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Islamic Society ( 26 Oct 2022, NewAgeIslam.Com)

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Should Muslims be Celebrating the Conversion of Andrew Tate?

By Arshad Alam, New Age Islam

26 October 2022

Islamists Are Going Berserk While Some Muslims Are Extremely Troubled

Main Points:

1.    Andrew Tate, the social media star, has converted to Islam

2.    He is known for his misogynist views and is on record saying that women are the property of men

3.    Some Muslims, especially women are troubled by his inclusion in the Islamic faith

4.    Western Islamists are urging Muslims to embrace this new brother and forget his past utterances.

5.    They are reminding the Ummah that even Umar, the second caliph of Islam, had lots of faults before he became a Muslim.

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The controversial British-American kick boxer and internet personality Andrew Tate praying (Salah) at a mosque in Dubai

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Celebrities Like Tate And Jordan Peterson Are A Product Of Crisis Of Masculinity That The West Is Currently Experiencing. The Trans Movement, The Ways In Which It Is Positioning Man-Woman Relations Is Making A Lot Of Young People, Especially Men, Insecure.

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The social media sensation, Andrew Tate has converted to Islam. Residing in Romania, Tate became a social media sensation by telling young people how to make “fast money” and “escape the matrix”. Over the years, the former kick boxer has courted controversy regarding his views about women and people of alternative sexual orientations. He has infamously called women as ‘property’, and has advocated that gay and Trans people should be dealt with sternly for their ‘anti-human’ behaviour. He prophesizes that the western civilization is doomed because its people do not take a tough stand against such tendencies. Even when he was a believing Christian, he had argued that Christianity had lost all moral ground to be called a religion because it no longer had any boundaries. He was incensed that the Catholic Church was okay with gay priests despite there being clear injunctions against it in the sacred scriptures. Despite being Christian, he had been advocating that it was only Islam which could stem the tide of ‘toxic feminism’ and ‘transgender agenda’ which he argued was designed to break the family as an institution. In his opinion, once the family breaks down, then the society as a whole will be torn asunder. Only Islam, in his opinion, had the courage to proclaim that this was all wrong; only Muslims respected religious boundaries and did not tolerate its transgressions. He said that he respected Islam and Muslims because they kept their women in check and did not tolerate any affront on their religion. In the eyes of Andrew Tate, Muslims need to be respected because they are even ready to kill for protecting the honour of their religion.

It is not surprising therefore that he has finally converted to the religion that he respects the most. But it is precisely the reasons for his conversion that makes many, including some Muslims, uncomfortable. Ex Muslims have been quick to point out that since Islam is a misogynist religion, it is natural that people like Andrew Tate will gravitate towards it. They quote passages from the Quran and numerous Hadis which underlines the secondary status of Muslim women and argue that Tate is absolutely right in his claim that most religions, including Islam, treat women like mere chattel.

However, his conversion has left many Muslims, particularly women, uncomfortable too. They have pointed out the blatantly misogynist views of Tate and have asked what does the inclusion of such a person do to the image and broader acceptability of Islam. Some have even announced that they are leaving the religion simply because it has made space for a person like Tate; that they will explain their apostasy when they finally meet the Maker!

But his conversion has been a source of joy for many Islamists, particularly those located in the West. They think that Tate, with his fan following across countries will infuse Islam with energy and enthusiasm and that they would be able to do Dawah with renewed vigour. Despite the criticism from some Muslim quarters, Islamists have embraced Tate by citing previous such conversions such as that of Mike Tyson. But what is worrying is the Islamist argument that once a person embraces Islam, his past actions are all wiped out and he can begin with a clean slate. They give the example of Umar, the second caliph of Islam. Before he became a Muslim, he was predisposed to violent behaviour and even wanted to kill the prophet Muhammad. But once he converted to Islam, the prophet forgave all his sins; he became a fellow Muslim and people were asked to forget what he had done in the past. Similarly, the Islamists want Muslims to embrace Tate and forget what he might have said in the past. Going by this logic, suppose if those convicted for the brutality of Bilkis Bano convert to Islam, then Muslims should forgive all of them and forget what they did in their past.


And what is the signal that these Islamists are giving to the world? That no matter what you did, how many people you hurt, once you become a Muslim, all of it will be forgotten. Can there be a better deal for people like Andrew Tate? He has been de-platformed from all media because of his misogynist views. Companies are pulling out of advertisement contracts. By becoming Muslim, he will be gaining new followers and that will put pressure on social media companies to take him back. This is brilliant strategy; one in which Tate is taking a whole religion for a ride. Only time will tell whether he genuinely feels for Islam but as of now it appears that Tate seems to gain more from this conversion rather than the other way round. And why only Tate.

Celebrities like Tate and Jordan Peterson are a product of crisis of masculinity that the West is currently experiencing. The Trans movement, the ways in which it is positioning man-woman relations is making a lot of young people, especially men, insecure. But the way to deal with it is to have an open and sensible debate about its effects rather then become misogynists and hanker after whichever religion protects the most virulent of such views. Muslims need to think whether or not by celebrating such a conversion, they are willingly giving out a negative image of their religion.    

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A regular contributor to NewAgeIslam.com, Arshad Alam is a writer and researcher on Islam and Muslims in South Asia.   


 URL:   https://newageislam.com/islamic-society/muslims-celebrating-conversion-andrew-tate/d/128272


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