Tolstoy once said, “ The most difficult of subjects can be explained to the most slow witted man, if he has not formed any idea of them yet; but the simplest thing can not be made clear to the most intelligent of men, if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of a doubt, what is laid before him”
This universal flaw in the human psyche is the cornerstone of the anti Islam movement. An entire portion of global and national society that has never learned anything, not produced by for profit polemics,never sat in a Muslim home for tea or a meal, never been to a Muslim event, yet they somehow “know all about” Islam and Muslims.
Armed with 5-6 isolated Quranic verses, a handful of edited or questionable hadith, a book of unverified history, and a single reference from Umdat as-Salik wa ‘Uddat an-Nasik (Reliance of the Traveler) , these self dubbed “experts” set out to make sure everyone they meet, also knows what they “know”. With a whole host of websites, radio shows, political pundits, and politicians all claiming to “know” what they “know”, it is no surprise that finding a captive audience for their message of fear, hatred, and doom is a fairly simple task.
The only problem with those who “know”, and their approach, is that on occasion, they have the misfortune of coming into contact with those who have actual real knowledge…but have no fear, those who “know” have an answer for actual real knowledge when presented to them. A logical vortex, a black hole of sorts, into which all information that challenges what they “know” is immediately sucked and crushed out of existence.
Imagine the perfect logical fallacy, only on steroids, that is just as effective as yelling “racist” in order to end a discussion. A rebuttal so perfect that it shuts down the debate, and shifts the focus of the casual observer, away from the loon’s complete lack of actual knowledge, and instead casts doubt on the integrity and honesty of those who are challenging what the loon supposedly “knows”. In other words, a troll’s dream.
The loons have created the perfect false dichotomy, where all information that refutes their views can be explained away as invalid or outright fabrications. Particularly when discussing what the Islamic view of non-Muslims is. A typical debate of this topic usually goes something like this:
Loon who ‘knows’: Islam/Quran/Shariah requires Muslims to kill, convert, enslave, subjugate,(insert coercive/oppressive action here) all non -Muslims.
Person with knowledge: Not true, Quran calls for justice and kindness towards all those seeking good relations, and absolute equity before the law for ALL men in many places. (2:256, 4:58 ,4:135, 5:8, 5:42,)
Loon who “knows”: Those verses are abrogated. ( insert biased understanding, and claims of a peaceful Meccan Quran .vs. a violent Medinan Quran)
Person with knowledge: How does that argument apply or make sense? These verses all come from either the first ( 2) or the last two( 4 and 5) chapters to be revealed in Medina.
Loon who “knows”: Doesn’t matter, they’re peaceful, they’re abrogated. Shariah also calls for the death,enslavement,(insert oppressive verb here) of non-Muslims
Person with knowledge: Actually, sharia calls for kindness to, protection of, equitable treatment of, even charitable giving, all to non-Muslims. The 12th century maliki jurist Shihab al Din al Qaraafi(rA), stated in his book of Islamic jurisprudence, ‘al Furuq’, that to even utter a harsh word against a non-Muslim neighbor was a blameworthy violation of an oath of Allah, His Messenger, and the religion of Islam.(pg 14)
Loon who “knows”: taqiyya, Taqiyya, TAQIYYA!!!! more Muslim lies to further Islam. I “know” Muslims are required in the Quran to lie about Islam to non-believers to spread Islam and win coverts. Then you can take over.
Person with knowledge: Could you provide that ayat of Quran? I hear about it all the time, but have never seen it. In all my years studying Quran I have never seen this famous verse.
Loon who “knows”: (45+ minutes later) I don’t know where it is, but I “know” it’s in there. You’re spinning your taqiyya to fool and deceive people like your prophet told you to, but you don’t fool me. I “know” better. I “know” all about you.
You will notice the one who “knows”, dismisses or ignores all information that does not validate their position. As a matter of fact, any information that challenges what they “know”, is automatically invalid or untrue, without the need for pesky verification. From this point on, the person with actual knowledge is forced to spend the remainder of the debate trying to establish, in an impersonal setting, that they are honest and trust worthy, or simply walk away from the discussion amidst a volley of slurs, vulgarities, and accusations of religiously sanctioned deception.
The newby at confronting those who “know” may attempt to discuss the proper shari meaning, interpretation or application of the term “taqiyya”. Explaining the difference in Sunni and Shi’a views of the topic, listing the story of Sumaya bint Khayat (rA), the torture of her and her family, or explaining the concept of qaraha. None of this knowledge means anything to the one who “knows”. To them: Muslims can renounce their faith under threat of death = Muslims can lie about their faith = Muslims can tell a Russian alcoholic that Muslims are required to down a pint of vodka every Thursday in order to get him to convert, when the truth is alcohol is forbidden.
To the one who “knows”, the only valid information is that type which validates, and assists in their spread of fear and ignorance. They are uninterested in learning, or even entertaining ANYTHING which does not act in that capacity.
Which brings me to the entire point of this discussion: What do we do with them?? How do you deal with those who have renounced logic? condemned compassion? who mock knowledge and celebrate ignorance, division, and malice? Do we accept them as they are and risk being infected with their lust for war? Do we ostracize them and make it completely clear that the liberty movement has no room for fear, ignorance, and hatred? or do we continue to attempt to educate and reach out to them? I guess that is a question every liberty activist will have to answer for themselves…
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