Covering Islam & Muslims in the Western Media

Covering Islam & Muslims in the Western Media

  

By Dalia Yusuf *

 "Journalists describe reality from within a framework that is usually established subconsciously over a long period of time."

Have you ever read an article featuring Islam and Muslims and your comment was "It's not like that, I can't find myself in this article". Well, if it has been like that for you before, you should be interested in this article.

It may sound repetitive but I still need to emphasize it;" Imaging people become to be the role of the media after it has been, relatively, of the literature".

Sometimes in the western media "Islam is equated with aggression, oppression, violence, intolerance, and backwardness. Islam is portrayed as subscribing to a different, and essentially inferior, standard of humanity. There are several factors that explicate this phenomenon apart from "conspiracy theory" that obscures more than it reveals."

We should make it clear. It's not always hatred that causes the misrepresentation of Islam and Muslims in the Western media; it could be ignorance, or structural and institutional reasons in the media itself as well as a lack of skills in dealing and engaging with the media from the side of Muslims.

Opening your mind to break the stereotypes and changing your established opinions are not easy to do as you have to raise your ideological suspicions.

Journalists & Structural Problems

Many people acknowledge that journalism should be informed, critical, and pluralistic but after working in the media, one notices the recurring problems in covering and featuring various complicated phenomena and events.

For example, meeting deadlines is a real tyranny in the media. Any journalist experiences this kind of pressure that may lead to oversimplifying a sophisticated scene.

Moreover, marketing the process of informing people has the effect of creating more obstacles against the journalist's mission in unfolding the truth and enlightening the public. To sell your media product, many will advise you by saying "harmony is boring while conflict draws the audience". The hot exciting stories top the headlines. "News is bad news" is another rule in producing information which may cause different kinds of misunderstandings.

In the same context, the concentration of media ownership and the fact that a small number of people own so many of our means of obtaining information, is a threat to a pluralistic worldview. When the media depends on advertising, the advertisers can exert pressure to protect their interests.

Such an environment may push the journalist to depend on often inadequate sources of information in order to face pressing requirements, while journalists should consistently question their line of information which is regularly introduced in a controlled way. Avoiding producing one-sided biased stories; journalists should give space for different voices and bring the required backgrounds. 

The Contact List: How to Interpret?

Another important keyword in this respect is "the contact list" of experts and commentators on the events. Edward Said previously showed how these experts (academics, politicians…etc) work as "communities of interpretations".

Having a certain mindset or mental approach in analyzing events, which are loaded with concepts and realities, those communities of interpretations may paint different events with the same brush.

Diversified views should be presented without sweeping any problems under the rug. Journalists in dealing with the contact list issue, may face two problems: One, they may not have enough contacts to form a larger picture while featuring any incident or addressing any cause. Two, it is known that one of the most dangerous defects of mainstream classical media is the filtering device that is used to get rid of different independent views causing what Noam Chomsky has called "manufactured consent" that leads the public to structured choice; to what the elites or interest groups want.

While attending "OxfordMuntada" in 2003, Roger Hardy, Middle East Analyst on the BBC, mentioned how the editors of religious affairs used to be marginalized in the Western Media as media environments are mostly secular. He added that this fact has somehow changed after 9/11. 

 

More Time … More Sympathy

Another institutional problematic issue is that most foreign correspondents do not spend enough time in traveling and studying certain countries and phenomena.

As soon as they become familiar with the people of that country and their causes, they may be asked to leave to perform another task without gaining adequate information and understanding.

It is said, "People are enemies of what they ignore." It is evident that the journalists and correspondents who spend some time in certain countries and those who learn the language of those countries or study their religions and cultures sympathize with those countries' people and causes more than those who do not.

Foreign journalists - most of them young, inexperienced and excitable – may not observe the cultural sensitivities of the people about whose issues they are covering. The majority may not speak the local languages.

To meet the dead lines and the market's requirements, as mentioned above, they may only work from clippings, producing reductionist writings. With the possible exception of some international foreign correspondents none of them has attained the expected status and influence.

What is the expected status and influence?

One of the solutions, especially for journalists, is to go through many eye-opening experiences and to put forward questions, not fast answers, when covering events.

"Framing": A More Problematic Cause.

Ignoring is caused by too 'little research' and causing too 'many clichés'. But at the end of the day this problem may be overcome by gathering information and seeking correct information. The more complicated problem is "framing"; "Journalists describe reality from within a framework that is usually established subconsciously over a long period of time".

Opening your mind to break the stereotypes and changing your established opinions are not easy to do as you have to raise your ideological suspicions. One of the solutions, especially for journalists, is to go through many eye-opening experiences and to put forward questions, not fast answers, when covering events. 

It is expected that working within certain frameworks will affect the formatting of the story and may lead to a biased approach toward a certain attitude, for example, using language to highlight certain phrases to hide or distort dissident views, labeling people who hold dissident views as extremists; their views are meant to be ignored and are rarely argued against coherently.

Also hiding the facts or distracting from the main issues, as well as adopting certain techniques that used use generalizations and irrelevant arguments.

Journalism: The Secular Religion

While attending "Oxford Muntada" in 2003, Roger Hardy, Middle East Analyst on the BBC, mentioned how the editors of religious affairs used to be marginalized in the Western Media as media environments are mostly secular. He added that this fact has somehow changed after 9/11.

This places misrepresenting Islam & Muslims in the Western media in a larger context; it indicates the fundamental characteristic of the Western media that it engages with religion generally, including Christianity, the religion of the majority in the West. 

To emphasize the same idea Lars Lundsten discussed in his paper "Journalism as Secular Religion" why Christians and Muslims are equally misunderstood". He claimed that after a close reading of a limited number of news reports that touch upon certain religious arguments, one can draw the general conclusion that religious thinking and reason is alien to leading journalistic institutions in the Western Media.

His analysis seems to indicate that the principles of "Objective and Neutral Journalistic Reporting"(ONJR) constitute a form of secular religion in the public sphere of the Western World and most specifically among the most honored actors within the media.

Religious institutions from their side give another reason for the problematic engagement between religion & the media. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, said, "Perhaps observers of religious broadcasting should concentrate not on the time or space given to simple and static representations of religious views and activities but on how this method of following the ‘real time’ of religious knowing and experiencing can be fostered. The recent speech by the BBC Director General, Mark Thompson, to the Churches’ Media Conference seemed to endorse very clearly the significance of this dimension to religious broadcasting – allowing religious knowledge to be complex and engaging in a way that any serious person must be".

