Use the Principle of Commitment and Consistency to Recruit Others to the Cause

This is one of six "weapons of influence" from the book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. The principle says that once you have committed yourself to something, you tend to remain consistent. That is, you become resistant to changing your mind about what you believe (once you have expressed some commitment to it).

And the more you have done to express your commitment, and the more public you have made your commitment, the more resistant you are to changing your mind about it.

For example, in one experiment, researchers went around in a neighborhood and asked people if they would be willing to put a three-inch square sign in their window that said "Be a safe driver."

Two weeks later a different volunteer went through the same neighborhood and asked for something outrageous: "Would you be willing to put a billboard on your lawn supporting driver safety?"

Those who had earlier agreed to the little sign were much more likely to say yes to the billboard than people who had refused the little sign. And almost everyone who they asked to put the billboard on their front lawn who had not been asked to display the little sign refused.

In other words, once someone committed themselves a little bit to the cause by putting the little sign in their window, they were more committed to the cause. They were more willing to do something significant about it. This is the principle of commitment and consistency.

The author, Robert Cialdini, defined the principle this way:

It is, quite simply, our nearly obsessive desire to be (and to appear) consistent with what we have already done. Once we have made a choice or taken a stand, we will encounter personal and interpersonal pressures to behave consistently with that commitment. Those pressures will cause us to respond in ways that justify our earlier decision.

So when you can get someone to sign a petition to stop Saudis from teaching hatred in American schools or to protect women from oppression by Islamic supremacism, the person who signs it commits herself a little to the cause.

Signing a petition is a small act. It only takes a few moments. But the act makes a person more committed to the cause in general. She or he may begin to think of herself or himself as an advocate for the cause. The petition signer will be more likely to commit to something bigger for the cause in the future when an opportunity arises.

Citizen Warrior is the author of the book, Getting Through: How to Talk to Non-Muslims About the Disturbing Nature of Islam and also writes for Inquiry Into Islam, History is Fascinating, and Foundation for Coexistence. Subscribe to Citizen Warrior updates here. You can send an email to CW here.

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The Key to Your Listener’s Inability to Confront the Disturbing Nature of Islamic Doctrine

Someone left the comment below on The Islamization of the West and it reminds me of many similar comments I've gotten over the years, and similar feelings I've had:

"I am at a complete loss as to why CAIR, ISNA, ICNA, MPAC or this NMLA is even allowed to exist in America?? Are some Americans so dumbed down that they don't see the enemy right in front of them? Is this or any political party in government so stupid that they just turn a blind eye to what's happening?"

Can you feel the commenter's exasperation? Have you had this feeling before? We are in a strange situation: We try to simply share new information we've learned, and we find ourselves unable to share it — not because we are incapable of articulating it, but because our listeners do backflips trying to invalidate the information. They contort themselves into impossible cognitive pretzels in order to reject simple, factual information. It has been baffling to many of us. I know. I have heard from hundreds of our fellow counterjihadists about this.

And I know how it feels. I sometimes want to write off my fellow non-Muslims as idiots, but I know many of them are not stupid, so what is going on? What could be the cause of their seemingly stubborn stupidity on this subject?

Last night, I was reading Victor Davis Hanson's book, The Father of Us All, and he said something I've never thought about before. Namely, that people in the West are acutely aware of the inequalities of the world — we in the West enjoy a material quality of life far better than billions of other people — and for a lot of Westerners, this presents a serious ethical problem.

They feel guilty about it. They need to assuage their guilt in some way. But here is the key insight I've never thought about before: They need to assuage their guilt in some way other than giving up the goodies, because even though they don't like the inequality, they don't want to give up the high quality of life.

In other words, many people need to have a way to keep enjoying the material riches, but still rectify or expiate the guilt they feel about others being so poor.

The solution many have chosen is to go out of their way to see what's wrong with their own culture, and to give other cultures an undeserved reverence.


A FAMILIAR SOLUTION

This solution is something we are familiar with in our personal relationships. If you are more successful than a friend of yours, for example, one way you can help him feel better and prevent him from resenting you is to point out your own faults. Those who are exceptionally successful often habitually display humility, making it a point to underline their own personal imperfections.

The successful person can do this with integrity because everyone has faults, even very competent people, and because every success is partly a result of pure luck — the luck of being born in a free country, the luck of being born with ambition, a high energy, basic intelligence, good health, etc. Many people use this stratagem, knowingly or unknowingly, because it helps. The self-deprecation helps a successful person continue to enjoy the material goodies without feeling too guilty about it around other people, and without making other people feel bad about themselves or resentful of the successful person.

It shows no class to put down the "less fortunate" as lazy, stupid, ignorant, etc. It is the height of vulgarity to criticize or humiliate or ridicule or rebuke or denounce the less fortunate.

And I think the people who will not listen to you, or who argue in defense of Islam even when they know nothing about Islam, are doing the same thing on a cultural scale. In other words, when you, a fellow member of the fortunate class (a Westerner) start bad-mouthing another culture — when you start criticizing Islamic doctrine — you have violated an important code of etiquette. And for them to listen to you and accept what you say is for them to violate it too.

What we're dealing with is a "cultural humility" about Western culture and achievements. People are going out of their way to point out what is wrong with their own Western culture or their country in particular. They're not casual about this — there is an underlying intensity. They seem hell-bent on criticizing their own country or culture.

Now it makes sense that it seems so deeply felt, that your listeners seem so committed to stopping you from criticizing Islam and committed to criticizing their own culture. Many people rely on this criticism to allow them to enjoy their abundant technology and relative luxury without too much guilt.

They feel less guilty because they express a sufficient degree of contempt for their own highly successful culture, and they feel (or at least profess) sufficient admiration for all other cultures.

The simple, factual information about Islam you want to share threatens to undermine this whole unformulated creed, which endangers the linchpin of their emotional harmony and ethical congruence. They can't let it in.

To let it in would require them to rearrange an important feature of their worldview and their self-image. This is not a minor matter. This is not a small, inconsequential barrier we can easily sweep aside. It is a major psychological problem that stands in the way of our goal of educating people about Islam. Understanding what it is and what we're up against is the first step.


SURVIVOR GUILT

We are talking about a psychological problem similar to survivor guilt. People who have survived plane crashes or concentration camps or some other event where others have died sometimes suffer a painful, unrelenting guilt because they survived while others perished. It wasn't fair, and they have a problem dealing with the unfairness.

Westerners are in a similar position on a global scale. Think about it. We've seen close-up, full-color pictures of our fellow human beings starving in Africa, imprisoned in China, tortured in Iran, executed in Saudi Arabia, while we drive to and from our pleasant activities in clean, comfortable cars, go to grocery stores overflowing with food, come home to a comfortable shelter with cable television, microwave ovens, high-speed internet, and enjoy an immense degree of personal freedom. It isn't fair. Yes, we may have worked to earn the money, but had we been born in Iran or China, our lives would be tragically different, regardless of how hard we worked.

We got lucky and it definitely isn't fair. At some level, I think most of us feel some kind of guilt about this. I think we should have a name for it. Born in a Western Country Guilt? I don't know what to call it, but clearly some of us handle the guilt better than others.

