15 Common Myths About Islam — and What Is Actually True

Most people form their picture of Islam from news stories, films and social media. That picture is often incomplete, and sometimes the opposite of what Islam teaches. If you have heard any of the claims below, you are not alone — and you deserve a straight answer.

About God, the Prophet and Jesus

1. “Muslims worship a different God called Allah.” Allah is simply the Arabic word for God. Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews use the same word in their prayers and Bibles. Muslims believe in the one God of Abraham, Moses and Jesus (peace be upon them), and the Qur’an tells Muslims to say this to Jews and Christians:

۞ وَلَا تُجَٰدِلُوٓا۟ أَهْلَ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ إِلَّا بِٱلَّتِى هِىَ أَحْسَنُ إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا۟ مِنْهُمْ ۖ وَقُولُوٓا۟ ءَامَنَّا بِٱلَّذِىٓ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْنَا وَأُنزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ وَإِلَٰهُنَا وَإِلَٰهُكُمْ وَٰحِدٌۭ وَنَحْنُ لَهُۥ مُسْلِمُونَ ﴿٤٦﴾

And do not argue with the People of the Scripture except in a way that is best, except for those who commit injustice among them, and say, "We believe in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you. And our God and your God is one; and we are Muslims [in submission] to Him."

Muslims and Christians do understand God differently in important ways — see Is Allah the same God?

2. “Muslims worship Muhammad.” Worship belongs to God alone. Muhammad ﷺ is loved and followed as God’s final messenger, but the Qur’an has him say plainly:

قُلْ إِنَّمَآ أَنَا۠ بَشَرٌۭ مِّثْلُكُمْ يُوحَىٰٓ إِلَىَّ أَنَّمَآ إِلَٰهُكُمْ إِلَٰهٌۭ وَٰحِدٌۭ ۖ فَمَن كَانَ يَرْجُوا۟ لِقَآءَ رَبِّهِۦ فَلْيَعْمَلْ عَمَلًۭا صَٰلِحًۭا وَلَا يُشْرِكْ بِعِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِۦٓ أَحَدًۢا ﴿١١٠﴾

Say, "I am only a man like you, to whom has been revealed that your god is one God. So whoever would hope for the meeting with his Lord - let him do righteous work and not associate in the worship of his Lord anyone."

Read more in Who was Prophet Muhammad ﷺ?

3. “Islam is a new religion that Muhammad invented.” Muslims believe Islam is the same core message every prophet brought — worship the one God and do good. The Qur’an asks Muslims to believe in what was given to Abraham, Moses, Jesus and all the prophets, without distinguishing between them (Qur’an 2:136). See one message, many prophets.

4. “Muslims don’t believe in Jesus.” Belief in Jesus is part of Muslim faith. The Qur’an calls him the Messiah, born miraculously to the Virgin Mary (Qur’an 3:45), and a whole chapter is named after Mary. Muslims do not believe he is God or the son of God. Learn more about Jesus in Islam.

About Muslims, history and other faiths

5. “All Muslims are Arabs.” Most Muslims are not Arabs. The country with the largest Muslim population is Indonesia, and huge communities live across South Asia, Africa, Turkey, Iran, Europe and the Americas. The Qur’an teaches that God made humanity into peoples and tribes so that we may know one another, and that the noblest person is the most righteous (Qur’an 49:13). See racism and equality in Islam.

6. “Islam was spread by the sword.” The Qur’an forbids forcing anyone to believe:

لَآ إِكْرَاهَ فِى ٱلدِّينِ ۖ قَد تَّبَيَّنَ ٱلرُّشْدُ مِنَ ٱلْغَىِّ ۚ فَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِٱلطَّٰغُوتِ وَيُؤْمِنۢ بِٱللَّهِ فَقَدِ ٱسْتَمْسَكَ بِٱلْعُرْوَةِ ٱلْوُثْقَىٰ لَا ٱنفِصَامَ لَهَا ۗ وَٱللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ ﴿٢٥٦﴾

There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion. The right course has become clear from the wrong. So whoever disbelieves in Taghut and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold with no break in it. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing.

