Critical Skills and Traits Required for Being an Effective Islamic Apologist

The most important traits an apologist must have are:

1) Strong critical thinking and debating skills

Your opponent could be more knowledgeable than you, but if you know how to think better than him, you could still manage to hold your ground. One of the best ways you could harness your critical thinking skills is by pondering over the Qur’an and seeing how the Qur’an exposes the fallacies committed by the disbelievers. A common fallacy we observe committed by the disbelievers of old is “appeal to tradition.” They would say things like, “Our forefathers worshipped these idols,” etc., and the Qur’an pretty much replies saying, “well so what? Will you follow the path of your forefathers to hell?” 

The Qur’an repeatedly reminds us to use our intellect and keep our desires in check. If we truly allow the Qur’an to register that in our minds, then by default, we will be open to recognizing most logical fallacies once we see them. You could also read books on the art of debating and critical thinking. There is a good book called “Logically Fallacious” by Bo Bennet, and it is found online. It gives you an exhaustive list of logical fallacies with examples. It would be great to read through that, understand the examples, let them sink in, and then think whether a critic against Islam is guilty of committing one of these fallacies.

2) Thirst for knowledge and staying up to date with the latest research

You need to have that curiosity; you need to have that drive to know more and more. One cannot simply expect to copy and paste from Ahmed Deedat (may Allah have mercy on him) forever. One needs to be aware of how Christians have responded to Deedat and learn how to either rearticulate arguments that evade the rebuttals thrown against them or simply drop those arguments altogether.

3) Humility

One needs to know his or her limits. Do not expect to become some super apologist overnight. Do not think you could go and publicly debate an atheist or Christian who has studied these issues for decades more than you have and have way more extensive experience in debating than you do, and then expect to win such a debate. Be realistic, and do not shy away from asking qualified Muslims for help if you are stuck trying to overcome an argument. You will not be able to know how to respond to everything by yourself, so know your limits.