Ave, Sandum Citizens!
For once more in the past month, those from “New Israel”, who continue to attack and denounce the LGBTQ community, have been banned from the Forum of the MicroWiki community, a place where many micronationalists use as a platform of diplomacy and discussion. Hereby referenced as “Sean Anderson” and “Markus Abernathy”, Penda and Markus II of New Israel have been banned after a religious discussion on repentance, a near-command from the two missionaries. The preaching comes in the face of the respect of the sovereignty of foreign states, the deserved respect of heads of state, and further cements the two as those who will refuse to accept the rule of international law concerning the dignity of foreign states, heads of states, and the dignity of human rights.
Here in the State of Sandus, we consider it to be a degradation to human dignity to proselytise another people. We are certain of this offence to human dignity because proselytising, by any religion, is an action inwhich one assumes another people to be inferior to one’s own. It is, as well, a violation of the freedom of religion of those who are proselytised; by proselytising and preaching to other peoples, one is refusing to extend to them their right to worship freely and privately.
The sort of proselytising these two micronationalists were doing was especially heinous: it ran in the face of all micronationalists to be told to repent and accept their religion or commit themselves to pain and suffering. Whilst they have the free right to practice this, they do not possess the free right to attack others’ dignities for this practice of religion. Any such sort of religious practice, which until now has been done near-exclusively by the Christian population and especially by the fundamentalist and conservative segments of the intermicronational community, violates both human dignity and human rights, but also establishes those who commit such atrocities of respect to be of an antiquated mind.
Proselytisation is, above all else, a form of imperialism, which can be defined as the imposition of a power over another power or population. This is most clearly the case when a nation, let alone an empire such as New Israel, conducts it. It imposes the power of one church or of one belief upon another population. Sometimes, just as political or military imperialism, this imperialism is futile. In other cases, it may be successful and a vanquished population may find themselves to be new converts. In all cases of religious imperialism, however, one can observe the violation of human dignity and human rights.
The State of Sandus actively opposes any form of proselytisation. It is our consideration that religion ought to be voluntary and true to heart and mind, not imposes either by force or power, or by time and heritage. In our Nation-State, we consider religion to be a matter of private importance but one importance that we must accept diversity in so as to create a better nation. Sandus is home to the Collegio Sacerdae; though the Collegio may be primarily influenced by polytheism, we do extend the Collegio to Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and other non-Polytheist forms of religion. In Sandus, we respect all peoples and, in light of this act, especially regardless of their religion. In Sandus, we promote the human dignity, human respect, and human worth of all peoples; those who seek to degrade the human worth of others instead lose their own to us.
In hope that peace may prevail,
— Sôgmô Gaius Sörgel Publicola
Edit: This article has been edited as of XIX Quintilo MMXIV (19 July 2014) to reflect the want of privacy for M. Abernathy, whose named have been changed in the article.
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