Posted by Stuart Gilman (67.68.71.180) on November 26, 2002 at 07:03:16:

In Reply to: Re: These Posts Are Dangerous posted by Nick Stone on November 25, 2002 at 21:28:57:

Let us look at the article:

"Terrorism must be tackled with justice and fair play"

"KUALA LUMPUR, Sun. - The roots of terrorism have to be tackled with a new global structure based on justice and fair play. In advocating this, Iranian Dr Moojan Momen, who has lived in Britain since 1959 and is of the Bahai faith, says softly and without even a hint of rancour: "We cannot carry on as now, where richer, more powerful nations get their way the whole time and impose their will on weaker nations."

SG: I think "Iranian-Born Dr..." would be correct. But the bias here is to write Iranian Dr.... who has been living in England for 40 years! would be honest and not be the first hint that this article is written by islamic and not bahai persons.

"It was necessary to move to a system with strong international institutions. The United Nations was never given the power, resources and mandate for its institutions such as the International Court of Justice and the Court of Arbitration to operate effectively."

SG: Not for him to comment upon.

"Only if these institutions are strong will people feel confident they can get justice and the frustration and anger will disappear."

SG: How dare he usurp the UHJ? I believe he never did but this article is a fraud.

"He felt only half-hearted attempts had been made so far to address the injustice and unfairness."

SG: Unqualified and uninformed. Also, untrue.

"There were whole populations seeing themselves as victims of injustice, were oppressed and kept in poverty while others were getting rich. Frustrations invariably boil over into violence, be it in terms of civil commotion or terrorism."

SG: Thed roots of poverty lie within religions themselves and the clergy that control them. Until 1952 the Catholic Clergy of Quebec maintained that poverty was a virtue and wealth a sin. Since their loss of influence, the French Canadian population has made great strides away from poverty and malnutrition. Islam performed faithfuly is a great religion of poverty. You cannot perform your Islamic duties and pursue wealth in the global marketplace. While I cannot tell you that poverty is better or worse than wealth, or that malnutrition is better or worse than nutrional wellnesss - in a spiritual sense - we know that Baha'i forbids asceticism and poverty. But these are not my personal edicts, they are edicts of the Faith as I understand it.

"To tackle terrorism we have to take away the support for it. Otherwise, the breeding grounds for it will remain. We really need a new world structure if we are going to deal with problems realistically."

SG: Now, this is really interesting - "take away support for it". Nice idea which is impossible to achieve in our time.

"Dr Momen said that in the aftermath of the Sept 11 terrorists attack in America it was clear that richer nations could not isolate themselves from the problems of the world."

SG: I see, the lesson of 9/11 is that the victims should learn to behave better.

"I am hopeful that the present tragedy and all its suffering will in itself be a catalyst for the changes we seek."

SG: "We" who is "We"?

"It was not as if the ideas Dr Momen was promoting were new. Over a 100 years ago the founder of the Bahai faith, Bahaullah, had called on rulers to come together in a conference that would:

* fix boundaries of nations so that there would be no disputes, achieved if necessary through arbitration; and,

* draw up a treaty whereby boundaries would be guaranteed. If there was transgression by any one country, other countries would rise against it and in this way give expression to the concept of collective security."

SG: This is genius and visionary, it does not cross the line by particularizing or choosing sides.

"When security was established in this way, arms expenditure, especially in poorer countries, could be reduced dramatically. The savings could then be fed into education, health and infrastructure - a major step forward."

SG: There is a clear departure here from The Greatest Name and the person writing the article.

"Dr Momen, who has studied other faiths and written books highlighting common themes in them, was here 12 years ago and is amazed at the changes that have taken place."

Now, this IS editorial comment at its finest!

"As for the current world crisis, he said Malaysia had addressed it calmly and sensibly."

SG: On the border of hideous madness, this has to be the giveaway line for this last line certainly demonstrates the insanity of the man or the fraudulence of the article, or both.

"He met with Institute for Islamic Understanding (Ikim) officials and also members of the Interfaith Spiritual Fellowship (Insaf)."

SG: ... me, too.

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