Islam reached Southeast Asia and much of Africa largely through traders and teachers. Muslim empires did fight wars, as empires do — but ruling a land is not the same as forcing faith, and Christian and Jewish communities lived under Muslim rule for centuries. Read Is anyone forced to become Muslim?

7. “Muslims are taught to hate Jews and Christians.” The Qur’an honours them as People of the Book — communities who received earlier revelation. Muslims may eat their food, and Muslim men may marry Jewish and Christian women (Qur’an 5:5). God does not forbid kindness and justice towards anyone who is not at war with Muslims (Qur’an 60:8). When a Jewish funeral passed by, the Prophet ﷺ stood up out of respect (Bukhari 1312). See Islam and Christianity.

8. “Islam is against science and reason.” The very first revelation of the Qur’an begins with the command to read (Qur’an 96:1), and the Qur’an repeatedly invites people to reflect on the heavens and the earth (Qur’an 3:190). For centuries, Muslim scholars were leaders in fields such as mathematics, medicine, optics and astronomy. See science in Islam.

About violence

9. “Jihad means holy war.” Jihad means “striving”. The Prophet ﷺ called the person who struggles against his own selfish desires a true mujahid — one who strives (Tirmidhi 1621). Armed jihad is one narrow, strictly regulated form of it. Read What is jihad, really?

10. “Islam allows terrorism.” Islam forbids it. The Qur’an treats killing one innocent person as a crime against all humanity:

مِنْ أَجْلِ ذَٰلِكَ كَتَبْنَا عَلَىٰ بَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ أَنَّهُۥ مَن قَتَلَ نَفْسًۢا بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ أَوْ فَسَادٍۢ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ ٱلنَّاسَ جَمِيعًۭا وَمَنْ أَحْيَاهَا فَكَأَنَّمَآ أَحْيَا ٱلنَّاسَ جَمِيعًۭا ۚ وَلَقَدْ جَآءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُنَا بِٱلْبَيِّنَٰتِ ثُمَّ إِنَّ كَثِيرًۭا مِّنْهُم بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ لَمُسْرِفُونَ ﴿٣٢﴾

Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land - it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one - it is as if he had saved mankind entirely. And our messengers had certainly come to them with clear proofs. Then indeed many of them, [even] after that, throughout the land, were transgressors.

Even in a lawful war, the Prophet ﷺ forbade killing women and children:

Narrated Ibn `Umar: During some of the Ghazawat of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) a woman was found killed, so Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) forbade the killing of women and children

See What does Islam say about terrorism?

About women

11. “Islam teaches that women are inferior.” The Qur’an promises men and women the same reward for faith and good deeds (Qur’an 16:97). It gave women the right to own property and inherit (Qur’an 4:7), and the Prophet ﷺ required a woman’s consent for her marriage (Bukhari 5136). Where women are denied these rights, culture — not Islam — is usually to blame. Read Are women oppressed in Islam?

12. “Women are forced to wear the hijab.” The four major Sunni schools of law hold that the hijab is a duty before God — but it is an act of worship, and worship has value only when it is sincere. Forcing it on someone is wrong. See Why do Muslim women wear the hijab?

13. “Women are not allowed in mosques.” The Prophet ﷺ told men not to prevent women from going to the mosques (Bukhari 900), and women prayed in his mosque in Madinah. Where a mosque has no space for women, that is a local failing, not Islamic teaching.

About Islamic law and God’s character

14. “Sharia just means harsh punishments.” Sharia means “the path”: the whole of Islamic guidance — prayer, fasting, charity, family life, honesty in business, care for the poor. Criminal penalties are a small part of it, bound by strict standards of evidence and applied only by courts, never by individuals. Read about justice in Islam.

15. “The God of Islam is harsh and unforgiving.” Every chapter of the Qur’an but one opens by calling God the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. And to anyone who feels they have gone too far, God says:

۞ قُلْ يَٰعِبَادِىَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا۟ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا۟ مِن رَّحْمَةِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ ٱلذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلْغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ ﴿٥٣﴾

Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful."

Look at the sources

Every faith deserves to be judged by what it actually teaches, not by its loudest critics or its worst followers. If one of these myths surprised you, follow the link and read the sources for yourself — and see why Muslims call Islam a religion of mercy.