Virtual Religious Service Islam Is a Religion

Virtual Religious Service

Islam is a religion of great misconceptions and of immense misunderstanding. It was because of this same notion that this religion in particular was of great interest. With all the negative publicity that Islam receives in the media, people only get exposed to the violent extremists that represent a minute minority of this religion. A picture of violence and death is flashed on the television daily, forcing many to create negative misconceptions about Muslims. Their portrayal of how their females are treated is an aspect that has also come under speculation. The media portrays oppressed hopeless females, which induces viewers to think that this is actually true. These are both misconceptions that I had prior to my viewing of the online religious service and research.

Violence and terrorism are shown constantly across the television screen whenever extremist Muslims are depicted. This creates a sense of misconception as viewers tend to focus only on the negative portion of what is being showed; overgeneralizations are made. Instead of realizing that just as any other religion, there is a violent past associated with it, individuals concentrate on the acts of violence that are being committed now. The media flashes images of blood and innocent death, that people don't really have the opportunity to form an educated opinion about the truth when it comes to Islam. People's Islamic education comes from what they are told and shown on a daily basis; this has all become very negative publicity.

Islam also has a bad reputation for treating their women as objects rather than as human beings. This maltreatment has become a hot topic as civil rights groups have come to the front and have confronted Muslim leaders for their unfair and unequal treatment of women ("http://abcnews.go.com," 2008). The misconception that they are not allowed to do much of anything still exists. Women's clothing, their attitude, and their complete devotion to her husband, make them targets. However, unlike the attitudes of many individuals, there is a chance to learn the truth about misconceptions toward this religion.

Education is a social equalizer. It is however, also a way to inform individuals who have negative misconceptions about a religion. In order to get more people to understand each other and to reduce the tension that exists among religious believers, those strong misconceptions need to be deleted. The main misconception aforementioned was Muslim's portrayal of being violent. Although this is the depiction of Islam on television and on the Internet, the truth is that violence is only a part of the belief of very few Muslim individuals (Lawrence, 1998). Just as Christianity is full of a violent and deadly history, and they too have a small population that still believe in violence as the sacred answer to their problems, Muslims do as well. The Qur'an preaches forms of peace as the way of coming up with a solution to social problems (Lawrence, 1998). Just as with the majority of religions, Islam preaches hope, faith, and peace. Followers are encouraged to do good onto others and to seek peaceful justice ("http://abcnews.go.com," 2008). Islamic leaders themselves advocate for the reduction of violent terrorists that have become the centerpiece in their religion.

The other main misconception that comes to forth whenever Islam is thought of is their unfair treatment of women. In the mind of many individuals who do not completely understand the Islamic traditions, women are seen as being objects that have to will down to their more powerful male counterparts. However, the case is that unequal and unfair treatment of females is completely against their religious text ("http://abcnews.go.com, " 2008). The Qur'an speaks out against the abuse of women and give women the right to be equal to men in terms of property ownership and personal freedom. Contrary to popular belief, most oppression and maltreatment against women is actually a cultural and a regional belief, and not a religious one. Islam does not advocate unequal, abusive treatment of women (Lawrence, 2008). Family law, although influenced by the Qur'an, deviates because of personal cultural beliefs, not because of a religious misconception.

Misconceptions about other people's religions are vast. This stems from people's inability to relate to others, or inability to want to try. The lack of understanding that people are willing to provide to other individuals contributes to the misconceptions that arise when it comes to accepting other peoples' religions. This phenomenon is quite common and aside from the religious warfare that this belief alone has caused on a global and international level, on a local and national level, people are still living in fear because of other individual's misconceptions about their particular religion.

The media has contributed greatly to the misconceptions that surround particular religions. The news depicts horror stories about people starting up riots and making themselves out to be human bombs, and once all this news is processed and stored, anyone who has been listening to this non-stop starts to believe that all people who follow this particular religion are like that. This becomes part of the person's reality and therefore their misconception of the particular religion stems from the media's inability to focus on the positive aspects of a religion.

Another medium by which misconceptions about a religion could arise from is the Internet. Although the Internet has provided many ways for people to become more accepting and more appreciative of particular religions, it has also contributed greatly to the nonsense that people believe about religions. From websites that show horrific graphics of individuals who have been victims of religious attacks to websites that give nothing but false information in hopes of attracting more people to their cause -- the Internet has become a detrimental tool by which individuals can spread their inaccurate information. It is because of these sorts of incidents that misconceptions about certain religions tend to exist and thrive.

There are plenty of possible solutions that can solve the discrimination and misconceptions that people have about certain religions. In order for there to be more understanding among different types of individuals who each follow unique and different religions, everyone needs to be willing to work with each other. The best solution to this dilemma lies in education. In order to minimize the misconceptions that people have about religions not their own, there needs to be a sort of religious education system worked into the public education system (Adams, Bell & Griffin, 2007). This will enable children to become exposed at an early age to the different types of religions that exist and will give everyone an equal opportunity for being exposed to other types of cultures.