How do you live with the inequality of the world? Some people think those of us in Western countries have created a superior culture, so we deserve our wealth. Some think the European or "white" race is genetically superior. Some good evidence indicates the inequalities are a result of geography. And some just consider themselves lucky and try to help others when they can.

We've all found a way to live with it, but the people we're having a hard time communicating with about Islam have found a less-than-optimal way of dealing with it. It's better than the path self-righteous racists use, but it is not ideal (or even adequate) — it's preventing them from confronting and accepting important facts about the real world.

Multiculturalism is one way this guilt manifests itself. Multiculturalism says all cultures are equal. None is better than others. Moral equivalence is another. Moral equivalence says, "Yes, that other culture does terrible things, but look, we've done terrible things too," so again, we are not better than others. White Guilt is another. Each of these different manifestations all stem from the same fundamental need to relieve guilt while still enjoying the safety and wealth and comfort of their Western society.

We have a need, wrote Hanson, for "cultural neutrality" — for seeing ourselves as no better than anybody else. This doesn't sound so bad, but the need for cultural neutrality can be so well-ingrained that it causes a kind of willful blindness that overrides common sense and the basic instinct of self-preservation. It has gone off the deep end. Hanson wrote: "...so strong is the tug of cultural neutrality that it trumps even the revulsion of Western progressives at the ... jihadist agenda, with its homophobia, sexism, religious intolerance, and racism."

It is important to clearly understand this perplexing, confusing, exasperating phenomenon we are all running into: The compulsive, undiscriminating reflex to defend Islam and criticize Western countries. The source of the resistance we're coming up against is this: People feel guilty for having so much more than others, and this prevents them from accepting your legitimate criticisms of Islamic doctrine.

With this understanding, we can begin to find more effective ways of educating our fellow non-Muslims on the basic facts about Islam.

Citizen Warrior is the author of the book, Getting Through: How to Talk to Non-Muslims About the Disturbing Nature of Islam and also writes for Inquiry Into Islam, History is Fascinating, and Foundation for Coexistence.

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What Possible Good Does It Do To Say Anything Negative About Islam, Even If It's True?

One of the most important things we recommend is learn about Islam and share that information with your fellow non-Muslims.

But if you've ever tried to tell your friends about Islam, you've probably discovered most people don't want to hear it. They will sometimes argue with you even if they know nothing about it, and they don't understand why you would want to "bash" another religion.

But sharing this information is the best thing a citizen can do to help marginalize, discredit, and disempower orthodox Islam, which is the goal here. So the question is: How can you talk to people about a subject they don't want to talk about?

There is only one answer: First you must motivate them to listen.

Almost as a prerequisite for this topic, before you can really have a good listener, you will need to explain why it's important to know more about Islamic teachings. Most people you come across will literally not have a clue why you would even be interested, or why they should be.

So below are the top twelve reasons why it's a sane, rational, sensible goal to know more about Islam. When you start to talk about jihad or Sharia and you can see the resistance or suspicion on the face of your listener, ask them, "Are you wondering why I'm even interested in this?" If they are curious, let them know about one or two of the reasons below.

While you're reading the list here, pick out the ones you think would be the most effective, and make it a point to remember them for your next conversation:

1. Orthodox Muslims are immigrating to western democracies. From within our democracies, including the one we are living in, they are setting up terrorist cells right now. Their spokesmen are delivering fiery tirades at mosques and at demonstrations in our own country, calling the faithful Muslims to rise up against the infidels (you and me), telling the Muslims in their congregation it is their holy duty to overthrow the government and to establish Islamic law. They are recruiting native-born westerners into terrorist groups.

They are in free countries now, preaching hatred. And most western democracies allow more in all the time. Why? Because most westerners don't know much about Islam.

2. The devoted ones will perpetually try to change our laws, from within and from without. They have already done so in Europe and Canada, and all over the world. Islam is a political ideology. It is the duty of faithful Muslims to work toward making every government on earth follow Allah's law (Sharia law).

They are carefully following a 20-year plan to overthrow the U.S. government, and so far, they are succeeding. Why? Because most Americans don't know anything about Islam.

If westerners knew what was going on, they could resist it. But our ignorance makes their job very easy.

3. They are having more children than most of us. There are many ways to wage jihad and subjugate infidels. One is through violence. Another is through reproduction. You can out-reproduce the enemy, which Muslims have been doing. They are immigrating in large numbers into western democracies, and having as many children as they can, and teaching them to be devout Muslims.

Devout Muslims will try to turn any country they live into an Islamic state, no matter how long it takes. They have to. It is their religious duty to do so, whether they want to or not.

4. The teenage children of moderate Muslims are being persuaded by terrorist recruiters. Even if many of the Muslims who immigrate are authentically peaceful (ignore the political and intolerant teachings of orthodox Islam), some of their children will be vulnerable to recruitment as they see through the hypocrisy of their parents' incomplete worship.

The children of Muslims have heard all their lives from everyone in authority that the Koran is a direct message from the Almighty Himself. As teens, if they hear a preacher tell them what's actually in the Koran, they will be shocked. The Koran contains clear instructions to wage continual war on unbelievers until the whole world submits to Islamic law.

The teens will look at their parents and feel disgusted. Their parents — the ones who have told them repeatedly that the Koran is the perfect word of Allah — ignore much of the book.

So in other words, it wouldn't even matter if we could somehow screen Muslims who enter western democracies for fanaticism. Even if we only let in casual, half-hearted Muslims (peaceful Muslims), their children are potential "homegrown terrorists."

Plus, we cannot ignore the added benefit of dying while slaying infidels: You go straight to heaven, and have 72 beautiful wives ready to do your bidding. What 15 year-old boy wouldn't find that an attractive proposition?

All his life he's been told the Koran is Allah's message, and he finally reads it cover to cover (it's not very long) and discovers those preachers were right: It says quite clearly that if he dies while killing infidels he will go straight to heaven without passing GO, without having to be judged, and there, awaiting him, is his lovely harem.

It doesn't take any interpreting or "reading into" the Koran to know what it says. There are no vague analogies or stories open to multiple interpretations as there are in the Torah and the Bible. It is a clear, simple, direct message authored by one man. Anyone who reads it will know what to do.

5. Confusing current events become understandable. Once you learn what's really going on, the scary terrorist events that make you think, "Why are they doing this?!" are suddenly illuminated, and you know exactly why they're doing it, and why most westerners don't have a clue about what's going on.

You would think that learning about Islamic jihad would make you hate Muslims, but strangely enough, it does the opposite. Most Muslims are in an even worse situation than the infidels. The more you learn about Islam, the more sympathy you have for Muslims who had no choice in the matter and cannot escape without risking their lives and the lives of everyone they love.

But sometimes learning about the subject is upsetting. It is a shock to learn what's in the Koran, knowing that one and a half billion human beings believe this is the final message from the supreme ruler of the universe.

But after you get over the shock, it makes world events less upsetting. You will understand what's going on for the first time. You will no longer feel as exasperated or wonder what the hell is happening in this crazy world. You'll finally understand.

