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INSTITUTE
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| Neutralize "reactionism:" ISHK urges members to promote understanding and tolerance Subj: How to Help in this Time of Crisis Dear Friends of ISHK: During this time of crisis, friends of ISHK have an opportunity to respond to comments, rally cries, etc., that generalize about the Middle East and Afghanistan. It's an inherent function of the human mind to over-generalize, from our view of individuals to stereotyping whole groups. So “Arab terrorists” or “Afghan terrorists” is a quick judgment. But we don't condemn, for instance, “Christian terrorists” for the Oklahoma City bombing. Try to emphasize that before the Russian invasion, before the Taliban takeover, Afghanistan was a cultural crossroads, a place where many races lived alongside each other in harmony and had done so for centuries This is a country where a rich culture developed, including philosophers and traditional psychologists who valued wisdom and the pursuit of knowledge above all else. This tradition is documented by authors well known to the West such as Rumi in the twelfth century and the contemporary author Idries Shah. So why is it different now? In 1997 a group called the Taliban took over the country already much weakened by fighting against the Soviets. This Taliban has instituted brutal repression. They don't represent the country, and the Afghan people are themselves victims of the Taliban. There are 500,000 disabled orphans in Afghanistan—a country with no economy, no food. There are millions of widows whose only recourse is to beg on the streets for themselves and their children. Women are forbidden to work, though some may have been doctors, teachers, scientists; they are forbidden medical attention, they are forbidden education. Farms were all destroyed by the Soviets, and the soil is littered with land minds. ********************** What can you do? Here are some suggestions: Those of you representing our books to stores or helping us with the literacy campaign might emphasize that ISHK is a non-profit educational organization that has been working through lectures and publications to promote cross-cultural understanding since the 1960s. ISHK's programs include the publication and distribution of books for adults and children that record a one-thousand-year-old oral tradition from Central Asia and the Middle East. These books have been positively reviewed by the major media and acknowledged as wise and relevant to our society's needs. We are even more interested in helping those books get into circulation in light of the latest tragic events — events which can so easily result in condemnation of nationalities and people of a different religion or color rather than of the individuals responsible for these horrific actions. Please increase your efforts at this time. Mention that our books will spread understanding and tolerance in lieu of the easier reaction: sweeping generalization and aggression. All of us can write to our local government representatives, local papers, etc., as part of an effort to neutralize “reactionism” with informed sense. Thank you, Robert Ornstein P.S. If you know of other ISHK volunteers who are not on email, but who may like to receive this letter, please forward it to them. Thank you very much.
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