By Gary Vey for viewzone

I enjoy getting e-mail from readers. We get quite a bit here -- over 200 in a day. Most of it is about articles that we have published or story ideas. Occasionally someone has a strong view that is contrary to one of our stories and, if they can be civil and articulate, we usually publish their comments. In some cases the rebuttals provide a fresh look at a particular theory and open up new ideas for exploration.

A few months ago I began receiving e-mails from a gentleman who calls himself Andrew Benjamin. He's a writer living in New York City. I suppose he was reacting to a story that we ran on the war in Gaza that happened in December of 2008. Our article was very much against the killing of innocent children in Gaza and we condemned the use of illegal phosphorous bombs. Andrew seemed upset that we had criticized Israel, the aggressor in the conflict, and the gist of his e-mails were to accuse us of being anti-semitic.

We tried to make the point that viewzone was being critical of the Israeli government for their political and military acts against the innocent Arab population. We were not against Jews as a race, religion or people -- but we were expressing our right to criticize the actions of a government, much the same way that I protested the Vietnam War back in the 60s, and the Iraq War in the last decade.

For a while the e-mails went back and forth, but then they started to get nasty. Benjamin began to fill his e-mails (which go out to many people on his lists) with comments about Islam, Mohammed (PBUH) and even Allah.

While I enjoy a lively political discussion, and even a debate about religion, calling one's Prophet or God a blasphemous name is over the line. In the most recent e-mail, Benjamin compared Allah to Satan!

[Above:] The e-mail continues with several verses from the Holy Book and then ends with the suggestion, "In the interest of bettering mankind, please share these with friends and family..." (And we are.)

This goes way beyond a discussion about religion. According to Islam, Benjamin has committed an unrecoverable sin -- the same sin that was committed by the Dutch artist who drew a cartoon of Mohammed (PBUH) with a bomb on his head, published in the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten in September 2005 and which led to the torching of the Norwegian embassy in Damascus, Syria. The arrogance of knowing how offensive these acts are to Arabs and Muslims only makes the act more offensive, blatantly racist and incendiary.

And remember, it's not just me he's sending this material to. He has a large mailing list of people who he tries to infect with this hate.

After I received the e-mail I informed him of his error and attempted to contact his e-mail provider, GMAIL, to report his defamation of Islam. Unfortunately, as you can see below, such acts are hardly ever prosecuted. Instead the receiver is asked simply to delete the offensive messages or impose a filter that will divert them to the trash bin. We intend to pursue this matter in other ways but, for now, we thought it would be appropriate to share his email with our readers who may wish to give him some feedback.

Since informing Benjamin of our plans, he quickly and articulately responded with the following messages:

"I'm looking forward to it. As I said, I will expose you for the paranoid lunatic you really are."

"One more thing jerk. I may just put up a website on you, make you really famous. And expose all the frigging paranoid bullshit on your site. I'll find the time or have one of my researchers do it. What a friggin jerk. Have you seen a shrink Gary? If not, do consider it. UFOs my ass."

"I am removing you from me email list. If you get anything from me in the future, please let me know so I check my other lists. I want to make sure you are not getting anything from me ever. Wasting time is not my idea of a good time. Don't write me otherwise, I'll just delete you."

Indeed, he is wasting his time if he thinks he can persuade us to lower ourselves to disrespect the Creator. Yes, move on.

While we disliked the military actions in the Gaza War, we never defamed Yahweh. Nor would we ever say anything disrespectful against any human concept of deity. God is a personal ideal. By whatever name, God deserves to be respected and held high above the petty disagreements of humans. We wish that Benjamin would stop sending these hateful e-mails and we encourage our readers to let him know how you feel about these kind of hate provoking messages. His e-mail can be seen in the copy (above).

P.S.: I am alive and well with no illness or diseases. Any sudden death or injury should be highly suspect. I'm sure you get my drift. When dealing with unstable people there's always reason to be cautious -- Gary Vey.

UPDATE: Frbruary 23, 2010: Not to let sleeping racists lie, Benjamn has sent another round of e-mails (under his new address of commentary@ymail.com) in which he calls out Muslims and Arabs: "ISLAMISM IS NAZISM with a Dishtowel." This poor man just cannot stop with his hatred of anything non-Jewish. Frankly, we hope that other Jews will rein him in as he is giving them all a bad name. But, in fact, he is most likely not representative of Jews and is simply a mentally unstable man with an inferiority complex who believes he is a writer. Sad. Very sad.

