – Is there a Difference?
The Islamic Stance on Terrorism and War - Direct from the Sources
What are the Verses from the Quran that Mention Violence and War?
Is Islam the Only Religion that Sanctions War and Fighting?
Does Islam Condemn Terrorism Scripturally?
Is Islam a Religion of Tolerance?
A Brief Word on 9/11
Women in Islam: Hidden and Glorious Past, Uncertain Present
Women in Modern Day Secular Societies
The Predominantly Negative View of Women in the Judeo-Christian Texts
The Islamic View of Women – Direct from the Sources
Specific Women’s Issues: In-Depth Comparisons
Education
Polygyny
Wife-Beating
Divorce
Covering the Hair – Just for Muslim Women?
Controversial Women’s Issues Today – Q&A
Why American Women Choose Islam
The Islamic Belief in the Afterlife
Excellent Manners—the Path to Paradise
Author’s Introduction
Fear
Granted, it’s an unusual way to introduce a book about religion, but it is in fact one of the main factors that motivated me to put this book together. It is a well known fact that people fear that which they don’t understand. This fear can then lead to a host of negative responses that can be extremely destructive and lead, in some cases, to permanent hostility. This is the kind of fear that seems to be gripping many people now in the West as they try to come to terms with the appalling acts of terror committed against their nations by people who claim Islam as their religion, and who go even further to claim that Islam encourages their evil actions. Nothing could be further from the truth. And it is for this reason why this book is so important.
There are those people in the world today who would love to see even more hatred created between Muslims and the West, driving them towards a confrontation where no one could come out a winner. You can recognize them through their speech and writings as they relentlessly work to give their listeners and readers reasons to be afraid and reasons to hate. You can find such hate-mongers everywhere—in Muslim countries as well as in Western countries. They are an equal opportunity group where you will find all languages, all ethnicities and all nationalities; the educated and uneducated, maled and female, young and old. Their ideology of hate is what unites them as they work towards their nightmarish objective of permanent war and division in this world.
The only weapon the world has against such a poison is knowledge. It is only true knowledge that can lead to understanding and tolerance between our worlds and cultures, until we reach a state of mutual appreciation—knowing that what unites us is far more than what separates us. This book is written to help you understand more about Islam from its core texts—the Quran and the statements, or Hadith, of the Prophet Muhammad—from what Muslims believe is the written and recorded words of God and His Messenger. This book is written with the certainty that we can, through coming to know each other, overcome the forces of hate and fear to realize a beautiful world of peace and friendship.
World Peace
No, it’s not just an empty slogan
World Peace is our struggle
A struggle to overcome our fear and prejudice of others
By reaching out to learn, understand and appreciate
To discover new friendships and ancient ways
Only then can we change …
Terror into Security
Hate into Love
And War into Peace
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