Posted by Ibrahim on February 01, 2002 at 07:21:51:
In Reply to: Re: COMMENTS ON FREEDOM OF SPEECH posted by KP on January 31, 2002 at 15:13:08:
So from the vehemence of your reply I take it you agree and support with the comments of Victor. So you too believe
individuals who follow Islam cannot be Greek? And by extension any non Orthodox Christian cannot be Greek? And
besides, you agree with the obnoxious proposal that Muslims should not post messages here? At least you seem to
condone Victors comments. Maybe you don't get the real point.
Ok, the gist of your argument is: Turks oppressed Greeks, all Turks were Muslims therefore all Muslims oppressed
Greeks. Reminds me of a Woody Allen line where he concluded that "all men are Socrates".
Let's start at the basics: in your country religion is a free choice of the individual. The key word is individual. If you are
incapable of distinguishing the actions of states and the choices of individuals (who, by the way, need have nothing to do
with mentioned actions) you are on the slippery slope to oppression. Thus, equating (the wrong) religion with (the lack
of) loyalty shows you haven't learned from your great hero Alexander who actively pursued the mixing of races, creeds
and religions in the lands he conquered (24 centuries ago, so not really a "post-modern" concept).
I like the irony of your comparison to American Marxists. In fact there is a comparison I could make that is closer to
home: say you are a Greek, and benefit from the democratic rights bestowed upon you, freedom of speech, freedom of
religion. And yet you declare all followers of other religions than your own as suspicious traitors who should not be
allowed to voice their opinions. Quite a contradiction, right?