The differences between the structure of religious knowledge and the dynamics of the media need more discussion and studies to reach a suitable means of covering and engaging between each other.

After reviewing all the pervious media structural and institutional problems, 'truth' and not only Islam and Muslims, is the victim of media dynamics and tyrannies.

Now to - "Covering Islam"

So, covering Islam shares the same problems with any sophisticated entity that needs to be imaged by the media. At the same time and like other religions, it has the same structural differences between it and media dynamics. But certainly there are some specifications, one of the most effective reasons behind Islam being misunderstood is the oversimplification of Islamic definitions that may be adopted by journalists.

As the Reverend, Bob Bettson, indicated, "In its broadest definition, Islam is expressed through many cultures, languages, and civilizations. In its narrowest definition--the one usually reflected in the media--it can simply be viewed as a religious belief. There are about one billion Muslims in the world today. They do not all share identical goals, motivations, political persuasion, or interpretations of their faith, any more than the world's billion or so Christians".

Noticing the absence of a central orthodoxy in Islam should help journalists to distinguish between the fixed principles of a complex faith and any individuals or groups that cloak themselves with the banner of Islam and claim they are governed by Islamic Shari'ah. 

Simplifying complex cultural and historical backgrounds and consequences in defining Islam turns a lot of media reporting to be journalistic clichés. According to Edward Said the narrow expression of defining Islam in the Western media is deeply rooted in an "Orientalist" context.

Moreover, the legacy of the colonial era could enhance the same understanding of Islam deepening a rooted feeling that Islam and the West contradict each other and therefore cannot coexist.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, said, "Perhaps observers of religious broadcasting should concentrate not on the time or space given to simple and static representations of religious views and activities..." 

Avoiding Misleading Language

It was said that the uninformed readers of the Western media can, at times, be forgiven for confusing the terms "Muslim" and "terrorist." A major factor, which contributes to Islamic stereotyping in the West, is due to the media's ignorance of selecting their words that describe Muslims.

Some common names heard or seen in the news about Muslims are "extremist" or "terrorist". These words are misleading in different ways.

Another factor was writing affirmation about this religion and its adherents without any proof or by using doubtful references. This affirmation is put in a very direct way so that the reader may not even ask for proof.

The problem does not end with the selection of authentic sources but it continues to the point where these sources are also misquoted especially with regard to the Qur'an & Hadith; the truncation if the Qur'an and Hadith are not mentioned as a whole and interpreted by including the necessary contexts, the end result may indicate the opposite of what is really meant.

The experts or the "communities of interpretations" play a crucial role here to highlight the most important concepts and realities that lie behind the quotations and texts.

Seeking a comprehensive image of any sophisticated phenomena should not only depend on providing the audience with a few numbers of unbiased objective "experts" but also to provide diverse sources of information that cover a wide spectrum of backgrounds while avoiding promoting certain understanding or interpretation.

In an Analogical Way

Understanding Islam in an analogical way to Christianity is one of the causes of negatively covering Islam and Muslims. For example, it was assumed – incorrectly- that since Christ is the basis of Christian faith that Prophet Muhammad PBUH was to Islam as Christ was to Christianity. Another example that may explain the unconditional Western support for writers like Rushdie and Nisreen that evolve from the history of European secularism and the revolt against the Church, which perceived as an obstacle hindering the progress of Europe during medieval times.

In some circles the same theory has been extended to Islam although Islam has no such theocratic institution.

  "On different occasions Muslims complain that because Western journalists know so little about Islam, sometimes they quote ill-informed people or people misusing the religion. But on the other hand, Muslims should deal with their own ignorance about how the Western news media works."

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Muslims & Self-Criticism

The problematic structural problems of the Western media or the misinformation of some western journalists (out of their ignorance or even their hostility) can not be the only reason for misrepresenting Islam and Muslims in the western Media.

Islam can be easily distorted by its adherents through the ugly models that some of them portray as the products of malpractice and narrow interpretations.

 "The behavior of some Muslims either living in the Muslim world or in the West, is repulsive. Muslims in many places integrate some of their retrograde practices and customs into Islam; the same practices that Islam came to obliterate such as oppressing women and depriving them of proper education".

Vice of the Ghettos

Western Muslim communities play a central role here; some times they have partly contributed to the distortion of the image of Islam and Muslims. For example, the distortion can be caused by living in a closed parallel society and denouncing and condemning their states as un-Islamic while benefiting from their systems, institutions, and values. These tendencies portray Islam as threatening to the foundations of the Western societies.

The weak engagement between Muslims and the media flourish the environment that breeds misunderstanding of Islam and Muslims. To be media-friendly requires conditions that will help in breaking the shackles and changing the stereotypes.

On different occasions Muslims complain that because Western journalists know so little about Islam, sometimes they quote ill-informed people or people misusing the religion. But on the other hand, Muslims should deal with their own ignorance about how the Western news media works.

In the Chicago Conference it was stated that, "Islamic scholars passionately debate such topics as abortion, divorce, "suicide" bombings, and the rights of women in an Islamic society. Many journalists may know that Muslims believe in one God and that Muhammad was His last prophet.

They may not realize that there is no one authority on Islam’s teachings, or on Shariah, Islamic law. An imam, or prayer leader, may offer his studied opinions of the meaning of verses in the Qur’an, Islam’s holy book. But another respected scholar may hold an opposite opinion".

In the same conference on of the most important protective techniques that was discussed alongside advising journalists to develop a sound basic knowledge of the religion’s teachings, was "nurturing relationships with Muslim leaders before a crisis. In that way, journalists will be better able to discern the valid spokespeople from those who espouse extremist views that do not represent the beliefs of mainstream Muslims".

Painting a religion and a whole community with the same brush of terrorism or extremism is offensive and vindicates the argument that many in the media have much to learn.

Something Has Changed

After visiting IslamOnline.net to feature it and after browsing the different sections, NPR correspondent Eric Weiner told me that for many Americans, the word Fatwa is a synonymous to "verdict of death".

The reason behind that was media coverage of Ayatollah Khomeini's Fatwa concerning Salman Rushdie .So the word 'Fatwa' was introduced by the media without enough background to the extent that it gave the word a different partial connotation. Coining terms and encouraging certain perceptions seem partially to be the result of the media coverage.

In "Covering Islam" Edward Said considered, "The Iranian Revolution" was a main modern turning point in introducing Islam and Muslims to the West through the media."

