Stereotypes about Islam have been alive and kicking in the Christian world for long, but after 9/11 they were made all the more extreme – and cemented into the ground. A clear example of this was made just recently, in the way the media covered the uprising of IS (the Islamic State) in Syria and Iraq.
Islam is the second biggest religion in the world and has over 1.6 billion followers. This represents 23% of the world population. The countries where most Muslims live are Indonesia (ca. 209 million) and India (ca. 176 million). The countries were most Muslim people live are INDONESIA and INDIA.
The Christian world doesn’t seem to know this. Instead it is Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan, concerning less than 15 % of the worlds Muslim population, that get’s to represent the whole religion.
Hm. Many countries with a majority of Christians have engaged in war and performed genital mutilation on women. This has not lead to us calling Christians primitive and violent. Why not?
Well, the knowledge of Christianity is generally high and the knowledge of Islam is generally low in Europe and North America. People in these countries tend to know very little on the large Muslim country of Bangladesh (133 million inhabitants), for example. So what do they know more about?
The IS. With an estimated number of up to 50.000 members this group has been given the right to represent the whole of Islam. This power has once more been taken from very many people and given to very few. Where and what is the political interest behind this?
That might be something to think about. And for you who would like to get even more confused – watch this awesome interview where Reza Aslan destroys, crushes and eats the pieces of some common myths around Islam.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzusSqcotDw
5 of the last 12 Nobel Peace Prize winners were Muslim. So according to Bill Maher, we're all Peace Prize winners! http://t.co/SDY3w51A3D—
Hend (@LibyaLiberty) October 10, 2014
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