-
Helal Ramadan posted an update in the group
Ex-muslims 5 years, 3 months ago A lot of times I find myself put in a situation where I have to debate someone in matters that relate to Islam or religion in general. Now here is the thing… I am terrible at debates, and I am someone who cannot lie. It’s very hard for me to come up with arguments as the debate is going, and I can’t pretend to agree just to end the discussion.
A way I found to be really helpful to avoid being embarrassed or outing yourself as a non-believer, is to ask questions, a lot of them, specially questions that start with “Why”. If they’re doing all the talking for you, It will be really easy to nod your head in a agreement, without causing any issues!
My father puts me on the spot a lot with random questions, and I am always worried about angering him, I would be powerless if he decided to hurt me somehow… It’s a lot more important to stay safe, then to prove yourself right. So please be careful. Pick you battles, flee when you sense danger.
I completely understand, it is hard to make an argument while you have to worry about your own safety.
Even doubt and questioning is prohibited in Islam, Muslims are conditioned since childhood to say (Istagfar Allah) and brush off any doubt immediately without even thinking it through.
they tend to take any invitation to questioning or debate as an evil personal attack.
The conversation will soon turn to an apologetic competition or they will start to attack the questioner personally either physically or criticize his character.
But you are right, using the Socratic method, asking lots of sneeky questions followed by silence can help a lot.
But I do feel frustrated sometimes when I realize I am speaking to a troll or an apologetic.
A Manual for Creating Atheists by Peter Boghossian is a very good source, as well as the Street Epistemology channel by Anthony Magnabosco.
This is very unfair and bitter reality of religious society.
I want to say but cant say much on it due to some reasons.