Said undertakes a classical illustration of this phenomenon by examining the American coverage of post-revolution Iran, and especially the Iranian hostage crisis, which for most Americans was their initial experience with Islam and the Middle East. He illustrates the irresponsible imagery and vocabulary used by media personalities to rally "patriotism" and demonize the "irrational" and "cruel" enemy acting out of a pathological hatred of the West.

Thus, he demonstrates how the use of racist vocabulary, fictional "reports," and mis-characterization of the conflict as a religious rather than a predominantly political one, influenced the average American’s experience with Islam, especially in the Middle East".

After the Iranian revolution, a series of events took place, but September 11 was to become another turning point in many respects. Among them is imaging Islam and Muslims in the Western media. Although there is not enough analyses or media studies to prove this assumption until now, initial observations could indicate what kind of changes have taken place.

Unexpectedly, not all the changes are negative. There are remarkable positive changes as well; at the top of them is the real need of lay people to know more about Islam. This makes writing about or covering Islam, somehow, marketable. 

The more journalists and media workers become interested in covering Islam & Muslims, the more they discuss the editorial policies and the professional rules that guide their coverage.

To give an example assessed their tries and referred to the BBC to emphasize his point that "since September 11, we have tried to ensure that 'Islamic terrorist' and similar phrases are not used. We only succeeded to some extent as we are still in a minority. There is still reluctance to change the Islamophobic culture. But there is also a lot of ignorance about Islam and Muslims. We still have a long way to go.

Painting a religion and a whole community with the same brush of terrorism or extremism is offensive and vindicates the argument that many in the media have much to learn. The BBC, however, says that it has done a substantial amount in trying to change the Islamophobic culture. Linda Mitchell, BBC head of diversity, says a term such as Islamic terrorism is used much less than it used to be because journalists are much more aware of the significance and importance of the words they use".

Emergence of New Media

Such changes would not have the same impact without the characteristics of the so- called "new media". The revolution of information represented mainly in the internet and satellites make the manipulation of the truth and the dominance of a certain point of view more difficult. "The user’s immediate access to both the producer and the rest of the audience radically undermines some of the power of the producer". While the classical media outlets claim to serve democracy they do not provide the audience with the same opportunities as the new media.

Expanded effects are profiled in different ways. Among them is what Alexandre Fedorovski mentions in his paper "Evangelical Control over American Foreign Policy and "New Media" Potential in Ideological Counteraction to it "."Deep penetration of the internet into the American people's lifestyle created a powerful potential for the "new media" to reach a fundamental shift not only in their political consciousness, but also in international relations ".

The flourishing alternative media outlets, i.e. websites, blogs, broadcastings …etc. create more options for the readers to compare and analyze what they used to perceive from the mainstream media in a one-way process.

 According to Chomsky alternative media is not simply different from mainstream media in presenting another worldview but it is institutionally distinguishing; working in a different way. These alternative media outlets including the Muslim media and satellites can represent other sources of information for Western journalists as well as Western audiences.

The differences between the structure of religious knowledge and the dynamics of the media need more discussion and studies to reach a suitable means of covering and engaging between each other.

Suggestions & Tips

To address the problems of misrepresenting Islam and Muslims in the Western media, expanding the journalist's knowledge of Islam and considering the political and socio-culture complexities among the Muslims in their different communities should go side by side with discussing the structural dynamics and the institutional problems of the media.

The different institutions across the Western and Muslim societies should work harder to provide journalists with the essential knowledge and to host the necessary discussions.

Exchanging experiences and hearing the stories of failure and success are useful in this respect. The intellectuals, scholars, politicians, and academicians should be involved in such discussions as they represent what was mentioned above; 'communities of interpretations'.

The new media and especially the web can be effectively used to deal with the different professional problems; here are some suggestions that may help in collecting efforts and views to deal with the fundamental problems of covering Islam and Muslims:

- Series of digital questionnaires can indicate: a) the actual difficulties among Western journalists in covering Islam & Muslims, b) the main complaints from both Muslims and non-Muslims in reading and perceiving the media coverage of Islam & Muslims

- A wide use of databases for different authentic sources of information, specialized scholars and experts, interested groups, and true representatives (student movements, media workers, activists, youth movements …) in assisting journalists to put their contact lists and sources)

- Guides for culture sensitivities among Muslim communities (foods, clothes, body language, social codes…)

- Glossary for classical and modern terminologies.

- Forum to discuss and frame various relevant issues and introducing multi-perspective viewpoints

Searching the web for the previous writings about "covering Islam and Muslims", I came across a huge number of materials, and among them I noticed some practical tips that may be useful for journalists in covering Islam. I prefer to republish it as a way of opening the door for more tips and suggestions.

"Abbreviated religious affiliations which convey some dramatic connotation are usually misleading. How can journalists covering stories affecting Muslims or countries with large Muslim populations be more effective and accurate in their reporting?

• Consider the relevance to the story of a person's religious beliefs or cultural practices. Is it necessary at all?

• Try substituting the word "Muslim" with Christian, Jewish or any other grouping. In the Oklahoma bombing case, imagine the reaction if the call had been for a "Jewish-looking" man.

• If you include a reference to a person or a group's religious affiliations, explain why you are doing so and ensure that a religious label is not being affixed to political, cultural, or social practices.

• If you are unfamiliar with Islam or with Islamic studies, consult someone who is. They will be able to help to distinguish culture and politics from religion in the context of Muslim societies.

• For those photo-ops, do they fairly represent the subject being covered? Women wearing headscarves make a supposedly dramatic statement. What about the hundreds of millions of Muslim women who do not ordinarily wear headscarves?

• If you are going to cover religious beliefs, whose interpretation of the faith are you covering? There are many different sects and interpretations of Islam. For some, their religion is a personal search within the context of their interpretation of their faith".

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*Dalia Yusuf is a writer. She is European Muslims Page's founder and former managing Editor. She received her postgraduate diploma in journalism from Cairo University .She is working towards her master's degree in Journalism at the American University in Cairo
http://www.islamonline.net/en/IOLYouth_C/1278407316992/1278406708816/Covering-Islam--Muslims-in-the-Western-Media

Islam and The Western World: Media Biased News Reporting, Prejudice and Ignorance

Islam and THE Western WORLD: MEDIA Biased News Reporting, Prejudice and Ignorance

 

Description: Stereotypes and misconceptions about Islam in the media are rooted in prejudice and ignorance!
Source:ISLAM COVEYED 

Islam is the fastest growing religion in the West. Nevertheless, the West has many stereotypes and misconceptions about Islam that are due to: the media, Prejudice, and Ignorance. Islam is often looked upon as a "extremist", "terrorist", or "fundamental" religion. Many people hate Islam and do not want to acknowledge its true teachings.

