Released on December 6, 1998 to fifty major or college
newspapers
and news services in four countries.
From: FG <FG@hotmail.com>
To: bmw@pilotonline.com <bmw@pilotonline.com>
Subject:
MEDIA RELEASE
Date: Sunday, December 06, 1998 7:06 PM
MEDIA RELEASE
For immediate release. . .
Contact:
FG (xxx) xxx-xxxx
FG@hotmail.com
Baha'is Debate Freedom of Speech and Conscience
On December 3rd the third interest poll began for
talk.religion.bahai, a proposed unmoderated newsgroup on
the part of the Internet known as Usenet. Critics charge
members of the Baha'i Faith have opposed its creation now
for more than a year and a half because they would not be
able to exercise the kind of control they exert over
soc.religion.bahai, a moderated newsgroup.
Under the Usenet guidelines for discussion groups, if a
newsgroup is moderated, a single moderator or panel of
moderators chooses which messages are posted for all
subscribers to read. There seems to be a classic struggle
between Baha'is and ex-Baha'is of liberal sentiment and the
elements of a conservative orthodoxy. With recent clashes
even taking place on America Online and soc.religion.bahai
banning for months now any links to any web sites whatsoever,
both appear ready for another stormy battle on alt.religion.bahai;
unlike during the last interest poll, Bahais seemed to be agreed
on keeping the controversy off news.groups, the discussion
group where the creation of a new forum is always usually
debated.
With three Americans and two Australian proponents, the
controversy has become truly international with people
contributing from Scotland, England, Canada, Poland,
Germany, the Middle East, China, Japan, and elsewhere around
the world. Many have pointed out that the very nature of the
discussion about the Bahai Faith has only become possible
because of the new far-flung and open nature of the Internet.
One such critic even goes further. Dr. Juan Cole of the
Department of History at the University of Michigan, a
former Baha'i who withdrew from the Faith after more than
twenty years, has asserted there is widespread, pervasive
censorship and distortion of information throughout the
religion that belies the gentle and tolerant universalism of
its Founders. Dr. Cole has said, "The checks and
balances . . . will have to come from public opinion,
within the faith and without."
Cole17.htm
A poet and literary critic who remains a Baha'i after more
than two decades of membership, FG,
one of the proponents of talk.religion.bahai, has developed
a web site, "The Baha'i Faith & Religious Freedom of
Conscience," documenting numerous instances of
interference with free speech by the moderators of
soc.religion.bahai and the Baha'i Administration, with
nearly 5,000 hits on it since May of this year:
bahai.htm
Whatever the outcome of the third interest poll, the more
than 30,000 messages posted to alt.religion.bahai, a less
accessible newsgroup than the one wanted, shows Baha'is
and others have a lot to say on the matter!
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