From: moussavi@hplred.HP.COM (Farshid Moussavi)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.iranian
Subject: the BOTTOM LINE
Date: 30 Sep 92 18:23:22 GMT
Organization: Hewlett Packard Labs, Palo Alto CA

Haji Seyyed Agha writes:

>A few months ago, someone posted a short racist statement in
>soc.culture.iranian . 

(stuff deleted..)
>enjoying himself and no Iranian will ever be in danger because of him.
>But he wasn't just "answered". Some of you "open minded Iranians"
>complained to his system administrator. The poor guy received accademic
>charges for destroying the integrity of the school as well as federal charges
>for racism. Later he "begged" for mercy and sweared that it wasn't him and
>someone broke into his account. I don't know what finally happened, but
>it's obvious that if he didn't provide enough evidence that it wasn't
>him who posted that, he was "severely punished".

Unfortunately, I haven't been on the net long enough to follow this.
Even if this is true,

1) Academic charges are from the school, NOT the gov't
2) Federal civil rights charges were brought against him, but was
he found guilty of violating civil rights?  If so, was he killed?

In most cases, civil rights offenders who just write or say something
get away with it.  For example, the Ku Klux Klan still exists, as well
as the Aryan nations white supremacist movements, etc.  

I would like to further add that civil rights laws were passed in this 
country thanks to the civil rights movement, which was led by Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr., an advocate of non-violence and civil disobedience.
Such a movement would be halted very violently in Iran, and its leader would be 
executed for being in "war with God".  Whose God, I don't know.

Stop confusing racism with insulting a religion.  Religion is a way of thinking,
an idea, i.e. people have a choice in choosing how they think and forming their 
ideas.  It is ok to question, and disagree with an IDEA.  When someone like 
Mahin feels insulted (rightfully so) by the way Islam (as enforced in Iran) 
treats her and other women, she gives herself the permission to disagree with 
and even put down this "set of ideas" or "way of thinking" which has treated 
her so badly.  But how do you justify disagreeing with a RACE?  You are born a 
certain race, and the mere EXISTENCE of a race is not insulting or putting down
another race. To insult and attack a race is arbitrary and unprovoked.  To 
disagree with and even attack a religion or "set of ideas" may or may not be
provoked, and in the case of Iranian women, everyone should understand that a 
woman in Iran might feel disrespected and violated by the unfair "laws" in force
there, which are claimed to be those of Islam.  Respect is a MUTUAL thing - if 
the religion respects people, there is no reason for people to disrespect it.  
However, if the religion disrespects and puts down some people, it is not 
surprising that those people disrespect religion.

Seyyed seems to have a pattern.  He takes isolated cases or laws from the west
which prove some kind of punsihment for offending a race or religion, and then
argues that this is the same as the system in IRI, except that the punishment
is different, almost sounding like this difference is arbitrary.  Well,
not very many people buy this, because

1) This difference is NOT arbitrary- there is at least a slight difference
between fining someone, or short jail sentence, and ending the offender's life.
And NOBODY should be prosecuted for their political/religious beliefs!

2) These laws and cases in the west are isolated and scattered, and most 
westerners don't even think about them too much.  In IRI, intolerance by the 
goverenment is normal, a priority, present in every law, and is in our face 
everyday! If you are not Muslim as defined by the government, you are a second 
class citizen.  This is not just in practice, but is spelled out in the LAWS
and the SYSTEM!  The system does NOT guarantee, or even advocate your rights.  
You cannot justify this, and THIS is the bottom line.


We all hope one day you will have tolerance for others, and that our country's
gov't will learn that ALL Iranians have a right to live there, side by side,
in peace and prosperity.

And good luck in your work, too.

>Seyyed.

Agha Javad

BaghAl-e-sar-e-koochatoon!

(MAs-e-TAzeh-o-khoshmazzeh az deh ovordeem, beyAeen Bekharin!!)