The Ten Biggest Myths About Islam

An interview with historian Raymond Ibrahim challenges ten enduring myths about Islam, arguing historical clarity is essential amid terrorism, immigration pressures, and Western cultural self-doubt.

One of the most important podcast interviews of 2025 has snuck in right at the end of the year. Academic historian, public speaker and Islamic scholar, Raymond Ibrahim spoke for over two hours on the podcast platform Triggernometry about “The Real History of Islam“. In light of the recent Islamic terrorist attack at Bondi, the whole thing makes for required listening.

What follows is a summary of some of the most salient points. In particular, debunking ten of the biggest myths relating to the religion of Islam.

The list is in no way comprehensive, but my hope is that more people will take the time to benefit from the entire interview as well as Ibrahim’s internet resources and numerous books on the subject.

The Ten Biggest Myths about Islam

1. Muhammad was always convinced the revelations he received through the “angel Gabriel” were legitimate. In reality, Muhammad was initially harassed, beaten and physically assaulted. This caused him to seriously question that he was interacting with God, and he feared that it might even be the devil. Instead, he had to be convinced by his wife that the supernatural experiences and forceful messages he was receiving were indeed from ‘Allah’ and that he needed to ‘submit’.

2. Muhammad was a man of peace and never compelled people to convert. While early on in Islamic history this was true, especially when his followers were weak and outnumbered, as his power and influence grew, so did the content of his message. In the words of Ibrahim, the founder of Islam was essentially a “war lord”, and later revelations abrogated earlier ones which called for calm.

3. Jihad only means to “strive and struggle” against one’s own failings and has nothing to do with acts of violence. As the example of Muhammad himself clearly illustrates, military conquest was integral to Islam’s growth. That said, jihad can also take many different forms as the Jihad of the Tongue, Jihad of the Pen, Jihad of the Wealth and even Jihad of the Babies. Whatever promotes Islam contributes to the success of Islam’s “holy war” against unbelievers.

4. The consumption of alcohol is always wrong. While that is a requirement put upon Muslims in this life, Ibrahim shows how it is strangely reversed in the next. Experiencing paradise in Islam is about indulging in “rivers of wine delicious to those who drink” (Qur’an 47:15). This comes with the added promise of never becoming drunk or having a hangover – “Their wine will not cause intoxication or headache” (Qur’an 37:47; 56:19).

5. The Crusades were an unprovoked attack upon Muslims. The popular scholarly narrative among some historians is that before the first crusade in 1095, Muslims had lived in peaceful co-existence with Christians for five hundred years. Once again, this is patently untrue. Muslims had attacked and conquered many Christian regions such as Egypt, Syria and even where the great Augustine of Hippo once lived in north Africa (modern day Tunisia). For more on why the Crusades were seen as a moral necessity, see Rodney Stark, God’s Battalions: The Case for the Crusades (HarperCollins, 2009).

6. The Crusaders were motivated by gold, fame and land. Once again, this is simply not true. Instead, the main motivation of the Crusaders was to provide protection for Christians travelling through the Holy Land on pilgrimage. There was also a concern for the overall security of the region and the increasing threat of Muslim military expansion. If anything, the Muslims were the greater fighting force, and what is remarkable is how successful the Christian crusaders ultimately were in achieving what they did, especially via the first crusade.

7. The Spanish Inquisition was intolerant and evil. The historical context in which this practice arose is much more complicated and nuanced that many people realise. After the re-conquest of Granada in Spain, approximately 500,000 Muslims claimed to have suddenly converted to Christianity. However, they did this to deliberately deceive and undermine their new Christian rulers. As a result, church authorities had to actively discern who was genuine in their faith and who was not, lest a new form of religious jihad arise from within.

8. Islam produced a “Golden Age” of technology and cultural development. Many of the countries that were colonised by Europeans understood what occurred, in Ibrahim’s words, as “the greatest time” in their history. This is because European colonisation brought medicine, learning, science and technology. In comparison, most of the places where Islam conquered were completely devastated. In short, Islam didn’t create civilisation, but instead cannibalised the ones which already existed after Islam conquered them by force.

9. Islam is currently invading the West. While some might obviously think and feel this way, the mass migration of Muslims has occurred due to Western political leaders actively enabling it. Hence, what we are witnessing is not so much an invasion as an intentional invitation, which we are increasingly reaping the fruit of. What’s more, “white guilt” is a manufactured cultural cancer which is destroying the West from within.

10. Radical Muslims are not being true to their religion. Most people consider 10% of Muslims as being “radical” in their religious beliefs. However, it is nominal Muslims who are not being faithful to the tenets of their religious beliefs. Why is that people who are serious about following Jesus forgive their enemies, whereas Muslims who follow Muhammad follow his example by slaying them? Ibrahim has written extensively on this issue from a historical perspective, especially in his latest book, The Two Swords of Christ: The Five Centuries of War between Islam and the Warrior Monks of Christendom (Simon & Schuster, 2025).

Bondi Terror, Immigration, Assimilation and Western Self-Loathing

The recent terrorist attack in Bondi has revealed just how serious the threat of Islamic terrorism is. It is vital that everyone understands the religious beliefs which are motivating the people who are coming in — largely unchecked — into the West. When these immigrants are unwilling to assimilate, but instead remain in smaller ghettos, extremism thrives.

Ibrahim’s most provocative point, though, is that it is not Muslim people who are ultimately the problem, but the policies of politicians in the West. The self-loathing and hatred of our own country is the thing that is destroying Western civilisation the most. The religion of Islam is simply filling an ideological vacuum which Western liberalism has inflicted upon itself.

Like the proverbial Trojan Horse in Greek history, what we need to understand and realise is that under the ‘gift’ of multiculturalism lies a latent danger which needs to be recognised and dealt with before it’s too late.

For places such as the United Kingdom and possibly even Australia, the fighting has already begun.