Thread by @DrJavadTHashmi

Dear @Haqiqatjou, It's really quite sad how much you've devolved recently. I actually followed you back before you had accumulated this internet notoriety you have now. At that time, I actually thought you were bringing forth some challenging ideas from a different perspective.1/

https://twitter.com/Haqiqatjou/status/1431856825432002560

Even though I found your ideas to be extreme & dangerous, I at least respected you as a potential thinker with some serious ideas. But, then, it seems that you got obsessed with obtaining followers, which caused you to resort to clickbait, memes, & other antics... 2/

anything to get more likes, subscribers, & donations. You even recently described yourself as a "content creator," & this is really what you have become. It's quite sad. 3/

When I was talking to someone recently about our run-ins on Twitter, that person said, "Daniel is an idiot!" I told that person in response, "No, I don't think so. He's just sold out to the social media algorithm." I guess this is called grifting in today's lingo? 4/

It's better to focus on ideas & serious thinking than followers & subscribers. Kim Kardashian has many more followers than Shaykh Yasir Qadhi, but this does not mean that she is a better or more formidable thinker or interlocutor. 5/

There are some very senior scholars in the academy who have very little if any social media presence & many average people would have no idea who they are. Again, it's a strange metric to use for what you claim to be doing. 6/

There is, of course, an obvious irony in all of this. While railing against Western capitalism, materialism, & consumerism, it is you who has fallen prey to it & your "brand" is now fully commodified. It's changing you, my friend. This is bad. 7/

It's quite sad that you would also levy the charge of "native informant" & thereby diminish the value of this word. By conflating liberal/modernist Muslim with "native informant," you actually collapse the difference between the two, making Tarek Fatah equal to Reza Aslan. 8/

You might disagree with the worldview of Islamic modernism but it's a bit much for you to splinter the Umma so much that you strike with this blow. I would not, for example, call the FBI or CIA on you, nor would I think even your banning from Twitter would be justified... 9/

There are limits of decency one should observe. (Admittedly, I might have exceeded those in my recent comment to Farid, which was, however, meant to be hyperbolic. I should withdraw it.) More to the point, instead of calling people "native informants" & dismissing them... 10/

you should instead seek out a thoughtful interlocutor to put your ideas to the test. I am one such person for you. You look silly when you are demanding to debate everyone but dodging me based on bad excuses ("not enough followers" or "spreading heresy"). 11/

especially when these excuses don't pan out with other figures you have debated or wish to debate. On the other hand, it really seems that you are not interested in debating thoughtful people as much as finding people with large followership so that you can increase your own.12/

I am debating @jihadwatchRS not because of his large followership but because I consider him, to his credit, to be the "Shaykh al- (anti-)Islam." His thought permeates the blogosphere. This is why I am less interested in debating someone like Sam Harris or Jordan Peterson. 13/

The latter two would increase a person's following, but really, do we think Harris or Peterson know anything at all about Islam? They would, of course, be good people to talk to in order to push back on their ignorance, but I wanted to challenge myself so I picked Robert. 14/

Again, my focus is on ideas & I want to search for worthy interlocutors, not just people based on following. I think you are one due to your spearheading of an anti-modernist institute & your focus on the "modernist menace," plus your philosophy background. 15/

It's quite strange that you would avoid an actual Islamic modernist, someone who specializes in Islamic modernism at a school that shall not be named. You should have agreed to debate/discuss with me even if I had zero followers, which was the case a year ago. 16/

I literally just joined Twitter, so I wonder why you're obsessed with the idea that I am a "no-name," given that I don't care about that, I had zero followers a year ago--& zero for a decade before that--& I am just a guy who studies the subject you obsess over. 17/

Love me, hate me, find my style annoying, etc. that's all good. But, people who've seen me talk & write, know that I am not someone to take lightly. You know it too, which is why you are avoiding a debate, even though I would be the perfect interlocutor for you. 18/

Finally, I will just say that your claim of representing orthodoxy should serve as an example of why we shouldn't take claims of orthodoxy at face value or think such persons to actually represent the views of the masses. You (Daniel) are a fringe & extreme character... 19/

hardly representative of the Muslim community you come from, which is why you direct your ire at that very errant community. This is part of the Salafi worldview, where they & their small circle are the saved sect, with everyone outside of it errant, misguided, or deviant. 20/

My desire to debate you, Daniel, has nothing to do with your followers. I stopped following your "work" once you became a meme-generator, but before that, I actually listened to your stuff, even registered once for your site, & found some of your ideas to be challenging... 21/

in the sense of being a robust representative of a particular Islamic worldview that challenges my own. A dialogue between us would be worthwhile for both of us from this aspect. But, again, I have moved on, despite my recurrent jabs at your hypocritical cowardice. 22/

Lastly, I would say that not even I was rooting for "AP" when you faced him in debate & I actually praised your performance, although I felt that you lost hearts & minds with your extreme views. Similarly, however, perhaps you can move past your myopia & realize that... 23/

I am going into this debate with Robert knowing that I will represent the overall Muslim community & not just those with my own views. Just as I thought well of you in your encounter with AP--despite my strong misgivings--maybe you can do the same here.
Peace. 24/