How the Qur’an Fails Its Own Test

The Qur’an sets the following standard for those who would like to investigate its veracity: “Do they not reflect upon the Qur’an? If it had been from any other than Allah, they would have found within it much contradiction. (Qur’an 4.82) This cannot be clearer, if the Quran is full of contradictions, it is not from God. Let’s see how the Qur’an performs when subjected to its own test.

  1. Allah created man from: Blood (96:1-2), Water (25:54), Clay (15:26), Dust (30:20), Nothing (3:47)
  2. They lost their own souls, who will not believe (6:12) (Allah) causes to stray whom He wills (16:93)
  3. Will intercession be possible at the Day of Judgment? No (2:122-123, 254) Yes (20:109)
  4. Does Allah command to do evil? No (7:328) Yes (17:16)
  5. Can slander of chaste women be forgiven? Yes (24:4-5) No (24:23)
  6. What will unbelievers eat in hell? No food except Dhari (a poisonous plant) (88:6) No food except from the discharge of wounds (69:36)
  7. Earth created then heaven (2:29), Heaven created then earth (79:27-30)
  8. If unbelievers turn reject the message leave them be, your duty is to ‘convey the message’ (3:20). If unbelievers reject the message fight them until all religion is ‘for Allah’ (8:38-39)
  9. Creation was an act of ‘bringing together’ (41:11), Creation was an act of ‘splitting apart’ (21:30)
  10. The first Muslim was: Muhammad (6:14, 6:163, 39:12), Moses (7:143), Some Egyptians (26:51)

‘Much contradiction’ anyone? The fact is that the persistent and informed questioning of Islam’s truth-claims is the one thing that can stop it in its tracks. Prepare yourself to be one of those asking the questions by reading my book ‘Questioning Islam – Tough Questions and Honest Answers About the Muslim Religion

Islam’s ‘Convert Conundrum’

Here’s a little experiment: Think back for a moment to every single ‘Good Boy/Girl Turned Jihadi’ story you’ve ever read or seen on television. What was the one constant in all of them?

I can almost guarantee that you will find some kind of ‘but then’ statement in all such narratives. Statements like:

  • ‘He was just a regular guy but then he converted to Islam’
  • ‘He used to hang out with the guys but then he started going to the mosque regularly’
  • ‘She was not very devout but one day she started wearing the headscarf and broke off all relations with her friends’

Statements like these are significantly at odds with the prevailing discourse surrounding Islam in our society. We are constantly told from a variety of directions that Islam is a ‘religion of peace’ and that those who invoke it to justify violence misapply its essentially tolerant teachings. In response we must ask: Why is it that converting to Islam, or becoming a more devout Muslim, so often lead to a burning hatred for unbelievers? Shouldn’t becoming more attached to a peaceful religion cause us to become more peaceful as a result? 

No doubt those who are anxious to hold the ‘Islam means peace’ line will be quick to assure us that these stories are aberrations and that the very predictable trajectory to jihad followed by so many can be explained away by stating that those who follow this path do so based on a misunderstanding the true nature of Islam. To which we must ask: How is it that so many millions of people over the centuries have ‘misunderstood’ Islam in exactly the same way? Could it not be that there is something in the essential teaching of Islam that is motivating the actions of the jihadis?

This is the question that I look at in detail in my book ‘Nothing to do with Islam – Investigating the West’s Most Dangerous Blind Spot’. The question about whether Islam is indeed a ‘Religion of Peace’ is far too important to leave to the talking heads of the media. May I strongly encourage you to honestly investigate the issues. Perhaps you will find that the ‘convert conundrum’ is not such a great mystery after all!