Thanks for the great work you’re doing. Please have a look at the attached leaflet. I print copies of this leaflet regularly and leave them on the train when I commute to work. I have tried to give people an idea of Islam’s essential character and how this is the inevitable product of Muhammad’s character. I’ve tried to illustrate his character with examples and also show how Islamic teachings and practices are based on them.
The actual details of the leaflet are not really my main concern in this message. I’m perfectly happy for someone to produce a better leaflet. The PDFs that you have on your site are very good. I do think though that they are pitched a bit high for many of the people that I come across and they would be more expensive to print in the numbers that I use. My leaflet has the advantage of being two-sided. I print 10 copies, flip the paper over and put it back in the printer and print 10 times again. I then cut the sheets in half and I have 20 copies of a 2 sided leaflet. This all helps to keep down the cost. Being half-size sheets, they are easier to put down on seats inconspicuously and carry around in my rucksack.
You give some excellent advice about talking to people on these matters. However, there many times when we simply don’t get the opportunity to talk to people but we still need to do something. I think there are probably many people who would feel able to distribute some leaflets in the way that I do.
There are plenty of other places where they could be left (eg. Waiting rooms, airports, stations, buses). They are a good way of getting the information into the public domain and presenting it to people who would not go looking for the information on the Internet. The leaflets can prompt people to look up the sites on the Internet and learn more.
The Internet is fantastic for disseminating information when people request it but if people don’t think to request it you can’t be heard in cyberspace. So leafleting and the Internet can work in partnership.
By putting the leaflets on a site like yours and enabling people to download, print and distribute a ready-made leaflet we’re removing an obstacle to progress. By putting the source of the leaflet on the leaflet itself we can complete the circle and enable new people to download, print and distribute. We thus establish a virtuous circle that is self-reinforcing.
It is interesting to think of a few numbers here. If I distribute 50 leaflets and 2 people respond by printing another 50 each, 150 leaflets have been distributed. If 4 people respond to their 100 leaflets and distribute 50 copies each, that’s 200 more. If each time the cycle is repeated 2 out of each 50 respond by distributing 50 each, we soon get some very large numbers. We are increasing the number of leaflets by powers of 2. Thus by the time the cycle has been repeated 20 times, that’s 2 the power of 20 which is 1048576. After 25 cycles, it’s 33,554,432. The assumptions about response rates may be optimistic but you can see the potential.
Read the content of the leaflet here:
Some Things You Probably Do Not Know About Islam
Here is a printable PDF versions of the leaflet:
PDF of Some Things You Probably Do Not Know About Islam
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Update: The author of the above leaflet has created another one, and it's just as good, entitled "Six Suicidal Assumptions About Islam" (read the content of the flyer here). Download his new one as a PDF document here: Suicidal Assumptions About Islam.
Update 2: He has created a third leaflet: You Must Accept My Religion. I think it's his best one yet. It never even mentions Islam or Mohammad!
Update 3: We've now got a collection of pamphlets and leaflets. Click here to check them out.
We need a nice graphic pamphlet version of "three things you should know about islam". Very concise and to the point. This pamphlet is good but the ideas need to be tightened up further. This pamphlet assumes someone already has *some* exposure to Islam.
ReplyDeleteSome of the points are interesting to read once you are exposed already. If you have no previous exposure, you will probably not care at all about some of the stuff mentioned. The video "Three things you should know about Islam" hits on the key points in a very concise way that leaves the viewer wanting to learn more or check out what was said.
Someone emailed this comment:
ReplyDeleteDear Citizen Warrior,
This is indeed a fantastic idea, and one that I have had, myself... I DO admire this individual's wording and language. I have only one quibble, and that is that the Sura and verse, or the Hadith ( as applicable ) be given in reference. To quote source would effectively demand verification, for both believers and skeptics.
Kudos to you, and to your Correspondent.
B. I take your points about references. Where I live we already have Islam very much in our faces. It's difficult to know how much knowledge to assume someone has. There is also the problem that many people have been misinformed and they base their judgements on that. The idea of the leaflet is to prod people enough so that they do visit the websites mentioned and learn more. Many are apathetic but many are also starting to wonder a bit. My guess is that we have to start with those who have begun to wake up.
ReplyDeletePitching this kind of cold calling leaflet is very difficult. Besides the judgement about what kind of foreknowledge a reader might have there is also the problem of how much they can take. Make it too grisly and people jump to the conclusion that it's been written by an extremist. Go into too much detail and others will switch off. I've also tried to steer clear of more speculative comments.
As I see it from where I am (Yorkshire, UK) our situation is already desperate and we just need to get more information into the public domain to try and counter the sugar-coating the official media gives Islam and push back against the petro-dollar funded campaign to sell Islam to the West. It also serves as a release valve for myself: at least I can feel I've hit back in my own small way.
Until someone comes up with a better leaflet I'll keep using this one but it's really urgent that the ball be got rolling.
regards: Malta_1565
Someone emailed this comment:
ReplyDeleteGREAT IDEA, I AM ON MY WAY TO KINKOS
Many people have thought of leafleting, but rarely has an article so well explained how critical it could become for our movement.
