Like many Americans, my assumptions and understanding of Islam were largely shaped by a Post-911 America. There were two truths that I didn't understand about the Post-911 American perspective of Islam until I was much older.
- What I believed was an 'objective' truth about Islam from an American perspective was a subjective perspective rooted in islamophobia.
- Closely tied to the first truth is the American understanding of Islam, which treated the entire religion as a monolith. In particular, Americans focused on the most fundamentalist and extreme forms of Islam and applied it to all Muslims.
Over the last year, I've been on a personal spiritual journey that has led me more and more to embrace Islam. Some of the most frustrating pieces of my journey have been how well-intentioned people regularly use misconceptions about Islam to express their disapproval of my changing beliefs.
While many Americans' understanding of Islam has been shaped by post-9/11 islamophobia and misconceptions, my goal is to address three common fallacies about Islamic teachings regarding dying in the name of Allah, receiving virgins in paradise, and murdering non-Muslims by examining the Quran and its historical context. What we'll see is that Islam is a far more peaceful religion than Americans like to believe, as well as it is a faith rooted in the Abrahamic tradition like Judaism and Christianity.
While many Americans' understanding of Islam has been shaped by post-9/11 islamophobia and misconceptions, my goal is to address three common fallacies about Islamic teachings regarding dying in the name of Allah, receiving virgins in paradise, and murdering non-Muslims by examining the Quran and its historical context. What we'll see is that Islam is a far more peaceful religion than Americans like to believe, as well as it is a faith rooted in the Abrahamic tradition like Judaism and Christianity.
Empathy Toward Muslim Misconceptions
As a former pastor, I can especially empathize with the frustration Muslims feel when non-Muslims assume they are all a fundamentalist caricature of Islam. I experienced these types of assumptions regularly whenever I met people who were not Christian. As chit-chat eventually turned into an entire conversation, the question was inevitably asked, "So what do you do for a living?"
I knew that, regardless of how great the conversation was going, the mood was about to change once I answered the question. Whenever I shared, "I'm a pastor, " the other person's eyes would get big, as if I said, "I just got off a spaceship from a galaxy far, far away." They would then stutter through some niceties and eventually find the courage to ask clarifying questions.
Typically, I would be asked questions like, "As a Christian, does that mean you hate gay people?" "Do you really believe the Bible is historically accurate and written by God?" The rest of the conversation would be hijacked by my need to defend labeling myself a Christian but needing to clarify I'm not one of "those" Christians.
In the same way, many Muslims in the West exist in a state of tension. The tension is between living authentically as a Muslim while at the same time constantly being conscious that everything you say and do is evaluated by the worst stereotypes of your religion. What makes the tension worse is how those stereotyping your religion are doing so because they are convinced their assumptions are based on the clear teachings of your scriptures, the Quran.
What the Quran Actually Teaches
Now, as someone who doesn't simply empathize with the Muslim experience but is learning to live as one, the misunderstanding of what the Quran teaches on a number of topics hits differently. The misconceptions people hold are no longer merely an academic exercise chasing my own curiosity but are now representative of the religion I identify with.
The Quran's Teaching About Dying for Allah
I was coming out of basketball practice and walking to my first class of the day in high school when I saw on the TV in the school cafeteria that two planes had crashed into the World Trade Center. Shortly after the initial shock, a narrative grew throughout American culture. I remember hearing the narrative that the men who died attacking the World Trade Center did so because Islam explicitly teaches that those who die for Allah will immediately enter paradise. This narrative spread like wildfire and was everywhere. It was on cable news, talk radio, and even church pulpits.
Let's ask an honest question, "does the Quran teach that Muslims who die in the name of Allah will go to paradise?" Yes, but they don't mean the way we tend to think.
Here are two texts that, on the surface, seem to support the narrative created by American mainstream media:
"And do not say of those killed in the cause of God that they are dead. No — they are living, though you don't perceive it." (Sura Al-Baqarah 2:154)
"Do not think that those killed in the cause of God are dead — no, they are living with their Lord, enjoying what He has provided for them." (Sura Al-Imran 3:169-171)
A surface-level reading could lead one to believe verses like these affirm the notion that something like a suicide bomber's act means they'll enter heaven immediately for dying in the name of Allah. However, this viewpoint is completely foreign to the text itself. The context of passages like these are nuanced and are responses to specific situations in seventh-century Arabia.
