After a fiery exchange between Sam Harris and Mehdi Hasan on Twitter, Maajid Nawaz chimed in and was swiftly and beautifully shut down by Professor Juan Cole from the University of Michigan. Sam Harris, who considers Maajid to be a ‘friend’ has been a vocal opponent of Muslims and Islam over the years (there’s a list of some of his quotes at the bottom of this piece). After Dr Cole told Maajid that he had a Ph.D in Islamic Studies, Maajid replied “you really wanna go there with me bro?🤦🏽 look me up.” Dr Cole’s response was a thing of beauty.

I was studying the Qur’an in Cairo before you were born, son. — Juan Cole (@jricole) April 1, 2019

What happened next was somewhat unimaginable. Maajid Nawaz managed to do something good for the Muslim ummah. Our friend Maajid united the Muslims of Twitter.

The tweet that started it all off.

What does the fact that practically every single person who self-identifies as a Muslim (moderate/liberal/orthodox) hates Maajid Nawaz tell us? Let Muslim Twitter know using the hashtag #MuslimsUnitedAgainstMaajid — Da Masked Avenger (@GleamingRazor) April 1, 2019

Others quickly answered the call:

Spent years demonising/ attacking Muslims & respected Muslim orgs. Has absolute zero credibility in the Muslim community and does NOT speak for us. #MuslimsUnitedAgainstMaajid — Princess Fiona فيونا (@Ibrahimsmummy) April 1, 2019

https://twitter.com/ak18dar/status/1112699542389047296

Feel free to let Maajid know how you feel!

There’s more!

Maajid Nawaaz should have a chapter dedicated to him in all Islamic fiqh books under ‘Najasah’. #MuslimsUnitedAgainstMaajid — Abu Typo (@WahidAtTalib) April 1, 2019

[easy-tweet tweet=”Muslims struggle to agree on a day for eid, but @maajid on this one thing we can most definitely unite. #MuslimsUnitedAgainstMaajid ” user=”themuslimvibe”]

He’s actually managed to unite the ummah 😂 #MuslimsUnitedAgainstMaajid — Dr Salman Butt (@DrSalmanButt) April 1, 2019

A desperate call out to Native Informants for that much needed cover#MuslimsUnitedAgainstMaajid https://t.co/3JP9wYQts7 — CAGE (@UK_CAGE) April 1, 2019

How is this guy allowed air time on LBC and Sky?#MuslimsUnitedAgainstMaajid https://t.co/5ekzusC1Ql — AZiMAGES (@360fisheye) April 1, 2019

Whilst Muslims clearly feel that Maajid doesn’t represent them or the wider Islamic community, he is still given airtime by LBC and other media outlets as an expert on and representative of the Muslim community.

For some context, here are some Tweets from a thread Mehdi Hasan put together of quotes from Sam Harris (Maajid’s friend) down the years:

"It is time we admitted that we are not at war with "terrorism". We are at war with Islam." – Sam Harris, 2004https://t.co/YCR6uVSki8

2/ — Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) April 1, 2019

"Muslim immigrants often show little inclination to acquire the secular and civil values of their host countries…demanding tolerance for their backwardness, their misogyny, their anti-Semitism…" – Sam Harris, 2004https://t.co/3pAeKydd8w

3/ — Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) April 1, 2019

"Islam, more than any other religion human beings have devised, has all the makings of a thoroughgoing cult of death." – Sam Harris, 2004https://t.co/yc1dFOt9a9

4/ — Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) April 1, 2019

"The gravity of Jewish suffering over the ages, culminating in the Holocaust, makes it almost impossible to entertain any suggestion that Jews might have brought their troubles upon themselves. This is, however, in a rather narrow sense, the truth"- Harris, End Of Faith,2004

5/ — Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) April 1, 2019

"The people who speak most sensibly about the threat that Islam poses to Europe are actually fascists." – Sam Harris, 2006https://t.co/K4sndOyQx1

6/ — Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) April 1, 2019