Joe and Mr. Rashid: An Annotated Interreligious Dialogue

Don’t you just hate it when a non-Christian gives a better Christian witness than someone professing to be a Christian?

And when said Christian gives a brilliant what-not-to-do when speaking to someone in a different faith?

Puts me to shame.

Here’s a facebook post from the author and human rights attorney Quasim Rashid, an Ahmadiyya Muslim. You can follow his writing online here.  Here’s his status update in its entirety, with my squealing commentary added in.

Conversation with a Christian and Trump supporter. This just happened tonight with, let’s call him Joe, a white male from Florida. The conversation started when he emailed me unsolicited around 6pm tonight.

——

Joe
Quit breathing

Qasim Rashid
Afraid i can’t do that. I need air to live.

Joe
But you’ll get to meet allah though and get to f**k your 72 virgins

Qasim Rashid
Islam teaches all life is sacred and rejects your bizarre sexual fantasies.

Joe
Allah is also a false god
Jesus Christ is the only god there is.

Claims to be a Christian, does not capitalize “God” when referring to Christ as the only God. My stars. And that’s not touching the whole start-the-interfaith-conversation-with-a-threat maneuver either.

Qasim Rashid
Is Jesus the one teaching you to tell me to “quit breathing” then? I don’t recall him teaching that. Allah teaches salvation for all humanity through love and grace.

Joe
No he doesn’t. [inserts screen grabs from anti-Islam website claiming Qur’an says to kill people]
So loving
So caring
Kill

I am personally embarrassed whenever a blog commentator posts anti-Muslim content from scary Richard-Spencer-quoting alt right anti-Islam websites misquoting the Qur’an and claiming I’m the one who’s ignorant (I’m looking at you, if that’s you reading this). Here’s this ignorance once again. I usually just ignore them, myself, but Mr. Rashid is way classier than I am.

Oh, and I know some of you are sharpening your typing fingers to post said content in the combox already. May I suggest you read what the Catechism of the Catholic Church has to say about calumny first?

Qasim Rashid
I’m glad you found the verses where the Quran commands Muslims to fight in self defense against those persecuting and killing Christians, Jews, and Muslims for their faith. This is why the Quran specifically commands Muslims to protect churches from attack. Yes, a caring and loving God teaches self defense against offensive attacks. The bizarre commentary in your above excerpt is a flat out lie. The Muslims were very much under attack in Medina after fleeing persecution in Mecca, and together with the Jews of Medina, Muslims and Jews stood united and together against the idolaters who were trying to kill them.

Joe
These guys get to meet the real god because of muslims
That call themselves isis [screen grab of ISIS torturing imprisoned people]

Qasim Rashid
You’re not making any actual sense. Do the KKK represent Christianity? Do the Lords Resistance Army? They have maimed, killed, raped, and displaced over 100,000 people in the name of Christ. Meanwhile you’re telling me to “quit breathing,” ie to die. Is that how I should understand what Jesus Christ taught?

Joe
Kkk isn’t christians. By your actions you will know them. Christ can set you free and forgive your sins. The living god who arose on the third day.

Yet again, Joe refuses to capitalize “God” and “Christians” while making a pustule of himself. Then he pulls the classy tactic of sinning against charity too many times to count before offering Christ as a remedy for Mr. Rashid’s sins. Zero evangelizing points to Joe.

It gets even better: