An over-enthusiastic Muslim going by the name of “loveProphet,” a VIP member of Sunni Answers, made the following remark:
“By the way, i have yet to see any atheist who has not believed what he has for reasons other than what i mentioned and the Sheikh has mentioned. Whether it is Kant or Dawkins.”
I found the remark a bit strange, since it appeared to be the product of a thoroughly pitiful and uneducated mind, one so shallow that it assumes that anyone who is a philosopher and not a Muslim must of necessity be an atheist.
So, it was pointed out to “loveProphet” that Kant actually wrote a book entitled, The One Possible Basis for a Demonstration of the Existence of God. That Kant wrote such a book certainly makes it difficult to accuse him of being an atheist.
However, when this was pointed out, I was first told, “It’s irrelevant whether or not Kant was an atheist.” Then, Shaykh Abū Ādam al-Narūijī declared, “I hope this is not going to be about Kant,” only to then declare that he’s “just another blasphemer.” Finally, loveProphet, the one who lumped Kant together with Dawkins, had the audacity to accuse me of “jumping to unwarranted conclusions.”
This raises a serious question about Muslim Ethics. Muslims seem to think they have a moral license to make ignorant and slanderous comments about “blasphemers”. Does Islamic ethics permit such behaviour?
I tried posing this question for Shaykh Abū Ādam al-Narūijī, but for some strange reason, it wasn’t posted. I’ve therefore reproduced the question below:
…..
Suppose a pitiful, uneducated man hears another, equally pitiful, uneducated man declare that the Prophet Muhammad was a court jester. Suppose this first pitiful, educated man forsakes entirely the intellectual responsibility of actually learning about Islam and simply parrots the view that the Prophet Muhammad was a court jester. According to Islam, how should one respond?
Now, suppose a similarly pitiful, uneducated educated man hears another, equally pitiful, uneducated man declare that Immanuel Kant was an atheist — and this not as a term of endearment, but rather as a term of slander. Suppose this first pitiful, uneducated man forsakes entirely the intellectual responsibility of actually learning about Immanuel Kant and simply parrots the view that Kant was an atheist. According to Islam, how should one respond?
Do you condemn those who make irresponsibly ignorant statements about Islam? Do you condemn those who make irresponsibly ignorant statements about non-Muslims? Would your response to the above scenarios be the same? If not, why not?
