In this post I quoted several Qur’an verses that are being used by Muslims today to justify mistreatment of women and warfare against non-Muslims. A comment appeared in the comments field there that I thought worth a separate posting, along with my reply.
Here is the comment, a message to me:
Robert,
As a Muslim and aspiring filmmaker, it hurts and disturbs me that you make a living off of criticizing and vilifying my beautiful and peaceful way of Life. I just want you to know that Muslims all around the world, including the CAIR organization will always be there to stand up and speak out against your immaturity, ignorance, and prejudice.
Hate never did the world any good and I personally think you should be ashamed of yourself for calling yourself a Christian while you demonize your Abrahamic brothers/sisters. I think there’s still a lot you need to learn about being a human being. I’m only 23 years old, yet I have learned in life that not all adults are mature and grown up. From the quality of your work, it shows that you don’t care about compassion or peace, but separation and war.
Don’t you feel ashamed of yourself at all for being so negative and prejudice? Is this the type of world you want people to live in? Do you want to keep spreading intolerance and ignorance in the United States? Do you want your children to be just as hateful and ignorant as you? Let me tell you something, I would NEVER IN MY LIFE insult another religion or direct my work at a specific group of people because I CARE about other people’s feelings. Islam teaches us to journey outside of ourselves and help people who are in need. I could easily get a book published if I said some bad things about my religion because that’s what the world wants, they like when ex-Muslims write negative things about Islam, but no thank you, I choose God over worldly “success” because His Love is Greater than anything people like YOU have ever known. The Love I have for my people is greater than yours because my work stems from Truth and flows with compassion and peace, they came from my Heart. Yours are filled with lies and deception. How are you making the world a better place?? You’re making it worse. Because of people like you, I have to worry about my children being picked on just because of their ethnicity and religious background. Because of people like you, I can’t stand up for my rights without someone complaining and saying Islamophobia is some “myth.” A myth? I’ve been pulled over by police officers so many times while working on my independent films, just because I’m brown skinned, but do I judge all Americans and say they are evil? No, of course not! America is a country founded on religious freedom and tolerance, Mr. Spencer, and even our elementary schools teach us to treat others as human beings and to never judge people based on the color of their skin, religion, or nationality.
Shame on you, Mr. Spencer.
No matter what you do, Muslims will always be here. And I know that bothers you. Just remember that peace, tolerance, and Love is being taught to you RIGHT NOW by a Muslim, and I hope one day, insha’Allah, you will see my films.
Salaam, Shalom, Shlama, Peace
~JehanZeb~
al-jahil ‘adoww nafsoh
The ignorant is his own enemy
And my reply:
JehanZeb
Thanks for your note. For someone who supposedly eschews hate, it is interesting that it is so full of insults and inaccurate, pejorative characterizations of my work.
It is also interesting that you don’t address any of the Qur’an passages I quoted above, or explain what you plan to do to keep Muslims from interpreting them, as you well know that many do, in a way that harms women and non-Muslims. As long as you and others like you continue to claim that such Qur’an quotes only manifest “ignorance” and “hate” on the part of those who quote them, and as long as you engage in defamation of those who explore the elements of Islam that are giving rise to violence in the world today instead of setting out some positive ways to mitigate the effects of such verses among Muslims, you will be contributing to the climate of suspicion toward Muslims that you claim to be a victim of.
And you are contributing to that climate of suspicion far more effectively than I ever could.
Cordially
Robert Spencer