We've Got a Mission For You, Should You Decide to Accept It

Why won't you listen to me?!!

We need to harness the energy, the intensity, the panic and anger people feel when they discover that Islam is not a religion of peace, and that its influence is growing worldwide. It freaks people out. They don't really know what to do. We need to channel that energy in the direction of informing the misinformed. And doing this intelligently and skillfully.

This is our most urgent task. Too few people are becoming informed because those who find out are so freaked out by what they learn that they turn the misinformed away from this information instead of bringing them in. People find out and then try to tell others about orthodox Islam, but their intensity seems hateful and fanatical to the misinformed (people who are as yet unacquainted with orthodox Islam).

So your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to go to other counterjihad sites like Jihad Watch or Atlas Shrugs or Bare Naked Islam, and interact in the comments. Tell people what they can do about Islam. Tell people they should try to inform their fellow non-Muslim citizens, and tell them how. Leave links. Quote articles. Answer people when they seem to be searching for answers. Argue in favor of getting through to the innocent and misinformed people of the world, and doing it with compassion and courtesy.

And when you see people are discouraged or demoralized because nobody will listen to them, help them overcome their demoralization. Often this is the real problem. People are so frustrated and discouraged when they fail to get through to people, they become angry at every misinformed person they talk to, which prevents them from getting through to anybody except those who already know.

If you do this and someone argues with you and you don't know how to reply to them, feel free to email us and we'll help you with a response.

The Case of Eric Allen Bell

The following article was written by Greg Hamilton on his blog, The Malsi-Tung Social Virus. It articulates an insight we could use at least some of the time when we talk to people unacquainted with Islam.

At the beginning of 2012, Eric Allen Bell (EAB) was a staunch defender of Muslims and Islam in America. He was making a documentary about the resistance of people in Murfreesboro to a mosque with a capacity for 45,000 people being built in their town. EAB was firmly on the side of the Muslims for, as a man with strong liberal views, this was a clear case of reactionary prejudice against a minority culture. By the end of 2012 EAB had become an outspoken critic of Islam and firmly committed to opposing its growth and influence.

What had happened to change his mind? What processes had caused such a reversal of sentiment towards Muslims and Islam?

We can understand a significant amount about EAB by looking at the typical configuration of moral foundations for liberals. As I have shown in a previous article, the liberal character is strongly influenced by the Care foundation. This Care foundation is triggered by perceived threats to vulnerable groups such as minorities, immigrants, gays, etc. The liberal often stands in opposition to what he sees as the dominant culture that he belongs to and stands up for sub-cultures that do not sit easily within the dominant culture. The liberal is uncomfortable with dominance and seeks to compensate by helping and protecting the interests of supposedly weaker elements.

It was this Care foundation that was at work when EAB was supporting the Muslims of Murfreesboro to build their mosque. They were the weaker, non-dominant party in the conflict and a typical beneficiary of liberal goodwill and protectiveness based on the Care foundation.

It is almost impossible to change people’s attitudes when they are aligned with moral foundations in this way. The intuitive part of the mind is extremely quick and powerful and uses the ego to rationalize the emotionally moral position that is habitually adopted by someone. In his book, The Righteous Mind, Jonathan Haidt calls this “the elephant,” the automatic and habitual aspect of the brain which “leans” one way or the other on controversial and emotive issues. We judge according to intuitions, then look for respectable reasons to justify how we feel.

Nonetheless, EAB did change his position, so what happened?

Well, it just so happened that EAB took a ride in a taxi driven by an Egyptian Coptic Christian. EAB asked him if he was excited about the removal of Hosni Mubarak, to which the taxi driver replied “no, I am very worried for my family and other Coptic Christians.” EAB inquired further and discovered a little bit more about the plight of non-Muslims in Muslim majority Egypt.

The plight of the Copts triggered Eric’s Care foundation since he is a person who is genuinely concerned about the treatment of vulnerable people. He was able to switch sides emotionally and see Muslims in the role of persecutors rather than the persecuted — which is how he had habitually seen them until then. It is this emotional shift that counterjihadists need to foster in those still blind to Islam’s depredations. Liberals are dominated by their Care foundations and you have to find ways to trigger this foundation to effect a change of perspective. You will get nowhere talking about threats to the dominant culture as liberals frequently see this as paranoia or scaremongering. The “elephant” will be extremely quick in finding ways to defend against a different way of looking at things. But once you have triggered the Care foundation on a different target, the mind becomes receptive to information which confirms the emotional position. Intuitions come first, strategic reasoning second.

This is one of the lessons to be drawn from moral foundations as expressed in the liberal mind. Trigger the emotions of the Care foundation in relation to vulnerable groups suffering from Muslim persecution and the liberal mind will become far more receptive to information critical of Islam and Muslims. This is one of the reasons why Raymond Ibrahim's monthly report on Christian persecution and Political Islam's Bulletin of the Oppression of Women are so valuable.

