On behalf of the Executive Committee of the IHEU, I
would like to warn all IHEU Member Organisations, our contacts,
supporters and colleagues that unknown people are using the Internet to
attack the IHEU and our Executive Director by distributing emails and
establishing Internet discussion groups in order to harm the IHEU,
undermine our credibility, and weaken the world-wide IHEU campaign to
save peace activist Dr. Shaikh, arrested in Islamabad in October 1999
and condemned to death on charges of blasphemy. Details of the IHEU's
world-wide campaign to save Dr. Shaikh can be accessed from our website
http://www.iheu.org/index.html
Some
of you by now are perhaps aware of the various unfounded accusations
made by Mssrs. "Mohammed Ansari" and "Abdul Latheef" to detract from the
campaign to save Dr. Shaikh. They claim to mail from Lahore and
Singapore and accuse the IHEU of fabricating letters in the name of Dr.
Shaikh. Their mails are worded as if dictated by Dr.
Shaikh himself, and accuse the IHEU of fabricating letters from Dr.
Shaikh.
"Ms. Susanna Pratt", who claims to live in Australia, has
also used certain Internet rationalist and humanist forums to attack the
IHEU and its officers and has transmitted or repeated the above
accusations. She has now created a new email discussion group, "Humanist
initiative", where anonymous attacks continue on the IHEU and its
officers. Many IHEU member organisations' and leaders' addresses -
available from the IHEU Directory and other Internet Humanist
directories - have also been added to this discussion list without their
prior permission.
Until a few months ago no one in the Humanist
movement had heard of any of these three individuals, nor were they ever
publicly connected either to organised Humanism or to the campaign to
save Dr. Shaikh. One can only speculate as to their true identities and
motives.
The IHEU would not normally dignify frivolous or
malicious anonymous allegations by according them attention. The case of
Dr Shaikh is, however, of great importance and sensitivity. Allegations
of this type can only damage the campaign on his behalf, as well as
causing dissension within the Humanist movement.
No-one at the
IHEU has ever been in doubt that the letter from Dr Shaikh that was
published in International Humanist News was in the same handwriting as
that of various other letters received from Dr Shaikh over the past ten
years. Careful checks have been made to verify the total accuracy of the
published copy of the letter. As forgery of letters is possible, we do
not want to make an extensive sample of Dr. Shaikh's handwriting
available at a time when we have not exhausted all the judicial avenues
in Pakistan.
One of our campaign activists has also managed to
meet with Dr. Shaikh, and a Representative of Amnesty International has
met with Dr. Shaikh's lawyer. Dr. Shaikh, who continues in solitary
confinement (although now with access to newspapers and writing
materials) with minimal outside contacts, has been at last fully
informed of the email and Internet allegations. He is dismayed by these
developments and has termed the fraudulent use of his name and
misrepresentation of his views a "grave misdemeanour" by "miscreants".
He has written in the following terms to the IHEU: "I must say I was
taken aback to hear about the fake email letter from the unknown Mr.
Mohammad Ansari and Mr. Abdul Latheef. I am in a solitary confinement
and cannot dictate letter to anybody, the policeman on duty or the
prison leader cannot write or speak or understand English language ...
And yes, I did send you my first message on a cigarette pack". Further
details from Dr. Shaikh's recent signed hand-written letters to the IHEU
are being held back for security reasons.
We do not want to be detracted from the real goal of
saving Dr. Shaikh through the lobbying of governments and international
institutions. We do not want to forget that Dr. Shaikh has already been
sentenced to death; and we are working to get an early date for the
appeal hearing in the High Court. The future safety of Dr. Shaikh, who
remains brave despite his circumstances, is our major
concern.
Scurrilous allegations have
throughout the ages been a disgrace to human culture. The Internet makes
it possible to make such allegations under cover of anonymity. It will
not be possible to address such issues each time irresponsible people or
our detractors raise them. Moreover, issues of extreme sensitivity and
strategic importance cannot be discussed in public fora like Internet
discussion groups. The IHEU`s increasing impact on the international
arena of freedom of religion and belief, our increased vigour in the
International fora and presence at the UN, and our campaigns and the
media coverage achieved by the organisation may be seen as a threat by
others. There could be many who would like to harm the campaign to help
Dr. Shaikh or to hurt the IHEU's or its Executive Director's
credibility.
On behalf of the IHEU of which you are a member, or
with whose campaigns you are associated, I therefore appeal to you:
Please take care, do not be misled. I would be grateful if you would
give wide circulation to this warning through your magazines, websites,
email groups and other contacts to give the lie to these false claims.
Please call us if you want any information verified and please let us
know if you have any ideas about who and what we are up against.
Meanwhile IHEU will continue to fight for Dr. Shaikh and his
safety, and for the abolition of blasphemy laws throughout the world.
Levi Fragell
President IHEU
