Who We Are and How We Think

The other day a post from a blogger came up on my feed with a post arguing that there is a huge problem with rape in Sweden by Muslim refugees. The primary basis for this claim was that reported rapes and other sex crimes are higher dramatically today than they were in 2003 (as shown by official government sources). After looking at the data, I pointed out that the increase occurred almost entirely between 2007 and 2010, and therefore couldn't have been caused by refugees from the Syrian Civil War that began in 2011. No one on this comment thread seemed to be persuaded, which didn't surprise me. I engaged in conversation with people who replied to my comment, and despite the fact that absolutely no one there seemed to agree with anything I had to say, the conversation was generally polite and I enjoyed it.

At one point, though, someone said that my beliefs required "ignoring 1400 years of history." I considered not replying.

I happen to think I know an awful lot about the history of Islam, as it is both a casual interest of mine and my mother is a Ph.D. who specializes primarily in South Asian and Middle East history, and primarily focuses on religions in those regions. She has taught me a lot about different world religions. But I also recognized that the other person also felt very confident they had the correct impression of Islamic history, and I seriously doubted there was any hope of convincing this person otherwise. In fact, psychology tells us the opposite happens when two people argue. Instead, the most likely outcome is that both sides reinforce their own beliefs rather than coming closer together.

But reply I did, arguing that during the vast majority of those 1400 years, the Islamic world was more tolerant of other religions and treated women better than the Christian world. I was asked for sources, and at some point mentioned my mother. At which point I was asked this:

What has she published? Is she Muslim? Am I?

Asking what she's published is pretty fair game in my mind if I'm going to appeal to her expertise when I claim I really do know a good bit about Islam and its history. And you know what? I don't know what this stranger I've never met and never spoken to intended when he asked whether I or my mother were Muslim, but I actually think this is an important and totally fair question.

See, our backgrounds inform what we think of as obvious and true. Something very important was glossed over in the sarcastic mockery of the phrase "alternative facts." Sure, I believe there are things that are true and things that are not true. But for all of us, what we think is true and not true is determined nearly entirely because of our life experiences. For instance, I believe wholeheartedly that men have walked on the moon. But what's my basis for that? Sure, I saw some pictures and some grainy film, but by that measure, I've got better evidence that the Avengers saved New York City. Mostly, I believe men walked on the moon because people told me, because it's consistent with everything else I think I know, and because any story where men did not walk on the moon requires me to abandon not one but multiple things I believe about objective facts and reality.

Men walked on the moon. I'm certain it happened. But the fact of it happening did not create my certainty. Being told it happened by people I trust created my certainty.

Right now, there is a vast gulf between what some Americans think is true and is not true. We really are living in different realities. And I really don't have high hopes for our future as country if we don't start to understand each other.  The recent election really didn't cause this problem. Exacerbated it, maybe. But the truth is, the near complete disconnect between such large segments of our population is a crisis that has been with us for a long time, and it has only been getting worse.

So in my next post (which I need a little more time to work on), I'm going to answer that question and talk about my personal relationship with Islam. Because it matters. It matters not just what I believe, but how I came to believe it.