What religion is most misunderstood: Islam or Christianity?

Question

I think both are grossly misunderstood, but I think Islam is probably the most misunderstood because of the extremist sects that are always in the news. What do YOU think?

Answer 1

Extremists have managed to lead a lot of innocent people into thinking that this religion is all about anarchy but generally, both religions are groslly misunderstood.
The reason is simple: Take Yahoo Answers for instance and the people here. How many of them have devoutedly sat down and studied the scripture of either religion?
I see some questions about either religion and they are simply put forth by people who read Genesis and say, How the heck did God destroy the whole world and then revive it? Or who read war-time verses from the Quran and say this religion wants you to kill everyone!!
And then there are hundreds upon hundreds compelled to strike hatred and contumacy between religions (including the so-called Islamic terrorists who do splendidly well at maligning the name of Islam - can you blame the families of victims for hating Islam? No!) and doing a great job. I say it again and again: The average person has not done adequate religious research on either religion and hence their opinions are fed by the media and those of other people and so they are further and further away from the primary source it self.
We could sit back and celebrate our similarities and marvel in the differences - I love to do that as a compulsive reader of both the Bible and the Quran.
May all people be led to a path of tolerance. God bless.
Cheers.

Answer 2

Considering how many sects each one has, I'm guessing both are pretty well misunderstood by the vast majority. People can't even agree on whether Mormans and Jehova's Witnesses even count as Christians. Protestants add a new branch every other year, Catholics keep relaxing the rules as they keep losing members. They're both using a mistranslated Bible. Muslims have been fighting over the proper heir to Muhammod for centuries. God only knows why something as fundamental as then wasn't written in the Koran. Really, only God knows. The fact that Judaism, Islam, and Christianity all started from the same religion and therefore are all technically worshipping the same God and arguments all come down to who is the appropriate prophet is ridiculous. I don't understand any of them. They all worship the same God, have mostly the same rules (including the obsession with pork and gay people). What's the problem?

*extremist on both sides suck. A fundamentalist Muslim might be a suicide bomber, and talking to a fundamentalist Christian might make you contemplate suicide yourself

Answer 3

I'd say they are both equally misunderstood by the other. Christians have a hard time understanding Muslims, and Muslims find it difficult to understand Christians. For those who aren't adherents of either, I guess it would depend on the culture surrounding that person. Athiest Americans probably understand Christianity more than Islam. It all depends on what side of the fence you are on.

Answer 4

Yes I agree with you that Islam religion is most misunderstood by the other religion followers such as christians and jews.They quoted only certain verse of the holy Qur'an for discrediting Islam.In the holy Qur'an we should understand one surah by studying all verses as a whole so we will know the. intention of Allah.We should know also the cause of certain verses given by Allah through Muhammad pbuh prophet.They do not make a clear difference between the islamic teaching itself purely and the wrong practice of its followers.Jihad is often be implemented wrongly.They treated muslims generally by a wrong doing of a few of muslim who did a terrorism.They acussed that muslims are terrorists.They did not want to recognize that a few of the followers of other religion have terrorism too.

Answer 5

All religions are seriously misunderstood, even by the believers. That is why all the Prophets have been persecuted, and the religious denominations could not be unified.
The reason is that the concept about the One True God and His creation, the human soul, the eternal life, the divine love, the relationship between God and humanity...are all too high beyond human understanding in the old periods of our immaturity.
However, the divine education established by the Divine Messengers of God had brought mankind to higher and higher levels of civilization. It is hoped that with the great leap of humanity in this age of maturity will enable us to solve most effectively all misunderstandings through universal education and peaceful consultations.

Answer 6

If you mean, misunderstood by people who do not practice any sect of the religion - I'd say Christianity. People are eager to make up stories or relay any kind of bad information that they get on Christians as a marker for the faith itself. If I'm a Christian, and I stab Jimmy, I'm out of line, not my religion.

Answer 7

Even if there are many differences, there is more similarity between Judaism, Christianity and Islam than the other religions. They are Abrahamic religions And Islam is not a religion based on pagan gods like Allat and other moon divinities. "And from among His Signs are the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. Do not bow down (prostrate) to the sun nor to the moon, but only bow down (prostrate) to "Allah" Who created them, if you (really) worship Him." [Quran 41:37]

Answer 8

All of them,none of them are left out.Islam has only been exposed to the media on a global scale but u think because of that ppl understand christanity?No there are tonnes of other ppl who do not want to understand any other religion other than theirs,only it's not brought out by the media.

O yea it's brought out in yahoo answers with all the atheists bashing christanity.

Answer 9

I don't much about Islam, but one thing I know is that Christianity is either crossly misunderstood or is just useless!

Answer 10

Islam since it is two different scets (Shia and Sunni) who hate each other yet both believe in the same religion. Go figure.