THE HUMAN mind will not allow a condition of "no explanation" — especially of significant events. When something happens, you explain it to yourself. Everybody does. You can't help it. Events cannot remain unexplained in your mind.
An explanation is an answer to the question, "What caused the event?" Here are three of examples of this principle to demonstrate how it works in different circumstances. But the point is, the mind cannot and will not allow an event to go by without having an explanation for it. If you don't have enough information, or accurate information, you will explain it the best you can given what you know. Everyone's mind does this. (Read the three examples if you do not believe this.)
The cause of much of the world's chaos and violence is what it says in the Qur'an. That's the source. That's the cause. That's where it all started, and that's what is keeping it going. That is our explanation, and it is accurate.
Many people believe it must be something else. They either don't know anything about Islam or they refuse to believe the information they've gotten about Islam.
So here's the situation: Big events are happening and each of us must explain it. Those who know nothing about Islam explain the events the best they can given what they have to work with. So they think the government is behind it all, or the Muslims' actions are merely a reaction to what the western world has done to them, etc.
And people who make these kinds of explanations get lots of support for them, for various reasons. In fact, many of these explanations have come from the Muslim world. Devout, politically-active Muslims are using Mohammad's original technique of using false pretexts, and those explanations fill the vacuum in many people's minds, explaining events that are otherwise perplexing.
This is what you're up against when you try to talk to people about Islam. People already have an explanation for worldwide and historical events. If they accept what you're saying about Islam, it is not just a new piece of information. It will cause a fairly large shift in a whole body of knowledge for them. It will change their worldview to some extent.
So your approach and your delivery need to be well done. They need to trust you. Your rapport needs to be good. For some people, understanding and accepting what you say will shatter many of their strong beliefs, so they will resist the information and deperately try to invalidate it. That is why it is crucial that you push them to read the Qur'an. For some people, that is the only way they will ever come to believe it. And your insistence on this point will greatly raise their confidence in what you're saying. They don't want to believe it, but if you can get them to read the Qur'an, they can slowly but surely come to grips with the new information.
That's what we need to achieve: A majority of non-Muslims who understand some basic information about Islam. Too few people know. And they will never vote for immigration reform or investigations into mosques or legislation to prevent Sharia law from worming its way into our legal system unless they understand what's in the Qur'an.
And they will not get this information on their own. It has to impinge on them. So it has to come from someone they know. That probably means you.
Most people only expose themselves to information that matches their worldview. It is uncomfortable to do otherwise. So nothing about basic Islamic teachings can get through to them except in a personal encounter with someone who knows.
You are the key.
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AN EASY way to learn more about Islam is to listen to information on an MP3 player or iPod. And some of the most interesting things to listen to can be found on YouTube.
