6-«How stupid he is!»

«Who?»

«Our history teacher. I don't like him».

«I thought you were enjoying his lectures on comparative religion».

«I was».

«So what's wrong?»

«He was so biased against Islam».

«Since when have you taken up the defense of a religion? I thought you looked down upon religion».

«.I cannot join one because I don't believe. But that doesn't mean I look down on religion».

«Well, what's the problem?»

«At first, he described each faith in a factual manner. He told about Christianity fairly, just as he had done with the different pagan religions, and then Buddhism and Judaism. But when he came to Islam, he pictured it as a decline from the peak of Christian teachings into a collection of rituals, which led to the stagnation of Muslim peoples. Then he told a story he had heard from a friend of his, who had attended a conference in Saudi Arabia: « We had an extremely busy schedule of lectures and discussions, one of which was still in progress, when suddenly it was time for prayer. The proceedings were interrupted while a group of Muslims arose and went into an adjoining room. We waited while they prostrated themselves several times... as if their prayer was more important than our discussions! Who knows, maybe they thought that their God would burn them in hell if they did not bow down to him at a specific time...»

The class roared with laughter, but I was angry and upset. When the lesson was over, I went up and asked him: «Why were Mohammad and his followers the only ones singled out for criticism?»

He said: «Because he was an imposter who deceived his people and led them into wars».

So I said: «But how do you know' that he wasn't sincere and really believed that God had sent him a revelation like the earlier prophets'?»

Then he stared at me and said: «Do you believe in God or know anything about Him to enable you to discuss His revelations?»

I didn't know what to say, then... I couldn't answer, so I walked away».