Of all the benefits of learning about Islam, this is probably the one that had the most impact on me. Political events that have been happening since I can remember — the hostage situations and hijacked planes and bombings all seemed so unnecessary and confusing. And you can watch the news all day and get no clarity whatsoever about why these things are happening and what they all have to do with each other. It's a relief to finally comprehend the bigger picture.

6. You can help your fellow westerners understand. This is a nice benefit of learning about orthodox Islam. Your understanding can help you shed some light and help eliminate the confusion you see in the people you know. It is a gift to the people you know to calm their confused minds. It is a valuable service you can provide your fellow citizens.

7. Your education is more well-rounded. Most of us have some knowledge about Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. We've heard quotes by their founders, we know some of what they teach, we know a little of their history, etc. But almost every westerner is ignorant of the most basic teachings of Islam.

So if you're interested in being a generally well-rounded, educated citizen — even if you didn't care about terrorism or world events — you should want to learn about Islam.

In addition, of course, is the fact that almost all the armed conflicts in the world today involve Muslims in one way or another. And almost all terrorism is Islamic and fundamentally motivated by the teachings of Islam, as the terrorists themselves tell us proudly.

8. Your vote on this issue is important. If you vote, you are helping to elect representatives and leaders who make legal and political decisions, like how to change the immigration policies, and who to prosecute for trying to overthrow the government. When you understand more about Islam and its relationship to terrorism, you will be able to know which leaders have a grasp on this subject and which do not, and vote accordingly.

9. It is interesting. Once you get over your initial uncomfortable feelings about the subject, you'll find much to hold your interest. Do you know, for example, why Osama bin Laden chose September 11th as the day of his attack on America? Because the last high-water mark of Islam occurred in 1683 on September 11th.

Islam had expanded and conquered for centuries, and was finally stopped at the gates of Vienna when 40,000 soldiers arrived just in time to stop the Muslim siege of the city.

Islam's spread had been repressed by superior military force ever since then. Their dominance had been receding since that day. But the new resurgence has set out to finish the goal (Islamic world domination), so they chose September 11th to kick off the new era.

Before I started learning about Islam, I didn't know about the gates of Vienna. I didn't know why the Crusades happened. I didn't know why Middle Eastern countries have seemed so dead-set on destroying Israel. I didn't know what the hijacking of planes and the holding of hostages was all about when I was a kid. I have learned so much, and a lot of it has been very interesting.

10. Knowledge can immunize us. Have you ever gotten what looks like an official email from Amazon or PayPal, asking you for account information? Those who don't know this kind of thing can happen are vulnerable to giving away their personal account information to a criminal.

The email usually says something like, "There has been a problem with your account and we need you to update your account information." And they provide a link. When you follow the link, it looks every bit like the official web site. If you give your information, you just gave your money to a scam artist.

If you know about this, if you've heard of the scam, you are immune to it. If you want to check it out just in case, you will not use their link. You will type "amazon.com" or "paypal.com" into your browser and go check your account to see if anything is really wrong.

With that little bit of knowledge, you avoided a major catastrophe. Knowledge makes the difference.

It is exactly the same with knowing about Islam. Once you have a pretty good grasp of what's going on, you are less afraid, less paranoid, and less vulnerable to the tricks orthodox Muslims use to fool ignorant westerners. If enough of us are educated, they will find their plans thwarted at every turn.

If you don't know about Islam, you will not be able to tell the difference between orthodox and heterodox Muslims, so you will have to either distrust them all (which isn't cool) or trust them all (which would be stupid). Educate yourself and you won't have this dilemma.

11. Your survival is at stake. I know that sounds very dramatic and rabble-rousing, but it is quite literally true. All the different factions of orthodox Muslims have a single goal in mind: Islamic dominance of the world. They didn't make this up. They didn't "interpret" their holy book that way. They didn't have to guess. That is what it says, directly and clearly.

These people are not joking. This is not a casual hobby for them. They have dedicated their lives to it. And oil-rich Islamic governments are pouring money into the project.

They won't stop. This war has gone on for 1400 years, and as far as they're concerned, it will go on for another 1400 years, or as long as it takes to win. They are completely dedicated. They are gaining the advantages of new technologies. They are well-funded. They are highly passionate and dedicated, and literally willing to sacrifice their lives to kill even a few of us.

They are actively seeking advanced weapons and are perfectly willing to use them on infidels. It is entirely possible they could gain control of a nuclear or biological weapon.

I don't know how the West will ultimately prevail, but I know this: Until enough of us face and understand what we're up against, we don't have a chance. Cheerful obliviousness will always be easily defeated by grim determination.

12. You'll be ahead of your time. In the future, everyone will know about Islam, either because the whole world will have submitted to Islamic law, or because enough of us learned about it ahead of time and successfully defended ourselves against it. Either way, by learning about it now, you are one of the elite few, the vanguard of a new era.


THOSE ARE THE TWELVE most important reasons someone should want to know about Islam. When you begin sharing something about Islam with someone you know, and you see their eyes start to glaze over, or you see that look in their eyes that seems to say, "Are you some kind of nut?" ask them this question:

"Are you wondering why

I'm even interested in this?"

They will probably nod their head. Then you can share with them why you think it's important. Let them know what's at stake and why this is a fascinating subject to learn about. Once they're motivated, you can then go on with what you wanted to tell them in the first place.

These one-on-one conversations you have with your friends are the first and most important step in the process of halting and reversing the increasingly dangerous spread of orthodox Islam. People need to be educated, one conversation at a time.

We should not be casual about this or approach it in a leisurely way. Right now Islamic terrorists are organizing cells within the borders of your country. Right now they are building mosques and preaching hatred and the overthrow of your government. Right now they are immigrating to your country and having as many babies as possible.

But even after someone understands why it is important to know about Islam, you will probably get a second layer of resistance. Why?

Educated people in western democracies have a particularly hard time dealing with a conversation that says something negative about another culture or religion. That is almost entirely a good thing. But not entirely. In this case, an exception should be made because westerners are very unfamiliar with Islam. They don't have any idea what the Koran says its believers should do, and even when they hear someone (like a terrorist) quote the Koran, they assume it must be wrong somehow.

When a form of worship is killing non-Muslims, it is a good idea to make an exception to a blind rule about religious tolerance. When a belief system is intolerant of other belief systems and works to suppress them, it should not be tolerated.

Most westerners make the assumption that all religions are basically alike. And we have a deep-seated respect for other cultures and the right of everyone to believe what they want. We have a profound distrust of any hint of arrogance or any feelings of superiority of our own culture. It is almost at the level of a taboo.

This distrust is healthy. It's one of the reasons we are able to have such a rich, diverse society with people of all kinds getting along with each other.

So most westerners feel pretty strongly that everybody has a right to believe what they want. And they've been told repeatedly that Islam is a religion of peace. That is the source of the second layer of resistance you may get. It's important to know what mindset you're talking to.

A third layer of resistance to talking about orthodox Islam is the obvious fact that it's a scary and upsetting subject. This makes it somewhat of a unwelcome topic for normal conversations. This ugly, scary quality is compounded by the fact that most people don't think they can do anything about it. Feeling helpless intensifies the feeling of anxiety.