Comments:

Gary,
Thanks for letting everyone know about this. I once tried to report a hate crime and found it very difficult to do unless the crime was specifically against and black or Jew. They seem to be the only people with organizations set up to receive and respond to this kind of hateful stuff. But I am forwarding this article to some of the civil rights agencies that I have used in the past and have received some success. This was brave of you and I appreciate your efforts.

J.G.

Hello:
As an attorney I am familiar with the recent Hate Crimes Law, passed in 2009. The requirement are pretty much defined as not only making defamatory remarks but of attempting to distribute or propagate the ideas for the purpose of inciting hatred or violence. The "invitation" to re-send these hateful comments at the end of the e-mail certainly qualify and I would strongly suggest that you pursue this with the Attorney General's office.

These cases are hard to prove because of the "intent" issues, but you seem to have a good shot at this.

Michael H.

Hey, I don't see what the big deal is all about. The dude was only repeating what he heard or read. Like what's with that? Lotta nothing if you ask me.

F.K.

It saddens me to read something like this. I get these same kinds of e-mails disrespecting Jews and I trash them. Now they are going after Muslims! Why are people so full of hate these days? God has many different names and speaking bad about Allah is the same as speaking bad about God in general. Very sad.

anonymous (Detroit)

I too have received mail like this and I am now forwarding this link to the authorities in my state (New York). Thanks for the heads up.

F.H.

This is totally unacceptable! I wish you luck with your acts against this kind of thing.

Michael B.

Good luck with this!

Karen

Tried to send the coward my thoughts but he has shut down his e-mail or something. Will keep trying. Thanks for the heads up.

D.O'M

Editor: We are receiving more comments today than we can post. We'll try to sift through them and post representative remarks. Thanks for your interest in this subject. Look here for more updates.

Report him for a hate crime?!? Are you Serious?!? What happened to free speech in this country? I have the right to say whatever I want to who ever I want even if it offends them. As well as vice versa, someone should be ale to say whatever they want to me even if it upsets me because that is FREEDOM OF SPEECH. If you don’t like this guys emails, block him, it's that easy! I love your website but I think you have gone too far with this one.

J.B.

Editor: I can assure you, because I know, that if you said anything against an African-American, a Jew, or the State of Israel, you would be threatened and have legal action taken against you. There is a double standard at play here. And this is much more than saying something bad about a person or group -- this is offending an entire religion.

Write an article or send an e-mail saying that Jesus was really the Devil, or call African Americans the "N" word, and see what kind of reception you would get. Freedon of Speech means using that freedom in a responsible way and not to incite hatred or violence.

In fact, we have a Constitution that guarantees freedom of religion. This tops freedom of speech when that speech infringes on the religious freedom we value so highly.

Viewzone:

I found many other articles written by Andrew Benjamin on this site: http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/200795/andrew_g_benjamin.html. I was surprised to learn that he has written about "Peace in the Mid East!" How on earth can a man talk about peace and, at the same time, hold beliefs so hateful to Arabs and Muslems? His e-mails are revealing the true personality of this man. Good job!

J.T.S.

Yes, it is dsturb [sic] to learn that the email about Allah (PBUH) was not only sent to you but to an a-mail list. The sin is more severe. The intent is understood. Allah (PBUH) will surely deal with him.

K.A-J

Someone please tell me where this man works? He is a writer for whom? What he has done reminds me of Imus. But unfortunately Imus has his own show again!

I think Andrew just wasn't thinking straight when he sent the e-mail to people. He probably never expected that it would be received the way it was. I think he if quickly apologized for offending Islam that this whole thing could be minimized. We all make mistakes and we all deserve the chance to make retribution. Give him a break.

F.L.

Editor: When I first replied to Andrew I told him that I would not publish his email if he apoligized for offending Allah and promised that he would not do it again. I gave him an entire evening to think about it. But he kept silent.

This is obviously a very hot topic. We've received so many e-mails about this. I want to remind readers that we read every reply but post only those with different comments from the ones already posted.

Hi Gary

It is true that such a comment will hurt the sentiments of believers of Allah. But what do you have to say about what Allah (is said to have) said in the Quran about non believers and what should be done to non believers like you. For instance. some of the mild ones include slaying them whenever the Muslims see them.

Since reinterpretation is not legally posible in Islam, anybody who follows Islam is bound by those views. For tactical reasons (such as living in non-muslim land-dar ul harb), they may postpone implementation of such commands, but not for forever.

Can you (dare to)write an article on this subject?

