Growing up in the United States, I have always been stopped and asked questions about my dress and religion. I had grown accustomed to it and accepted it, until I moved to the U.A.E.

When I would go back to the states, I would get so annoyed when people would stare at me and ask me very ignorant questions about my hijab and religion. I grew accustomed to westerners knowing about Islam. I even assumed that highly educated individuals would have a little knowledge about Islam. I mean why are you spending so much money to attend Harvard and Yale and Princeton if you aren't becoming more wordly and knowledgable?

No seriously, I would just stare or gap at people when they would ask me the most absurd questions, and say 'Are you kidding? You are serious?!'

So I decided to compose a list of things (with the help of references) called:

The least you need to know about Islam

• The study of Islam in Europe and North America has been colored by false sterotypes that have hindered good relations and been the cause of much misunderstandings and hostility.

• Muslims are found in every corner of the world and have a history and culture that is as rich as any other.

• Muslims in general feel they have been stereotyped and are being treated unfairly by the media and entertainment industries.

• It is unfair to point to a few villains in the Muslim world and then blame all Muslims for the actions of a very few.

• Islamic beliefs are not difficult to comprehend. Ideas about God, angels,prophets, and such make Islamic concepts seem close to Judeo-Christian concepts.

• The word Islam means peace and surrender to GOD.

• Humans have a kind of free will that God is testing.

• People have a moral compass called fitrah, which directs them to look for God.

• There are 5 basic pillars of Islam

• The first pillar is to proclaim that there is No other God, but Allah and that Prophet Muhammad is his last messenger. This is called the Shahada.

• Muslims have to pray five times a day at predetermined times. This is the second pillar of Islam.

• Muslims gather on Friday afternoon for their congregational religious service.

• Muslim students and employees need a few minutes every afternoon to preform their obligation of prayer.

• Zakat, the third pillar of Islam, is a yearly chairtable tax on every Muslim that amounts to 2.5 % of all the persons annually valued assets.

• Ramadan is the name of the month in which Muslims fast from food and drink from first light until sunset.

• Fasting, the fourth pillar of Islam, teachs Muslims to control their desires and urges of worldly satisfaction and to feel empathy for the poor. The reward for successful completion is forgiveness of the individuals sins.

• Performing Hajj is the 5th pillar of Islam.

• Every Muslim who can afford it and who is physically able to must make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in his or her life.

• The Hajj ritual consists of a series of activities each designed to teach the pilgrim a different lesson.

• The main idea behind the Hajj is to learn how to let go of what we love in place of God.

• The hijab is worn by Muslim women to cover their hair.

• It protrays modesty and sincercity and vanity that degrads women is removed.

• Stereotypes of Islam being a violent religion began in the Middle Ages and have persisted into modern times.

• Jihad does not mean holy war. It means the exertion in the cause of GOD.

• Any war for conquest or glory is forbidden in Islam.

• Terrorism is forbidden in Islam, and the actions of people who engage in it and use Islamic slogans are not sanctioned by Islamic teachings.

• Islam has a strong tradition of social acitivism, and the Quran calls on Muslims to oppose vice by working for the welfare of their fellow human beings. Such a struggle is also considered a jihad.

* Go to your local bookstore if you are still intrested in islam and get the book "The complete idiots guide to Islam" no disrespect to anyone, but the book is actually very useful and educational.

I hope this was useful.