And there is yet a fourth layer of resistance, which is perhaps the most fundamental: People don't want to believe Islam is a warlike religion because if it's true, it seems to imply we will have to go to war with all of Islam to defend ourselves, and that is almost unthinkable. The idea is enough to frighten the most courageous infidel. Go to war with 1.5 billion people?

But of course, learning there are some basic things in the religion of Islam that make it incompatible with modernity or democracy doesn't necessarily mean war with all of Islam is inevitable.

First of all, many, maybe even most — Muslims would like to ignore the violent parts of the Koran, and many of them have been and are now at war with the more orthodox Muslims. The conflicts in Algeria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Pakistan, and Egypt, to name just a few, are mostly modern-thinking Muslims at war with fundamentalist Muslims.

So even if an all-out war were necessary, it would not be against all the world's Muslims. Not even close.

But besides that, the "war" that really needs to take place is in the minds of our fellow westerners. Once we are well-versed on Islam, certain precautions will become obvious and will go a long way toward protecting us from danger (such as changing our immigration and sedition laws).

Just as the knowledge of Amazon or Paypal scams simply and easily avoids what could be a financial nightmare, knowledge of Islam can go a long way toward simply and easily avoiding the nightmare of the destruction of non-Islamic governments.

Fear of the implications of a fact is not a legitimate reason to avoid talking about a fact anyway, but I thought I would mention it because the fear may well be lurking in the mind of the person you're talking to and make them resistant to hearing anything bad about Islam.

But once you can get over these hurdles and broach the subject, so much can be said that ultimately makes us stronger and less confused. It is worth the trouble.

It is important that you help make the person interested in the subject. Try to make it interesting and don't try to play up the scariest parts unless you feel you have to. Learn more about being a good conversationalist if you need to. This is important work, and we should do it wholeheartedly.

It can do a lot of good indeed to say something negative about Islam, if it is done the right way. Memorize the list of reasons above, motivate your listeners to hear your message, and then tell them what you know. Your skill and determination in doing this work can prevent immense suffering and ultimately save lives.

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How Would THEY See This?

We need to reach people with the message that Islam's relentless encroachment must be stopped. The question is, "How can people be reached?" We obviously can't just blurt out what we know self-righteously with the attitude that if you can't handle the truth, then you're a wimp. Anyone coming across like that would help the cause more to keep silent.

We've got to think in terms of "What would a blind multiculturalist think about this?" How would they see it? How do they hear you? We've got to reach them. They are looking for a reason to discount this.

What can we do to become more effective? My first suggestion may sound elementary, but it's important: Spell correctly. If you write anything anywhere, double- and triple-check your writing. Make it as free of mistakes as you can, as professional as you can, and as articulate as you can. Avoid emotional rambling. Make your point as succinctly as you can with as much logic, reason, and evidence as you can.

Same goes for what to do when you're speaking to someone in person too. Give them no easy reason to dismiss what you're saying. Go out of your way to avoid hitting their triggers. Don't throw in conspiracy theories in the middle of your comments. Don't go off on tangents about anything a multiculturalist would consider "right wing," like gun laws or stockpiling weapons and ammunition.

You've got to get inside their heads and imagine looking over at you through their eyes, with their point of view. You have legitimate information and, if they understood it, they would change their mind, and might even want to do something about it.

And don't come off as if you know something and they are ignorant, even if it's true. Don't come off as better than others. We are not better than others because we know about Islam and they don't. It doesn't make us superior — it burdens us with a responsibility that we had better take seriously: The responsibility to get through to our fellow citizens and help them understand something they wish wasn't true.

Being right isn't good enough. Plenty of people in history were right and failed. Those who opposed the Communist revolutions in Russia, China, and Cambodia were right — and they lost. We have to be effective, not just right. You will make no converts being an obnoxious know-it-all. I've tried it. ;-)

Think back to before your eyes were opened. If someone came at you wild-eyed and full of seemingly-racist conspiracy theories, you would probably have recoiled from it, and recoiled from the point of view, and recoiled from the idea that Islam might be dangerously different from other ideologies you're familiar with, and you may never have given that idea any serious thought again.

We need to be careful. We cannot afford to lose people like that. We need to present our information as a realistic, unexaggerated, well-grounded, authoritative understanding of world. We need to make it clear that important people "in the know" also see it this way. We need to avoid presenting it as something "nobody else knows," because they will think, "Yeah, right. You have figured out what the mucky-mucks in the Pentagon haven't figured out? Sure, buddy. Why don't you calm down and we'll give you a sedative."

We need to be perceived as reasonable. We need to have our facts straight and well-memorized. We need to be persuasive. We must win people over to our side, and we must do it as quickly as possible.

Read more:
How to approach a conversation about Islam
Answers to objections when you talk about Islam
How to think outside the persuasion box

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Talk To Your Friends About Mohammad

When you're talking to your friends about orthodox Islam, for the most part, they probably won't want to hear it. The topic is scary, political, and they'll think you're bashing an "ethnic group." But if you can make your conversation interesting and surprising, that can often help them overcome their reluctance to listen. (If you're not talking to your friends about it, please read this: What Possible Good Does It Do?) 

The best way I've found to make introductory information interesting and surprising is to talk about Mohammad.

Most people think the founder of any religion must necessarily have been a peaceful, spiritual, loving person who tried to do good in the world, healed the sick, taught peace, etc. Since Mohammad was the founder of Islam, they assume he must be like that too.

Most people may understand that religious organizations can go bad, or individual believers can go rogue, but only by twisting and distorting the original teachings of the founder.

But as you probably know, Islam is different. And Islam's founder is so different from expectations, talking about him makes an introduction to Islam captivating.

Here's the kind of thing I say to people when I'm talking one-on-one:

I have found out some amazing things about Islam — things I would never have thought possible. It's not like other religions. First of all, the founder of Islam, the Prophet Mohammad, led raids on caravans, stealing their goods and often killing or enslaving the people captured in the raid.

He was a political leader and the head of an army, and he ordered assassinations of his political opponents.

He personally ordered and supervised the beheading of over 600 people at one time. That may be the most amazing fact of all. I mean, nobody can imagine Buddha or Jesus doing anything like that!

Mohammad also ordered a rabbi to be tortured to find out where a Jewish tribe had hidden their valuable objects (Mohammad wanted those goods). On Mohammad's order, his men built a fire on the rabbi's chest, burning him badly, and then the rabbi's eyes were put out.

It's amazing and surprising. At first I couldn't believe it.

And I haven't even told you the worst thing. It says 91 times in the Qur'an, in their most holy of books — the book they believe is the direct word of Allah — it says Muslims should follow Mohammad's example. In the Islamic religion, Mohammad is held as the ideal man; the one they should emulate.

Most people find all this very surprising. They find it so surprising, I usually follow it up by saying these historical facts are not slanderous libel by Muslim-haters, but historical facts from the books of Muslim believers. Mohammad was born in 570 and died in 632. He was a famous figure in his own day, and it wasn't that long ago, so historical facts about him are well-known, well-preserved, and not at all shrouded in mystery.

In other words, these are facts about Mohammad that most Muslims know (and accept as true).

