Feeding the fires of fundamentalism

Posted: Tue, 19th Mar 2013 by Terry Sanderson

By Terry Sanderson

Professor Lawrence Krauss, the world-renowned theoretical physicist, is the NSS's newest honorary associate.

He made a significant splash last week by threatening to walk out of a debate at University College London because the Islamist organisers wanted men and women in the audience to be segregated.

Professor Krauss, a former adviser to President Obama, was taking part in a debate entitled: "Islam or Atheism: Which Makes More Sense?" organised by a group called the Islamic Education and Research Academy (iERA), which has now been banned from holding events on the UCL campus.

Professor Krauss was due to debate with Hamza Tzortzis, a Greek convert to Islam.

Mr Tzortzis is a name familiar to the NSS. He writes to us regularly challenging us to debates with propositions such as "Is there a God?" and variations on the theme of the superiority of religion (Islam) over atheism or secularism.

We no longer accept his invitations because it has become clear that the only purpose of these "debates" is to prove to his devout followers that the infidels must be overcome.

There is nothing that fundamentalists like better than to be outraged by those who not only disagree with them, but actively oppose them. Arguing that there is no God or that religion has no value with such people is like lighting the blue touch paper on a firework.

So, we would seriously suggest that all atheists, humanists and secularists give Mr Tzortzis a wide berth when he comes knocking with invitations to "debate" with him. Don't give him the opportunity to represent you to his extremist audience as proof that people in the West are simply "heretics" or "infidels" or "blasphemers". We should also swerve other Islamist groups who issue similar invitations.

The topics they propose — usually theological in nature — are not arguments you can win, even if you make the better case. Your challengers will be laughing up their sleeves because these confrontations are nothing to do with free exchange of ideas and everything to do with reinforcing and increasing fanatical feelings.

And should Mr Tzortzis be under the impression that we are afraid to engage with his ideas because we have no answer for him, just show him this and ask if it is true. There is no way that any debate is going to change the mind of a man who does not believe in freedom on any level, despises democracy and seeks totalitarianism. Those who agree with him and make up the bulk of his audience are not there to listen to arguments and balance the evidence. They are there to have their unwavering certainty underpinned by the wicked unbelievers.

Meanwhile, you can see Professor Krauss making his brave objections at UCL.

And see some of his many other excellent videos here and here.

See also: How Tzortzis is trying to score points from the Krauss encounter on the internet