In many cases, the media’s reports about Islam are incorrect due to ignorance. This is one of the reasons why the West often hates Islam.  In contrast to what many Westerners think of Islam, Islam is a peaceful religion, which does not promote any injustice or crime. Stereotypes about Islam are not new to Western culture. Problems can be traced back 1400 years. At that time, Islam and Christianity were involved in the Crusades in the 1100’s and in the Ottoman and Moorish control in Europe. Islam spread quickly to the West, and started to threaten the position of the Christian Church and the ruling class.

The Western elites, mainly the governments and the churches, then became highly involved in seeing that negative images were presented about Islam. As a result, not only were battles fought against Islam, but also a war of words was initiated to make sure that Islam would not have any converts or sympathizers in the West. These kinds of actions and feelings that the West had long ago still seem to be the case in the West today.

Today, the West, with little or no understanding of Islamic history, has identified a new enemy, "a new demon that has replaced the Red menace of the Cold war, i.e., radical Islam". This "radical Islam", a stereotype common to Western thought, portrays Muslims as fundamentalists or potential terrorists. Some of these ideas that the Western people have about Islam are due to the mass media of the West. Reporters who cover the Muslim world often know very little details about it. The media then develops a distorted image of Islam that Western culture adopts.

A major factor which contributes to Islamic stereotyping in the West is due to the media’s ignorance of selecting their words that describe Muslims. Some common names heard or seen in the news about Muslims are "extremist" or "terrorist". These words are misleading and are mainly anti-Islamic. The media rarely uses more neutral terms such as "revivalist" or "progressives". The Western media also creates the idea that Muslims are "returning" to Islam. This is not true in most cases, because many Muslims have never left Islam in the first place. Islam has always been a big part of their lives.

"Islamic Fundamentalism" Misinterpreted

A more accurate and just way to describe this idea is to say that there is a revival of Islam and it is becoming more and more influential to everyone. Adding to the fact that the media creates inaccurate ideas about Islam, the Western media is also very influential to its audiences in making negative Islamic stereotypes, such as the assertion that all Muslims are fundamentalists. The term "fundamentalist" is actually a term that is misinterpreted by the western media.

A fundamentalist, in fact, only represents a normal Muslim who follows his or her religion. Fundamentalism means an attitude, an effort, or a movement that an ideology, group, or religion tries to promote in its fundamental beliefs. The "fundamental" beliefs of a Muslim is to believe in only one God (Allah) and the Prophet Mohammed is His messenger(PBUH), to pray five times a day, give alms to the poor, fast the month of Ramadan, and make a pilgrimage to Mecca.

This means that all Muslims are fundamentalists if they believe in their own religion’s fundamentals. Although the media is uncomfortable with religious groups, it focuses heavily on "Islamic fundamentalism". A majority of the media’s reports that talk about Islamic fundamentalism usually describes most Muslims as extremists. This shows how the media is ignorant, because Islam specifically prohibits any forms of extremism.

The Prophet Muhammad PBUH said, "Those persons who go to extremes (in practicing their religion) were cursed (by God)". The media most often portrays Muslim "fundamentalists" prostrating themselves before God in prayer. For example, in the October 4 issue of Time, Muslim soldiers were shown performing prayers with guns. The caption on the bottom of the picture said, "Guns and prayer go together in the fundamentalist battle". The part that the reporters omitted or failed to state was that the Muslim soldiers were praying on a battlefield in Afghanistan.

Common sense of the situation meant that the soldiers had to remain armed at all times in case of an ambush at any time. This is a clear example of the media’s biased and inaccurate reporting.

Another Great Misconception

With regard to the soldiers, another great misconception that exists is the truth about Jihad or "holy war" in Islam. The ideas of war and violence have become related to the Islamic religion from the media. Jihad is so often apparent in the news because the media thinks it is Islam’s justification for war and violence.

Al Quran (Muslim Holy Book) says "Fight for the sake of Allah those that fight against you, but do not attack them first. Allah (God) does not love aggression".

Jihad literally means "The struggle in the path of God", or "holy war". However, the Western media often abuses the meaning of jihad by referring to it as a holy war where Muslims unreasonably kill non-believers. But the fact is, is that jihad can mean a numbers of things that a Muslim does for the sake of God.

Rarely has the Western media used this kind of a definition in their reports. The way the media represents jihad is wrong. The media often takes the word "jihad" out of context to propagate negative views on Islam. The association of Islam and violence is a common misconception that the general Western public has developed about Islam.

An example of this kind of misconception is that the Western media and some historians often say that Islam was a religion spread by the sword, meaning that Muslims went from one end of the world to the other forcing people to either convert or die. Islam spread by people learning about it and some by holy wars, but they did not force people to convert or die. Since majorities of the American public only get their information about Islam through the media, they believe this wrong idea.

The media’s reports about Arab or "Islamic" events, such as the Gulf War, are often misunderstood. The media usually fails to give background information about these Islamic events that it reports on. The media infrequently distinguishes between the religion Islam and the political affairs that occur in most Islamic countries. For instance, what Saddam Hussein, the former president of Iraq, did in the Gulf War was not Islamic and totally wrong (to attack other people for no reason).

But the media still makes reports about Islam and how Islam is made of war-crazed people. For example, to help put things into perspective, Hitler was a person of the Christian faith. This does not mean that all of his actions were consistent with the Christian beliefs. Likewise, Saddam Hussein is of the Islamic faith, but all of his actions do not necessarily represent Islam. So you can see that the media’s reports about "war-crazed Muslims" are incorrect. The notion of associating of Islam and Muslims with the terms Arabs and Middle East are in fact misleading. Arabs only account for 18% of the Muslim population across the world.

The Profit-oriented Creation of False Images

Aside from the fact that the media misrepresents Islam because of ignorance, the media is also a profit-seeking organization which often seeks to create a false image of reality. Islam is often news of an unpleasant sort for the general public of the United States. Islam has often been presented as a menace or a threat to the West. These negative images do not correspond to Islam, but are the belief of certain sectors of a particular society. These prominent sectors can propagate negative images of Islam, which sometimes influences people’s views on Islam.