After saying all this, you may have frightened your listeners. But you've also opened their minds to something they may not have wanted to hear: Islam is not like other religions in important ways. Your listeners might not be so quick to silence someone speaking ill of Islam in the future.

And then what might happen? What good does it do to speak ill of Islam? That's a great question, and the topic of another article: What Possible Good Does It Do To Say Anything Negative About Islam, Even If It's True?

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Just One Thing: Education About Islam

We don't need to concentrate on anything else until this first thing is done: educate the people, get better at educating the people, and give them practical things to do with their motivation once they are educated.

We have a list you can use to help you (a list of actions ordinary citizens can take to help marginalize, discredit, and disempower orthodox Islam) at WhatYouCanDoAboutIslam.com. For example, you can encourage your friends and family (or anyone you meet) to sign a petition, and while you're explaining why it's a good idea, they will be learning about the disturbing nature of orthodox Islam.

We have many decisions to be made and new policies to instigate. We need to change immigration policies, policies to stop madrassas from teaching hatred, policies to stop building mosques and preaching hatred in them, policies to eject orthodox Muslims from government positions, policies about how Islam is taught in schools and who approves those teachings, policies about who is allowed to be a "chaplain" in prisons (many orthodox Muslims have converted prisoners — it is a hotspot of new recruits), and so on.

None of these new policies can come about until there is a public will to protect ourselves, and that public will cannot come about until a lot more people are educated. It needs to happen and it needs to happen now. Start here: The Least You Need To Know.

And for more advanced coaching, go straight here: Tools to Help You Educate Your Fellow Non-Muslims About Islam.

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Using the Principle of Social Proof to Marginalize, Discredit, and Disempower Orthodox Islam

Social proof is one of six "weapons of influence" from the book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. When people are uncertain about how to respond, the principle of "social proof" says that usually people will look around and see what others are doing and do the same.

If you see two people have signed a petition, statistically, you will be less willing to sign it than if you see a million people have already signed it — especially if you aren't sure of the merits of the proposition.

If you saw a single protester on the street, would you pay much attention to him? But what if both sides of the street were filled with protesters? Wouldn't it make you more curious about what they were protesting? This is the principle of social proof.

A just read a good example of social proof in the book, The New Concise History of the Crusades. The crusaders were trying to capture the great walled city of Constantinople, but they were outnumbered and the city was well defended. But by luck, the crusaders made a hole in a back gate to the city, and one crusader climbed through the hole to find himself face-to-face with enemy soldiers. The lone crusader boldly drew his sword and ran toward the group of enemy soldiers. They turned and ran! Other soldiers inside the walled city saw their fellow soldiers fleeing from something (they knew not what), and they abandoned their posts and fled too. This panic spread throughout the city.

Amazingly, the crusaders who came through the hole walked over and opened the city gates. There were no soldiers inside the gate left to stop them. They easily captured the city — one of the largest and most well-built walled cities in the world. How? Because of the principle of social proof. Once a few soldiers were seen fleeing, other soldiers didn't know what to do. So they did what others were doing, and the more people who did it, the more it seemed like the thing to do. (Read the whole story here.) Social proof is a powerful principle of influence.

We can use this principle in many ways to marginalize, discredit, and disempower orthodox Islam. For example, when you find a good petition, you can encourage your friends to sign it. They will see that many other people have deemed it worthy of signing, and that will help them accept the information. Because of the principle of social proof, that information will be considered more valid. Without any pressure from anyone else, this seedling of validity can evolve into their personal belief.

You can use this principle in personal conversations, too. Think about it for a moment — are you likely to listen to someone who seems to be the only one who thinks that way? Or would you be more open to hearing what millions of people believe it?

We need to think about this when we're telling people about Islamic supremacism and the third jihad. When you talk to people and you imply that "nobody knows this," or that all the mainstream media is crazy, or in any way imply that you are the only one who knows The Truth, you automatically prevent people from listening. Their guard goes up. You have made the social proof principle work against you.

Instead, you need to let your listener know that a lot of people think this way. If you can add authority to these other people, so much the better (authority is another of the six principles). Let your listener know movies have been made about it, hundreds of books have been written about it, and millions of people are trying to do something about it around the world. This social proof will give weight to what you say and help awaken people to the situation, and that's what we need right now more than anything.

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"A Beautiful Pattern of Conduct"

"Ye have indeed in the Messenger of Allah a beautiful pattern (of conduct) for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Final Day, and who engages much in the Praise of Allah."

- From IslamAwakened

"He demonstrated good examples in all aspects of life, Allah says: 'You have indeed in the Apostle of Allah a beautiful pattern of (conduct) for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Final Day and who engages much in the praise of Allah.' (Qur'an, 33:21)."

- From the Nigerian Muslim's Network

It is a basic principle of Islam that a Muslim should follow the example of the Prophet Mohammad. This is stated in the Koran (Islam's holiest book) no less than 91 times. This is one of the most dangerous and misunderstood facts about Islam. How does a Muslim know how to be a Muslim? By following Mohammad as an example. A Muslim cannot read the Koran and discover how to be a Muslim. Not one of the "five pillars of Islam" is in the Koran. So it is almost impossible for someone to be a Muslim without considering Mohammad as an example to emulate.

What kind of example was Mohammad? He was kind to his fellow Muslims, and he was often cruel to non-Muslims, especially if they criticized Islam or hindered its relentless expansion. He was perhaps a typical seventh-century warlord — ordering assassinations of his enemies, torturing people for information, owning slaves and having sex with them, and killing enemies in mass executions — but his example is preserved in writing, and so is the Koranic encouragement to all devout Muslims to follow his example.

What should non-Muslims do about this? The first and most important action we need to take is the education of our fellow non-Muslims. It is unbelievable to me how ignorant almost everybody is about Mohammad. Many people I talk to — even "educated" people — aren't even sure what part Mohammad played in Islam. They ask me things like, "Is he one of the main Muslim leaders or founders?"

Talk to people about Mohammad and tell them this important fact: Muslims are supposed to follow Mohammad's example. Then enlighten them about Mohammad's behavior.

This is frightening information, and whenever you present scary information, I recommend you go out of your way to make it as unfrightening as you can so people will be willing to listen to you, and I also encourage you to tell people there are things they can do about it. Do not overwhelm them or leave them without any recourse.

And I would appreciate it if you let us know what happens when you talk to people about Mohammad. What do they say? How do they react? How do you respond? Give us the good, the bad, and the ugly in the comments below, and let us learn from your example.

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Islam Had an Unusual Historical Window of Opportunity

Simply stating facts about Islam can be interesting, but some facts are more interesting than others, and we want to hold peoples' attention when we're talking to them. I have found that the following fact is interesting to people and also helps them see Islam in a new light, and in a memorable way. It helps them think of Islam as not just another religion like any other, but as something unique. When you're talking about Islam, try to work this in somewhere:

Islam is different from other religions in at least one important way: It began at a time and in a place where no empire constrained its spread. In other words, if you start a religion within the Roman Empire, you're going to have certain limitations. The Romans would see any new religion — especially a militant or political religion — as a threat to its power and would make sure you stayed peaceful. A religion that preached tolerance and goodwill toward others might survive, but a violent or militant or political new religion would be quashed immediately.

