He went to the Friday sermon in the Narbonne mosque. “I’m going to give you a lesson,” he declared. The congregation was surprised but polite, and let him speak. Zacarias started to explain the Wahhabi creed to them. The discussion became heated. Just as Zacarias was reciting verses of the Koran in French, the imam walked into the mosque. He listened to my brother for a few seconds and then asked: “Can you speak Arabic?” Zacarias answered, no. “So how do you know that what you are saying is the true meaning of what is said in the Koran?” Zacarias lost his temper. He got to his feet and tried to hit the imam. The young people intervened and threw him out. Zacarias walked off hurling insults at them and calling them kouffar – heathens.
If you would like to make a comment, please fill out the form below.
This sounds like an interesting book. Will have to add it to my now infinite “wish” list!
This is a typical example that could be told by countless people. My own experiences as a convert (the nice little ‘ignorant’ prey for such people) has shown that many have a specific approach, such as this, and lack even some of the most basic tools to be able to talk adequately about religious texts.
It is a very frustrating position to be in, especially when we have young people in the West eager for real knowledge, but an extreme lack of qualified people to teach them, in English, so that they can understand the depth of the shared Islamic heritage.
I feel a time is coming soon when the “Salafi Dawah” will experience a mass rebuttal, when us younger folks get experience and knowledge, with access to materials in our own language as well as the originals for specialists.