The Western media actually poorly represents Islam. Most of these problems of poor representations come from poor language translations, the absence of developed news agencies with international networks and native reporters, and biased reporting by many Western reporters. Some biased reports come from negative images that have happened in the Muslim world in the past like the hijacking of airplanes by Palestinians, the occupation of the United States Embassy by students in Tehran, the fact that there are no democratic governments in most Islamic countries, and the Gulf War.

For most of these events, the media has misinterpreted and misrepresented them. The media sometimes unintentionally blows things out of proportion, sometimes because of biased feelings toward Muslims. However, many positive developments in the Muslims world rarely go noticed. Some inaccurate representations of Islam are often due to the media’s incorrect representations of Islamic countries, such as jihad, or Islam women’s rights.

Waseem Sajjad, former Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan explains the situation of Islam and the media: The Islamic world is poorly represented in the West in terms of press and media coverage. Not only are there just handfuls of news agencies in Muslim countries; there is the concern over the number of inexperienced reporters. Many reporters don’t understand the local cultures nor speak the language, leaving them with access to only those English or French speaking Westernized elites.

Thus their representation is often a biased account of the political and social events from the point of view of the ruling minority in Muslim countries. A negative image of Islam is becoming more inherent in the Western culture from inaccurate media coverage. The media helps to make an image of Islam to unsuspecting audiences. The Western public often is misinformed about Muslims through the images on television, motion picture screens, magazines, radios, and comic strips in newspapers, which promote strong messages among their audiences.

Unrestrained ethnocentrism, cultural, and even racial hatred

Western reporters often say that Muslims are terrorists. This becomes a common image to the general person that all Muslims are terrorists. Edward Said’s book, Covering Islam, talks about how the media and experts determine how we see the rest of the world. He says that: The term Islam as it is used today seems to mean one simple thing, but in fact is part fiction, part ideological label, part minimal designation of a religion called Islam.

Today Islam is peculiarly traumatic news in the West. During the past few years, especially since events in Iran caught European and American attention so strongly, the media have therefore covered Islam: they have portrayed it, characterized it, analyzed it, given instant courses on it, and consequently they have made it known. But this coverage is misleadingly full, and a great deal in this energetic coverage is based on far from objective material.

In many instances Islam has licensed not only patent inaccuracy, but also expressions of unrestrained ethnocentrism, cultural, and even racial hatred, deep yet paradoxically free-floating hostility. As well as creating inaccurate images about Islam, the Western media usually identifies Islam in Muslim conflicts. The media hardly points other religions out in their conflicts. For example, the news would say, "five Israelis may have been shot, but they were shot by five Muslims", instead of saying "Five Israelis were shot by five Palestinians".

The media often reverses this action when a conflict is against Muslims, for example the news would usually say "Bosnians are being killed by Serbians", but instead rarely says, "Muslims are being killed by Christians". In addition to the media’s inaccurate representations about Islamic conflicts, human rights of women in Islam, such as women veiling and women authority are big topics that Western media often confuses and misinterprets. The media often represents Islam as a male dominant religion where Muslim men have complete authority over all groups of people.

Prophet Muhammad PBUH - one the greatest reformers for women

The media often says that Islam discriminates against women, and that women have no power or authority. However, it is ironic of what the media represents, that the Prophet Muhammad PBUH was one the greatest reformers for women. In fact, Islam is the only religion that formally teaches women’s rights and finds ways to protect them. When Islam is practiced correctly, it becomes the best example of a fair society.

As Islam came around, traditional pre-Islamic roles of women were replaced by new Islamic roles that women followed. Islam allowed women to have the right to be educated and the right to participate in political, economical, and social activities in their community. This created upward mobility in their communities. Women were given the right to inherit property and take charge of their possessions. While most of these rights are denied to Muslim women today as a result of cultural tradition, one should not associate this with Islam, because they do not correlate with it.

Islamic women wearing veils is another commonly misunderstood concept in the West. Westerners often think that this is a harsh custom that Islam requires of women. Westerners often say these women have no freedom or dignity for wearing these veils. But in fact, these veils actuality help protect women and help them remain in chastity. In Islamic societies there are very few rape cases and AIDS victims as opposed to the Western societies, were there are thousands of rape cases and AIDS infected victims a year. God will do anything He wants to her in this world and the after.

Islamic women are indeed supposed to be granted these rights, but the media often fails to inform its audiences about this fact. The media also fails to report that most of the Islamic countries have a high illiteracy rate. This means that it is "virtually impossible for many Muslim women to challenge cultural male authority when the women themselves do not know the difference between village customs and actual Islamic law".

The Western media would be able to better represent women’s issues in Islamic countries if they identified how and why governments have limited women’s rights that are guaranteed to them by the Quran (Muslim Holy Book). Most so-called Islamic countries such as Syria are corrupt (according to Islam) in their religion and should be addressed in the media’s reports. But instead "the media falsely portrays Muslim women as victims of a harsh and suppressive religion".  With regard to Islamic women’s rights, Islam is also a hot topic of Western governments. Western powers do not usually easily tolerate Islamic movements or governments.

One main reason is that in an Islamic government, in contrast to Western governments, there is no separation of church and state. Judith Miller states in her book Challenge of Radical Islam, "that anyone who believes in universal human rights, democratic governments, political tolerance, and peace between the Arabs and the Israelis cannot be complacent about the growing strength of Islamic militant movements in most Middle Eastern countries". Miller says that the Western governments should oppose these kind of Islamic movements. This statement shows one Western’s views about how the West opposes Islamic movements.

The West False and Misleading Ideas about Islam

Observers often say that the goal of Islamic fundamentalism is to wage a holy war against the West. These observers believe the idea that Islamic leaders only wanting the redress legitimate political grievances is totally nonsense. They think that even if Israel or any other opposing regime in the Middle East would disappear, "the appetite of the Islamic fundamentalists would only have been whetted". These ideas are false and also misleading. The Western media often portrays Islam as a "militant Islam" or a "fundamental Islam" threat to the West.

Edward Said states that: For the general public in America and Europe today, Islam is "news" of a particularly unpleasant sort. The media, the government, the geopolitical strategists, and although they are marginal to the culture at large - the academic experts on Islam are all in concert: Islam is a threat to Western civilization. Now this is by no means the same as saying that only derogatory or racist caricatures of Islam are to be found in the West...What I am saying is that negative images of Islam are very much more prevalent than any others, and that such images correspond, not to what Islam "is"...but to what prominent sectors of a particular society take it to be: Those sectors have the power and the will to propagate that particular image of Islam, and this image therefore becomes more prevalent, more present, than all others.

