As one who is familiar with Islam and its communities for 10+ years, I've always had an inkling but couldn't justify it since I had no statistical data. Reading through reddit, through chatrooms, through in person interactions, through YouTube (even the wildly popular Dawah channels), and even in my own personal circle of friends, I've realized that many Muslims often don't carry themselves intellectually.
The primary hint is through their limited or basic use of English. I'm aware that many Muslims come from various parts of the world but I've met many non-Muslim foreigners who still came across far more intelligent with language than the Muslims I've observed. With constant flipping of Arabic and English, they come across as being unable to communicate with their intended audience, simply roting off memory rather than creating organic positions that don't sound scripted.
A classic one that is sadly still prevalent is that there are so many Muslims who are dedicated to their faiths (may God bless them) but still maintain an aura of ignorance by constantly citing hadith and verses without understanding the context. And this is done by every single Muslim whether they pray 5 times a day or not and as well as non-Muslims. This is a problem so pervasive that it only makes me wonder why it's happening.
As one who identifies as simply Muslim living in the Western world and is considered to be conservative by his friends / community, I often see liberal Muslims lacking understanding of their own religion by thinking Islam allows their carefree nature and even more conservative Muslims lacking understanding of the context / culture / society they live in. Muslims that I've known are unable to capitalize on Islam while being effective members within society. They typically go in either extremes trying to placate their neighbors or themselves by celebrating things they shouldn't celebrate and as well as refusing to participate in politics simply because "it's not our Islamic state".
YouTubers such as Daniel Haqiqatjou, Ali Dawah, Mohammed Hijab, Saajid Lipham, and among others, may God reward them for their intention, come off as incompetent and unintellectual when trying to argue for sweeping generalizations against Western lifestyle without acknowledging that there are some positives and nuances in our social fabric. And in many cases, when academic work is presented, they are unable to argue on a philosophical level nor understand the academic work that was clearly laid out. And many of them believe it's OK to be opening insulting against critics and to call upon apostate laws against ex-Muslims in the US and UK (like that's not how that works). And the work they do primarily appeals to their audience and therefore preaching to the choir. In other words, their work is generally ineffective. Even worse is how they don't realize it.
In many ways, the conservative Muslims remind me of the Bible Belt Christians in the US who are probably God-fearing in their hearts but their mouths run so afoul that you question which version of Jesus they follow. When you see them speak, you know in an instant that you're addressing someone who has no modicum of manners, abundance of narrowly developed knowledge, and sheltered concepts of others. In other words, they're a bit insane. Just like the more liberal redditors and real life Muslims I've observed.
If I could boil it down to a common core: seemingly normal, relatable Muslims are rare. The everyday, relatable, free-thinking, smart Muslims who can communicate on a personal and academic level include Joe Bradford, Hamza Yusuf, Timothy Winters, Reza Aslan, Yasir Qadhi, Dr. Jonathan Brown, Abu Eesa, and more. The rest are individuals who seem to lack any resemblance of balance. Change my mind.
May God forgive me and direct me to the right path.
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