RE: Atheism as a teacher
November 16, 2015 at 8:03 pm
(This post was last modified: November 16, 2015 at 8:05 pm by mralstoner.)
(November 16, 2015 at 3:32 pm)audiogel Wrote: I feel like because her opinion of religion is positive it is as though hers is right and more important and mine is wrong. I know I can't get in trouble for having an opinion just because it differs from that of someone else, but I need something to come back with to explain my argument in case the need arises as I'm not great at getting my point across as I can be very matter-of-fact.
Yeah, it's tough. Moderate Muslims can be very sensitive about these matters. I have a Muslim friend, she is serious about her religion but does not want to engage in debates whatsoever. It's a can of worms. She prays, fasts, eats halal, and covers her head, but then says "I don't want to know too many verses".
So how to confront people who are totally closed off and sensitive to the subject? Good question. If she engages in debate, that would require her to (a) concede that terrorists might have a credible interpretation of Islam, which then implies (b) her prophet Mohammed (and god Allah) might likewise be barbaric head-chopping terrorists.
So, it's no surprise that she gives no credence to the debate whatsoever, and wants to avoid the topic completely.
Maybe the way to approach it is to (a) for the sake of argument, assume that she is in the right, and that Islam is a religion of peace, and therefore (b) ask her for help in trying to understand how ISIS has misinterpreted Islam and © you can do that specifically by asking her to refute ISIS propaganda material that quotes from the Koran etc.
ISIS has a magazine (I forget the name) but I believe they quote liberally from the Koran. So, you could ask her for help in understanding how they've misinterpreted Islam. It's a long shot, but that might be one way to get past her wall of resistance and engage in the debate.
So, I would avoid directly arguing with her, and instead try an indirect approach of assuming she is right, and asking for her help in refuting ISIS propaganda. I doubt it will work, but that's the only approach I can think of.
