One Person at a Time, Gently

Here's another innovative activist's approach. I received the following letters from a person who wishes to remain anonymous:

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Dear Citizen Warrior,

You understand the importance of persuasion. It is not just the information we present, it is also the manner and the order in which it is presented which makes it persuasive or not.

Here is a link to the 3 best lectures on Islam ever. And by that I mean the most persuasive:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfR3EmBs2nQ (divided into 15 segments)

He covers Islamic theology, the sharia and human rights, and how Christians can reach out to Muslims.

I'm so impressed that I'm going to invite a different person over to my house every week to watch the first 6 segments. (People who are influential in the community, like ministers of religion, policeman, lawyers and university lecturers.) In the invite I'm telling them that there is popcorn and drinks.

When they leave I will give them a copy of "The Third Choice" with http://markdurie.blogspot.com.au/2011/02/twelve-bad-ideas-for-21st-century.html


Keep up the good work.

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I've started sending the following to those in the know (on Facebook). Hopefully it will make some of the hotheads amongst us a little bit more tactful.

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Hi _______,

You don't know me but we hold many similar concerns. I too am deeply concerned about the influence of Islam in my country and the apathy and ignorance of our leaders.

I've decided to invite a different person over to my house every week to watch the first 6 segments of the following:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfR3EmBs2nQ (I think most will watch the other segments in their own time after watching these.)

If those lectures don't open a person's eyes to what we are dealing with, nothing will. They are the best introduction to Islam I've seen (and I've been researching this since before 9/11). I can understand why Pamela Geller, Allen West and Ravi Zacharias recommend Mark's book.

In the invite I'll tell them that there will be popcorn and drinks.

And when they are about to leave I will give them a copy of "The Third Choice" with http://markdurie.blogspot.com.au/2011/02/twelve-bad-ideas-for-21st-century.html

It is not just the content of those lectures which is important; it is the methodology he uses. Mark introduces the nasty side of Islam very gently. One of the problems with Islamic theology is it is so awful that most people find it hard to believe that it could actually be that bad. As the lectures progress more and more pieces of disturbing information are introduced. A bit sprinkled here and there. Not too much in one go. He references the decisions that Saudi judges make to the Quran and Hadith. And sometimes refers to some of the more embarrassing decisions which come out of Al-Azhar university, showing from Islam's most respected texts and commentaries the basis for those decisions.  And before you know it, wham! He starts to really hammer Islam. Mark explains the horrors of sharia and the doctrines on which it is built. It is Mohammed's teaching and example which is the root cause of all Islam's problems. Taqiyya is subtly yet clearly exposed. (Surprise surprise, they are not perverting Islam; it is Islam which is perverted.) Mark says there is a reformation happening in the Islamic world, it's called Al Qaeda.

The Q&As are brilliant. Dr Durie destroys a lot of myths about Islam while addressing many of the assumptions which prevent people from seeing Islam's true nature and impact on the world. He also gives much helpful advice. (e.g. What he would say to his son or daughter if they told him they wanted to convert to Islam.)

I believe we could get many of our "progressive" associates thinking (fingers crossed) if we persuaded them to watch those lectures (watch the first 2 segments and you'll understand what I mean when you see how gentle he is).

And who can resist popcorn?

Popcorn is very persuasive stuff.

If you take the time to listen to all 3 lectures I'm sure that by the time you reach the last few segments you will be as enthusiastic about them as I am.

One person at a time. That is how we are going to win this thing.

You can find the videos for those three Calvin Seminary Conference lectures here:

http://www.markdurie.com/videos-and-audios

It might be easier than watching them in segments from YouTube.

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Mutual Respect

On An Inquiry Into Islam's Facebook page, I posted a quote by Bernard Lewis: "The object of jihad is to bring the whole world under Islamic Law."

And someone made this comment: "Respect other peoples belief and they will respect yours."

Under ordinary circumstances, that seems like a perfectly reasonable thing to say. But the more I thought about it, the more it bothered me.

This is how I responded: "Should I respect another's belief that I am a kafir, an unbeliever, and therefore fair game for abuse? And if someone is following Allah's teaching that Muslims are the best of people and nonbelievers are the worst of people, will that person really respect my beliefs if I respect his? And what good would it do if he did? So I respect his belief that I am an unworthy human being, and he respects my belief that we should all live and let live? What has my offering of respect done for either of us?"