John L. Esposito’s book, The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality, states the question, is Islam a threat to the West? He tells us that the answer lies in the West’s views. He says that if the Western powers continue to defend the unjust status of the Middle East in the name of an illusory or fleeting stability, Islam will be a threat. "But if the Western powers begin to appreciate the legitimacy of grievances in the Middle East, the West and Islamic movements will get along peacefully".

With the Western media’s spotlight and some Western governmental attitudes, the West is a place where Islam is a name of negativity. The Western media has contributed a great deal to this negative image of Islam. The media often misrepresents and inaccurately explains Islam and its manifestations. Sometimes the media seems to be biased against Islam. When the media distorts the image of Islam, the general public tends to believe it, because the media is a major source of information that the public gets about Islam. This ignorance that the West accumulates from the media leads them into making stereotypes about Islam and associating all Muslims and Arabs together.

The West often times views Islam as "fundamental" "extremist" or "discriminatory", but all of these terms have be manipulated, purposely because of biased feelings and accidentally because of ignorance, by the media to present a negative image about Islam.

Islam is actually a fair religion that most often does not correspond to the media’s reports. As Islam grows more and more in the West, Westerners will eventually learn the truth about Islam and find out that these negative stereotypes are incorrect.  Islam will become one of the biggest religions in the United States. As more people follow Islam, the media will start to learn about it, understand it, and report about it in positive ways. As long as the Westerners are educated about Islam, they will probably learn to accept it as well. (HSH)

Source:ISLAM COVEYED (http://www.islamconveyed.com/pages/index.php?id=181)

WHY WE ARE PROHIBITED TO EAT SWINE (PORK)?

WHY WE ARE PROHIBITED TO EAT SWINE (PORK)?

by Syarif Hidayat

Muslims' abstention from pork eating is in adherence to the Qur'anic Law which states: " Forbidden to you for (food) are: dead meat, blood and the flesh of the swine (pork) and that which hath been invoked the name other than Allah. " Holy Al Qur'an 5:4

Such prohibition is also found in the Bible: "The pig is unclean for you. None of their flesh must you eat and carcass you must not touch. "Deuteronomy 14:8. (Bible).

Islam, is an Arabic word which means submission to the will of the Almighty God (Allah SWT), has laid down the foundation for the best approach in keeping good health. In the Holy Al Qur'an (The Last Testament ) God exhorts the believers to select the best food and to stay away from any harmful food to maintain good health:
" Let him find out which is the best food ( to be had ) ... Eat of the best foods We have provided for you." ( Holy Al Qur'an 18:19;7:160 ).


Bible & Al Quran Say: DO NOT EAT PORK!

Please read your bible again: Pork is prohibited: Leviticus 11:7-8 Deuteronomy 14:8 Isaiah 65:2-5 Do you see it now!
Bible & Al Quran Say: DO NOT EAT PORK! Both the Bible and Al Quran Prohibit the eating of pork. Muslims are aware of this prohibition and observe it strictly. However, most readers of the Bible say they do not know where they can find this in the Bible. In the book of Leviticus, Chapter 11, v.7, it is recorded that God declares the pig to be unclean for believers.
Then, in verse 8, God says: ' You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you'. This command is repeated in Deuteronomy 14; 7-8. Then, in Isaiah 65:2-4, and 66:17, God issues a stern warning against those who eat pork.

St. Paul's Misunderstanding

Some people are aware of this prohibition from God, but they say that they can eat pork because St. Paul said that all food is clean in his letter to the Romans 14:20. St. Paul said this because he believed (as he wrote in his letter to the Ephesians 2:14-15) that Jesus had abolished the Law with all its commandments and regulations.

He seems, however, to have misunderstood what he heard from Jesus. In the Gospel According to Matthew 5:17-20, Jesus is reported to have said quite the contrary, as follows: ' Do not think that I have come to abolish the law...' Jesus then went on in that passage (in verse 19) to denounce anyone who would break the smallest commandment and teach others likewise. He also praised his true followers who will practice and teach even the smallest commandments. One of the commandments, as we have seen, is to stay away from pork.

This is why the true followers of Jesus, holding on to his teachings, did not let unclean food such as pork enter their mouths, so that Peter, the chief disciple, can say:' I have never eaten anything impure or unclean' (Acts of the Apostles, ch.10, v.14). Five chapters later in the Acts of the Apostles, 15:29, we find that the original disciples still differentiate between clean and unclean foods and this time Paul is in agreement with them.

Six chapters later, in ch.21, v.25, their decision to impose food regulations on believers is mentioned without regret, and this time Paul is challenged to prove that he is in agreement with them; and he demonstrated his full agreement with them. What remains then, is that Jesus, on whom be peace, upheld the prohibition against pork. His disciples also upheld it, and so must all his followers.

Those who fail to uphold it need to be informed and reminded of this rule from God. This is one reason why God sent His final messenger, on whom be peace. God says: “O people of the Scripture! Now has Our Messenger come unto you, expounding unto you much of that which you used to hide in the Scripture and forgiving much. Now has come unto you light from Allah and a plain Scripture” (The Meaning of the Glorious Quran 5:15). Pork prohibited in the Bible.

The Christian is likely to be convinced by his religious scriptures. The Bible prohibits the consumption of pork, in the book of Leviticus and the swine, as he divideth the hoof, and be cloven footed, yet he cheweth not the cud; it is unclean to you. Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcass shall ye not touch, they are unclean to you. Leviticus chapter 11 verse 7 and 8: Pork is also prohibited in the book of Deuteronomy And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you. Ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcass. Deuteronomy chapter 14 verse 8: A similar prohibition is repeated in the book of Isaiah chapter 65 verse 2-5. 3.

