I don't know, Mostafa. The last time I used logic on you and you could
not answer me you threw a tantrum and declared that I was going to
endure incredible suffering. Is that civil discussion?
_________________________________________________________________
Isaac Asimov
“Don't you believe in flying saucers, they ask me? Don't you believe in
telepathy? — in ancient astronauts? — in the Bermuda triangle? — in life after
death?
No, I reply. No, no, no, no, and again no.
One person recently, goaded into desperation by the litany of unrelieved negation, burst
out "Don't you believe in anything?"
Yes", I said. "I believe in evidence. I believe in observation, measurement,
and reasoning, confirmed by independent observers. I'll believe anything, no matter how
wild and ridiculous, if there is evidence for it. The wilder and more ridiculous
something is, however, the firmer and more solid the evidence will have to be.”
― Isaac Asimov
On 11/22/2018 4:24 PM, Mostafa wrote:
Hello. My name is Mustafa, I live in Cairo Egypt. I wrote this
extensively to a wide range of pastoral staff across the US. I come
from the heart of Cairo. I am 33 years old. I am married and I am a
devout Sunni Muslim. I am a certified theologian of Islam from Azhar
University. Of course, you may wonder why am I contacting you? I
recognise that I am a total stranger to my recipients. I selected your
contact information from your Churche's websites. Please bear with me
and fathom what I say. I have friends who encountered Christianisation
attempts at college here in Cairo. Concurrently, enthusiastic
gospellers are conspicuously notorious of typically approaching
starving communities in southern Africa. They bribe them with temporal
provision in exchange for their faith. I do not have any prob with
evangelists outreach to proselytise. I just am skeptic of the manner
of how this is done. Ordinarily, if I converse with someone to
persuade him of embracing a particular thought or conviction, I have
to insure that my rival is placed with me on equal level playing
field. Otherwise, I will be unethical and quite the trickster. Why are
evangelists known of selecting the poor and the uneducated when
preaching? This negative reputation is unfortunately notorious about
many evangelists worldwide. I propose to have open discussion with
you. I am educated and financially stable. I do not need to ostensibly
be christianised for fame, greed or foreign asylum. At the same time,
I am enormously convinced and confident of my faith. Nevertheless, I
am open-minded to attentively listen to other perspectives. I do so
because I have the crucial condition of equal level playing field. And
trust me, sincerely, if I felt that what you say is the absolute
truth, I will unhesitatingly espouse your path. So, if you truly wish
to make a disciple out of a really firm devout Sunni, here is your
chance to do so. I do not destine to engage in heated debates. I could
have just done that now. I won't pose any theological subject until
someone agrees to sit down with me. While we might be situated at vast
distances from one another, thanks for online communication which has
just made the world a small town with a press of a button. We could
settle Skype arrangements to meet and civilly discuss various
theological concerns. Furthermore, it will be a good chance for you to
ask someone who is knowledgeable about Islam and the common
misconceptions that are often associated with it. I promise you that
you won't ever hear me saying one word that is considered offensive
about your faith. For many years, I closely delt with issues of
religious desecration. If an anonymous wants to be recognised in the
west, he starts to revoltingly demonstrate acts that are to intimidate
and outrageously offend lay Muslims. I do not like those people and I
typically avoid even talking to them. Does that mean Islam is not to
be criticised or oppugned? Not at all. The Koran relates pagan
allegations and then rebuts them. However, there is great difference
between freedom of speech and the vicious pervert of freedom of speech
to deliberately appall others. If I dissent with you on major beliefs,
that doesn't justify me disrespectfully assaulting you with
reprehensible and abhorrent rhetoric. This is the slight difference
between the two. I purposely wrote this to initially Churche's of the
buckle of the Bible Belt and beyond. If someone is interested to
ddeferentially engage with me on theological subjects, please keep me
informed. And, if someone is not interested to participate, please
notify me to opt you out straightaway. Please, do not be prejudiced
with the incorrect presumption that Christian missionary act is
declined in the Muslim world. You are free to have your say. But, in
public, not under the cover or in immoral ways. If you like to start a
conversation with me, you may respond to this thread. Moreover, you
may use this e-mail address to find me on Skype. Lastly, I apologise
for this mass and unsolicited message. Media negative propaganda torn
us apart. Thence, we reciprocally have stereotyped notions of one
another. The only solution for this is to sternly strive in the cause
of fairness and clarity. This is only achieved through education and
communication. My slogan to this is: Don't hate, educate. We are
different to integrate. This is my fate. Thank you so much for
patiently reading. This is Mustafa, composing this from Cairo Egypt.
