SOME QUESTIONS FOR A MUSLIM READER:
At this point in your life, you choose to believe everything Muhammad tells you to believe. So when Muhammad told you that he received messages from the god of the universe that a dog and some humans spent 309 years sleeping in a cave (Quran 18:25), and that a hoopoe bird had a conversation with Sulaiman (Quran 27:22-24), you believe him. But if your own mother had told you that she got a message from the god of the universe that a donkey talked with Einstein, would you believe her? If not, please explain why you find Muhammad more believable than your own mother.
You believe that disbelievers are "the worst of created beings" because, according to Muhammad, this is a message from Allah (see Quran 98:6). If another religion had written in its holy book, "Muslims are the worst of created beings," would you regard this religion as a Religion of Hate? If you would, then is your religion also a Religion of Hate?
Your allah makes clear that he will terribly torture those who refuse to believe Muhammad's messages by constantly burning their skins off (Quran 4:56). Do you torture those who refuse to believe your messages? If not, could you please explain why those who refuse to believe Muhammad's messages deserve to be forever horribly tortured?
You, Muslim, are commanded by your god to fight Jews and Christians until they pay Muslims money (you call this "jizya") and feel subdued. (see Quran 9:29). If you believe this command was only temporary, when did it expire? If you believe it has not expired, then do you obey this command or do you refuse to obey this command? How would you feel if another religion had as one of its tenets: "Fight the Muslims until they pay us what we shall call 'tizya,' and feel subdued"?
Your god had a boy murdered out of fear that he would later disappoint his parents with transgression and disbelief (Quran 18:74-80). Of course, Allah refused to have Hitler and Stalin murdered when they were boys. Is transgression and disbelief truly worse than committing mass murder?
If you were the god of the universe and you had instructions that you want everyone to obey, would you give your instructions to a single man living 1,400 years ago? Or would you instead tell every person exactly what your commands are?
As you know, your god favors one-half of humanity, the men, over the other half of humanity, the women. If you were god of the universe, would you favor neither sex over the other?
If Allah had forbidden the ownership of slaves, would Muslims have been involved in both owning and trading slaves for centuries?
In Quran 4:157 we read: "And [for] their saying, "Indeed, we [the Jews] have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah." And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them." Allah deceived billions of Christians into believing that Christ was crucified -- why do you want to have a god who is "the best of the deceivers"?
In Quran 8:12, Allah declares: "I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve (the nonMuslims)." Why was this more important to Allah than casting love into the hearts of everyone?
Just how is your allah being “compassionate and merciful” in permitting earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters that kill, injure, and maim?
What exactly was your god doing for all the centuries before he created the universe?
Does it make sense that your god would initially decree inferior directives, only to replace them with better ones later (see Quran 2:106), or does it make more sense that Muhammad came up with the verses announcing abrogation, realizing that he might accidentally forget verses he had said earlier?
Muhammad declared that the god of the universe told him that in your family, there are enemies for you -- in Quran 64:14 we read: "O you who believe! Lo! Among your wives and your children there are enemies for you, therefore beware of them." Who are your enemies within your family, or is your god mistaken?
In Quran 7:178, we read: "Whomever God guides is the guided one. And whomever He sends astray—these are the losers." Now what rational reason is there for Allah to make people losers by sending them astray?
It is written in the Quran that your god created evil (see Quran 113:2). Does that mean that your god is evil? Is there a rational reason to want for oneself a god who creates evil?
In Quran 4:28 we read: "Man was created weak." Why did Allah not create everyone alive on our earth (7.4 billion people) to be strong, all with free will leading exemplary lives, and all destined for heaven? Does Allah instead want to torture people by burning them in Hell?
If you were asked the question: "Can you use your own imagination to derive a god better than the god described by Muhammad?", how would you respond?
You believe that disbelievers are "the worst of created beings" because, according to Muhammad, this is a message from Allah (see Quran 98:6). If another religion had written in its holy book, "Muslims are the worst of created beings," would you regard this religion as a Religion of Hate? If you would, then is your religion also a Religion of Hate?
Your allah makes clear that he will terribly torture those who refuse to believe Muhammad's messages by constantly burning their skins off (Quran 4:56). Do you torture those who refuse to believe your messages? If not, could you please explain why those who refuse to believe Muhammad's messages deserve to be forever horribly tortured?
You, Muslim, are commanded by your god to fight Jews and Christians until they pay Muslims money (you call this "jizya") and feel subdued. (see Quran 9:29). If you believe this command was only temporary, when did it expire? If you believe it has not expired, then do you obey this command or do you refuse to obey this command? How would you feel if another religion had as one of its tenets: "Fight the Muslims until they pay us what we shall call 'tizya,' and feel subdued"?
Your god had a boy murdered out of fear that he would later disappoint his parents with transgression and disbelief (Quran 18:74-80). Of course, Allah refused to have Hitler and Stalin murdered when they were boys. Is transgression and disbelief truly worse than committing mass murder?
If you were the god of the universe and you had instructions that you want everyone to obey, would you give your instructions to a single man living 1,400 years ago? Or would you instead tell every person exactly what your commands are?
As you know, your god favors one-half of humanity, the men, over the other half of humanity, the women. If you were god of the universe, would you favor neither sex over the other?
If Allah had forbidden the ownership of slaves, would Muslims have been involved in both owning and trading slaves for centuries?
In Quran 4:157 we read: "And [for] their saying, "Indeed, we [the Jews] have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah." And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them." Allah deceived billions of Christians into believing that Christ was crucified -- why do you want to have a god who is "the best of the deceivers"?
In Quran 8:12, Allah declares: "I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve (the nonMuslims)." Why was this more important to Allah than casting love into the hearts of everyone?
Just how is your allah being “compassionate and merciful” in permitting earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters that kill, injure, and maim?
What exactly was your god doing for all the centuries before he created the universe?
Does it make sense that your god would initially decree inferior directives, only to replace them with better ones later (see Quran 2:106), or does it make more sense that Muhammad came up with the verses announcing abrogation, realizing that he might accidentally forget verses he had said earlier?
Muhammad declared that the god of the universe told him that in your family, there are enemies for you -- in Quran 64:14 we read: "O you who believe! Lo! Among your wives and your children there are enemies for you, therefore beware of them." Who are your enemies within your family, or is your god mistaken?
In Quran 7:178, we read: "Whomever God guides is the guided one. And whomever He sends astray—these are the losers." Now what rational reason is there for Allah to make people losers by sending them astray?
It is written in the Quran that your god created evil (see Quran 113:2). Does that mean that your god is evil? Is there a rational reason to want for oneself a god who creates evil?
In Quran 4:28 we read: "Man was created weak." Why did Allah not create everyone alive on our earth (7.4 billion people) to be strong, all with free will leading exemplary lives, and all destined for heaven? Does Allah instead want to torture people by burning them in Hell?
If you were asked the question: "Can you use your own imagination to derive a god better than the god described by Muhammad?", how would you respond?
