https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOZ_x5hN7sg&t=1s
On the weekend, David Wood and Anthony Rogers did a livestream on YouTube. The YouTube was to refute a claim that Yusuf Estes made on some television show that I believe was filmed in Dubai. In this clip Estes said that the Catholic Church was started by Alexander the Great in Rome three centuries before Christ. He also claims that this is on the Catholic website.
Of course these claims are ridiculous and stupid. If this man took any junior high history class, he’d fail miserably. David Wood mentioned that the video of Estes had 2.4 million views and a lot of Muslims had commented positively on the video, not to mention clapped when Estes spouted his nonsense.
The fact that Estes received applause from the audience and received positive comments from Muslims on this video is shameful. It’s shameful because this is an outright lie. If Muslims care about the integrity of Islam, they should denounce this liar and fraud immediately. If David Wood, Sam Shamoun or any apologist against Islam gets one minor detail about Muhammad’s life incorrect, quotes the Quran slightly out of context, or quotes a weak Hadith, you know that Muslims will be all over it. YouTubers like Yahya Snow and MuslimByChoice have made videos like this.
James White has spent dozens of hours criticizing Ergun Caner for his lies about his own life and about Islam. On this website I’ve criticized Catholics like Steve Ray for inappropriately criticizing Islam and Steve Ray has never said anything nearly this ridiculous about Islam. Also, as much as Muslims hate David Wood’s mockumentary Islamicize Me, he quotes every source that he mocks and puts it on the screen in English and Arabic. Why? Because Wood wants to be accurate when criticizing Islamic sources.
If you think this kind of nonsense is confined to the Muslim world, think again. Remember how I posted a video about how I confronted the Muslims at the Dawah booth on Canada day back in July? Well, if you remember I got his phone number at the very end. We ended up having some correspondence but never got together again after that. He sent me the following text message:
He sent me the same video with all of the nonsense about Alexander the Great. This was one of the head Dawah people at the booth.
History has never been on the side of Islamic apologetics or Islam in general. Whether it’s the Quran denying the crucifixion of Jesus Christ or saying that Mary is part of the Trinity, Islam and history have been like oil and water. They don’t mix in the slightest.
Now, although people in Muslim countries and some Muslims in the West may be snowed with this information, there are Muslims who know that what he says is absolute nonsense. I know that Mohammed Hijab, Adnan Rashid, Zakir Hussain, Shabir Ally and others know that this is the case. I invite every single one of them to publicly denounce Yusuf Estes for his lies and call him to repent. Why do I say this? Because this is one of the foremost Muslim speakers in the world. If this was some Muslim blogger living in a basement in Arizona, it wouldn’t be a big deal. Muslims, please protect the integrity of your religion and boycott this charlatan that even makes Tovia Singer look honest.
Here’s the video of the dawah booth debate on Canada day.
I don’t think that we should insist on condemnation of dawa frauds like Estes by his brothers/ sisters in faith. On the contrary, we should rejoice when the champions of Islam are like this, for it will make dealing with Islam a piece of cake. Imagine if there are a bunch of Islamic apologists, well versed in Biblical exegesis, Christian history and formal logic. Dealing with them will be quite the task. When the best that the Umma can throw against Christianity are Shabir Ally, Zakir Naik and Yusuf Ismail, it would be much easier to convince people that Islam is not to be followed and to assure Christians that their faith rests on solid foundation.
—The fact that Estes received applause from the audience and received positive comments from Muslims on this video is shameful. It’s shameful because this is an outright lie. If Muslims care about the integrity of Islam, they should denounce this liar and fraud immediately.—
Don’t expect any such standards from the average Muslim, as they are taught & trained to listen and obey by their teachers and leaders. (Any wonder why Cold War Communism caught on so well in Arab states, despite the USSR being militantly atheist?)
Learned Muslims such as their debators probably do know the truth – but as David Wood has pointed out repeatedly in his livestreams when Muslim commentors spout blatant falsehoods, these guys only care about making Islam look good at any cost. And what kind of religion is it that needs them to do this, drives them to do this?
Regarding alternate history and etc, I do have my own set of non-standard beliefs and theories. Here’s a sampling, if you’re curious you can ask me anytime:
1) Petra is the original holy city of Islam
2) Much of standard Islamic history is false
3) Both six literal 24-hour days of creation and 15 billions years of the universe existing are simultaneously true
4) Moses’ Pharaoh wasn’t Rameses the Great
5) Moses crossed the Gulf of Aqaba and over to…
6) Mt Sinai, which is in Arabia
7) The iron legs of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue and the beast with iron teeth are Islam, not Rome
8) At least some Jews were non-unitarian
9) Wednesday Crucifixion
10) Rapture won’t be pre-Tribulation (counts as non-standard in the circles I mix with)
But because I am naturally skeptical, and especially because I know these theories are non-standard, I do my own checking and research before fully committing.
For example, after watching Dan Gibson’s arguments for Petra being the true Masjid al-Haraam:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOnGvzVceVo
I went and did my own checking of Muslim texts (yup, accurately cited by Gibson) and lots of zooming in and out on Google maps (yup, mosques and Islamic buildings do clearly point to Petra).