Once this emotional shift has occurred, the way is open to a more honest look at the teachings of Islam and the character of Muhammad. EAB had both the integrity and the courage to do this — even as a high-profile figure with a great deal to lose by doing so.

Liberals have traditionally seen themselves as occupying the moral high ground and tend to treat people with different views in a condescending manner. They have often been the people drawing attention to the hypocrisy of others. But the tables have now turned and it is the counterjihad movement who should be calling liberals out on their hypocrisy: Why do they turn a blind eye to the persecution of minorities in Muslim countries; to the human rights abuses between Muslims; to the status of women in Islam? Why do they claim to be in favor of universal human rights yet give Muslims immunity from their critiques? Why do they lack the courage to ask themselves probing questions about the compatibility of Islam with universal human rights?

But still, until their Care foundation is redirected towards the victims of Islam they will always find ways to avoid dissonant information; to argue (however absurdly) that it's none of their business; to believe the fairy tale accounts of Muhammad's life and character (in books by authors like Karen Armstrong, for example) and the implausible accounts of Muslim multicultural tolerance in the Middle Ages.

Footnote: It is significant that the crucial exchange in the above account took place in the relative intimacy of a taxi and during a non-confrontational conversation. Such encounters open us up to new ways of looking at the world and allow us to experience different emotional reactions to our personal norms. Once we are engaged in a heated or tense debate our animal brains are locked in combat and we are unable to alter our perspective. This is a hopeless position from which to effect change in others. It is also noteworthy that the taxi driver expressed a poignant personal response to the Arab Spring which triggered the opening up to a different view of the situation to the one Bell had previously held. This echoes a quote from Goethe:

What's uttered from the heart alone will draw the hearts of others to your own. 

Islam in a Nutshell Brochure

The Counter Jihad Coalition in California put together a brochure entitled "Islam in a Nutshell." Here's what the creators of the brochure said about it:

What we have found is that many people still do not know Islam. And they do not want to take much time to learn it. This simple short brochure gives a good summary about the doctrine in 10 minutes of reading.

I always carry some with me wherever I go. And pass them out at church, work, grocery store, cleaners, etc. My cleaners today asked me for more as he said people like them.

This is a simple tool you can use. Print out the PDF documents, fold them into brochures, and keep them handy. It provides good information with brevity, and web addresses for more information.

Islam in a Nutshell (PDF document)

Prevent 9/11 From Being Hijacked

The following is a message from Freedom Annie:

9/11 is rapidly approaching, and we will once again remember what so many lost with the treacherous acts of terrorism on American soil.

This was an assault on freedom everywhere; not just in America — a cold and calculated plan to commit jihad against our freedoms on a global scale, for the world to see. This assault was to bring us to our knees as they attempted to behead our way of life and bring us under their tyrannical rule.

We must all stand together around the globe in one voice and say No More!

We must stand up and be heard.

We must speak out in one voice to say we will not allow these brutal acts of terrorism to bully us into submission. We must stop their agenda to dominate the world with Sharia Law in our own countries. We must hold tight to our freedoms, our liberties and our rights to live free. We the people can and will be heard, but you must act now.

Let’s flood our social media with this message! Let's "Speak Up About Jihad" on 9/11 to counter the Muslim attempt to hijack 9/11. The Political Action Committee (AMPAC) that is sponsoring the “Million Muslim March” is now called the “Million American March Against Fear on 9/11/13,” according to its Facebook page.

AMPAC says the march on DC is also a chance for American Muslims to stand up and “fight the injustices being committed” against them — to demand their “civil rights be protected by our government.”

Here is a novel idea for AMPAC: Why don’t you march on DC on the anniversary of the worst terrorist attack on the U.S. soil and denounce the “extremists” in your religion who kill in the name of Islam? Why don’t you march and condemn the actions of fellow American Muslim Dzhokhar Tsarnaev one of the Boston bombers? Why don’t you call out the despicable human rights violations against women that Sharia law condones?

No, instead AMPAC organizes a march for civil rights on a day we remember the murderous attacks brought to us at home by Muslim fundamentalists.

Let us begin preparing now to flood our social media with clear, calm, understated but solid information about jihad on 9/11. Start collecting images and facts, articles and videos that say most clearly to everyone what jihad is, and how Islamic doctrine motivated the attacks on 9/11. And on that day, unleash the torrent of the very best of your collection for everyone to see. This year, let’s prevent 9/11 itself from being hijacked.

The Bare Bones Message

What is written in Islamic texts is dangerous to non-Muslims. That's it. That's the only message we need to get across. When this sinks in, it changes everything. It's a bitter pill to swallow, but from that point on the person will see the world with new understanding. From that point on, the person will no longer be bamboozled by the amazing amount of nonsense uttered by so many in the media. From that point on, the person is no longer a "useful idiot" (inadvertently supporting a cause that takes away freedom, rights, and the lives of innocent people).