Historical context clarifies that the two texts referenced above take place within the context of Muslims being persecuted and killed for accepting Islam. For example, the first martyr of Islam is widely recognized as Sumayyah bint Khayyat. She was an enslaved woman and an early convert to Islam. After embracing Islam, she faced severe persecution for her beliefs. Sumayyah was tortured and ultimately killed by her owner, Abu Jahl, around 615 CE, making her the first martyr in Islamic history.
To be clear, no texts in the Quran support or condone the idea that committing violence in the name of Allah is honorable or rewarded. In his book "The Great Theft: Wrestling Islam from the Extremists," one of the major themes discussed by Islamic scholar Professor Khaled Abou El Fadl is:
"True martyrdom is not about taking life; it is about giving one's life for a cause greater than oneself—such as justice, truth, and the defense of the oppressed."
Martyrdom or dying in the name of Allah is virtually identical to the Christian understanding of martyrdom. In both religions, a martyr is described as a persecuted believer that persevere in their faithfulness to God in the face of violent opposition.
Nope, Paradise Has Nothing to do with 72 Virgins
Simply put, ‘no,’ the Quran does not teach that men receive 72 virgins in paradise. Tragically, many non-Muslim Westerners' concept of heaven in the Islamic tradition has more to do with virgins than what the Quran actually teaches about paradise.
Where the concept of 72 virgins comes from is actually a hadith (a collection of sayings and traditions attributed to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)). The hadith from which this idea comes is primarily considered a weak or less authentic saying by Islamic scholars.
There's a text within the Sura Al-Insan that speaks explicitly about paradise and even mentions people being there to serve. We see this passage in Sura 76:12-14, 15, which says:
"He will reward them for their patience — with a garden of robes of silk. Reclining there on couches, they shall know neither burning sun nor biting cold. The shades of the gardens shall spread over them, its fruits lowered before them…And there shall pass among them, immortal youths to serve — to see them, you would think they were pearls, scattered."
The Quran most commonly describes paradise as a beautiful garden. Interestingly, the Bible does something similar in its descriptions of heaven. The 'immortal youths' in verse 15 is metaphorical language. The immortal youths are a reflection of ourselves. They are the best versions of us without corruption. In paradise, the best versions of ourselves serve as guides that lead us into deeper intimacy with Allah.
The Quran Doesn't Command Forced Conversions of Non-Muslims
Ironically, in my experience, the belief that Muslims are supposed to kill non-Muslims who refuse to convert to Islam comes from Christians. The irony is that Christianity resulted from Emperor Constantine converting to Christianity.
As a quick history lesson, what led to Constantine's conversion? It was a vision the Emperor had where he looked to the sky on the eve of battle and saw a cross. Then he heard a voice from heaven tell him,
"In hoc signo vinces" translation "In this sign, you will conquer."
Though there are texts in the Quran that discuss warfare and conflict, nowhere are Muslims commanded to force conversion through violence. During the life of the Prophet (PBUH), he would claim his hometown of Mecca from his fiercest enemies non-violently. Islamic history has also shown how religious tolerance has been greater under Islamic governance.
In his book The Islamic Jesus, author Mustafa Akyol describes how archaeology affirms religious tolerance under Islamic rule:
"Both written and archaeological evidence today show that after the Islamic conquest of Syria, the stronghold of eastern Christianity in the seventh century, churches remained untouched and new churches were built. There are even records of places of worship shared between Muslims and Christians in the first century of Islam — in cities like Jerusalem, Damascus, and Homs." (pg. 72)
Not only does the Quran advocate for unity between the three Abrahamic faiths, but we also see ample times throughout history when Muslims created structures to express this unity. Something most people don't know is that Jews were banned from Jerusalem by Rome in 135 CE as a result of the Bar Kokhba revolt. Curiously, the ban remained in effect even after Christianity became the Roman Empire's official religion. History has shown that the ban remained in effect due to Christian bias toward Judaism.
However, in 637 CE, Caliph Umar conquered Jerusalem, bringing the city under Islamic rule for the first time. Not only were Jews allowed to return to Jerusalem, they were encouraged to do so.
At the core of Islam is a religion that prioritizes the worship of one God. The worship of this God is expressed primarily through right practice. Right practice is marked by living in a way that prioritizes justice, compassion, and mercy. Dying in the name of Allah has nothing to do with taking life but giving one's life for a cause greater than ourselves. Paradise is aligned with Jewish and Christian ideas emphasizing intimacy with God over the individual's passions. Finally, not only does Islam not teach to harm non-Muslims for refusing to convert, but history is full of examples where Islamic rule brought greater unity and religious diversity.
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Thanks for stopping by and reading this article! If my work has served you or you want to contribute to creating authentic faith connections, consider becoming an Authentic Faith Advocate.