ReplyDeleteWe need to reach beyond the internet. That has been difficult, because anonymity ends outside the virtual world. Except in the case of leafleting. It's a good way to reach people who don't frequent the internet, or do so only for very limited purposes. Media outside the internet have not been very critical of Islam, precisely because non-internet media figures have no anonymity. Leaflets could help fill the huge influence gap that Islam-critical bloggers have worried about for a long time.
Of course, the content has to be scrupulously accurate and well-written. Half-truth and lying leaflets will damage the movement, not help it.
This article should perhaps be included in Citizen Warrior's favorite articles list, so people will continue to read it.
ReplyDeleteGood idea Traeh. Done.
ReplyDeleteCW,
ReplyDeleteI have the leaflet and am going to start passing them out soon. Would you or anyone on this site have any suggestions for an image on the front cover? I would also like to place the web address for Robert Spencer's "Jihad Watch" and Pamela Geller's "Atlas Shrugged" on the back page! Do I need their permission to do this? Also, do you have any other websites in mind for me to place on the back page?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. If you would like a copy of my updated version, just let me know.
Jay B.
Grand Rapids, MI
I might have to pass them out at the rally in Dearborn on May 28th as well!!
CW, thanks for posting this pamphlet. I am going to start passing them out in my area. I have to a few questions. Do you or anyone of our Warrior friends here have any suggestions for an image on the front cover. I am going to fold them in half and place an image on the front with other websites on the back page.
ReplyDeleteThe back page is where I would like to put the website of Robert Spencer's "Jihad Watch" and Pamela Geller's "Atlas Shrugged". I will contact them about this beforehand. Are there any other web links our friends here would suggest to place there as well?
I should bring some to our protest in Dearborn May 28th.
I will send you a copy if you would like after it's completed!
Jay Bruins
Grand Rapids, MI
No, you don't need anyone's permission to put a URL on the back of the leaflet. Another good one is:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.inquiryintoislam.com/
It is a site specifically designed with first-timers in mind.
I think this one is excellent too:
http://www.politicalislam.com/
For an image on the back, how about one of these:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.citizenwarrior.com/2010/08/hate-speech.html
I went to the site to download the pdf files and I get a message "internet explorer cannot recognise or find this site" etc and it wont allow me to download. I have had bad experiences with Google before and wonder if it is deliberately stopping it. (Google fudged figures on searches when Climategate was first on, refusing to link to many sites. Google is not non involved in issues, be aware please.)
ReplyDeleteAnyone who is using Internet Explorer, please simply email citizenwarriorgeneral@gmail.com and I will email you the leaflet.
ReplyDeleteAlternatively, you can download the PDF file from Firefox or Google Chrome. I don't know what the problem is with IE, but we can get around it.
Someone emailed this comment:
ReplyDeleteI noticed on the "leaflets" page some comments about not being able to download the google docs files using microsoft internet explorer. I too had this problem and it is intermittent, the fix I found was to use a different html link to access the google docs...
at this page
http://www.citizenwarrior.com/2011/04/educate-public-with-leaflets.html
you have htmls like this to access the google docs
https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0BzmyuCXS2sTdOGQ5MWNkYWItN2ZhOS00OWNkLTg0MGUtYmNlMmIxNzRjMzE3&hl=en
notice the "leaf" word this uses some google thing that doesn't download anymore(?) it has worked for me on/off in the past and now I use this kind of link
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B_UyNP-72AVKYWNiNTFlYTEtMTA1ZC00YjhiLTljMDUtMDhhNDE0NDMzNmYz
notice the "viewer" word and some different parameters. just cut/paste this url into your website and CHANGE the srcid= string to match the id= string for the other docs, then when the link is clicked it will pull up a different google viewer that still shows the pdf file but has different options. to then download the file, click FILE/DOWNLOAD ORIGINAL and it will work at least for me, i'm using windows xp & IE8, it downloads the file and opens adobe reader, then can save the pdf file to local disk
Hope this makes sense & of course, have a look at my 1 page pdf flyer I did :) I print copies & leave them various places and also post the 5 key things message around the internet
The pamphlet is in dire need of references to the Qur'an and Sunnah for all the skeptics out there.
ReplyDeleteI recommend referencing the verses from quran.com and sunnah.com. Both sites were created by muslims, so there would be no doubt as to whether the verses were real or not. As sunnah.com has hadith from many sources, as usual it's best referencing the most authentic hadith, Bukhari or Muslim, from the site.
Keep up the good work!
Hello CW and yes, thank you. I think people would feel more comfortable collaborating against such sneaky, murderous aggression if they understood they are already a target of Islam. I believe people are very frightened and education will strengthen them. Read the Koran. Can't say it enough. Know your enemy. They educated themselves about the U.S.A. and they are using our laws against us. The C.A.I.R. organization is a perfect example. They set up Christian fronts to collect money from uneducated Americans. They purchase the cheapest, most run-down real estate and build a mosque. They don't care about the zip code only that they are gaining ground to conquer the neighborhood, city, town, village, state, etc.
ReplyDeleteGet the word out.