Contrary to common belief, all non-Muslims are not Kafirs. Kafir literally means a ‘denier’. This term was only used for certain contemporaries of the Prophet.
Contrary to common belief, Islam is not intolerant to other religions. It teaches its adherents to give mutual respect to, to be tolerant of and to have dialogue with people of other religions.
If you want to know what is Islam you must look to its original sources: The Quran and the Sunnah. This presents Islam as it is, drawing on its original sources rather than judging it by the later day interpretations and commentaries or the practices of present day Muslims in different parts of the world. A distinction is made between Islam as presented by the Prophet Muhammad and his companions (information about which is available to us in the Qur’an and the sunnah) and Islam as represented by later Muslim generations — both in theory and practice.
A Muslim once gave a non-Muslim a copy of the Quran to read. With great enthusiasm and deference, the non-Muslim took the Quran, and read it from beginning to end. When the two next met, the non-Muslim returned the copy of the Quran with these words: “Now give me the other Quran to read.” The Muslim thought that his friend wanted a different translation of the Quran, so he found one and handed it to him. The non-Muslim examined it for a few minutes, then said: “But this is the same Quran. What I meant was—give me the Quran that you people practice in your daily lives.”
