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19 July, 2006 2:43 PM
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| Newsletter
No. 290
THE SHINGETSU NEWSLETTER CELEBRATES ITS FIRST ANNIVERSARY TODAY It was exactly one year ago today that the first Shingetsu Newsletter was delivered by e-mail to the membership. Today we have reached Newsletter No. 290, after a year of steady efforts. That means that we have averaged more than 24 newsletters a month for 12 months. But what is the Shingetsu Newsletter? Is it an informative newsletter? Yes, but it also provides analysis and commentary. Is it a discussion list? Yes, it does have that element. Is it a forum for the editor to speak his mind on relevant issues? Yes, but others are quite welcome to provide different or dissenting views. In Shingetsu Newsletter No. 1, the following statement of purpose was announced: “My objective in establishing the Shingetsu Institute is briefly this: I want to create a space where different scholarly and political communities can finally start to communicate with one another. It is time to move past general surveys of Japanese-Islamic relations and to explore more deeply, and in more convincing detail, what Japanese-Islamic relations has been, is now, could be, should be, and will be. It is time for interested scholars around the world to advance this field of studies beyond what it has been up until now.” For those tidy minds that desire the Shingetsu Institute to identify itself with some existing standard, our response is that we are trying to create a new standard, something that hasn’t really been seen before. Perhaps in the end, the Shingetsu Institute will take on the roles of blog, newsletter, discussion list, academic journal, and encyclopedia -- All of it available to the general public on the Internet. However, the precise evolution of the Institute remains to be seen. WHO ARE THE SHINGETSU MEMBERS? When the first Shingetsu Newsletter was sent out a year ago, there were 39 recipients. Since then, the membership list has expanded at an average of almost six new members every month. Over the course of the entire year, not a single member has permanently resigned their membership once they had joined. We now have -- in addition to the five members of the Board of Directors -- 110 active Shingetsu Members. I would now like to offer some general information about the identity of the members on this list, so that all of you can understand better who we are writing for. Gender Balance: 81 Males Employment Fields: 66 University Nationalities: 38 Japanese THE ISSUE OF MICHAEL PENN During the course of this year of growth and expansion, the Shingetsu Newsletter has been coordinated, edited, and often written by Michael Penn. However, it has recently been brought to our attention by one segment of the Shingetsu Membership that Mr. Penn is biased, one-sided, doctrinaire, totalitarian, and morally wicked. Furthermore, he is a PC Western liberal who thinks his readers are halfwits, and is probably racist and a lover of terror. In response to these assertions, the Shingetsu Institute has performed an in-house investigation and discovered to our dismay that all of the allegations are absolutely true. In addition, we have uncovered the facts that he is overweight and dresses funny, is a rascal and a rogue and an all-around shady customer. In order to find his replacement, we have conducted an exhaustive search of all of the bars, love hotels, and pachinko parlors in the city of Kitakyushu. Much to our regret, however, an alternative candidate willing to devote several hours to the Newsletter, seven days a week, has not appeared. We here at the Shingetsu Institute fully understand that Mr. Penn is woefully inadequate as a commentator and moderator for this list. All we can do is to offer our full and unreserved apologies to the membership: taihen moshiwake arimasen deshita [there is no excuse]. On the other hand, now that we have definitively resolved the question of whether or not Michael Penn is a terrible fellow, we hope that our discussions can return to specific issues related to Japanese-Islamic relations. A NEW POLICY Despite some recent complaints, we do not feel that any radical surgery is necessary to save the allegedly-ailing Shingetsu patient. Nevertheless, we are always open to useful new ideas that can help us introduce new refinements. Several weeks ago a Shingetsu member privately suggested that we might try to make a clearer distinction within our newsletters between straight information and editorial comments. In a less gentle way, the most recent debates have also touched on this issue. Therefore, starting now, we will announce at the head of each newsletter the category of contribution which it represents. The categories that we are currently considering are as follows: Editorial-Opinion Perhaps we may add a category or two in the future if it proves necessary. Although we will endeavor to make a clearer distinction between these various kinds of contributions to the newsletter, it is probably inevitable that not every individual member will be satisfied with how we define the difference between, say, analysis and opinion. Also, as previously noted, that obnoxious fellow Penn will be the editor once again, so who knows how much we can really trust this new policy! CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MEMBERSHIP In order to prevent this network from becoming simply the Monologue of the Rascal, it will be necessary for Shingetsu members to make a stronger independent effort to participate. Any member is free to send comments at any time. We would also like to see more newsletters written by the various specialists that this network has to offer. It should be understood that we don’t recognize two sides of the debate here. Rather, we recognize many sides, and many shades of opinion. All of them are welcome on this list. Our only ground rules are as follows: 1) The contribution must be
clearly relevant to Japanese-Islamic relations Beyond that, it’s more or less a free game. Dissenting views -- even sharply dissenting views -- are welcome within the rules stated above. The fact of the matter is that this is nothing new: the Shingetsu Institute was open, is open, and will continue to be open to all constructive viewpoints.
In conclusion, we earnestly hope that the second year of the development of the Shingetsu Newsletter will exceed the achievements of its first year. With your support and your active participation, we believe that this is a goal that can indeed be met.
Thank you. Michael Penn
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