h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Greetings, Red Supergiant. I stumbled across your name when you sent the kind note to SWL offering to talk with him about Islam. It is my opinion that the world almost certainly would be a better, safer place if we could have more constructive dialogues between people representing different cultures, religions, and general world views. Fear and hatred often are the children of ignorance.

It has been my observation, however, that as a general rule Muslims have not been joining into discussions such as the one to which I pointed you earlier. Of course, I don't know the reason. It could be that they are not aware of the discussions. Or perhaps they do not feel welcome. Or it could be many other reasons. Nevertheless, I think their input would be valuable. How can a group of non-Muslims hope to carry on a balanced discussion of issues involving Islam? We tend simply to end up reinforcing our pre-existing stereotypes and prejudices, whether they be positive or negative or accurate or not.

At any rate, I hope to find you taking part in some good discussions here at h2g2.

Hello JCN,

I think most Muslims feel completely stressed out and small when faced with the anger of so many, in such discussions. If there were as many Muslims on h2g2 as there were angry non-Muslims, then it would probably not such an issue for them to participate in these forums. I'm not immune to feeling small, outnumbered, and overwhelmed by the amount of anger out there, but I don't mind offering my time (if somebody is bothered enough to learn about another side of the story) to talk.

I joined the thread you suggested, but it is very long, and it will take me a while to catch up and have something to say. I'm keeping close tabs on it, meanwhile!

Thanks for making me feel welcome!

PS: I didn't join h2g2 for Islam/Muslim issues at all, but I don't mind being sucked into it

Hello, RS

Thanks for writing back. Yes, I can understand your feelings of being outnumbered in this forum. I admire your courgage and sense of adventure for being here. There is no doubt that there is much anger out there, I suspect on all sides. It seems that if we go looking for reasons to be angry about something we will find what we seek, regardless of which point of view we support. More challenging, productive, and interesting, imho, is seeking out areas where we all can agree and work together toward creating a better world for ourselves and for our children and grandchildren.

I'm encouraged to see Christians, Muslims, and Jews here in the US working together shoulder by shoulder on community improvement projects. This is a way to build bridges, not walls.

I myself am agnostic, and from my point of view all religions seem to be sources of divisiveness and heartache in the world rather than sources of good. I'm sure religious people of all kinds will disagree.

The good thing about a forum such as h2g2 is that eveyone is on an equal footing here in some sense. You are as free to express your opinions as I am to express mine. It has been my experience that people who hold extreme views tend to be outnumbered by more moderate people who are genuinely seeking answers to contentious issues. But a wide spectrum of views will be found, which is good, I think.

And if we say something here that makes people angry, at least they can't reach out of the computer screen and poke us in the nose, much as they might like to do so!

I realize it's not fair to you to expect you to act as a spokesperson for Islam, either, any more than I would want to be seen as a spokesperson for agnosticism. We're just all people, mostly trying to do the best we can. So if you feel comfortable commenting on some of our conversations, I hope you'll do so. It's difficult to have productive discussions about contentious issues if the participants in the discussion all come from the same basic point of view.

I'll look forward to finding you popping up in all sorts of h2g2 conversations, not just the ones about Islam. Again, welcome.
JCN

I'm so happy that you're speaking out in the Veil and Cross conversation. Now people will need to address a real person and situation rather than just some mythical, hypothetical person/culture of their imagination! This puts things in a very much more interesting light, imo! At any rate, I think your contributions are bound to improve the quality of the discussion.

BTW, I didn't know you are a lady before. That's another interesting thing about the internet, it's gender neutral unless a person chooses to reveal his or her gender.

I'm looking forward to more interesting and constructive developments!

Oh, and one other thing, RS: don't get discouraged if people in the conversations ignore you! Basically, all but the most vocal get ignored from time to time, as you've probably observed. They sometimes ignore me, too, which is okay. But that doesn't stop me from jumping in when the mood strikes me and when I feel I've got something constructive to add, or occasionally maybe just a bit of humor. I thought your comment to Bouncy was perfect. And ditto with SWL. Am surprised Bouncy hasn't said anything about it, but sometimes people just get too busy I guess. Anyway, I hope you're having fun with it!

JCN,

I'm never discouraged Well, hardly.

Thanks for all your support. I definitely value it. Yes, I am a lady, and actually wondered if people thought I was a boy. There are lots of things about me, as a lady, that would probably shatter certain peoples stereotypes about Muslim women... perhaps these things will reveal themselves in time.

I should have probably said something about homosexual marriage, while that was being discussed in the "Veil" thread, as well. Here, in Seattle, it is a *huge* issue, constantly discussed.

Well, hope to see you around some more!

Aha! In addition to not knowing you're a lady, I also didn't know that you're a fellow USAan, RS. Of course, as the name of the veil and cross conversation indicates, it is "Essentially UK Centric." Other participants in the conversation have pointed out to me more than once that the situation in Britain is sufficiently different from that here in the US that I (and presumably on the same grounds you as well) cannot fully appreciate their issues. They may have a valid point, and I try to be sensitive to it when I chime in. There are some human issues, however, that transcend national boundaries. At any rate, I'm finding it extremely fascinating. And even as a USAan you still can provide insight from your particular Muslim perspective. So far as I'm concerned, virtually any authentic, honest, relevant perspective is worth throwing into the mix for people to consider.

Well, SWL is right about one thing: Muslims can somewhat identify with each other. This doesn't really change if a Pakistani immigrates to the US or the UK. So I think I can speak for the Muslims fairly safely.

The negativity (paired with downright racism... pot calling the kettle black, almost) around some of these threads is miiiighty uncomfy at times... but hey, getting out of my comfort zone is probably good for me!

Good for all of us, I suspect!