Criticism of Islam
historical and current criticism of the Islamic religion, its teachings, actions, omissions, structure, nature or founders
Criticism of Islam can take many forms, including academic critiques, political criticism, religious criticism, and personal opinions. Subjects of criticism include Islamic beliefs, practices, and doctrines.
Criticism of Islam has been present since its formative stages, and early expressions of disapproval were made by Jews, Christians, and some former Muslims like Ibn al-Rawandi. Subsequently, the Muslim world itself faced criticism after the September 11 attacks.
Criticism of Islam has been aimed at the life of Muhammad, the central prophet of Islam, in both his public and personal lives. Issues relating to the authenticity and morality of the scriptures of Islam, both the Quran, the hadiths, and his personal life (such as the child marriage with Aisha) are also discussed by critics. Criticisms of Islam have also been directed at historical practices, such as the recognition of slavery as an institution as well as Islamic imperialism impacting native cultures. More recently, Islamic beliefs regarding human origins, predestination, God's existence, and God's nature have received criticism for perceived philosophical and scientific inconsistencies.
Other criticisms center on the treatment of individuals within modern Muslim-majority countries, including issues related to human rights in the Islamic world, particularly regarding the application of Islamic law called Sharia. As of 2025, 89 of the world's 195 countries (including non-Muslim countries) have anti-blasphemy laws, and 22 also have anti-apostasy laws.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Criticism of Islam” as historical and current criticism of the Islamic religion, its teachings, actions, omissions, structure, nature or founders. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the history & society register because the source frames it as historical and current criticism of the Islamic religion, its teachings, actions, omissions, structure, nature or founders. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Contemporary correspondence, administrative files and participant testimony can test how later narratives organized the event or institution. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1324153. The Library of Congress control number is sh2008104943. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2025.
Later summaries often reconcile disputed chronology or motive more neatly than the contemporary record permits. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Criticism of Islam” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.