All Arabic posts.
I have very recently deleted 2 posts that were all written Arabic and only Arabic content.
They contained many links to other all Arabic sites.
Example :
?????? ?????? ??????? ??????? 22-8-2014 ?? ?? ?????: ???????,??????,????,?????,??????,?????,?? ?????,?????,?????,?????,????…
On one link my name was auto inserted on it and below it wanted me to accept or decline.
If you see similar ones please flag them.
Please be very careful.
Ian
PS - The Muslim Council of Britain said today that the "radicalisation" (indoctrination and brainwashing) of islamic youth - is the fault of the British government because it does not give enough money to the muslim community to fight it.
= ISIS is our fault.
Unbelievable.
Thread now closed.
23 Answers
In my view Ian was absolutely right when he removed the entries in Arabic. First of all because they are not related to the purpose of this site, a learning site for both English and Spanish.
But there is more to it: we don't know the purpose of the people or the person who posted them. Observer may be right that advertising a sports event is perfectly harmless, but on SpanishDict it is also perfectly pointless. And we do know that jihadists are using the internet intensively for purposes of propaganda and recruiting more jihadist warriors. And seemingly harmless messages can very easily be used for other things, especially if they contain links to other sites. There is no need for hysteria or paranoia, but being naive would be unwise too.
heeey Marg come back please!!! You haven't said anything bad or wrong, it is your opinion and is valid and true because you have the ability to think as you like and if someone does not agree, what matter? at least say goodbye to us u_U
When taken at face value, your O W N response appears to recognize the fact that there is an underlying fear associated with the content of these Arabic messages/websites.
While you were not addressing me directly with your comment above, I will tell you that you are exactly right when it comes to me being afraid. Just this past week, I've seen dozens of them (messages in a language I don't understand)...all touting death and destruction of Western civilization as we know it. Y O U should be afraid.
Taking all of this into account, the comments that I addressed earlier do appear to be permeated by a sense of fear that is rooted in a lack of understanding of that which is foreign. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong, but from what I understand, that is a clear definition of xenophobia.
You are definitely wrong. Xenophobia is the fear of something unknown. Unknown? Are you kidding me? The work of savages is not unknown. We know full well what terrorists are capable of and this is the language of terrorism. Remember Daniel Pearl and just recently James Foley? I just heard on the news yesterday that the American government is expecting another 9/11 this year. They have earned the right to be fearful. Doesn't that make you shudder?
Currently, the world is in a terrible state of affairs, and everyone knows that!! If the poster of the original message had no malintent and wanted us to be able to understand the so called innocuous message, he or she could could certainly have translated it into Spanish or English to assuage any doubts. The fact that they posted and ran tells it all.
I believe it was a prank....they knew full well what they were doing and given the tension that is out there today, they are having a great laugh at our expense. It's very sad.
Thread now closed as promissed.
In my opinioin,nobody is over-reacting. It is better to err on the side of caution.
Margherite please come back. Ella you do not have to leave.
But to conclude that they must be related to terrorism based solely on the fact that they are written in Arabic....that's a bit of a stretch.
Tell that to the 30,000 Christians who were slaughtered underneath a black flag with that writing on it and to the little children who were cut in half simply as a show of force by terrorists who salute that flag or to the women who were raped and beaten before they were killed under that flag...that flag with the writing that strikes fear into the hearts of millions.
Friends, please don't get into an altercation ... I respect all the religions and mean no disrespect for any language ... but if we are on a spanish learning website, every member ought to observe the basic code of conduct ,, which also includes adhering to only those languages which serve the purpose the forum was created for ... If I get some other member fro my own country in the forum, I won't just start talking to him in Hindi (may be in the PMs I would but not in the forum) because any material posted in public on the forum needs to be written in a fashion that it is acceptable to every one and is understood atleast by the majority (if not all) .. So in my opinion ,, only two languages should be used inmthe forum.. Spanish and English .. again ,, no disrespect intended to any other lanhuage but it is only because other languages are outside the scope of the forum in my opinion ..
Regards.
Sir ian: You had every right to do what you did.
This is a site for learning and exchange, but there are always people who will attempt to pull our strings.
Obviously they have succeeded in their efforts by the reaction to said post.
We must all remember that fear is the most potent weapon that these people possess.
That is why they commit heinous acts in support of their cause.
They are the ones with fear in their heart.
We must never give in to their despicable efforts to create turmoil and bickering amongst ourselves.
Fight the good fight, and keep your head!!!!
Jimmy, you are absolutely correct that we should only use Spanish and English for our posts on this site (unless referring to a root word or phrase that has origins in another language, I suppose...). I don't believe anyone is debating that issue.
