Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover…
We all know the old adage, “don’t judge a book by its cover.” And as much as we love reciting to others, how often do we really fail to observe it ourselves?
When it comes to other people, how often is one individual or a small group enough for us to make definitive judgements about an entire population? Unfortunately, in today’s political climate, it’s all too easy.
Two YouTubers from the Netherlands decided to play with people’s biased perceptions of Islam and Christianity by using this insanely clever trick, and their reactions when the prank is revealed are priceless.
Source: YouTube @Dit Is Normaal
Start the slideshow below to see just how easy it is to believe everything we hear and read and make disastrous decisions, then SHARE!
The Situation
Source: YouTube @Dit Is Normaal
Islamophobia is everywhere you go. From the tiniest blog to the biggest politicians, preaching against Islam by condoning it as a violent religion has becoming dishearteningly common over the past few years due to endless wars in the Middle East and nonstop terrorist attacks around the globe.
YouTubers Sacha Harland and Alexander Spoor used this inherent bias to pull an insightful prank on unsuspecting passersby in the Netherlands, and the result is a fantastic social experiment that we could all learn from.
The Idea
Source: YouTube @Dit Is Normaal
The two men took a Bible and then disguised it with the cover from a Quran, and then they took to the streets to begin reading surprisingly violent verses to different people.
While many people have the impression that the Bible is a peaceful book, the truth is that it, too, has its fair share of vengeful and even shocking passages that explain when persecution and punishment should be picked over forgiveness. Have you ever read Deuteronomy or Leviticus? Those books are downright nasty, and most Christians today would shrug them off as ancient writings from a time long gone by.
The Reactions
Source: YouTube @Dit Is Normaal
As the men read the gruesome verses to people on the street, such as ones explaining women’s inherently submissive role in society, the public is visibly shocked. More importantly, they don’t seemed surprised to see that these dark passages come from the Quran, a book that the media and misinformation has led them to believe is violent and sadistic.
Revelation
Source: YouTube @Dit Is Normaal
Then the jokers pull the wolf out of the sheep’s skin, in this case, the Bible from the Quran cover. The other people are downright shocked to learn that these aggressive verses came from the Bible, a religious text held in high regards from a religion that promotes peace and forgiveness.
These reactions and the prank as a whole prove a scary truth: we’ve been led to believe that the Quran is a war-mongering book that drives Muslims to extremism, but the truth is that these small groups of terrorists and radicals are no more than minorities living among a larger, more peaceful whole
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I’m sorry to say that I wasn’t surprised by this video and the people’s reactions in the least. Having studied both Islam and Christianity, and having read the Bible and the Quran almost in their entireties, I’m aware of some of the most violent and condemning verses from the Bible as well as some of the most beautiful poetry the Quran has to offer.
Nonetheless, this video moved me to immediately share it with several friends and family members. If you agree with never judging a book by its cover — literally and figuratively — then SHARE this!