The message we need to get across is simple, but it's still too much for many people to emotionally cope with. It ruins the life they once had. It shatters their innocence forever. Because of this, they will immediately try to find a way to dismiss this simple message. The first and easiest thing to say is, "Other religions have violence and intolerance in their texts." If you have no answer to this, they will be relieved. They can safely put the issue back out of their minds. "Everything is okay," they'll think, "Islam is just like other religions." There are other versions of this same objection. For example, Christianity is just as bad, all religions are evil, there are extremists in every religion, etc. (We have answers to these objections here.)

However, if you answer the objection successfully, the next thing people will usually come up with is, "Most Muslims don't follow the texts." That's somewhat true, and it's a good thing! But it doesn't change the fact that the texts themselves are dangerous to non-Muslims. It doesn't make the problem go away. Other versions of this are: Only extremists or fundamentalists take the texts literally, not all Muslims are terrorists, I know a Muslim and he's really nice, etc.

Just like getting any horrible news, people will try to deny it. That is the first line of emotional defense. They'll try to find a way to escape from the terrible news and its implications. But if you can prevent someone from escaping the hard fact, you will have done all you need to do. Reality will teach them the rest.

There is a lot we can say about Islam. But it's good to be clear about the most important fact to get across, and to stay focused on it: What is written in Islamic texts is dangerous to non-Muslims. Get this to sink in.

Pamphlet to Hand Out at Protests and Elsewhere

The protest in Manchester

The following is a pamphlet someone (who wishes to remain anonymous) wrote for the protest in Manchester, Tennessee. It is meant to be printed on both sides and folded in half. You have the author's permission to use it in any way you want.

Basics of Islam pamphlet (PDF document)

Hand it out at your next ACT! for America or Q Society or English Defense League meeting. Hand it out at protests. Hand it out to your friends and family, at your synagogue, temple or church.

For more leaflets, check this out. Also see these informative flyers by Civilus Defendus. And this brochure by Islam Monitor.

How Do You Get Someone to Take a Look?

I remember listening to a recording of a humorous speaker using the analogy of a guy who slowly loses his hair until he has only one hair left on his head. He shampoos that hair and combs it lovingly every day. But one morning when he wakes up, he looks down at his pillow and sees what was his last remaining hair sitting there on the pillow. And he cries out, "My God! I'm bald!"

When I look at all the information pouring in from Turkey to Bangladesh, from Britain to Australia, about the relentless encroachment of orthodox Islam, it seems that anyone should be able to easily see that Islam is a dangerous ideology and something should be done about it.

People who don't see this seem like the guy with one hair left, unwilling yet to recognize that he is going bald.

But then I realize that all this "information pouring in" is not being seen by those who are still unacquainted with Islam. If the only thing you read was the Huffington Post and the New York Times, Time Magazine and Newsweek, and all you watched was CNN and MSNBC, you would feel that you had a very good grasp of what's going on in the world, and yet you would have a very different view than readers of Jihad Watch or Citizen Warrior. From that point of view, anyone who thinks Islam is the problem would appear much like the sexist, racist bigots of yesteryear, so you wouldn't listen to them, further cutting you off from your last remaining available source of the information that could potentially pour in.

How do we open this closed door? If you try forcing the door open, the person could respond by reinforcing the door.

It's possible the door cannot be opened from outside. Maybe it has to be opened from within.

What would motivate a person unacquainted with Islam to open the door to the hideous, frightening, enraging information waiting to pour in and forever shatter his innocence? That is the question we should all be pondering. That is what should be keeping us up at night.

I want to hear it. What can you say or do that will motivate an unacquainted person (a person who thinks Islam is a religion of peace) to open his door and look on the other side? Because we don't really have to convince people. Once someone sincerely tries to find out whether or not Islamic doctrines are peaceful, they will discover the disturbing nature of Islam.

We've heard from many people over the years telling us that they were tired of hearing a particular person in their lives speak "badly" about Islam, so they started reading up on it so they could prove the person wrong. But of course, they discovered the terrifying truth.

This makes our task easier, in a way. We don't have to convince people that we know what we're talking about. We only need to make them curious enough to look into it. The facts speak for themselves.

So again I'm asking you — how can this be done? What have you tried before that worked? What do you think might work? Leave your answer in the comments below or email it to me and I'll post it for you (anonymously unless you tell me to post your name), and later I'll compile these answers into a post that future newbies can use as a resource — because once they become acquainted with Islam, the first thing most people want to do is share their mind-blowing new understanding with their friends and family, most of whom will think they've lost their minds. They will need help. Let's give it to them.