But Islam had no such restriction when it began, so it could incorporate "conversion by warfare" into its memeplex, and it did. As Aaron Lynch wrote, "The faith provides for a jihad or holy war, which historically led to Islamic rule over whole societies."

Once a country has been attained by war, pagans were often given the choice: convert to Islam or die. That is written into Islamic law. If any members of the newly acquired country are Christian or Jewish, they are required to pay special taxes and become a second-class citizen, unless they want to convert.

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The Surest Way to Reach People

HOW CAN you reach someone? That's the basic question, isn't it? You want to share what you know about Islam with people you love, and you want them to listen to you. What can you do to make them more likely to listen to you?

One of the most successful, effective, and enjoyable books to read on the subject of dealing with people is How to Win Friends and Influence People, originally published in 1937 and still on store shelves today. One of the principles from the book is to talk in terms of the other person's interests. Is that obvious? Perhaps. Do you do it? Probably not nearly as much as you could. But if you want to reach people, this principle is a good place to start. The book is full of true stories. Here's one:

Take Henry G. Duvernoy of Duvemoy and Sons, a wholesale baking firm in New York.

Mr. Duvernoy had been trying to sell bread to a certain New York hotel. He had called on the manager every week for four years. He went to the same social affairs the manager attended. He even took rooms in the hotel and lived there in order to get the business. But he failed. "Then," said Mr. Duvernoy, "after studying human relations, I resolved to change my tactics. I decided to find out what interested this man — what caught his enthusiasm.

"I discovered he belonged to a society of hotel executives called the Hotel Greeters of America. He not only belonged, but his bubbling enthusiasm had made him president of the organization, and president of the International Greeters. No matter where its conventions were held, he would be there.

"So when I saw him the next day, I began talking about the Greeters. What a response I got. What a response! He talked to me for half an hour about the Greeters, his tones vibrant with enthusiasm. I could plainly see that this society was not only his hobby, it was the passion of his life. Before I left his office, he had 'sold' me a membership in his organization.

"In the meantime, I had said nothing about bread. But a few days later, the steward of his hotel phoned me to come over with samples and prices.

"'I don't know what you did to the old boy,' the steward greeted me, 'but he sure is sold on you!' "Think of it! I had been drumming at that man for four years — trying to get his business — and I'd still be drumming at him if I hadn't finally taken the trouble to find out what he was interested in, and what he enjoyed talking about."

If you want people to listen to you, if you want to reach people, if you want to influence people, start by talking to people about what they really care about. It will not only transform your ability to persuade, it will vastly improve the feelings of connection you have with each other.

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Why I'm Worried About Islam But Not Christianity

First let me say right up front: I am not a Christian, a Muslim, a Jew, a Hindu, or a Buddhist, and I never have been. Neither were my parents. But whenever I talk about Islam to people here in America they almost always bring up Christianity. They compare Christianity with Islam, basically implying that I am criticizing Islam but Christianity is just as bad. Even Christians say this to me.

People who know nothing about Islam try to defend it just because they think of Islam as the underdog (an impression orthodox Muslims have carefully created), and good citizens everywhere instinctively want to defend any group (especially an underdog group) against discrimination or "racism" (even though Islam is not a race).

While Islam looks like other religions westerners are familiar with — Judaism and Christianity — and portrays itself as such, it is profoundly different in important ways.

In response to my statement, "Islam makes the attainment of political goals a religious duty," somebody said to me recently, "Christianity is a political religion too." Below is my answer to him.

This is why I'm worried about Islam's relentless encroachment far more than Christianity's:

• Plenty of people in America and Europe are already aware of the political dangers of Christianity, and have long ago taken steps to prevent it from taking over governments.
• In contrast, very few people in America and Europe know about the dangers of Islam, and, in fact, people are so reflexively against Christianity, they tend to favor Islam and give it the benefit of the doubt. When I talk to people about the most basic principles of Islam, I am often shocked at how little people know about this religion.

• Some Christians have political goals, just as some dog fanciers have political goals.
• But Islam is different in an important way: Muslims have a religious duty to work for political goals — it is a form of devotion and worship — and Muslims don't get to choose what goals they should strive for; the goals have been decreed by Allah. Mohammad was against living in monasteries or living a contemplative life. Muslims do not meditate. The way to show devotion to Allah is to fight for Islam. Literally (and politically).

• As far as I know, no Christians have expressed any desire to kill me. And it would have no doctrinal support from the New Testament if they had.
• Many Jihadis have openly expressed the desire to kill all Americans, many Americans have already been killed by them, and they have plenty of doctrinal support from the Qur'an to justify this killing.

• A Christian can leave Christianity any time they want.
• The penalty for leaving Islam is death.

• When Christians kill, it can only be in spite of Christian teachings.
• When a Jihadi kills, it is likely because of Islamic teachings, and they will tell you so openly and proudly.

• Christians sometimes push for the spread or protection of Christian ideas.
• Jihadis push to do away with hard-earned freedoms and replace the laws of free countries with a repressive, backward system (Shari'a law). It is a religious duty for a Muslim to relentlessly strive for the establishment of Shari'a wherever they are. Allah considers "man-made" governments (democracies, for example) to be illegitimate. The only legitimate laws are Allah's.

• Christian morality insists they tell the truth to all people.
• Islam's morality insists they tell the truth to fellow Muslims but to lie to non-Muslims if it can further the political goals of Islam.

• In battle, Christians will try not to kill innocent bystanders.
• Jihadis don't believe any kafir is innocent and they deliberately kill ordinary (non-military) citizens.

• Christians voluntarily try to follow Jesus's example, and he was peaceful and kind.
• Muslims must follow Mohammad's example (it says so 91 times in the Qur'an they must do so) and Mohammad tortured and killed people.

• For sinning, Jesus advocated forgiveness.
• For sinning, Mohammad advocated stoning and beheading.

• Jesus encouraged his followers to turn the other cheek when people criticized Jesus.
• Mohammad encouraged his followers to assassinate people who criticized Mohammad. Several people who had criticized Mohammad or Islam were killed by Mohammad's followers with Mohammad's consent and approval. One was even assassinated at his request for the sin of criticizing Islam.

• According to Christianity, the guaranteed way of getting into heaven is to believe Jesus died for your sins. 
• According to Islam, the only way for a man to guarantee his passage to heaven is to die while fighting for Islam. By the way, these points I'm making about Islam are not a twisting of Mohammad's teachings; they are not an "interpretation" of Islamic doctrine. Well-read Muslims would agree with my statements. This is all based on mainstream Islamic theology.

Those are the main reasons I am more worried about Islam than Christianity. I used to think Islam and Christianity were very similar, but they are not. Why is Islam so different? The reason is historically interesting.

All other major religions were started within an already-existing state. Islam is an historical exception to this rule.

Any organized government will, of course, put a stop to violent uprisings of a rebellious political group. Christianity arose within the Roman Empire, for example. If Christianity had been a militant or political uprising — if Christianity had tried to take over the government — Rome would have killed or imprisoned all the followers. Probably many military or political religions did start up then, but we've never heard of them. They couldn't get off the ground.

