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From: Juan Cole <jricole@my-deja.com> Subject: Re: censorship on Baha'i Studies Date: Thursday, July 29, 1999 11:28 AM Everyone is welcome on talisman@umich.edu and H-Bahai; two of the Bahai-St. listowners are *on* the latter and one is on the former. All they have to do is meet the subscriber requirements. I'll let you decide who is being fair and inclusive, and who is being exclusive and bigotted, given that the lists with which I am associated have welcomed persons who in turn exclude me. In the case of talisman@umich.edu these requirements are that you not inform on fellow posters, not flame them, and not accuse them of contravening the covenant. Anyone willing to abide by those rules is welcome (including Maneck if she will give such pledges and act accordingly), and a very wide range of perspectives is present on the list, including those of persons to the *right* of many of the Bahai-St. folks. The point is that it is *behavior* that determines whether you are on talisman@umich.edu or on H-Bahai (in the latter case, past behavior in the form of getting to graduate school in the social sciences or humanities and acting in an upright way with regard to academic ethics). In the case of Bahai-St., it is *who* you are that matters. I am not being excluded from the list because I defended my interpretation of Arabic and Persian terms (from someone who barely knows any Arabic and has never so much as read a 19th century book in the language!). It is because I am viewed as a dissident Baha'i. It is ascriptive, not achieved. And it is therefore a form of bigotry. The statement "Bahai-St. will not allow any 'dissident Baha'is' to belong to the list or post there" is no different in kind from the statement "Bahai-St. will not allow any Jews to belong to the list or post there." It is the exclusion of a whole class of persons on prejudicial grounds, based not on present behavior but upon their membership in a (perceived!) category. I reiterate that anyone who feels an unfair remark was made about him or her on H-Bahai (or Talisman) would be welcome to respond. But, apparently, I am to be beaten up weekly on Bahai-St. with no opportunity to defend myself there. This is the typical cult-like behavior of the extreme-orthodox party within the Baha'i faith, demonizing people by refusing to allow them a voice or the opportunity to represent themselves to others. The same tactic was used by the National Socialists in Germany against the Jews; Neo-Nazis also have email lists from which persons are excluded because of who they are. As for my journal articles, I actually suggested to the editor of an academic journal the names of Rob Stockman and Mike McMullen as respondents to my forthcoming piece on the dissolution of the LA assembly. I know that Stockman works for the NSA, but I thought this would be an indirect way of allowing them to reply to my piece, which is critical of them. The editor asked *me* for respondents. I could have recommended someone more independent. In fact, I also recommended they get a response from Firuz Kazemzadeh, but unfortunately he declined. So I think I have a pretty good track record in seeking to be fair. As for JSSR, it doesn't allow rebuttals; but any Baha'i academic could write a fresh article presenting an alternative view and, if it were a good article, get it published there. That is the way *Liberal* society works--you allow a diversity of opinions and let the public make up its mind. The extreme-orthodox Baha'is work by suppressing opinions they don't like, being careful what books the Baha'i Publishing Trust distributes, censoring the American Baha'i and *World Order*, and generally creating a seamless web in which no dissenting voice can be heard. When they can't suppress such a voice, they smear the person speaking, mainly behind the scenes but publicly if they feel it necessary. It is a very sick system. cheers Juan Cole -- Juan Cole, History, U of Michigan jrcole@umich.edu https://www-personal.umich.edu/~jrcole/bahai.htm Buy *Modernity & Millennium: Genesis of Baha'i* https://www.kalimat.com/ Sent via Deja.com https://www.deja.com/ Share what you know. Learn what you don't. Homepage |