One excellently researched book I can recommend is by noted Magsaysay prize winner Arun Shourie--The World of the Fatwas. Get it from Amazon.com. It will be an eyeopener and many of your romantic notions about Islam will wither away once you read the book.

Desi

Hi Desi,

Thanks for your comments. I posted them in fairness.

I am not familiar with the book but I will read it. I am familiar with the subject matter and the critique of Islam. Such claims can be made for the Torah also, as I am sure you are aware.

The crux of my objection to Benjamin's e-mails was not that he criticized Islam. That is certainly allowed in an era of free speech. But when he criticized God. comparing God to Satan, this was inciting hatred.

This is everyone's God. There is only one. He insulted all people who believe in God.

A=C, B=C; A=B. God has many names, Allah, El, Yah, Jehovah, Brahmin, The Creator, The Father, The Almighty... It is the same deity. Only the words of men declare a difference according to their tribal affiliations, personal needs or, yes, ignorance. Any time God os declared equal to Evil, this crosses the line of morality and respect.

Do you not agree?

And, yes, I am a "believer."

gary

Gary,

God surely will bless you for standing up to this evil. And just as surely He will punish those who blaspheme against Him. I will pray that justice is done. Thank you.

Walid A-J

We read about this in the Yemen Times newspaper in Sana'a. Let us hope that this evil man makes peace with the Almighty. His sin is one of ignorance. Let us hope he becomes enlightened.

Nadia

Hi Gary

You write--"But when he criticized God. comparing God to Satan, this was inciting hatred." I agree with your view that the email writer is inciting hatred through his mails. But my point is-- what do you say about a god who wants his followers to kill everyone who doesn't follow Him? What do you say about a god who says that anyone who doesn't follow Him will end up in hell, who denies that there can be any other 'way' which people can follow? What do you say about a god who says that if anyone criticises me or my way, he ought to be killed? All this is there in the Book which ois supposd to be based on his revelations.

You say--"God has many names, Allah, El, Yah, Jehovah, Brahmin (sic), The Creator, The Father, The Almighty... It is the same deity. Only the words of men declare a difference according to their tribal affiliations or needs or, yes, ignorance." But this is precisely my point because this particular deity (Allah) in His Book (Quran) vehemently denies this contention which has almost become like a basic tenet for peaceful coexistence of today's multicultural societies. He denies that there can be any other name or that there can be any other way. He denies that others have a right to think differently. If anybody dares, he ought to be killed and his wife, children and wealth confiscated and distributed amongst the followers.

True,Torah (or for that matter books of all semitic religions and even other religions)have such elements. But the difference is that adherents of all such religions have reached a stage in their moral and menatl evolution where they understand that the books reflect a particular time and place in human evolution and they don't insist on applying those tenets today. Particularly, they don't insist that others also should follow the same tenets otherwise they will be killed. If you don't believe me, please go through the fatwas that the so called learned maulanas of Islam have issued and are issuing to this day. Though these are outside the radar of most of the liberal world opionion, these are widely circulated among the muslim laity and these are widely belived in and followed by the common adherents. The manifesation that is seen as terrorism emanates not from a few misguided elements but from the basic beliefs of the religion.

When you say you are a believer, I undersatand that you are a muslim.Is that correct? Because this is the diffrentiation followed by Islam between believer and non-believer. If so, you will be doing a great service to the world, if you could bring these facets of Islam into wider discussion amongst the muslims, so that these anachronisms could be discarded. The muslims were not always like what they are today. There was a time in the past when they felt more secure and consequently the hold of the mullahs (and religion) was less.The Arab society in middle ages was amongst the most liberal and most inclusive of those times. I only hope that such a golden age in the realm of thought again returns and this can be accomplished only by muslims and by nobody else. Best regards,

Desi

Hello Desi,

Yes, these are the errors of humans when interpreting Deity. Not only the Quran and Torah but also the Bible and Christianity has such a bad history. So many people have been killed for their non-belief. Certainly this is the ignorance of men.

In the Vietnam war entire families and villages were murdered because they were suspected of having different ideologies about government. War can be seen to be an example of this intolerance.

In Islam, the extreme views that you describe come from a state of Jihad. You might think of this as a nest of bees who quietly go about their collecting nectar and making honey. If the nest is threatened they change and begin their defensive attack mode. This is the same as Islam which is currently under attack.

I can give you the example of Yemen, a country where I spent much time. Jew and Muslim lived side by side, Mosque and Temple were in the same neighborhood, children of both cultures played together and occasionally even married. When the State of Israel was created many Jews were encouraged by their own people to move to Palestine. But when the news of how the Palestinian people were mistreated spread, and how Islam was being confronted with hatred and violence, the roots of Jihad were established.

