[alicebot-aiethics] harassment

[Bill Easley]

Hi Noel and all here at A.L.I.C.E.
There are many forms of terror activities, but if we are going to get a
handle on what has just happened I am certain of one thing. We need to
understand more of the culture and religion of Islam. I have had the
misfortune of knowing a radical fundimental Islamic, and I can offer to you
a reality- their religion guides everything they do in thier lives. Islam to
these people demands absolute assimilation of the whole world. All who
disagree are to be destroyed, according to thier sick thinking. I need more
understanding of cultures and religions, and I believe in tolerance and the
freedom of each individual to freely question and study, the right of each
to come to thier own free conclusion. But we must ,as a world, understand
that Islam's apparent conclusion is what we see in these radical
fundimentalists. It is a dangerous, backward faith and culture, denying
people of thier human rights. I have been told that the expressions of Islam
we see in America are watered down, that what the terrorists are doing is
the "reality"- what this religion requires of it's truest "followers". I am
only offering this as an appeal- we should not bash or be hateful to islamic
people, but I strongly believe they  practice a dangerous religion that will
continue to produce a following like those who destroyed the world trade
center and the pentagon, and who have, in the past crashed planes while
"praying" to allah, etc. I wish that people would listen to this in our
nation, the enemy is not the people, it is Islam, specifically it's
"fundimental" radical form. In thier world there is no "tollerance" - many
christians are martyred and killed in thier countries every day for
attempting to proclaim Jesus is God, which by the way, I believe He is- and
he stated he is in the Bilble. Perhaps I will appear foolish for offering
this, but I truely believe the only hope for islamic world is for them to
embrace Christ. The plight of this terrorism we face is rooted in
fundimental, radical Islamic beliefs-false and cultic religion. There are
some in our group who believe in the gospel, and if I ever get my chat bot
up and running it will have  this message available for all who who will
hear. I love the people in Islamic nations- but they are held in a dark
bondage- the religion of Islam. I know many of you at this time will
probably not want to agree with my post or you may think I am off base- but
I am certrain this is at the heart of the problem. Do we go after people and
bash them because of thier ethnicity or religion-no. Do we realize Islam is
a dangerous religion and to practice it devoutly leads it's followers to
isolationism, hatered and demands of it's follwers to practice acts that
could lead to terrorism-yes.
thanks for reading my post
Bill



----- Original Message -----
From: "Noel Bush" <noel@x-31.com>
To: "Alicebot AI Ethics Committee" <alicebot-aiethics@list.alicebot.org>
Sent: Friday, September 14, 2001 3:20 AM
Subject: [alicebot-aiethics] harassment


> This is bad news:
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/14/national/14ISLA.html
>
> It's clear that many Americans, far from being "above" religion or
> ethnic nationalism, indeed harbor the same kinds of associated
> discriminatory attitudes that have ripped apart other nations.  The
> biggest danger to civil rights is the failure to acknowledge the
> psychological presence of the religious, ethnic and nationalistic
> dimensions to this.  Attacking people because of their religion, creed,
> ethnicity or skin color is every bit as wrong -- in principle though not
> in "magnitude" (whatever that can mean) -- as waging a jihad against the
> US.  The great tragedy is that many Americans feel that they are "above"
> all these concerns, because the US is not religiously-identified.
> Somehow a confusion in these people's minds prevents them from
> understanding when they are acting out of the same base instincts,
> simply because they are not "Christians" but "Americans".  The latter
> seems to be a cover for a very mixed-up version of the former, even for
> people who do not identify themselves with Christianity or any other
> religion.  The "official" American brand of nationalism appears to be a
> mutated and unselfconscious form of Christianity, despite the fact that
> its citizens have many creeds and many faiths.
>
> Faith and ethnic heritage may be private matters or may be ways of
> identifying a nation, or anywhere in between -- it's different in
> different parts of the world.  But in no case do they constitute a
> proper "interface" through which nations or their citizens ought to
> interact.  In this respect I think that President Bush's and other's
> repeated calls for "prayer" are quite damaging, because they incite
> these sorts of religious and even ethnic-nationalist sentiments without
> acknowledging that fact.
>
> People were killed violently; the people and states who engineered this
> must be punished.  That isn't a religious, nationalist or ethnic issue.
> It's an issue of crime and punishment.
>
> Mourning for the dead is a matter for individuals to decide, separately
> or as part of their own communities of faith.  The President of the USA
> isn't supposed to be a religious leader, and ought not to confuse the
> issue of punishing those responsible for this atrocity, with the issue
> of mourning for those who have been lost.  A government official calling
> for "prayer" is indeed assisting this confusion.  People who promote
> this kind of confusion will ultimately hold some culpability for the
> attacks on innocent people of Middle Eastern descent who are attacked
> based on blanket prejudice.
>
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