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RATIONALIST INTERNATIONAL BULLETIN # 19
13 September 1999
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Recipients may reproduce, forward, publish or quote from
Rationalist International Bulletin. Please acknowledge the
source: "Rationalist International Bulletin."
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REMEMBER: International Rationalist Conferece at Trivandrum,
Kerala, southern coastal state in India, on 17-22 January
2000. Conference theme: "The Rationalist Agenda for the 21st
Century." Atheist, Freethinker, Humanist, Rationalist,
Secularist leaders from around the world participate.
Have you decided? Write to us for details.
<edamaruku@yahoo.com>
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Report from India
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HITCHENS WILLING TO BE A WITNESS
AGAINST MOTHER TERESA
--------------------------------
Christopher Hitchens, author of the famous book on Mother
Teresa, "The Missionary Position," said he was willing to
be a witness if the church genuinely solicits. In an
exclusive interview with Janaki B Kremmer appeared in a
recent issue of Indian news magazine "Outlook", Hitchens
said that he suspected shoddy motives to do the canonisation
of Mother Teresa "before any questions can be raised, in
time for the millennium and, if possible, in the present
Pope's lifetime." If we are told she did exemplary work,
Hitchens said, "I'd argue she did so on behalf of those
who stole from the poor and justified the means by which
that theft took place."
Hitchens said charity is not the way to abolish poverty.
"There's only one certain way of abolishing poverty, it's
not a sufficient condition but an important one, and
that's the empowerment of women. If you can give women in
Bangladesh or Bolivia control over their reproductive
systems -which means a bit of education and a bit of
technology- that village will be transformed. But she
preached exactly the opposite. If a poor woman has a limit
to her fertility -that would be a matter of offence to
Mother Teresa. She was a fanatic on these points. Her work
on earth was a large net minus, more people are poor, destitute,
ignorant and diseased because of her work" - explained
Hitchens.
To a question whether his battle was against Catholicism or
Mother Teresa, Hitchens said the battle was against religious
credulity and reliance on faith instead of reason. To a
straight question, "are you an agnostic?" he answered,
"no, I am an atheist."
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Report from Iran
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FUNDAMENTALISTS GET TOP LIBERAL DAILY SHUT
"UNTIL CASE CAME BEFORE COURT"
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Iranian authorities have forced an outspoken liberal
newspaper "Neshat" to close after it questioned the principle
of Islamic retribution and printed a call for the supreme
clerical leader to avoid factional politics. The publication
was suspended after the hard-line judge of the special press
court threatened to send in security forces if the newspaper
published the next day.
"We pleaded to be able to publish until a court hearing",
said a board member of the newspaper, "but they did not
agree." The judiciary said later that Neshat would remain
closed until the case came before the courts.
The press court, a virtual fundamentalist outfit, explained
their position in a statement carried by the official IRNA
news agency. "Taking into account the offences that have
been committed and the necessity to stop such violation in
the future, the (press) court has decided to shut down
Neshat newspaper from September 4 until court proceedings
are held." Interestingly no date for the hearing was
announced. Earlier fundamentalists said that Neshat
criticised Islam.
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Report from Rwanda
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BISHOP FACES GENOCIDE TRIAL
---------------------------
Augustin Misago, the Roman Catholic bishop of Rwanda's
southeastern Gikongoro diocese, appeared in a packed court
for the trial for genocide and crimes against humanity.
Monsignor Misago is the first Catholic clergyman in Rwanda
to face genocide charges.
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Report from the US
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HINDU ORGANISATIONS EXPRESS INTOLERANCE AGAINST
TELEVISION SERIAL
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The World Vaishnava Association, a US based coalition of
Hindu organisations protested and denounced the airing of
an episode of television serial "Xena -the Warrior Princess."
The Hindu coalition claimed that the episode entitled "The
Way" was "deeply offensive to Hindus because of the
fictionalisation of the Hindu dieties." Shyama Sundar of
the Chaitanya Mission, one of the main protesting
organisations within the Hindu coalition said: "Universal
and the Xena stars spent an hour trivalising Hinduism and
treating Lord Krishna and other Hindu dieties as fictional
characters, then they have the audacity to pontificate
about how they want to enlighten people about Hinduism."
There are, however, many in the Hindu community in the US
who do not approve the fundamentalist intolerance. Anuttama
Dasa, communication director of ISKCON in Washington said:
"The criticism has been largely pegged on the time that the
serial deals with fictional dieties, but there are similar
cases in several Indian movies as well, and no one objects
to that."
Replying to a strongly-worded letter from the World Vaishnava
Association, Xena's executive producer Rob Tapert said:
"The World Vaishnava Association says we are putting words
in the dieties' mouths and having them engaged in interactions
that they never engaged in, yet hundreds of films are
produced each year in India that fictionalise Hindu dieties."
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Report from India
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HINDU RELIGIOUS HEAD WANTS
"VEDIC CONSTITUTION"!
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Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the head of Maharishi Veda Vision, a Hindu
religious organisation which is contesting Indian elections for
the first time, has appealed "true Bharatiya" (Indian) teen agers
across the country to join him and spread awareness about the
"Vedic Constitution." The organisation is in search of 500 rich
young men and women to be trained as future members of the
parliament. Only the rich deserve to be members of the parliament!
Mahesh Yogi believes India can be governed only by a Vedic
constitution. He has recently launched his own television channel
to channelise his thoughts. Some recent rhetoricsof Mahesh Yogi
on his television channel are as follows:
"There is no other way but a Vedic world constitution which would
replace all others. We will bring Ram-rajya (Ram's kingdom) back
to Bharat (India). The President, the Prime Minister and even the
Chief Justice will have to come to terms with the ways of the
Vedic Constitution and the style of functioning."
"I request young voters to vote for a party which promises to
change the constitution and preach a Vedic form of government."
"Those of you who are successful in life and take pride in their
abilities -become members of the parliament, fill up your forms,
choose a party that promises to change the very fabric of the
Indian Constitution and submit nomination."
At present India has a secular constitution which marks spirit
of inquiry and scientific temper as fundamental duties of the
citizens of India.
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Report from the UK
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NATIONAL SECULAR SOCIETY CALLS FOR THE REMOVAL OF BISHOPS
FROM THE UPPER HOUSE
---------------------------------------------------------
The National Secular Society, an active campaigning organisation
fighting for the establishment of a secular polity in in the UK,
recently made a strong case for an entirely secular House of
Lords. At present 26 bishops of the Church of England sit at the
Upper House of the British parliament as a matter of right.
Mr Keith Proteus Wood, Executive Director of the National
Secular Society in a recent representation to the Royal
Commission on the Reform of the House of Lords said it was
undemocratic for the religious representatives to make laws
binding on the population that largely considers religion to be
irrelevant. The representation said that the religious
representatives do not possess any moral insights that would be
denied to other members of the new chamber. "On the contrary,"
it continues, "most of these religious representatives
would represent morally absolutist views out of line with the
country as a whole and sometimes even their own members." Proteus
Wood argues: "Existing temporal peers identify themselves as
acting from religious motives, and those who profess no religion
should not be regarded as any less capable of making good moral
and ethical judgements."
The National Secular Society has sent to the Rationalist
International Bulletin the full text of its representation to
the Royal Commission on the Reforms of the House of Lords.
Those who desire to have the full text may ask
<sakthy@giasdla.vsnl.net.in>
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