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<\/a>Editor\u2019s Note: The following is a conversation Qasim Rashid had over social media\/email from a stranger, who obviously had a bone to pick with Muslims. He get these messages via email, Facebook and Twitter all the time. When possible, he tries to dialogue, even though social media is not the best method of interfaith dialogue. Still, you never know what we can learn from each other through these interactions. Some go surprisingly well, others not so much. Here\u2019s one example:<\/em><\/p>\nI received a threatening email from a Nazi, who is a staunch Donald Trump supporter. Let\u2019s call him Nate. I tried to reason with him. His initial email to me was totally unsolicited. Here\u2019s what happened. (Slightly edited for readability, but a lot of the capitalization and other minor issues I left as is.)<\/p>\n
Nate:<\/strong>\u00a0all muslims will be removed from america and europe. and you will all ultimately burn in hell for worshipping a demon god. i bet u r a pedophile<\/p>\n Qasim:<\/strong> Come on Nate do you know any Muslims personally?<\/p>\n Nate:<\/strong> unfortunately yes. you muslims are sick f***ing freaks<\/p>\n Qasim:<\/strong> Where have you met Muslims? What books on Islam have you read? Can we dialogue without vulgar language and name-calling? Regardless I am sorry that you had a poor experience with the Muslim that you met. It sounds like he severely mistreated you. I am sorry you had to experience that.<\/p>\n Nate:<\/strong> okay. how can you consider Mohammad to be the holiest prophet of god? he killed lots of people and started wars, he was a polygamist and he married children.<\/p>\n Qasim:<\/strong> There\u2019s unfortunately a great deal of misinformation about Prophet Muhammad(sa) on the Internet. The reality and truth is he never killed anyone, only fought in self defense to protect the rights of all people to worship however they wanted, and certainly never married a child. You should know I agree with you that terrorist groups like Daesh and the Taliban are barbaric monsters. I won\u2019t even call them human. My brother is a US Marine veteran and served American honorably against these terrorists. Prophet Muhammad(sa) required Muslims to protect all people from attack and forbade all forms of terrorism. Please don\u2019t judge Islam by terrorists and bigots.<\/p>\n Nate:<\/strong> yes he did marry kids. look at this Wikipedia article about Aisha.<\/p>\n Qasim: It\u2019s Wikipedia. It\u2019s wrong. She was between 15-19. Do you know what the legal age of marriage is in many states? It\u2019s 13. Do you know how old Mary Mother of Jesus was when she was married to Joseph? Mary was 12-13 and Joseph was 91.<\/p>\n Nate:<\/strong> no the gospel does not specify an age for either of them. it says hes old but thats it. 15-19 is still pretty bad, and this other one was only 18. Look at this Wikipedia article about Safiyya. I don\u2019t like that he has more than one wife.<\/p>\n Qasim:<\/strong> The Catholic encyclopedia explains that she was 12-13 and Joseph was 90.<\/p>\n Nate:<\/strong> well she was also a virgin<\/p>\n Qasim:<\/strong> Yes indeed. Christ was born of the Virgin Mary.<\/p>\n Nate:<\/strong> which is somewhat better than muhammad and aisha. im a pagan by the way<\/p>\n Qasim:<\/strong> Why is it a competition of \u201cbetter?\u201d Pagan? Thanks for clarifying.<\/p>\n Nate:<\/strong>\u00a0Christianity is Middle Eastern, so I blame that influence for anything perverted in the bible. not the European people, who had Christianity forced upon them 1000 years ago. around the same time mohammad was forcing his religion onto people<\/p>\n Qasim:<\/strong> Sorry Nate, Prophet Muhammad(sa) did no such thing. In fact the Quran commands Muslims to protect all houses of worship and celebrates universal freedom of conscience.<\/p>\n Nate:<\/strong> What about this hadith<\/em> that says to expel Jews and Christians?<\/p>\n Qasim: 1) You realize these were written down 300 years after the fact right? They\u2019re not totally accurate. 2) The Charter of Medina is a written constitution Prophet Muhammad(sa) made with the Jews in which it says \u201cno Jew will be wronged for being a Jew\u201d and \u201cMuslims and Jews are equal citizens of this state.\u201d Prophet Muhammad(sa) also wrote a letter to Christians promising them in writing that no Muslim has the right to ever harm them or expel them.<\/p>\n Nate:<\/strong> you dont believe the qaran [sic]?<\/p>\n Qasim:<\/strong> These are written documents from the time of Prophet Muhammad(sa) that have his literal stamp of approval. Of course I believe in 100% of the Qur\u2019an. It guarantees universal freedom of conscience and only permits fighting in self defense when attacked. It forbids offensive attack. Instead of googling online, I encourage you to read a biography of Prophet Muhammad(sa). I can send you some great reads if you want. Learn the history from scholars who have studied it.<\/p>\n Nate:<\/strong> would you invite millions of poor white Christians to come live in your richest muslim countries?<\/p>\n Qasim:<\/strong> Absolutely. And that\u2019s exactly what Prophet Muhammad(sa) did. When Christians came to Mecca he invited them to worship as they wished in his own mosque. He didn\u2019t restrict them at all but encouraged them to worship freely. As I said, he wrote a letter to the St. Catherine\u2019s Monastery as a covenant with all Christians. Below is the text:<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a message from Muhammad ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far, we are with them.
\nVerily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and by Allah! I hold out against anything that displeases them.
\nNo compulsion is to be on them.
\nNeither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries.
\nNo one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims\u2019 houses.
\nShould anyone take any of these, he would spoil God\u2019s covenant and disobey His Prophet. Verily, they are my allies and have my secure charter against all that they hate.
\nNo one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to fight.
\nThe Muslims are to fight for them.
\nIf a female Christian is married to a Muslim, it is not to take place without her approval. She is not to be prevented from visiting her church to pray.
\nTheir churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants.
\nNo one of the nation (Muslims) is to disobey the covenant till the Last Day (end of the world).\u201d<\/p>\n