Several Diseases

Consumption of pork causes several diseases. The other non-Muslims and atheists will agree only if convinced through reason, logic and science. Eating of pork can cause no less than seventy different types of diseases. A person can have various Helminthes, like roundworm, pinworm, hookworm, etc. One of the most dangerous is Taenia Solium, which in a laymans terminology is called tapeworm.
It harbours in the intestine and is very long. Its ova i.e. eggs, enter the blood stream and can reach almost all the organs of the body. If it enters the brain it can cause memory loss. If it enters the heart it can cause heart attack and if it enters the eye it can cause blindness. If it enters the liver it can cause liver damage. It can damage almost all the organs of the body. Another dangerous helminthes is Taenia Tichurasis.
A common misconception about pork is that if it is cooked well, these ova die. In a research project undertaken in America, it was found that out of twenty-four people suffering from Taenia tichurasis, twenty two had cooked the pork very well. This indicates that the ovas present in the pork do not die under normal cooking temperature. (HSH)

The Scientists Comment on the scientific miracles of Al Qur`an

The Scientists Comment on the scientific miracles of Al Qur`an

Dr. Gerald C. Goeringer is Course Director and Associate Professor of Medical Embryology at the Department of Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA. During the Eighth Saudi Medical Conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Professor Goeringer stated the following in the presentation of his research paper:

“In a relatively few ayahs (Quranic verses) is contained a rather comprehensive description of human development from the time of commingling of the gametes through organogenesis. No such distinct and complete record of human development, such as classification, terminology, and description, existed previously. In most, if not all, instances, this description antedates by many centuries the recording of the various stages of human embryonic and fetal development recorded in the traditional scientific literature."
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Dr. William W. Hay is a well-known marine scientist. He is Professor of Geological Sciences at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA. He was formerly the Dean of the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA. After a discussion with Professor Hay about the Quran’s mention of recently discovered facts on seas, he said:

“I find it very interesting that this sort of information is in the ancient scriptures of the Holy Quran, and I have no way of knowing where they would come from, but I think it is extremely interesting that they are there and that this work is going on to discover it, the meaning of some of the passages.”
And when he was asked about the source of the Quran, he replied: “Well, I would think it must be the divine being.”
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The Scientists Comment on the Qur`an - (Scientific Nature)

Dr. T. V. N. Persaud is Professor of Anatomy, Professor of Pediatrics and Child Health, and Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. There, he was the Chairman of the Department of Anatomy for 16 years. He is well-known in his field. He is the author or editor of 22 textbooks and has published over 180 scientific papers. In 1991, he received the most distinguished award presented in the field of anatomy in Canada, the J.C.B. Grant Award from the Canadian Association of Anatomists.

Professor Persaud has included some Quranic verses and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad in some of his books - and presented these verses and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad at several conferences. When he was asked about the scientific miracles in the Quran which he has researched, he stated the following:
“...Muhammad .. could not read, didn’t know to write. - You have someone illiterate making profound pronouncements - amazingly accurate about scientific nature. [so] many accuracies - I have no difficulty in my mind that this is a divine inspiration or revelation which led him to these statements.”
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Dr. E. Marshall Johnson is Professor Emeritus of Anatomy and Developmental Biology at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. There, for 22 years he was Professor of Anatomy, the Chairman of the Department of Anatomy, and the Director of the Daniel Baugh Institute. He was also the President of the Teratology Society. He has authored more than 200 publications. In 1981, during the Seventh Medical Conference in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, Professor Johnson said in the presentation of his research paper:
[Summary] "The Quran describes not only the development of external form, but emphasizes also the internal stages, the stages inside the embryo, of its creation and development, emphasizing major events recognized by contemporary science." Also he said: “As a scientist, I can only deal with things which I can specifically see.

I can understand embryology and developmental biology. I can understand the words that are translated to me from the Quran. As I gave the example before, if I were to transpose myself into that era, knowing what I knew today and describing things, I could not describe the things which were described. I see no evidence for the fact to refute the concept that this individual, Muhammad, had to be developing this information from some place. So I see nothing here in conflict with the concept that divine intervention was involved in what he was able to write.”  

The Scientists Comment on the Qur`an – (Nuclear Physics and Human Development)

Professor Alfred Kroner who is one of the world's most famous geologists. He is a Professor of Geology and the Chairman of the Department of Geology at the Institute of Geosciences, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany. Professor Alfred said: "Thinking about many of these questions and thinking where Muhammad came from, he was after all a Bedouin. I think it is almost impossible that he could have known about things like the common origin of the universe, because scientists have only found out within the last few years with very complicated and advanced technological methods that this is the case."

He also said: "Somebody who did not know something about nuclear physics 1400 years ago could not, I think, be in a position to find out from his own mind for instance that the earth and the heavens had the same origin, or many others of the questions that we have discussed here."
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Keith L. Moore is a professor emeritus in the division of anatomy (department of surgery), former Chair of anatomy and associate dean for Basic Medical Sciences (Faculty of Medicine) at the University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He has also worked at the King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He is most known for his textbooks on the subjects of anatomy and human embryology.

"It has been a great pleasure for me to help clarify statements in the Quran about human development. It is clear to me that these statements must have come to Muhammad from God, or Allah, because most of this knowledge was not discovered until many centuries later. This proves to me that Muhammad must have been a messenger of God or Allah".
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Dr. Joe Leigh Simpson is the Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Professor of Molecular and Human Genetics at the Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA. Formerly, he was Professor of Ob-Gyn and the Chairman of the Department of Ob-Gyn at the University of Tennessee, Memphis, Tennessee, USA. He was also the President of the American Fertility Society. He has received many awards, including the Association of Professors of Obstetrics and Gynecology Public Recognition Award in 1992. Professor Simpson studied the following two sayings of the Prophet Muhammad:

[In every one of you, all components of your creation are collected together in your mother’s womb by forty days...]
[If forty-two nights have passed over the embryo, God sends an angel to it, who shapes it and creates its hearing, vision, skin, flesh, and bones....]

He studied these two sayings of the Prophet Muhammad extensively, noting that the first forty days constitute a clearly distinguishable stage of embryo-genesis. He was particularly impressed by the absolute precision and accuracy of those sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). Then, during one conference, he gave the following opinion:
“It follows, I think, that not only there is no conflict between genetics and religion but, in fact, religion can guide science by adding revelation to some of the traditional scientific approaches, that there exist statements in the Quran shown centuries later to be valid, which support knowledge in the Quran having been derived from God.”
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The Scientists Comment on the Qur`an – (True Astronomical Facts)

Dr. Yoshihide Kozai is Professor Emeritus at Tokyo University, Hongo, Tokyo, Japan, and was the Director of the National Astronomical Observatory, Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan. He said:
“I am very much impressed by finding true astronomical facts in [the] Quran, and for us the modern astronomers have been studying very small pieces of the universe. We’ve concentrated our efforts for understanding of [a] very small part. Because by using telescopes, we can see only very few parts [of] the sky without thinking [about the] whole universe. So, by reading [the] Quran and by answering to the questions, I think I can find my future way for investigation of the universe.”
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Professor Tejatat Tejasen is the Chairman of the Department of Anatomy at Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand. Previously, he was the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the same university. During the Eighth Saudi Medical Conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Professor Tejasen stood up and said:
“During the last three years, I became interested in the Quran.... From my study and what I have learned from this conference, I believe that everything that has been recorded in the Quran fourteen hundred years ago must be the truth, that can be proved by the scientific means. Since the Prophet Muhammad could neither read nor write, Muhammad must be a messenger who relayed this truth, which was revealed to him as an enlightenment by the one who is eligible [as the] creator.

