My interview with SF Gate:

"My interview with SF Gate:

You teach students in the United States about Islamic ethics and the Quran. How well do you think Americans understand Islam today?

I would say that the average American is more informed about Islam now than prior to 9/11. Before 9/11, most Americans were either completely ignorant or misinformed. But there's been a lot of learning since then.

Still, what would you say are the biggest misconceptions?

Many Americans still think of Islam and terrorism as one and the same thing. This is a big problem. I mean, there are 1.7 billion Muslims in the world. If all of them are terrorists, the world is doomed, right? There are a certain number of Muslims who are taking their violent agenda and giving it a mask that is Islamic, but this is not what Islam is. I defy anyone to bring me one verse in the Quran that advocates violence. The Quran talks about fighting and other things, but always in self-defense, and even the verses that mention fighting say that peace is the way to go."
Abbas Kadhim