Islam versus Atheism

Ye Myo Zaw

Muslim: Do you believe in God?
 
Atheist: There is no God. Can you prove that there is a God?
 
Muslim: The universe, the land, the see, the sky, the sun, the moon…etc. are all evidences that there is a God who has created the universe.
 

Atheist: Can I see and hear the God?
 
Muslim: You cannot see the God. We have the word of the God which is the Quran. The language of the Quran is Arabic. Arabs know very well that the Quran cannot be written by a human being. The Quran has challenged the old Arabs to write something that resembles the Quran. The old Arabs were genius poets but they could not. Nowadays, some persons tried to write something that resembles the Quran, but they made themselves a joke.
 

Atheist: Then the Quran is for Arabs only.

Muslim: The Quran is the word of the God for all people. Indeed, the Arabs can feel the greatness of the Quran more than other people. But other people can read the translation of the meanings of the Quran. They can see the wisdom of the Quran. They can see the scientific accuracy of the Quran.
 

Atheist: Can you give me an example of the wisdom of the Quran?
 
Muslim: Islam forbids homosexuality and sex outside marriage. We can see clearly that homosexuality and sex outside marriage caused the spread of AIDS which caused or will cause the death of millions of people. Besides, with Islam, a man can surely say that his son is really his son. But in western countries, a man cannot surely say that his son is really his son.
 

Atheist: I want to discuss the presence of the God. The universe is created by the God. And so, who has created the God?
 
Muslim: The God has not been created. The God is eternal.
 
Atheist: I can say that the universe is eternal.
 
Muslim: The universe is changeable, so it cannot be eternal.
 
Atheist: You can’t convince me.

Muslim: I invite you to read the Quran. I invite you to rethink about the common secular idea that there is no God. It is a common idea, but it is completely wrong.  
 

Atheist: Islam has spread by the sword.
 
Muslim: This is not true. Islam has spread in many countries in Asia and Africa without any military action. The Islamic civilization is a fact that cannot be denied. Ask Europe about the Islamic civilization in Spain and the darkness of Europe. Islam is not a barbaric religion. But Islam is 	the true religion. The Islamic civilization used the military 	actionsfor only defense and for only attacking some enemies. But the Muslims did not enforce anyone to convert to Islam. The Muslims treated non-Muslims justly. They wanted to convince them without enforcing them to convert to Islam.
 

Atheist: I do not need any religion.
 
Muslim: Who has created the universe? Who has created you? What is the aim of your life? What will happen to you after death? All these are questions that you cannot find answers to without Islam. Besides, you enjoy materialistic pleasures, but you neglect your soul. Islam achieves the balance and harmony between the soul and the body. Islam does not forbid materialistic pleasures, but Islam is a unit of enjoying our lives and more important is to obey our God or the Creator.  
 

Atheist: There is no soul.
 
Muslim: You deny the presence of the soul because you cannot see and cannot touch the soul. We cannot see electricity, but we are sure that there is something called electricity because we can see its effects, e.g. the light and the heat. Equally, we cannot see the soul, but we can see its effects. What is the difference between two young men: one of them can talk and move while the other is dead without any reason? He did not suffer from any disease. He was not the victim of any accident. The difference is that the soul of the first one is inside his body while the soul of the second one had left his body.
 

Atheist: What is the difference between Islam and Christianity?
 
Muslim: The true Christianity invited people to worship One Deity, but some of its followers changed it. The unchanged Bible said that there will be a prophet called Muhammad or Ahmed and invited Christians to follow him. The untrue Christianity says that there is a God and his son. This is untrue. If the God decided something and his son decided another thing, what will happen? There will be a conflict between the God and his son. In Islam, there is only One God and He has no sons.
 

Atheist: There is no God.
 
Muslim: The universe is changeable, so it cannot be eternal. The God created the universe. The God is eternal. I invite you to rethink about the presence of the God and to read the Holy Quran. I invite you to read about Islam from the Islamic point of view.
 

Atheist: Islam is the religion of terrorism.            
 
Muslim: Islam does not allow us to kill women, children or very old men. Even in the war, Islam does not allow us to kill non-fighters. But there is a famous rule that every action has a reaction. What happened in America in September was a reaction against the American supporting for Israel which has been occupying our land and what was happening in Iraq. What happened in Spain and Britain was a reaction against occupying Iraq which was based on a group of lies. Justice is the solution. But unjust actions will always lead to violent reactions.
 

Atheist: What do you say about Palestine?
 
Muslim: Palestine is occupied and we have the right to defend our land and ourselves.
 
Atheist: What about Iraq?
 
Muslim: There is a kind of chaos in Iraq. The American occupation is responsible for this chaos.
 

Atheist: How about Jews?
 
Muslim: Some Jews were living in the Muslim countries. Muslims treated them very well. Muslims did not kill them. Muslims did not torture them. Muslims did not enforce them to convert to Islam. But Jews came from all over the world and occupied Palestine. They have chosen to be our enemies. We have the 	right to defend our land and ourselves.
 

Atheist: And men can have 4 wives and are allowed to hit them.   

Muslim: 
1. Many many Muslims have only one wife.  
2. A man can marry two, three or four women, but he must treat them equally.  
3. Four wives are better than one wife and innumerable mistresses.
4. Islam forbids sexual relationships outside marriage, thus a man can be sure that his sons and daughters are really his sons and daughters.  
5. In western communities, a man cannot be sure that his sons and daughters are really his sons and daughters. Can you see the difference?  

 Atheist: Why can't a woman marry 4 men then?   
 
 Muslim: If she has a son or a daughter, who will be the father.
 

Reference - “Questions and Answers about Islam” by Wael El-Manzalawy

Original Press - University Muslim Students Network - Myanmar, Times' Mirror Annual Magazine 2013-14, English Section