This creator must be God. Therefore, I think this is the time to say La ilaha illa Allah, there is no god to worship except Allah (God), Muhammadurrasoolu Allah, Muhammad is Messenger (Prophet) of Allah (God). Lastly, I must congratulate for the excellent and highly successful arrangement for this conference.... I have gained not only from the scientific point of view and religious point of view but also the great chance of meeting many well-known scientists and making many new friends among the participants. The most precious thing of all that I have gained by coming to this place is La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadur rasoolu Allah, and to have become a Muslim.” http://scienceislam.com/scientists_quran.php

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The Verses in the Quran That Mention Future Events Which Later Came to Pass

One example of the events foretold in the Quran is the victory of the Romans over the Persians within three to nine years after the Romans were defeated by the Persians. God has said in the Quran:

The Romans have been defeated in the nearest land (to the Arabian Peninsula), and they, after their defeat, will be victorious within bedd’ (three to nine) years.... (Quran, 30:2-4)

Let us see what history tells us about these wars. A book entitled History of the Byzantine State says that the Roman army was badly defeated at Antioch in 613, and as a result, the Persians swiftly pushed forward on all fronts. At that time, it was hard to imagine that the Romans would defeat the Persians, but the Quran foretold that the Romans would be victorious within three to nine years. In 622, nine years after the Romans’ defeat, the two forces (Romans and Persians) met on Armenian soil, and the result was the decisive victory of the Romans over the Persians, for the first time after the Romans’ defeat in 613. The prophecy was fulfilled just as God has said in the Quran.

There are also many other verses in the Quran and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad that mention future events which later came to pass.

The Authenticity of Al Qur’an:

First of all, the Qur'an makes a claim that it is a divine revelation; that is, it was sent down from The Almighty God Allah to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) through inspiration. Allah says in the Noble Qur'an: {Muhammad is not speaking from himself, his own ideas, his own ambitions, his own emotions or feelings. But this is a revelation (Qur'an) which has been revealed to him} [53:3-4]

Therefore, in order to convince you or anyone else of the authenticity of the Qur'an, there must be evidence that:
1) It was impossible for Muhammad (pbuh) to produce such a book.
2) Authoring the Qur'an is above any human's capability or creativity.

There is a Qur'anic verse that states: {And we created the human beings from a hanging clot that was clinging to the wall of the womb} [23:13]. How did Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) know that the embryo started out as a clot, hanging and clinging to the wall of the uterus of the mother? Did he have a telescope? Did he have a microscope? Did he have some kind of X-ray vision? How did he obtain this knowledge whereas this scientific fact was discovered only 47 years ago? How did he know that the ocean and rivers have a barrier between them to separate the salt and the fresh water? How did he know that? How did he know that the sun and the moon and the planets are all swimming in an orbit that has been ordered for them? How did he know these facts when they have just been discovered 25 or 30 years ago?

Thus, how did Muhammad (pbuh) know these recently discovered scientific facts over fourteen hundred years ago? How could an illiterate shepherd who had been born and raised in the desert find out/present/state such mere scientific facts? How could anyone else living with him, before or after him, produce something that has been only discovered recently? Impossible! How could a man who had never left the Arabian Peninsula, nor did he sail on a ship, give such clear and astounding descriptions that have been discovered recently in the second half of the 20th century?

Another amazing fact about the Qur'an is that that it consists of 114 chapters, over 6000 verses, and there were hundreds of people at the time of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) who had memorized this book entirely. Did they posses any super human quality? How did that happen? Did anyone, at the time of Jesus or after him, memorize any of the gospels? Did anyone at the time of Moses or after him, memorize the Torah? What about the Psalms and the Old and the New Testament, do you know anybody that have ever memorized any of them thoroughly? You would not find anyone memorizing any of them entirely, not even the Pope himself!

However, there are millions of Muslims today, who have memorized their Book, the Qur'an, entirely. This is the ambition of every Muslim. Not some, but every Muslim. How many Christians, have you met in your life, have memorized the Bible? Surely, you have never met any Christian who has memorized the Bible because you have never met a Christian who even knew what words constitute the whole Bible. This is because Christians themselves have over 700 different denominations, and there are around 39 different versions of the Bible, each with different books and different versions, with different amount of verses and different amount of chapters. They don't agree about which one is the true Bible. Accordingly, how could they memorize what they don't even agree about?

The proof of that is simple, if all the Christians of the world, all the churches, all the congregations and all the individuals agreed one day to take all their books and threw them in the oceans, and the Muslims do the same and threw all their copies of the Qur'an in the oceans, the Christians will not be able to produce another Bible because they don't even agree about one unique and genuine version of the Bible. On the contrary, there are millions of Muslims who have memorized the entire Qur'an, so even if we threw all of the copies of the Qur'an, we can bring ten Muslims, who memorize the Qur'an thoroughly and who do not know each other, from ten different countries, they will be able to stand altogether and start reciting the Qur'an from its opening surah ( i.e. chapter ) to its final one. Moreover, number of words, phrases, paragraphs, and then the Qur'an will be right back again. It will be as unique and genuine as the original one.

Finally, this book, the Qur'an, has been universally preserved without the slightest alternation of any kind for over fourteen centuries. Notice that each Muslim of the millions who have memorized the Qur'an have memorized the same words exactly. This is a fact which is testified. When one receives a certificate that s/he has memorized the Qur'an well from any Sheikh, it is written on the certificate that this person memorized from this Sheikh, who memorized from another Sheikh, who memorized from so-and-so, right until the chain of transmission reaches Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) himself. Any certificate that this Sheikh gives to anyone has the same names in the chain that goes back to the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). Actually, what they had memorized corresponds to what it written in all the copies of the Qur'an in the world.

If all of these facts are true, and indeed all of them are true, would you agree that this Book is quite profound and unique? Would you be honest enough to say that? Of course you would, if you are honest.(HSH)