What Does Charm Tell You About Someone's Beliefs?

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What Does Charm Tell You About Someone's Beliefs? Posted: 21 Jan 2016 11:41 AM PST Have you ever met a politician in person? I have met many, and their level of charm is impressive. They are very likeable people in person. And it doesn't matter what side of the aisle they're on. They are equally charming. Their smiles are warm. Their handshakes are friendly. They look you in the eye and call you by name. They appear to be very interested in you. It's like they all went to the same charm school. Maybe they've all read How to Win Friends and Influence People and applied everything in the book. Or maybe anybody who is paying attention could learn how to establish a friendly connection with others on their own. But the point here is that liberal, conservative, or independent, someone's degree of niceness doesn't tell you what they believe or what they intend to do. The reason I'm bringing this up is that many people will respond to your criticism of Islam with, "But I know several Muslims, and they are very nice people," as if the existence of nice Muslims means that Islamic doctrine couldn't possibly command intolerance or violence against non-Muslims. But that's ridiculous. Niceness and charm tell you nothing at all about the ideology someone subscribes to. Make this point in your conversations, and make it clearly. Let's get this objection out of the way and get back to a real conversation about Islam.