Page 74 - The Worst Slander: Idolatry

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF

IDOLATERS

O ne of the idolatrous community's main charac-

teristics is bigotry, which the Qur'an defines as
limiting and regulating a person's life via man-
made prohibitions, principles, and sanctions that are not
based upon valid, logical, and rational evidence. In the case
of religion, this term refers to those who cast aside religion's
true and valid sources and adopt rules and principles based
on speculation and conjecture. Such a misguided undertak-
ing is often (and inaccurately) attributed to devout Muslims,
although it actually describes idolaters who live by the stip-
ulations, rules, and prohibitions of their distorted faith while
proclaiming that they are following the true Islam. Indeed,
bigotry is one of the main factors that encourage idolaters
to adopt such a superstitious religion, for earthly desires
tend toward bigotry as well as many other negative traits.
Idolaters might find it far more attractive to live by and
defend such bigotry than to adopt the true path. In their own
foolishness they derive an arbitrary mystical pleasure from
this.
Idolaters fill their bigotry-based religions with odd sym-
bols, customs, and rituals so that they can put on a great
show. As a result, they become known as very devout indi-