Message-ID: <Pine.SUN.3.91.960426112344.3914B-100000@class.class.org> Date: Fri, 26 Apr 1996 11:25:04 -0700 From: Fred Witthans <mailto:ustate2@CLASS.ORG> Subject: Re: Massacre and Development (fwd) To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L <mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU>
Hi James, my girlfriend is Bahai and she claims that this faith is not a cult but I read that it is can you answer this question?On Fri, 26 Apr 1996, T Hodges wrote:
> The experiences of Baha'is communities (in Iran over the last 100 years,
> in countries such as Uganda, Liberia, Zaire, Malaysia, the Philippines,
> and Central and South American countries more recently) have demonstrated
> that a strong religious belief requiring respect for people of
> different cultural backgrounds can allow people to live and work
> together without one group dominating the other. I realize it is now
> unfashionable to talk about religious belief being an instrument for
> overcoming religious and ethnic prejudices, but one must look at the
> real world. Baha'is communities have consistently demonstrated this
> capability as have some other religious communities in some places.
>
> Tom Hodges, mailto:thodges@freenet.calgary.ab.ca
>
> > From: James Mccoy <mailto:james.mccoy@CHANNEL1.COM>
> >
> > Having lived in Sri Lanka several years ago and Uganda more recently,
> > I really do not believe intervention to bring about unity provides
> > much beyond temporary relief for the opposing forces to regroup. It
> > is only when one or both of the competing factions have been defeated
> > or destroyed that any sort of unity will be achieved. One could
> > argue that such unity is repression or domination -- which it is --
> > ... [snip] ...
> > Lessons? Not very desirable to the western world but the best options
> > are to stay out of the way, provide limited humanitarian assistance
> > so both sides and all constituents realize the suffering, and make no
> > promises of external assistance to rebuild what is destroyed by the
> > short-sighted actions of the warring factions. Some sort of unity will
> > eventually result and it will probably be more enduring than some
> > brokered or imposed concilliation.
> >
> > Just one point of view...I'm sure there are many others. Please keep
> > in mind the difference between reality and idealistic optimality.
> >
> >
>