What to Do About Those Who Oppose Your Educational Efforts

SO YOU'RE trying to educate your fellow non-Muslims about Islam. And people argue with you. They defend Islam, even when they don't know anything about it. And if there are any Muslims around, they will usually tell you "true" Islam is peaceful, etc. Unless you've read one of Bill Warner's Qurans or studied a lot about Islam, these reactions are confusing and sometimes disheartening. I want to straighten out the confusion, so let me first describe our situation. We've got people who call themselves Muslims who don't know much about Islam and haven't read much of Islamic doctrine, and yet they identify themselves as Muslims. So they defend Islam when it's criticized. Then we've got the orthodox Muslims who do not want non-Muslims educated about Islam because it interferes with their political goal of bringing the whole world under Sharia law. They try to stop non-Muslims in any way they can, including arguing, accusing you of racism or "Islamophobia," deception (taqiyya), threats of violence, riots, and even murder. Then we have the non-Muslims who don't know much about Islam but are blindly committed to the admirable principle of multiculturalism, and who do not want to see any group slandered or criticized unfairly. There are a lot of them in the West, and many of them actively defend Islam against criticism. That is a lot of opposition to what we are doing. You will see that the common theme to all three of these groups is education. The orthodox Muslims are already educated about Islam, and they are committed to its goals. The Muslims in name only are not likely to listen to a non-Muslim telling them what Islam is about, since they think they already know. A large proportion of the multiculturalist non-Muslims will not listen to anyone because they are also sure they know. But there is a proportion of non-Muslims who know little or nothing about Islam and are curious. Those are the ones we should concentrate on. This is salesmanship 101: Try to find "qualified prospects" because if you waste half your time making sales pitches to people who don't have the authority to make a decision, or who don't have the money to buy what you're selling, you're not going to make a lot of sales. You're wasting far too much of your working day. You've got to focus on qualified prospects only. It's just more efficient. Your "qualified prospects" are those who have the following characteristics:
1. They are in good rapport with you. They like you. 2. They respect what you say. 3. They don't already have their minds made up about Islam. 4. They don't know much about Islam. 5. They are curious about Islam. 6. They are non-Muslims. Notice that the people we talked about earlier — the orthodox Muslims, the Muslims in name only, and the committed multiculturalists — do not qualify. If you have nothing else to do and nobody else to talk to, go ahead and tell any non-Muslim in your vicinity about the terrifying brilliance of Islam (unless it's your boss and it will get you fired, or some other practical reason like that). Why not? Something might stick. But if you have a choice, focus your efforts on the most qualified "prospects" you can find. Learn more about influencing your friends: How to approach a conversation about Islam
Answers to objections when you talk about Islam
How to think outside the persuasion box