Subsequent mistreatment of the Arab and Muslim population over the decades has escalated this Jihad to what we see today. There is no other cause of animosity between the two cultures. It is entirely because of the Palestinian problem. We seem to forget that, conveniently for one side of the problem.

The tragedy of 911 was because of Palestine. Osama binLaden himself said this in his first statement following the attacks, yet the American people were not allowed to hear this and a story was made up about "secret messages to cells" that were contained in it.

Desi, this Jihad mentality will not end until the Palestinian problem ends. Because of this the entire world is in crisis and suffers from terrorism.

This Jihad thought process was activated in Christianity during the Crusades when there was a perceived threat from Islam. Even Hindus and Buddhists have had their own Jihads when they feared that their religion or paradigm was threatened. It is part of human nature.

So when Benjamin makes statements like he has done it does not help for peace. It only pushes Islam further in to Jihad, making extremists out of moderate Muslims. Also, it will do no good to critique the response of a religion to its perceived attack. We need to remind all religions that their ultimate function is love and peace -- as the ultimate job for bees is to collect nectar and make honey.

Do you not see this?

gary

This is an excellent debate and I hope you will continue this discussion. I thank you for bringing these ideas out in the open. They need to be addressed. Thank you again.

J.F.

Hi Gary

No sane person will disagree with you when you say that intolerance in any form is despicable. The emails of Mr Banjamin are certainly an example of intolerance, and don't think even for a moment that I am defending him in any way. My firm belief is that two wrongs won’t make one right.

Having said that I must point out where I differ from you. In your mail you have tried to find the reason behind the intolerance of the Muslims. You write -- "Subsequent mistreatment of the Arab and Muslim population over the decades has escalated this Jihad to what we see today. There is no other cause of animosity between the two cultures. It is entirely because of the Palestinian problem. We seem to forget that, conveniently for one side of the problem."

My dear friend, I must point out that Ahmedias, Bohras, Shias (who consider themselves Muslims) and Hindus (& Buddhists of Ladakh) are not connected with Palestine problem in any way. Why is there a fatwa to kill Ahmedias? Why are they discriminated against and persecuted in every Muslim majority country like Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran? And what is their fault? Just some independence in thinking (which is only a little bit different from what the majority interpretation about Quran is). Why is there so much animosity against Shias amongst the majority Sunnis, when both consider Mohammad as their Prophet? Just because there is some difference of opinion about a particular personage who was killed 1300 years ago. Why was there "religious sanction" for destroying the temples of Hindus in entire north India where Muslims held sway? In south India you can find beautiful temples belonging to pre Muslim period but in north India all were destroyed in the name of Allah? Three of the oldest universities in the world were destroyed because the Buddhist monks living there didn’t agree to embrace Islam.

It is not surprising that such things happened. History is relete with such examples. The surprising part is that even today no liberal Muslim will dare to say that what Muslims did in the past was wrong because they of the fear of fatwas and ex-communication.

Why have most of the Hindus living in Pakistan and Bangladesh (both Muslim majority countries) been driven away (with active approval and instigation from religious heads), whereas India, a Hindu majority country has the world’s second largest Muslim population?

If you want to see the example of how engrained intolerance is in Muslim psyche instilled by religion, visit Kashmir. In a small part of Jammu & Kashmir state (Kashmir valley), which has Muslim majority, all Hindus were either killed and had to leave. They are even now unable to enter the region despite the fact that India is a Hindu majority country and government is apparently on their side.

I am not giving these examples to show that Muslims as a whole are diabolical people different from other peoples of the world. Persecution, killings, plunder, rape has been there in all civilizations, and neither Hindus nor Buddhists nor Christians are free from the taint. But nowhere has it got sanction of the religion. Other religions don't tell you to kill non believers. Prophets of Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism to my knowledge have never justified killing of innocent people just because they don't agree with you view.

There are reasons why I feel that adherents of Islam need to give a relook at the tenets of their religion in the light of modern thinking. In the modern age, it is the only major religion which tries to control every aspect of the life of its followers and doesn't leave anything on their free will. It is the only religion which denies its followers the right to think for themselves. It is the only religion, which authorizes its followers to kill all those who dare to give up Islam. Other religions also might have had such tendencies in the past, but nowadays, the followers of these religions have grown out of these things. In the case of Islam such tendencies have become stronger.

