Prologue

If the Muslim Times’ highlighted articles are boring to you, it may be that you need to read more of them, as was suggested by John Cage, who was one of the most influential American composers of the 20th century and writer, “If something is boring after two minutes, try it for four. If still boring, then eight. Then sixteen. Then thirty-two. Eventually one discovers that it is not boring at all.”

Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL (born 26 March 1941) is an English ethologist, evolutionary biologist^[1] and author. He is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford,^[2] and was the University of Oxford‘s Professor for Public Understanding of Science from 1995 until 2008.^[3]

Dawkins is an atheist, a vice president of the British Humanist Association, and a supporter of the Brights movement.^[5] He is well known for his criticism of creationism and intelligent design. In his 1986 book The Blind Watchmaker, he argues against the watchmaker analogy, an argument for the existence of a supernatural creator based upon the complexity of living organisms. Instead, he describes evolutionary processes as analogous to a blind watchmaker. He has since written several popular science books, and makes regular television and radio appearances, predominantly discussing these topics. In his 2006 book The God Delusion, Dawkins contends that a supernatural creator almost certainly does not exist and that religious faith is a delusion—”a fixed false belief”.^[6]

But is it?

Indulge us a little in the Muslim Times with your time!

Source: The Huffington Post

By Qasim Rashid: Author, ‘The Wrong Kind of Muslim’

Islam teaches that hell is not an “eternal place of torment and damnation,” but a limited place, described as a “nursing mother,” in which our souls are spiritually cleansed and eventually admitted to paradise. In Islam, heaven, not hell, is eternal. And heaven affords us that opportunity — if God wills — to eternally reunite with our loved ones and relive our joys, free of pain and suffering.

Richard Dawkins controversially asserts that, “it can be plausibly argued that a deeply held belief [in hell] might cause a child more long-lasting mental trauma than the temporary embarrassment of mild physical abuse.” Dawkins then backtracks by adding, “…violent, painful, repeated sexual abuse…probablyhas a more damaging effect on a child’s mental well-being than sincerely believing in hell.”

Meanwhile, to remedy this alleged mental abuse of hell, Dawkins proposes that children not be taught about any particular faith, and instead enjoy full liberty upon adulthood as to whether they wish to believe in God, or not.

Dawkins’ bizarre aforementioned comparison aside, as one who believes in God, I agree that every human being should have a carte blanche right to choose first, whether they even believe in God, and second, if so — to which faith they choose to reach that God.

Dawkins, likely inadvertently, has endorsed (without crediting) a principle Prophet Muhammad championed 1400 years prior. The Qur’an categorically condemned any form of religious compulsion by declaring in no uncertain terms, “There shall be no compulsion in religion” (2:256). This remarkable verse extends beyond just religion as the word translated into “religion” is deen. Deen encompasses any form of thinking, ideology, or intellectual perspective–not just religion. Islam forbids compulsion regarding any of them.

Likewise, the Qur’an, in 22:39-41, commands Muslims to protect all houses of worship — temples, churches, synagogues, and mosques — so that freedom of conscience remains free. That is, the Qur’an provides muscle to ban compulsion of conscience. It is the only ancient scripture — religious or secular — to both specifically champion, and also provide muscle, to protect universal freedom of conscience.

Read further in the Huffington Post

Additional Readings about Dawkins in the Muslim Times

Dawkins’ False Papal Fatwa: ‘Einstein was a Pantheist and not a Deist?’

Peter Higgs criticises Richard Dawkins over anti-religious ‘fundamentalism’

Debate: Does the Universe have a purpose?

Recruiting the four Horsemen of Neo-atheism into Cavalry of Islam

Dawkins, McGrath or Me: Who is Most Rational?

Longing for consolation: A Dilemma for Dawkins

Richard Dawkins: I can’t be sure God does not exist

Photosynthesis: deserving of our awe or ridicule?

A challenge for Dawkins: Where did carbon come from?

‘Any fool could have been a Darwin,’ Richard Dawkins