Fanciful journeys into Islam

The negative effects of social media consumption on young Americans are enormous. A few weeks ago, hundreds of thousands of young Americans rushed into TikTok to glorify the Islamist terrorist Osama Bin Laden, and now, The Guardian reports, many of them are picking up Islam’s scripture, the Quran, “to understand the resilience of Muslim Palestinians.”

Over 2 million young Americans so far have followed the hashtag “quranbookclub” and posted their videos holding their newly purchased Qurans. “On TikTok,” according to The Guardian report, “young people are reading the text to better understand a religion that’s long been vilified by western media, and to show solidarity with the many Muslims in Gaza.” While no specific explanation is given as to how Islam has been actually vilified in Western media, the article reveals that many have responded positively to reading the Quran. As an example, we are told that Megan Rice, a 34-year-old who lives in Chicago, started reading the text and was convinced of Islam. She accepted Islam and declared her conversion on TikTok, revealing that she—wait for it—found the Quran to be “anti-oppressive and feminist.”

With this fanciful discovery, we should all lament the widespread naivety and deception flourishing among many young Americans. This story reflects the sad reality of a confused generation, largely driven by ignorance and social conformity—a poisonous desire to follow the crowd.

But what are these young Americans really missing about the Quran?

At the outset, they don’t see the impact the Quran actually has had on billions of lives worldwide. What is the most important religious book in Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen? It’s the Quran, not Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. These countries use the Quran in their governing laws. They are a clear example of countries driven by the Quran, as stated by Muslims themselves. Before these TikTokers simplistically rush to pick a Quran, they should pause for a second to think how this book has shaped generations of Muslims past and present and formed their worldview, laws, and values.

What is the chief driving text for the terrorists of al-Qaeda, ISIS, Boko Haram, and Hamas? The answer is simple, loud, and clear: the Quran. Before young Americans begin their fanciful journey of interpreting the Quran as a feminist book, they should have learned what Muslims have been actually saying about the Quran and doing in fulfilment of its commands for centuries. We know self-identified militant Muslims—think of the soldiers of the Taliban and al-Qaeda—who insist they’re applying the Quran as written, which led them to attack non-Muslims and oppress women. What would these warriors say about the Quran as a feminist book? They would probably laugh. Would any of these female TikTokers who just converted to Islam like to live for a week under the Taliban or become one of the ISIS caliph’s harem? I highly doubt it.

Unfortunately, these keyboard dreamers invent their own “Islam”—a religion that fits their imaginations.

Granted, many Muslims might claim that the Quran is the most divine book ever given to humankind and that its influence is good for humanity. There is a broader reality, in which this very book is actually seen as a major influence on societies identified as Islamic. While it isn’t our responsibility to define who a “real” Muslim actually is, it would be naïve and dishonest to accept what liberal Westerners claim about the Quran while ignoring what numerous Muslims do as they apply it.

These TikTokers are deceived.

We don’t need to wonder what would happen if the Quran is literally applied—we have numerous examples of countries and societies around the globe that tell us they follow Islam as written. If we want to understand what the Quran might say about Jews and Christians, you don’t need to look far: See the treatment of these people under Muslim-majority societies. See the Copts in Egypt, and how the Jews completely vanished from almost all the Arab Muslim countries. As for the Quran as a feminist manual, don’t ask converts to Islam via TikTok. Ask Iranians who took to streets in protests against Iranian tyrants who are adamant about applying the Quran while brutally killing their own people just because they dared to disobey Islamic rules.

We can only hope these social media enthusiasts smarten up about the Quran.