Why Making Money From Religious or Non-Religious Activism Is A Curse

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Qur'an 68: 44 - 46:

Leave Me to those who reject this message(Qur'an); We will proceed against them gradually from where they do not know.

And I will give them respite, my plan is firm.

Or do you(Muhammad) ask them for a fee, so that they're burdened with debt?

I thank God that in all the years I spent in active activism for Islamic reform and Qur'anism, and against traditional Islam or Radical Islam, I did not make a dime.

If you're vested in any kind of activism, Islamic or non-Islamic, the premise of your activism and rationality of your vision will ultimately be challenged by opposing thoughts or ideas. If you're already earning profit from your activism, this automatically clouds your judgement.

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Subconsciously, you become bias against any thought or idea that challenges your activism. Alternatively, even if you find that the basis of your activism is flawed to begin with, you persist in your activism because at that point it has become a livelihood you can't afford to lose.

In 2019, Muslim YouTuber, Hasanat Ruqya, was outed as a closet ex-Muslims who made money conducting ruqya(exorcism) services. Hasanat apparently began as humble Muslim, but at some point, he grew disillusioned with Islam. Yet, unwilling to give up his livelihood he maintained a Muslim facade and continued his services.

Qur'an 9:34 hints about all this - O you who believe! Many of the rabbis and priests consume people's wealth illicitly, and hinder from God's path.

Due to these, people often distrust anyone who profit from activism. They see it as selling out or being a phony. I've even had a few non-Muslims and ex-Muslims dismiss Muhammad on the basis of this. They often point out to the following verse;

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Qur'an 8:41 - And know that whatever spoils you gain, to God belong its fifth, and to the Messenger*, and the relatives, and the orphans and the poor ......*

They say that, "Well, Muhammad can't be a real prophet because he acquired material wealth through Qur'anic legislation as seen in the above verse." I'm not saying these people are necessarily right, but pointing out that the moment you benefit materially from your activism, it becomes a blight on your public image.

Also note that people who make money from activism against some 'hate group', wouldn't want those hate group to disappear. Would they? Probably not. After all, the source of their livelihood depend on the existence of such hate group. They need to sustain the 'hate' in order to feed.

Lastly, there is censorship. There are people who won't like your activism, no matter how polite and civil you present yourself. And they can get you censored through accusation of blasphemy, hate speech, misinformation etc. Freedom of Speech is a scam, it never really existed.