But Islam arose in Arabia when there was no central ruling power. The whole area was comprised of individual tribes. Under those circumstances, the most efficient way to gain converts was by force. And that's how Islam came to be.

Mohammad borrowed many ideas from both Judaism and Christianity, and that's why it bears a superficial similarity to familiar religions. But it is fundamentally different. The circumstances of its time and place of origin led to teachings that were written down and declared sacred, and those teachings now rule 1.3 billion people.

Mohammad's life itself is an example of the principle (that when you don't have power, you cannot promote violence). When Mohammad first started Islam, he was one man with no political power surrounded by many others with their own religions and lots of power. He could not be belligerent or start any wars, so he used persuasion. In the first half of his career, using his persuasive skills, he gained 150 converts. In the second half of his career, he used warfare more and more as he gained numerical and financial strength. Using the "conversion by the sword" method, he gained tens of thousands of converts in the same amount of time. Converting by force is a more effective method if you can get away with it, especially if you can reinforce it with total control of government and the law.

Mohammad created a complete system that rules every aspect of life. But in order to make the system work, Islam must be the law of the land. It doesn't work, for example, to cover all your women so Muslim men are not sexually tempted by their bodies or faces if half the women in the country are not Muslims and walk around in shorts. For the system to work, every woman must be covered. And for that to happen, the government has to follow Shari'a law.

Mohammad used force to gain converts, and all his decrees and justifications for his actions were written down in the Qur'an, which are now memorized and studied by over a billion people, many of whom take the teachings to heart. The result is a powerful, unrelenting push for Islamic political power all over the world. Their percentage of the world's population keeps increasing.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

If you like this article, send it to people who give you the Christianity comparison. Read it several times and use the specific answers next time someone makes the comparison in a conversation. And if you can think of any other good answers, please leave them in the comments to this article for others to use.

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The Key Point of the Whole Argument

IN OUR discussions with others about the third jihad, what is the one barrier that seems insurmountable? Here's what I'll bet it is: You say it is a fundamental and essential part of Islam that Muslims must wage jihad against non-Muslims until the whole world submits to Islamic law. And they say, "It can't be."

It can't be because all religions are the same. It can't be because everyone is basically good. It can't be because most Muslims aren't violent. It can't be because if it is, the consequences would be too much to bear. It can't be because only a racist would say such a thing. It can't be because everybody knows Islam is a religion of peace. It can't be because I have this Muslim friend and he is really nice.

In other words, all the things people say to you to argue this point are a desperate attempt to not allow that fact to be true.

This should be the key point of any public education we engage in: That it's an essential part of Islam to wage jihad until the whole world submits to Islamic law. Once that point is accepted, all things that need to be understood can be understood easily.

But how can you get someone to accept that fact as a fact?

Last night I was reading a rather long article called A New Koran? and I think I've found something we could use to help people accept the key point.

The article is a discussion between several well-known people. Among them are Robert Spencer, Bill Warner, Khalim Massoud (president of Muslims Against Sharia).

The topic of discussion is the re-writing of the Qur'an. Massoud is working on a project that removes all exhortations to intolerance and violence from the Qur'an. The argument goes on to discuss how the Muslim world has responded to this and other attempts to make the Qur'an less dangerous for non-Muslims.

As I was reading, something struck me: THIS would be persuasive evidence for the unenlightened.

These Islamic scholars, some of them Muslims, are almost universal in their agreement that the Muslim world will never accept at altered version of the Qur'an. In other words, intolerance and violence toward non-Muslims is such an inherent, fundamental part of the Qur'an, taking it out would make Islamic teachings almost unrecognizable to the Muslim world!

This is the kind of article that would only be interesting to those who are in the field — those who write and speak about it, or who are working on projects to stop Islam's relentless encroachment. But I thought this might be good evidence to make our point in a way the uninitiated would listen to.

I suggest we print out the article and have it handy. I suggest we bookmark it where we can find it easily. And then let's use this article when someone says, "It can't be."

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In This War Against Radical Islam, There Are No Non-Combatants

In an article entitled, The Other September 11th, you'll find a good description of what happened in Vienna September 11th, 1683.

Islamic warriors had invaded and defeated Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, and Serbia. They plowed their way through Austria to Vienna, and were besieging the city.

But on September 11th, 40,000 soldiers arrived from Poland to save Vienna. That was the beginning of the end of the Islamic military conquest of Europe.

That's why Osama bin Laden chose September 11th to strike his blow against the free world.

But that's not why I'm mentioning this article. The author, Baron Bodissey, quotes Owen Johnson, and I'd like to quote him here too:

In this war there are no noncombatants. Not only are we all military targets in the eyes of our enemies, but we all take part in the fighting. Every opinion we form and express, every conclusion and argument we make, and particularly every vote we cast, influences our enemy and affects our collective will. We need to be aware of this.

That's exactly right. You and I can (and should) fight in this war. We must. How? Start here.

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An Easy Way to Influence Your Friends

Share DVDs with your friends. When you find a good one, get a couple extra copies. Then let your friends know you saw a really good DVD. If they show any openness or interest, offer to loan them your copy.

Books may contain more information, but most people are more open to the idea of watching a DVD than reading a book. A book is a considerably bigger investment of time.

This is an easy and comfortable way of introducing important information to people you know. Even a good friend might not be willing to listen to you talk nonstop for an hour, educating him on orthodox Islam and its prime directive, but he might be willing to watch a DVD. And the producers have the funds to hire authorities in their fields to share what they know, lending the DVD an influencing power far beyond what you could accomplish in a conversation.

When you mention the DVD, don't say it is the best thing you've ever seen. Say you liked it, but then tell them something you thought was the most interesting part of the film. Or the most intriguing. Or surprising. Intrigue them. Reach them at their level. What do you think they would find most intriguing about the DVD?

For example, when I mention the film, Islam: What the West Needs to Know, I like to mention that one of the people interviewed is an ex-member of the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization). In other words, he used to be an Islamic terrorist. He grew up in Palestine, where they glorify dying in martyrdom on television. He learned stories from his teachers in school of heroic martyrs blowing themselves up for the glory of Islam. He threw rocks at Israeli soldiers. He smuggled a bomb hidden inside a loaf of bread into an Israeli area, but changed his mind at the last minute and threw the bomb up onto a roof, where it blew up. I thought it was really interesting to hear his take on the Islamization of the West.

When you find a good film, watch it several times, so you will be well-acquainted with the facts and ideas later when you're talking to someone about the DVD. And while you watch the film for the second or third time, keep a notepad handy and jot down what you think are some of the most surprising or intriguing tidbits in the film, and use those to pique the curiosity of people when you talk about it.

In other words, don't just mention the film and say you liked it, and assume the person will be interested. Help her become interested. Gain and maintain rapport with her. This is a crucial part you can play to help convert people who aren't really that interested in Islam into people who are interested. You can make a small move in that direction by getting this person interested in watching a particular DVD.

Use this tool actively. It is a practical mission you could accomplish to help do the one thing that needs to be done: Educate your fellow non-Muslims about Islam. As you find things that work and things that don't work, please come back and leave your insights in the comments below.

