Ron Voss

2017-10-17 17:56:40 -0400

Very interesting dialogue between Dr. Peterson and Ayana Hirsi Ali as theyto make sense of Islam, particularly with the distinction, introduced by Ali, of supposedly a class of Muslims called Mecca Muslims (who uphold the more peaceful verses in the Koran when Muhammad was in Mecca) and the Medina Muslims (who uphold the the more violent, warlike verses when Muhammad was in Medina and became a ruthless warlord).Dr. Peterson, as you indicated the Mecca/Medina distinction is “very complicated and problematic”, given the inherent contradictions between the two. As a psychologist, you are well aware of cognitive dissonance and faced with that, Ali remains a Muslim, in her mind, by rejecting the Medina verses. However, I am sure that Ali is well aware of the doctrine ofwhereby later verses dictated to Muhammad by Allah when Muhammad was in Medina, abrogate any of the Inconvenient, contradictory earlier peaceful verses. Dr. Peterson, you ask if it is possible to “bridge the gap 0” between the earlier and later “works” of Muhammad. First off, with your reference to the “works” of Muhammad you make it out that Muhammad was contributing his own thoughts when you know, of course, that according to Islam, Allah was supposed to have dictated his very words to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel, so accordingly, one can’t pick and choose which words one wants to follow or discard. But, Allah found a way out of the conundrum, abrogation. So, those who Ali describes as Medina Muslimsuphold portions of the Mecca verses if they are not abrogated by later verses. Because Muslims are allowed to lie to advance the cause of Islam, the practice of taqiyya, the so-called ‘Medina Muslims’ which I would rather call ‘full-Koran Muslims’ will often cite the peaceful verses to deceive non-Muslims, especially with respect to the notion that Islam is ‘a religion of peace’. Ali is an intelligent woman. Knowing this, I don’t understand how she would still insist that she is a Muslim. According to the Koran she is identified as a “hypocrite” and should be dealt with harshly like any other infidel.Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch, explains “abrogation”:As part of a series “The Basics of Islam”, here he summarizes some of the more well-known violent verses: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knryaTzu9nM Here he summarizes some of the more well known and cited peaceful verses and explains how this contradiction is dealt with by the doctrine of abrogation: