[alicebot-aiethics] harassment

[Bill Easley]

Thanks for your thoughts, ok, sit there and let them go, you know what? They
will do it again and again and again.(attack america) Thier religion IS
their political system. You are right on about extream religious
"christians" thank you for pointing this out. Can Islamic government remain
moderate and tolerant to free speach and freedom to express ideas? It would
require them abandoning basic tenets of Islam. Christians abandon basic
tenets of chrisianity- this is true. I am going to be talking (peacefully)to
as many people (including people in Islamic communities) as I can in the
comming days trying to learn more and my goal is to keep my mind open for
truth. I will flatly admit if I am wrong in my assesment openly- but I have
known such people and I believe I am not wrong at this point.
Bill





----- Original Message -----
From: "Christopher Fahey [askROM]" <askrom@graphpaper.com>
To: <alicebot-aiethics@list.alicebot.org>
Sent: Friday, September 14, 2001 1:15 PM
Subject: RE: [alicebot-aiethics] harassment


> Bill Easley wrote:
>
> > 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.
>
> Please, Bill. Your lip-service to the idea of 'tolerance' is undermined
> by your ugly, intolerant, prejudiced, and uninformed characterizations
> of Islam. Judging all of Islam based on what you know about Islamic
> fundamentalism is like judging all of the diverse world of Christianity
> based on Christian fundamentalism. It's blatantly prejudiced and
> somewhat disgusting.
>
> Think about what 'fundamentalism' is from a Christian perspective, and
> then ask yourself if Islamic fundamentalists really should be held up as
> a standard of what all of Islam is. Christian fundamentalists come in
> many varieties, but almost all of them have at least some beliefs that
> are about as far out of the mainstream (or even as 'sick') as what you
> ascribe to Islamic fundamentalists. Some think that women should always
> cover their heads, should be deprived of education, and are obliged to
> bear their husbands dozens of children. Some believe in polygamy. Some
> think that all non-Christians must be punished/converted and that we are
> in a global religious war against the infidels (and, in fact, you seem
> to come close to this belief). Some think that the earth is only 5,000
> years old and that most scientists are demons. Here in the US, many
> advocate the destruction of the US government, as we so sadly found out
> in Oklahoma City. Many Christian-based cults take the form of armed
> militias. Anti-Semitism permeates Christian fundamentalism just like it
> permeates Islamic fundamentalism.
>
> This is not to say that the analogy is totally appropriate: Why do
> Islamic fundamentalists seem to have more power and influence in the
> Islamic world than Christian fundamentalists have in the US (although
> this is arguable)?
>
> One thing that differentiates the two is that Moslems around the world
> live, for the most part, in impoverished and oppressive circumstances -
> and their oppressors are usually supported by western governments like
> the US. Osama bin Laden has made no secret of his hatred for Saddam
> Hussein and of King Fahd - these oppressive regimes, to him, are
> "western creations" and in fact these are his real targets. The Islamic
> fundamentalist movement is, in many ways, a movement to restore faith,
> dignity, and honor to the corrupt governments of the Moslem world.
> Sounds a lot like GW Bush's campaign speeches (I'm not saying Bush is
> like a terrorist at all, I'm just saying that the desire to bring
> justice to your government is pretty normal). In most respects they are
> acting based on politics, not religion.
>
> Christian fundamentalists, on the other hand, tend to live in free
> countries with some degree of economic prosperity. Their goals are also
> to restore dignity and honor to our societies and governments. But
> (fortunately for us) western governments already are pretty free of
> corruption and oppression (especially in comparison to the governments
> of the Middle East). So they rarely resort to such acts of terror as we
> see coming from the Middle East.
>
> One group attacks the World Trade Center because they are fighting (they
> believe) to end the oppression of millions of their people. Another
> group kills doctors on their way to clinics to end (they believe)
> abortion. People with strong beleifs often turn to violence regardless
> of their faith.
>
> We live in a world where Islam, a sleeping giant of potential power (and
> fully 1/4 of the world's population), lives in a kind of second-class
> world citizenship, and they desperately want to end that situation. Some
> of them are willing to turn to violence - and your us-versus-them
> attitude does nothing to help end that violence. The fact that the
> murderers in question today are Moslem is no excuse for your
> embarrassingly hateful anti-Islamic rhetoric. I only hope your
> ill-considered opinions are in the minority - if not, and if Americans
> really do think that 1/4 of the people in the world have an evil belief
> system, then I guess we are in for a stupid war that could last a
> hundred years. Intolerant statements like the ones you've made make me
> ashamed to be an American and very much afraid for the future of love
> and peace on Earth.
>
> -Cf
>
> PS: Sorry for the off-topic post, but as long as anyone posts intolerant
> statements like this, I am morally obliged to respond to show that we're
> not all so insensitive and prejudiced.
>
>
>
>
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