Advice to Muslims: Stop Reading the Quran
Without fail, I get a few dozen emails a day. The most frequent request I receive from my readers is that I misjudge Islam and if only I would read the Qur'an, I would see the truth and stop being such a hateful, bigoted, racist, intolerant bastard. Nope, sorry Ahmed, reading the Qur'an is what has turned hundreds of millions of people in the world into hateful, bigoted, racist, intolerant bastards.
Fortunately for the civilized world, the only reason the world isn't filled with a billion and a half hateful, bigoted, racist, intolerant bastards is that most Muslims cannot read and therefore haven't even read the Qur'an (1).
However, what do Muslims say about those of us with a modicum of intelligence who have read the Qur'an and still remain immune to its vile teachings and continue to write bad things about Islam? I'll tell you, they offer the excuse that reading the Qur'an doesn't make one an expert on Islam (2).
Four years ago I left this advice to Muslims on a Pakistani Housewife blog:
A Housewife's Weblog, 25 Apr 2009, Knowledge is Power
... please be aware that the problem is not that Muslims are not reading the Qur'an; the problem is that Muslims are reading the Qur'an. Christians and Jews are not reading the Qur'an and they are living a life that Muslims can only dream about in future paradise. You cannot enter the 21st century by following the rules of the 7th century.
Jews abandoned the harsh punishments of the Old Testament more than 2,000 years ago. For example, the death penalty was abolished by the Rabbis 700 years before Mohammed. Want to live well, be educated, healthy, and comfortable? Be like the Jews. Value learning above all else.The Jew who has only read one book is a stupid Jew.
And, no, I am not saying that reading the Bible will make one a better person.
ENDNOTES
(1):
Planck's Constant Blog, Stupidity Explains Why Women Convert to Islam
[From: The News International, Pakistan]
Fact: Of the 1.4 billion Muslims 800 million are illiterate (6 out of 10 Muslims cannot read). In Christendom, adult literacy rate stands at 78 percent.(2010 est.)
(2):
Planck's Constant Blog, Satisfying Muslims By Reading the Qur'an
But when I point out that I fear Islam precisely because I have indeed read the Qur'an, then Muslims will leave comments like the following: "i hope u know just reading the Qu'ran doesnt make u an expert on islam so stop making ur self look lik an ass." -- reader kim qali juong in response to my article FAQ.
So there you have it: if you write bad things about Islam, you don't know what you are talking about because you have not read the Qur'an. If, however, you have actually read the Qur'an, and you still write bad things about Islam, you still don't know what you are talking about because reading the Qur'an does not make you an expert on Islam.
