So polite, and they even spell my name correctly! And offer me a free weekend in London!
Dear PZ Myers
Hope you are well. As part of our ethos we would like to extend our hand of friendship to leading intellectual figures that hold views contrary to our own. With this spirit we would like to invite you to London for a dialogue on Islam and Atheism. Please let us know if you are available on any 3 weekends between January and March.
We will cover any associated costs of your travel, accommodation etc. We hope you accept our offer for a fruitful dialogue. Here is an example of one our past events:
Regards
Subboor
Now I have a dilemma, and will leave it to my readers to help me decide how to respond.
Is the correct answer “No” or “Hell no!”?
(In case you don’t know what the iERA is, here’s one helpful explanation.)
“Fucking hell, no way!” is also an option, I suppose.
I wish the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain was rich enough to fly me off to London. That invitation, I’d accept.
The topic of atheism in Islam is definitely not a dialogue.
“Fucking hell, no way!” sounds good until they condemn the persecution of atheists in Muslim countries. Since that has the proverbial “snowball’s chance in hell” of happening, good riddance.
@Saad #2:
It is somewhat one-edged, er, sorry, one-sided.
@PZ #1:
A return flight is about £700. The Richard Dawkins Foundation helps fund the Council, doesn’t it? :)
IMO, there are few audiences in more dire need of hearing your message.
I just read something interesting about atheism and Islam today. It’s a “debate” with an atheist (and one of his friends) on Egyptian TV. It’s chilling.
C’mon, what can be more appealing than a rational and civilized discussion about the appropriateness of cutting off hands?
Mine is definitely a vote for “Fucking hell, no way!”, especially because, polite as their missive may superficially appear, it is important to remember that this is a movement of extreme islamist dominionists who have scant interest in any earnest dialogue with anyone who doesn’t share their beliefs, and indeed have advocated violence against those who oppose their agenda in the past.
Meeting with them only confers upon their odious movement legitimacy it does not deserve.
You want to respond to junk mail?
Can you supply any indication from sources outside of yourself that they will actually listen rationally to PZ? My magic 8 ball™ says “NO WAY IN HELL”. PZ would only be there to legitimize the concept that they listen *snicker* to other points of view.
I’d go with a simple “Fuck off”.
I remember these guys…they are most certainly not interested in a fruitful dialogue, they just want to buy themselves a mask of respectability and legitimacy. Fuck the lot of them.
Accept the offer from the IRA on the condition of a substantial donation to the CEMB and Fitna.
How about “Yes, for a $350,000 speaking fee and subject to this contract specifying everything from the means by which I travel (private jet, I charter and you pay) to what snacks will be served prior to the talk (bowl of M&Ms, green ones only).”
Basically, a variation of the terms you proposed for being interviewed by creationists.
I say go, and tell them some truth. So much truth you never get invited back.
Also ransack the minibar on their dime. And make sure they know it.
A polite, dignified response would be appropriate for their cordial invitation. “Eat shit and die” is perhaps a bit harsh, so “consume something disagreeable and become seriously ill” might be proper.
Count me for “HELL, NO!!!” I for one would not like to see you return with your hands cut off, as that jackass apparantly advocates.
“Fuck off” definitely works for me.
I believe the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation’s accidental slogan is relevant here – their actual slogan is “Share And Enjoy” which, when displayed in three mile high letters that subsequently collapse under their own weight so that only the top half shows above ground and reads, in the local language, “go stick your head in a pig.”
I wouldn’t normally advocate such a response to an Islamic group or person, as it’s probably a bit more overtly offensive and tasteless when aimed toward them, but I think I could get over that in this instance.
You are more principled than I am, certainly. I’d take the free trip to London, even if I had to listen to the time-share sales pitch, or whatever it is they want to talk to you about.
The only appropriate reponse is: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Are you out of your fucking mind? No thank you. Sincerely etc…
cowardly me would reply, [EOM]
with no affirmation, nor declination {i.e. excluding a “yes”, or “no”, response }.
Just give a simple acknowledgement that the invitation was received and considered.
Perhaps the silent response will speak louder than words, without giving offense.
@Athywren #18:
Tragically for the potential flowering of an inter-species relationship, the tight-knit group of inbred degenerate sociopaths to whom this invitation descended mis-interpreted it as “go stick your knob in a pig.”
The rest, as they say, is history. Photos forthcoming.
Penny L @ 5:
Why, I’m sure they’d welcome you for a talk on atheism and Islam. You should contact them right away.
Sff9 @ 6:
[From linked article]:
Jesus fuck. That was one helluva read, and terrifying.
Just hit the Delete button and move on – life’s too short.
I was polite and replied. One word.
I was channeling my inner Lana Kane.
Should have replied with this cephalopodic gif:
http://thiscango1of2ways.tumblr.com/post/29940354079/its-935pm-and-the-x-files-theme-comes-on-itunes
At first I thought it might be interesting then I read the website you linked too describing the founding and positions of iERA at Rationalwiki. Well they seem to be a bunch a vicious, brutal theocrats anxious to impose the Totalitarian rule of the Saints. Their hatred of freedom could not be more blatant. There is absolutely no point in dignifying a group of Stalinist like Religious nutjobs by engaging in a “dialogue” with them anymore than engaging in a “dialogue” with those who earnestly desire to torture, kill and oppress. (Which these idiots most definitely desire to do.)
These guys want a “dialog” with an atheist in the same way that Hamas wants “peace” with Israel.
Did you swap your nouns around there, whheydt?
Can you say you will consider it after they donate $500,000 to the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain? Not enough? 1 Milllliiiioooon Dollars?
Re: Sili @ #30…
No.
Isn’t he the one who enforces gender-segregated seating at his events, with women in the back rows? Fuck him. Let him pay your round trip fare, so you can laugh directly in his smug face before showing him your back.
thebookofdave @ 33;
The problem with this scenario is that, given the extreme, often eliminationist rhetoric of this organisation, there is a non-negligible chance that they might react by plunging a knife into the proffered back. It would be possible to mitigate that risk by making sure the meeting takes place in public, but it is still a chance that it might be inadviseable to take.