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Of course you can have an opinion about Islam without having read Qur'an. You don't have to read Mein Kampf to have an opinion about Nazism.
Richard Dawkins
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Interpretation

What this quote means

You can form opinions on subjects without in-depth knowledge of their foundational texts.

Richard Dawkins emphasizes that individuals can hold views about complex ideologies, such as Islam or Nazism, even if they haven't engaged with their key texts. This statement challenges the notion that one must be thoroughly informed about a subject to have a valid opinion, suggesting that opinions can be formed from broader societal understandings and personal interpretations.

Themes

OpinionKnowledgeIdeologyUnderstandingBelief

In practice

Example use cases

During a debate on religious freedom, this quote could be used to illustrate that a lack of familiarity with a text does not prevent the formation of opinions.

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The bitter hatreds that now poison Middle Eastern politics are rooted in the real or perceived wrong of the setting up of a Jewish State in an Islamic region. In view of all that the Jews had been through, it must have seemed a fair and humane solution. Probably deep familiarity with the Old Testament had given the European and American decision-makers some sort of idea that this really was the historic homeland of the Jews.
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