Maybe this is to an extent due to a widely prevalent feeling of insecurity and persecution by the West. But can you deny the urgent need to cleanse the religion from such tendencies. In regions which are far removed from the West (subcontinent for instance), you can see the worst manifestation of such tendencies and the worst sufferers are the poor and the women (who follow Islam).

I look forward to your views.

Desi

Desi,

First, I want to thank you for taking the time to exchange these ideas in a polite, rational and constructive format. This is so much better than inflammatory comments about one's God. I am also glad to see that we agree about the intolerance of Mr. Benjamin's writing.

I can also agree with you that religions are often guilty of intolerance when they sense that their dogma is being challenged. Many of the scriptures and canons of religions contain these violent mandates, against such things as adultery, incest, disrespect of elders or the hierarchy of the faith or even living an alien lifestyle. Entire villages were put to death by early Christians because they were pagans, the early Jews slaughtered every man, woman, child and beast in the name of their God -- even more recently the early Mormons were guilty of such massacres. Always there is some scriptural text that is used to justify this. And yes, Islam is now the most obvious and most guilty of this same shortfall.

If you look at the Islamic religion over the centuries you will find that it has been quite moderate in the enforcement of Sharia law. This is because the cultures which sustained Islam were relatively unchanged from the time of Mohammed (PBUH).I am most familiar with Yemen which, even today, is a land where everything is made from stone and the society is organized in tribes and families. This is exactly the type of civilization for which the beliefs of Islam were established. In fact, the strict laws of Islam maintain social order and give meaning to such an existence.

The world is not static. Technology and multi-culturalism have sought to replace tribal rule with democracy and have imposed the idea of self-determinism upon a people who do not want it. This perceived threat reinforces their adherence to the scripture and what is seen by the outside world as "intolerance." It is, in fact, an effort of survival.

Despite such views of Islam it is the most populated faith on the planet and the fastest growing religion. It's appeal to humanity is well established and time tested.

But let us look at some of the good things in Islam. There is a total submission to God that is renewed at least 5 times every day. This intimacy with the Creator is not seen in any other religion. There are the pillars of faith which demand kindness towards others. If Islam had remained unmolested I am certain that it would have had the opportunity to become more moderate and to find its harmony with the outside world. But, at the present time, this outside world offers little to Muslims except materialism, pornography, forced individualism and exploitation of the tribe and family by so-called democratic rule.

We live in an evil world that we have created to make God optional, a matter of choice. We don't live our religion, we attend it. The family unit today is besieged with divorce, adultery and the disrespect of our elders who often get disposed in a nursing home and forgotten. Money is the new God. We fill our minds with filth and violence in the guise of entertainment and we disrespect the earth and nature. Is it any surprise that we should view Islam as "intolerant?"

Gary

True. Very true. We can only pray that the God, which must be a compassionate father of all of us, will lead us to a better future where difference of opinions will be addressed in a spirit of conciliation, mutual respect and tolerance; a world where everyone can live in dignity and peace without fear.

If there are bad things in the world, there are a few good things also. Let us look at this side of our existence and thank our common father. Let us pray that He shows the right path to those who are misguided.

I will wait for an article from you on this topic, beacuse your views will constitute an important document in this debate which can have a powerful impact on many people.

Desi

Viewzone:

I am an atheist and I see there are no comments from people like me here. I'd like to suggest someone comment on the following, which shows that ALL religions are imperfect and full of evil:

The "noble" Moses ascends Mount Sinai and returns with a book of laws. The part of the story that follows is often ignored or considered to not be taken literally. Moses proceeds to read the commandments, one of which is "Thou shalt not kill." Moses notices that his followers have been worshiping a golden calf. In anger he forces his followers to grind up the golden calf and then consume the powder. Next he tells them to draw their swords and kill everyone 'till none are left. Thus the first to break one of the Ten Commandments was Moses.

EX 32:27: And he said unto them, thus saith the Lord God of Israel, put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.

EX 32:28: And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men

Then there is this lovely story from Numbers:

NM 31:7 And they warred against the Midianites, as the Lord commanded Moses; and they slew all the males.

NM 31:9 And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, and their little ones...

NM 31:10 And they burnt all their cities wherin they dwelt...

Not satisfied with this, Moses continues his depraved rampage as follows:

NM 31:17 Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.

NM 31:18 But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.

That's right, you read correctly. Moses ordered all the male children murdered. He orders all the women who are not virgins murdered. He then gives all the virgin women to his soldiers to do with as they desire. Why don't Christians teach this story in Sunday school?

I dare you to post this.

B.G.