WikiIslam:Arguments Not To Use
WikiIslam prides itself on being an accurate source of information on Islam. This means that inaccurate polemic arguments must be removed immediately when brought to one's attention. Such inaccuracies are often inserted or suggested by new editors with little prior knowledge of Islam. This list will primarily serve as a guide for them. It is a permanent reminder of why a certain argument is not suitable for inclusion at the site (since there may not always be an editor/administrator available who would be aware of these issues). For our regular editors/administrators, it will save much of their time and effort, which would otherwise have to be used in having to repeatedly discuss anew certain topics whilst only covering the same ground.
Contents
"Taqiyya" means lying in Islam
Taqiyya does not mean "lying" in Islam. It only refers to a specific doctrine, a predominantly Shi'ite one, used by them in order to save their own lives or avoid some other form of severe persecution. Critics of Islam are often ridiculed because they tend to conflate this doctrine with that of lying in general, leading to the mislabelling of all forms of religious lying as an example of "taqiyya". However, taqiyya forms only a single aspect of lying within Islam, not the entirety of the subject itself. Lying to non-Muslims, for reasons other than the fear of persecution, is supported by Islamic texts, and is another aspect of lying within Islam. But this form of lying is entirely distinct from taqiyya. These two distinct issues should never be conflated into a single issue (it can simply be called by what it is; lying. No fancy terms needed).
Allah prays to Muhammad
This inaccurate criticism of Allah/Islam is usually borne of mistranslated Qur'anic texts. "Blessed" is defined as, "[being] endowed with divine favour and protection". Being prayed to is defined as, "[receiving] a solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to God or another deity". Thus, even outside of an Islamic perspective, it is clear that Allah sending his blessing onto Prophet Muhammad does not equate to Allah praying to him.
Muhammad was a pederast
Almost all of Islam's laws, rituals, and moral principles, are defined by Prophet Muhammad's historically documented actions. Thus mainstream Islam views him as a perfect example and role-model for Muslims to follow. If this were not the case, then it would mean all of its laws, rituals, and moral principles are outdated. This makes judging Muhammad by today's standards a very valid exercise, if one is to understand the reasons behind certain archaic views being held by a majority of today's Muslims. Taking these facts into consideration, even according to the most stringent clinical definition of pedophilia (the DSM-IV-TR), Muhammad qualifies as a pedophile. But he was most certainly only a heterosexual pedophile, not a homosexual or bisexual one. This has been challenged by some critics who cite hadith that record him "sucking on the tongue or the lips of Al-Hassan son of Ali" or even "kiss[ing] his (little) penis". However, nothing that is quoted from these sources suggest he had a sexual interest in young boys. Ex-Muslims or those who are familiar with Middle-Eastern culture would most likely realize that these are considered acts of familial love and pride between a parent or grandparent and the male child. This may seem strange to those whom Muslim culture is alien, but it is akin to how a non-Italian may view an Italian male greeting another Italian male with a kiss (i.e. to those on the outside it may suggest homosexuality when in fact there are no sexual connotations whatsoever involved).
666 is a holy number
This claim is often made to a Christian audience who will find a special significance in this number. However, the claim is inaccurate and seems to originate from several different sources. A "Muslim" website that is often provided as proof, actually belongs to a member of Rashad Khalifa's Qur'an-only cult and does not reflect the views of mainstream Islam. There is also a common myth that the number of verses in the Quran is 6,666. The actual number of verses is 6,236. Although this number varies depending on how (or if) the Basmala appearing at the start of each chapter is counted, the total number of verses never equals 6,666 (it is in fact only 6,348). Then there is the claim that the Greek for 666, when turned sideways, spells “Bismillah” in Arabic. This is simply a case of Pareidolia.
Drinking alcohol is not banned in Islam
Critics of Islam who propagate this odd theory, do so by misrepresenting the actual words used in the Qur'an, taking verses out of context, cherry-picking the traditions, disregarding tomes or reliable sources, and even putting aside the chronology of the entire corpus of Islamic texts. They claim the Qur'an speaks well of alcohol and only advises Muslims to "avoid" it. However, to try and justify these claims, they have to disregard the revelational order of the verses concerning alcohol, because a chronological reading of Qur'anic verses (revealed over the span of 25 years), clearly shows a gradual shift (from positive to negative) in the Islamic attitude towards alcohol. They also have to redefine the meaning of very simple words. For example, claiming verses 5:90-91 only says to "avoid" alcohol, not to "not drink at all." However, the definition of the word "avoid" means exactly that (to "Keep away from or stop oneself from doing (something)"). The Qur'an does not qualify its statement by saying "avoid excessive drinking," it simply says to avoid it, so there is no other meaning to this word except to "not drink at all." The same verses even describe alcohol as Satan's "handiwork" and "an abomination". How those words should be interpreted will be obvious to anyone familiar with the Judeo-Christian traditions, or in fact, any other religious traditions. These critics also claim that the hadith record the fact that Muhammad and the Companions drank alcohol. Again, in order to justify these claims, they have to disregard the chronology of the material being quoted by them. No one, including Muslims, are saying that alcohol has always been forbidden in Islam. In fact, it is an accepted and commonly known fact that alcohol was original permitted in Islam, before the completion of the Qur'an. And in order to cherry-pick these few hadith of Muhammad and his Companions drinking, they have to wilfully disregard the several dozen hadith that describe, in detail, the moments surrounding the revelation of verses 5:90-91, and what these same sources describe as meaning the complete ban on the consumption of alcohol.