We've got a growing list of DVDs to recommend. Check them out: Recommended DVDs.

Learn more about influencing your friends:

How to approach a conversation about Islam
Answers to objections when you talk about Islam
How to think outside the persuasion box

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The Biggest Barrier to Stopping Islam's Relentless Encroachment

AWHILE AGO, I sent out an invitation to my friends and family to sign the petition to stop Muslim immigration, and one of my relatives, a young man who went on a solo trek through several Islamic countries in the Middle East the summer before, responded like this:

I will not sign it. It baffles me that you would promote such biased and discriminatory content.

To equate every Muslim in the world with the few radical Muslims that carry out terrorism is ludicrous. Are the progressive Muslims, gay Muslims (yes, there are gay Muslims) and non-practicing Muslims just as bad as suicidal terrorists?

I've read the Qur'an and the Hadith and I know what it says. The Bible also says some pretty bad things. But before you go on with your thinking, I encourage you to put down the books that you've been reading and actually travel to a Muslim country to make judgments of your own.

I'd be more than happy to go with you and give you a tour of the areas that I traveled this past summer and introduce you to the many friends that I made.

Now, I don't know about you, but when I get this kind of response, I get worked up. You might even call it "upset." My heart pounds.

I believe that my relative's reaction, and my reaction to his reaction, is the biggest barrier to stopping Islam's relentless encroachment. We don't want to bring it up with each other because it is so upsetting, so all the education that could potentially take place doesn't happen, so the ignorance remains in place. And it is that widespread ignorance about Islam that is allowing orthodox Islam to gain concession after concession in the free world. The single most important thing that needs to be done is educate non-Muslims about the basic elements of Islamic doctrine.

But for me (and probably for you), this heart-pounding reaction has happened many times, and I know now that every time it happens, my ability to communicate makes a leap forward, so now even though my heart still pounds and I feel upset, it doesn't last long because I remember the good that always comes out of it.

I also realize if I can't answer the person, even given some time to think about it, then maybe there's something I don't know or the person has a legitimate criticism and I should change my view. So one way or another, it's an opportunity to learn.

I recommend when you get this kind of rebuttal, that you take the time to think about how you will answer it and how you might answer it the next time anyone says something similar. We're collecting answers here: Answers to Objections.

Your feeling of upset will diminish if you can honestly see someone's challenge as a good opportunity to develop your knowledge and your ability to communicate it to others. It is not just about this particular person who is challenging you. By developing your abilities, you become more persuasive with everyone thereafter. As you improve, you get fewer and fewer challenges because you are answering objections before they even come up.

This is how I responded to my relative:

From your response, I'm thinking you must not have read the text of the petition. The main point the petition makes is that we cannot determine which Muslims follow pure Islam (which is a supremacist doctrine) and which do not. If a certain percentage of the Muslims who immigrate are "radicals" and if we have no way of identifying them until they kill someone, why should we allow any Muslims to immigrate at all? Do we have a shortage of Muslims? Do we need more?

And the ones who actually kill people may not be as dangerous as the "long-term" jihadists — those who are right now teaching hatred toward non-Muslims in American madrassas, preaching hatred in 80 percent of the thousands of American mosques, and infiltrating the U.S. government with the goal of overthrowing it.

I know there are plenty of nice people who are Muslims. I know some of them myself. But perfectly nice people can still strive to overthrow a government. And besides, you never know if their niceness is taqiyya.

It seems strange that you would encourage me to travel to a Muslim country. Almost all Muslim countries have a horrendous record of human rights abuses, especially to women — even though many of the people who live there are really nice people.

The countries that follow Islamic doctrine most closely — Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Iran, have the worst human rights records.

Saying that the Islamic doctrine is supremacist does not insult the friends you made in Muslim countries. I may dislike socialist doctrine, but I know many people who believe in those doctrines that I think are really nice people. Let's distinguish between the doctrine and the person.

It just occurred to me that you probably read a standard version of the Koran, which is written in a peculiar order — the chapters are arranged from the longest chapter to the shortest. So even if you read the passages about abrogation, you would not have known which passages were abrogated and which weren't, which means you would be under the impression that the Koran is a hodgepodge collection of random writings. It is nothing of the sort. It is a single document written by one man, and the order in which it was written is known by all Islamic scholars.

The reason the order is important is that some verses abrogate or supersede other verses. The Koran itself contains instructions on how the abrogation is to be done. Pardon me if you know this already, but it seems from your comment that you must not know this.

The Koran is not like the Bible in several significant ways. The Koran is not a collection of writings from different people. It doesn't say in the Bible, "This is the word of God," but it does say that in the Koran. And the Bible doesn't give instructions on how to deal with contradictions. The Koran does. Another interesting difference is the nature of the calls to violence. In the Bible, they are descriptive. In the Koran, they are prescriptive (read more about that here).

Anyway, the earlier verses of the Koran were written while Muhammad lived in Mecca. They are mostly tolerant, relatively peaceful passages. After Muhammad moved to Medina and became a military leader, the nature of the new verses changed dramatically. They became intolerant and called for violence against non-Muslims.

So the Koran contains contradictions, but it tells the reader how to deal with them. It says that when passages conflict, the later ones are better than the earlier ones. The later passages abrogate the earlier ones.

Muslims who are ignorant of this might be perfectly nice people, but they are vulnerable to the ones who are not ignorant of this — vulnerable to being called upon to fulfill their Islamic obligation to jihad, and vulnerable to being converted to an orthodox Muslim.

All by itself, that would be a good reason to restrict or prohibit immigration by anyone who considers himself to be a Muslim. They, or their children, will always be vulnerable to an appeal to orthodox Islam, which mandates a continual fight against non-Muslims until the whole world submits to Islamic law. In fact, in a study in Britain, the researchers found the second generation more orthodox (more inclined to jihad) than their first generation immigrant parents.

The reason Jihadi recruiters are so successful is that they can refer to the Koran and the unambiguous example of Muhammad's (which every Muslim is obligated to follow). The message is unequivocal: For a Muslim, political action is a religious duty — political action aimed at fulfilling Islam's prime directive.

In your reading and travels, what have you come across that gives you the impression Islamic doctrine is not supremacist?

Do you know what taqiyya is?

He stopped talking to me about that topic at that point, and I didn't pursue it. I was concerned that if I pursued it, I would make him defend his previous point of view, but I thought if I left him alone, he might look into it to prove me wrong and make the necessary discoveries on his own. I have heard from many people who came to the counterjihad movement in just that way — looking into it to prove someone wrong, only to find out they were right.

I think one of the most valuable uses of the immigration petition is to spark conversations like this. Most people think the proposal is completely unthinkable, but if you earnestly make a good argument for it, people will say what they really feel, like my young relative above, bringing the issue into the open, and hopefully bringing them some information they've never heard before.

Also, if you get them to actually sign it, they have made one small commitment for the cause and if they do, because of the principle of commitment and consistency, they are more likely to take larger actions for the cause in the future.

As you can tell by my relative's response, he was nowhere near that point, but hey, we have to start somewhere.

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