Hi everyone, welcome back to TheVeganAtheist.
This week I deconstruct and critique a Muslim
Youtuber who once identified as an atheist.
He outlines the path of his conversion and
I felt that discussing and exposing some underlining
issues may help others considering Islam specifically,
or religion in general.
I don't think he is a stupid person, but rather
misguided and influenced to accept wild beliefs
for really bad reasons.
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I hear this often in the atheist community.
I too have felt this way many times, because
there are just so many people who hold their
god belief on such a thin sliver of reasoning.
It is important to acknowledge that being
religious is not a cause of one's diminished
intelligence.
There are a lot of incredibly smart individuals,
many much more educated then I, who hold a
god belief of one sort or another.
Many theists believe what they do simply because
of indoctrination.
It is all they know, and it is the lens through
which they perceive the world around them.
For others, especially in economically challenged
communities, with little to no formal education,
people are more likely to pick up a god belief
in order to cope with their lot in life, and
hope for rewards in a life hereafter.
When these promises are packaged by seemingly
wise and knowledgeable people who hold a respected
status in their community (the imams, pastors,
priests and rabbis), skepticism and reason
are suffocated, and its easy to accept without
resistance.
It can be extremely tempting to tear into
someone who holds religious beliefs and point
out all the silly stupid things they believe,
but this is counter productive and will most
likely do nothing more then introduce emotion
and remorse, and lead each person standing
firmer in their convictions.
I'd encourage everyone to ask more questions,
get clarifications, and have the believer
explain how a) their particular god is real
b) how they happened to find themselves in
the one and true religion while the rest of
mankind got it all so very wrong.
Doing so might give them pause to question
what they hold so dear.
Lastly, I think its an excellent idea for
everyone to pick up a Qu'ran or Bible, or
whatever religious text and read it.
Doing so, you will be in a unique position
of having done something that most believers
haven't done, and can speak with authority
when challenged.
Its quite an experience having a discussion
with a theist, when you know more about their
religious text then they do.
Now, here's the first real sign of a problem.
His willingness to look past the immoral parts
of the Qu'ran and come away with a skewed
perspective of the entire text and the god
it lays out.
The Qu'ran I'm sure has many wise, moral and
helpful tips throughout its pages, just like
nearly all other religious books, but the
claim made within, is that the Qu'ran is not
merely a book written by a wise desert nomad,
but instead a god's direct message to mankind.
I can find all sorts of wise and moral lessons
in all sorts of literature... even in the
pages of comic books, but that does not in
any way elevate the textual author to divine
status.
Fear is a very strong tool for manipulation,
one that religions have used for centuries.
I personally don't find hell particularly
frightening, because I see it for what it
is, a last ditch effort by the religious to
keep you believing.
If reason can't convince you to stay, then
fear might be able to overpower your doubts.
Fear of eternal torment was a major contributor
to this Youtuber's adoption of Islam.
What I find especially curious, is that while
he was brought up in an atheistic home with
no promise of an afterlife of either the heaven
or hell variety, the mere reading of the Qu'ran
could cause him to question reality and bring
out fear for an imaginary realm that has not
been demonstrated to exist.
It would be akin to, as an adult, reading
a book about monsters, and arriving at the
conclusion that monsters are real and do in
fact live under your bed, even in the face
of all available evidence.
Nothing I could ever read would convince me
that monsters live in beneath my bed, or that
hell exists.
It would take a lot more then words printed
on paper to convince me of something so far
fetched.
When fear is employed to convince you of anything,
tread very cautiously.
Lastly, the whole notion of a hell, brings
up for me three questions that I have yet
to hear a reasonable response:
1) If Allah exists, what kind of being would
send someone to suffer eternally in hell for
merely disbelief (or belief in the wrong religion)?
2) How could any crime we commit in our short
life be worthy of eternal punishment?
Seems to me to be an infinitely disproportional
punishment for a crime.
And 3) How could you determine which god and
which religion is most correct?
Nearly all religions believe their's to be
the one and true path to a god, and disbelief
will lead to their version of hell.
If you put your metaphorical eggs in Allah's
basket, and it turns out that god's chosen
religion is actually the Second Baptist Church,
then you are royally screwed.
As a naturally skeptical and evidence demanding
person, I simply cannot comprehend how anyone
could believe a character in a book exists
because of how impressively they were portrayed.
I would imagine one would have to already
accept that such a being exists in order to
be moved to accept the description of said
person.
There are countless characters in world literature
that are both fictional, and grand is stature,
wise beyond their years, and a role model
for humanity to take note.
Yet no matter all the amazing attributes and
impressive list of accomplishments they are
all the same... a creation of someone's mind.
Unfortunately we never gets details on what
specifically solidified his acceptance of
Islam.
His reference to flip flopping between his
atheism and theism is an indication that he
struggled with skepticism and the religious
indoctrination that was supplanting it.
At some point his skeptical rational defense
faltered and he fully accepted extraordinary
claims about the universe.
The Deen Show 
is a Youtube channel hosted by a Muslim convert
that attempts to bring Islam into the 21st
century.
It is a proselytizing channel that interviews
Muslims on a variety of topics including conversion
stories, proofs of Islam, pop culture Muslims,
and oddly MMA.
Its an attempt to make Islam more approachable
to a western audience.
Yusuf Estes (born Joseph Estes) is an American
preacher from Texas who converted from Christianity
to Islam.
He is active in Islamic missionary work in
the US teaching the techniques on how to convert
non-Muslims to Islam.
Dr. Shabir Ally is a prolific debater, author
and speaker, specializing in Islam and Christianity.
He is known for a more moderate and scholarly
interpretation of Islam.
He devotes a lot of his work to steering Christians
towards Islam by arguing against Christian
apologetic.
These men are all selling Islam and are apologists
on a mission.
Every major religion will have their equivalent,
ie, well spoken proponents that work to bring
their particular interpretation of their particular
religion to the masses.
It is crucial to consider the arguments against
your beliefs before accepting them.
In order to find everything wrong with Islam,
just ask a Christian apologist.
Conversely if you want to find out everything
wrong about Christianity, ask a Muslim apologist.
Test your religious beliefs as you would test
others.
Muhammad riding a winged horse to heaven sure
does sound silly, but maybe your belief in
talking snakes, donkeys and zombie Jesus is
just as ridiculous.
Unsurprisingly, he was
tempted towards arguments for Christianity
but found his way back to Islam.
Many of the same techniques and arguments
used by Muslim apologists are also used by
Christian ones.
There's a lot of overlap and no real way,
other then pure assertion, to determine who
comes out victorious.
There is a massive body of literature and
countless debates and lectures on Christianity
versus Islam, and apologists on either side
have developed defenses that convince only
those who already side with one or the other.
If you are leaning towards Islam, you will
find the arguments against Christianity more
convincing.
If you are leaning more towards Christianity,
then you will think that its apologetic is
stronger.
We all ought to be mindful of our natural
inclination to fall into echo chambers of
our own creation.
Everyone thinks they are right about the majority
of their beliefs, yet it is evident to many
others how wrong they really are on so many
of them.
When we are convinced of something, and are
unwilling to entertain the idea we may be
wrong, we have strolled into dangerous waters.
Never stop questioning.
