VAST DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ISLAM AND THE ACTUAL PRACTICE OF MUSLIMS

If Islam is the best religion, why are many of the Muslims dishonest, unreliable, and involved in activities such as cheating, bribing, dealing in drugs, etc.?

Answer:

1. Media maligns Islam
   Islam is without doubt the best religion. The media is continuously broadcasting and printing information against Islam. They either provide misinformation about Islam, misquote Islam or project a point out of proportion.
2. If a 50-year old Muslim marries a 15-year old girl after taking her permission, it appears on the front page but when a 50-year old non-Muslim rapes a 6-year old girl, it may appear in the news in the inside pages as ‘Newsbriefs’. 
3. Blacksheep in every community
   We are aware that there are some Muslims who are dishonest, unreliable, who cheat, etc. but the media projects this as though only Muslims are involved in such activities. There are blacksheep in every community. 
4. Muslims best as a whole
   Inspite of all the blacksheep in the Muslim community, Muslims taken on the whole, yet form the best community in the world. We are the biggest community of teetotallers as a whole, i.e. those who don’t imbibe alcohol. Collectively, we are a community which gives the maximum charity in the world. There is not a single person in the world who can even show a candle to the Muslims where modesty is concerned; where sobriety is concerned; where human values and ethics are concerned.
5. Don’t judge a car by its driver
   If you want to judge how good is the latest model of the “Mercedes” car and a person who does not know how to drive sits at the steering wheel and bangs up the car, who will you blame? The car or the driver? But naturally, the driver. To analyze how good the car is, a person should not look at the driver but see the ability and features of the car. How fast is it, what is its average fuel consumption, what are the safety measures, etc. Even if I agree for the sake of argument that the Muslims are bad, we can’t judge Islam by its followers! If you want to judge how good Islam is, then judge it according to its authentic sources, i.e. the Glorious Qur’an and the Sahih Hadith.
6. Judge Islam by its best follower i.e. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)
   If you practically want to check how good a car is, put an expert driver behind the steering wheel. Similarly, the best and the most exemplary follower of Islam by whom you can check how good Islam is, is the last and final messenger of God, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Besides Muslims, there are several honest and unbiased non-Muslim historians who have acclaimed that prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was the best human being. According to Michael H. Hart who wrote the book, ‘The 100 Most Influential Men in History’, the topmost position, i.e. the number one position goes to the beloved prophet of Islam, Muhammad (pbuh). There are several such examples of non-Muslims paying great tributes to the prophet (pbuh), like Thomas Carlyle, La-Martine, etc.

Source: answers to non-Muslims common questions about Islam