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Innovative Activist Approach

Working to counter orthodox Islam's relentless encroachment, an activist recently told us how she did it, and we think it's a brilliant, bold, and original approach. She said:

I participated in a terrific intervention to high school students and we're going to do more. We were led by a former US Marine officer, anti-jihad activist. He sent letters to everyone in local government including the mayor's office, all city councilmen, the school board and administrators of the chosen school, all police and sheriffs and hundreds of others telling them we would be exercising our first amendment rights by peacefully handing out informational flyers on the sidewalk when school lets out. The letters included links to YouTube videos about Mohammed and the Koran and also lots of other great info about the threat of Islam to all of us.

Just as we showed up to hand the kids flyers as they were leaving school, a police car drove up. When the two cops got out, they told us they were there to protect us and keep us safe as we exercised our first amendment rights. They were very friendly and even each took a flyer for themselves. Then another black and white showed up and it was these cops' commanding officer. He also said he was there to protect us and took one of our flyers.

The flyers had a picture of a turbaned man with a beard along side a baby with the caption, "married to children." Then there was a paragraph about the current Ayatollah in Iran having had sex with a four year-old girl...and information about Mohammed having sex with Aisha.

There were URLs listed and the kids were told to check it out on their cell phones. There was also a photo of an Imam grabbing the face of a little boy and kissing him on the mouth. And there were other URLs of YouTube videos for the kids to check out as well. The other side of the flyer told about the Muslim Brotherhood, etc.

As they exited the school and we handed them a flyer, we told them this 50 year-old man had sex with a four year old girl...check it out...it happens in Iran all the time. Some of the girls squealed in horror at the photo of the Imam kissing the young boy on the mouth. Most of them took the flyer and started reading it as they walked away and some even took out their cell phones and started watching the videos on the spot.

We were trying to counteract the positive image they learn throughout school about the wonderful, "religion of peace." I think we opened some eyes.

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Answers to Objections When You Talk About Islam

Below is a list of responses you are likely to get when talking about the terrifying brilliance of Islam to someone who knows little about it. The responses link to an article giving you suggestions about how to effectively respond.

If you ever come across a response not on our list, and you have difficulty answering it, please let us know; we'll work on it and add it to the list.

The good news is that the responses you will typically get are a fairly small number. You'll hear the same few objections over and over (1-7 are the most common). When you have some good answers to these objections ready at hand, you will be able to answer smoothly and with poise, without feeling tense or antagonistic.

We're hoping you will add more possible responses or advice in the comments on the articles linked below. And if you have any possible answers to the unlinked responses below, we'd love to hear them.

When you talk about Islam with non-Muslims, they are likely to say one of the following:

1. But it is just a small minority of extremists.

2. My friend is a Muslim and he's really nice.

3. What you're saying is racist.

4. Aren't you being religiously intolerant? People in this country have a right to worship as they please. Isn't religious tolerance one of our most important principles?

5. Christianity is just as bad.

6. Not all Muslims are terrorists.

7. We can't go to war with 1.3 billion Muslims!

8. Are you an Islamophobe?

9. Isn't this bigotry?

10. Are you a hatemonger? I don't believe in promoting hatred.

11. You should really talk to some Muslims. You're getting all this from books.

12. There are peaceful passages in the Qur'an too.

13. People take what they want from any writings. You can pretty much justify anything if you quote it out of context.

14. There are millions of Muslims in this country and they're not blowing things up.

15. You are a xenophobe.

16. Fundamentalism is fundamentalism.

17. Haven't mosques and churches and synagogues sat side-by-side in the Middle East for a thousand years?

18. You're taking the verses of the Quran out of context.

19. But jihad is an internal struggle.

20. Criticizing Islam will push the moderates into the arms of the extremists.

21. You're cherry-picking verses out of the Quran.

22. Wouldn't it be better to support the peaceful Muslims (than to criticize the violent ones)?

23. What about the good verses in the Quran?

24. The majority of Muslims are peace-loving people.

25. Who are we to tell Muslims to change their beliefs?

26. What can we do about it?

I also have an all-purpose response to any objection you get. Simply ask: "How did you learn about Islam?" Your question will probably reveal to both of you how little the other knows about Islam, and that is a good place to start.

For more good responses, check out Frequently Asked Questions from Islam 101. The author, Gregory M. Davis, provides some good answers.

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There Are Morons in the Counterjihad Movement

Click on image to see it larger.

SOME PEOPLE can see that there are fanatical morons in the counterjihad movement and they conclude "all counterjihadists are fanatical morons."

This is the same mistake as someone noticing that the people doing the most killing in the name of their religion are Muslims and concluding that "all people who call themselves Muslims are terrorists."

Overgeneralizations are the enemy of us all.

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