Did you tell him that? Assuming it was safe to do so, it would be the most appropriate response.
Well lets not get carried away, anyone can subject claims and beliefs to critical scrutiny, indeed if I can do it with a middling intellect and a mediocre formal education, then certainly anyone can, it is simply a subjective choice one would make, if one cares to only believe as many true claims as possible, then setting a higher standard for belief is clearly an objective way to achieve that.
This is a little worrying, I think you should focus on why you think my rationale is correct, and try and practice subjecting all claims and beliefs to such a rationale, rather than simply exchange mine for the Muslims you had listened to. You must learn to be sceptical of claims, and to withhold belief until they are sufficiently supported by objective evidence. Who is making the claims should never be the deciding factor, and intelligent people can present claims that are dubious, but in a very convincing way if we are not sceptical.
Scepticism is a useful starting point, and all beliefs should be shaped by facts and evidence, not the other way around. I will only add to be very wary of statistics, as these are very easy to distort and misrepresent, and be particularly wary of sweeping generalisations, as they tend to be facile in nature.
Find and carefully examine a list of known common logical fallacies, HERE is a link. Scrutinise all claims, including your own, relentlessly for these. Never dismiss a claim by someone else you have used one, go back and critically examine what you have said to be sure you haven’t made such an error in reasoning. If you find them in the arguments of others, then those arguments are irrational by definition, and weakly or poorly reasoned. If anyone uses them relentlessly even after they are pointed out, that person doesn’t care that their beliefs are irrational.