This is an imagined discussion between a muslim and an atheist. But it is based on my actual discussions with atheists.
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. We –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 peoples. Indeed the Arabs can feel the greatness of the Quran more than the other peoples. But the other peoples 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 be sure that his son is really his son. But in western countries, a man cannot be sure that his son is really his son.
Atheist: I want to discuss the presence of the God. The universe is created by the God. 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 did not 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.
Wael El-Manzalawy
Egyptian Writer
