From: bholu@nyx.cs.du.edu (  Bholu)
Subject: Re: SALMAN RUSHDIE
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Date: Fri, 11 Sep 92 07:29:14 GMT

In article <1992Sep10.024417.5116@sol.cs.wmich.edu>(Naveed
Sherwani) writes: 

>they should learn to respect other religions. I have shown
>again and again how islam's basic ideas insults other
>religions. 

Rejection of other religions/ideologies by another does not 
amount to insult, and this applies to all religions/ideologies.

>If somebody calls my mother a whore, for all I know he/she
>may be right! Even if he/she is right, that will never
>change my relationship with my mother. Since I respect her
>for what she did for me, and that cannot change. 

That is only a personal opinion. For some other individual 
the truthfulness of such an allegation could have 
catastrophic repercussions on the relationship. For example 
I would find it impossible to ignore an allegation that my 
closest friend is a drug dealer. Should there be convincing 
evidence to prove it, I can't see myself having the same 
ties with him even if he had been an angel to me. If it's a 
false accusation then it is his right to have his name 
cleared, the accusation retracted and the accuser penalized.
(I remember a comedian being awarded substantial damages 
against a newspaper because an article published in that 
newspaper had cited him as a boring person.)

It also depends on the perception that an individual would hold 
of the nature of the allegation. In the above case had the 
"allegation" been that my friend was a pakoRay-wala when he 
actually happened to be a paan-wala, then it would have 
been inconsequential to me.

>I used word my in the paragraph above, I used the word our
>in a discussion once and people were willing to kill me. 

I can see that their will failed them miserably :). But on a 
more serious note, it has become quite fashionable these days 
to holler "death threat" the moment one gets a nasty e-mail
(Personally I deplore the use of vile language because one 
can be very scathing and incisive without spewing out 
expletives).

>We should look at our relationships, not what people say
>about them. If Islam is dear to me, I should NOT try to shut
>up everybody who wants to say something about it. I should
>focus on what are they saying and does that make any sense.

One cannot both not look at what people are saying and focus 
on it ;).

>If it does not, I will ignore it or I can write a book which
>denies the original book, but please dont try to shut them
>up. That will achieve nothing. 

If what has been said is false it is essential that the lie 
be exposed and not allowed to be propagated further and the 
person who came up with it should pay for it. The episode of 
dehumanizing and demonizing a people (brought about by the 
propagation of untruths) in Africa, under the Nazi rule, in 
our very own ex-eastern wing, during the Spanish inquisition,
in the Americas etc should serve as a constant reminder.

To dish out filth in the garb of art, critique and 
intellectualism is a mutilation of the very essence of these 
pursuits, which succeeds in nothing but poisoning minds. It 
becomes more putrid (and cowardly) when directed at the 
person of those who are not there to defend themselves. And 
this is not confined to one particular author and not only 
vis a vis Islam/Muslims. Muslims themselves have produced 
highly vitriolic material (mostly as a result of sectarian 
hatred) and I would never condone those "works" despite the 
possibility that they had some readable parts. 

The only thing that needs to be eliminated is the lie not 
the liar. There is no question of "blasphemous or not" in 
this (Rushdie's) case. If it were only blasphemy that 
mattered then millions of non-Muslims blaspheme every day 
(according to Islamic beliefs), as do millions of Muslims 
(according to others' beliefs).

--
"Contrariwise," continued Tweedledee, "if it was so, it might be, and if
it were so, it would be; but as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic!"