Based on that statement, Margherite, I owe you an apology for responding in Arabic earlier. It was a smartass thing to do and was unnecessary on my part. I am sorry.
I think the main point of contention that I currently have is with Arabic being referred to as a "language of terrorism." That seems unfairly stereotypical to the nearly 300 million native speakers of the language, the vast majority of which I do not believe to be terrorists.
Margherite, you mentioned that "I have no argument with Vevans statement that English is also the language of homeland terrorists." I think we should be able to agree on the same sentiment for Arabic. It is commonly the language of a certain group of terrorists, but the language itself is not terroristic.
Thank you , Ian
I think they were /are trying to gain converts to Islam but it looks more like the actions of those minority who are trying to recruit people to literally fight as terrorists in the name of Islam
That comment was probably a bit over the top.
While the content of the message in question could certainly be classified as "spammy," there was nothing in it suggestive of either Islam or terrorism. In fact,it appears that the only thing sinister going on was a "recruitment" of viewers to watch a match between two football clubs, Zamalek and Crescent.
While it is certainly not my place to tell anyone what to think or how to speak, I do think that such xenophobic comments are, at the very least, unproductive and, at their very worst, discriminatory.
I will close this thread tomorrow - my morning = in about 12 hours.
This gives all the chance to make a contribution.
This thread has had about 400 views since I closed it and then opened at again about 12 hours ago.
Anyone can PM me about my decision.
All the best - Ian
Ian Hill closed two posts that were written in Arabic , they also contained links to
sites that may be for recruiting converts to their cause . This in itself was a
valid cause to close them , the fact that they had nothing to do with learning
English or Spanish was another valid reason , that should be the end of it .
But to conclude that they must be related to terrorism based solely on the fact that they are written in Arabic....that's a bit of a stretch.
Yes, to come to that conclusion would be a stretch, but to entertain that notion as a possibility in today's world? Not so much. Caution doesn't seem out of order under the circumstances.
In the world we live in just now I don't agree - just consider what is going on around you Observer. It has nothing to do with discrimination or racism . How dare you!!! How dare you accuse anyone of xenophobia? Today these >fears are N O T unfounded.
I would be more than happy to account for my earlier statements.
First of all, I based my response on the information provided in this post. I also chose my words carefully. Not once did I use the term "racism." Arabic is not a race, it is a language.
I took the comments at face value.
When taken at face value, the comments made earlier imply that the Arabic in the example given above is directly linked to Islamic terrorism.
When taken at face value, the Arabic script above has nothing to do with such nefarious ideas but with the much more innocuous topic of football.
When taken at face value, neither the original poster nor the person to whom my original response was directed appear capable of deciphering or understanding the content of the Arabic writing.
When taken at face value, your O W N response appears to recognize the fact that there is an underlying fear associated with the content of these Arabic messages/websites.
Taking all of this into account, the comments that I addressed earlier do appear to be permeated by a sense of fear that is rooted in a lack of understanding of that which is foreign. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong, but from what I understand, that is a clear definition of xenophobia. Based on this, I think that it would be a bit difficult to defend the idea that there was nothing at all discriminatory in the remarks made earlier.
What you probably don't know is that the poster used "way2allah" as his SD name and is no longer a member. How do you know what was in them? - there were 2 - I deleted them. They contained scores of links.
The fact that the poster used this as his SD name or that he is no longer a member do not change the facts above. My own judgement was based solely on the actual content of the messages provided. As far as what was in the previous posts, I have no idea. I also know nothing as to what was at the other end of any of the "scores of links" that were included in these earlier posts—nor would I have even had I been given the opportunity to view them. Clearly, these posts were spam and unrelated to the purpose of this forum and were rightly deleted. Equating spam with Islamic terrorism, however, is probably unnecessary, but this is just my opinion.
'not my place to tell anyone what to think or how to speak' - I think you just did
I did no such thing. I simply gave an opinion that was counter to the one being expressed. It's neither my prerogative nor my desire to censor anyone on this forum. As far as I am concerned, everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion and has the right to peacefully defend or give an account for any position that they hold. That being said, I do think it fair to say that, in a multicultural language learning environment, some attitudes or beliefs can oft times be counterproductive.
In my own neck of the woods, there are many people who exhibit overt hostility to those who speak Spanish and seem determined to equate all that is wrong with our community or society with the ability to speak Spanish. Again, such fears appear rooted in a mistrust of that which is unknown or unfamiliar. I just find it a bit ironic to encounter a similar attitude being expressed on a forum dedicated to exploring the exquisite unfamiliarity found in a foreign tongue.
