a Muslim and a disbeliever to outward cordiality; it can reach into the very depths of creed and thought. Indeed, when a Muslim imitates the unbelievers in external appearance and conduct, that imitation, through a subtle and gradual process, leads him to absorb their erroneous beliefs.

We see this clearly today among the Westernized elite who are enamored with the Western way of life. Most of them espouse ideas and convictions alien to Islam—indeed, even destructive notions that clash with sound Islamic doctrine.

They hold that Western legal codes surpass the Islamic Sharīʿah and strive to implement them; they regard Islam as no more than ritual worship with no bearing on people’s worldly affairs and social relations; they look with contempt on those who remain committed to Islam; and so forth—matters well known to Muslims today and from which they suffer at the hands of this faction that now dominates most Muslim lands. All of this is precisely the consequence of what the author has already established: resemblance between Muslims and unbelievers produces effects that manifest both outwardly and inwardly.