Letters: Make Muslims welcome and defeat terrorism

These letters appear in the final print edition of The Independent, 26th March 2016

The Brussels attacks have prompted increased security measures across Europe (Getty Images)

There have been many reasons put forward as to why the atrocities in Paris, Brussels, London and elsewhere took place. But to me the reason is obvious.

The aim of the so-called Islamic State is to establish a worldwide caliphate with the Islamic flag flying over the White House, Downing Street, and the Palace of Versailles. But this is unlikely to be achieved by acts of terror, however distressing these are to the families immediately affected and to the wider population. They have killed hundreds; to achieve worldwide domination they need to subjugate millions. With this in mind, we need to reassess their aims.

I’m sure the real aim of these acts of terror is to get the non-Islamic population to turn against the Muslims and thus convert hundreds of young men and women to their diabolic cause.

So the siren voices in the west – the Donald Trumps, Nigel Farages, Marine Le Pens and the rest – have to be made aware that they are the recruiting sergeants for Isis. The leaders of the Western democracies need an immediate charm offensive among all Muslim communities, making sure they feel totally included.

Only thus can the enlightened world attain the unity that will ensure that all attempts to destroy our values are pathetic failures.

Stuart Russell

Cirencester

Stan Labovitch (letter, 24 March) asks, if western foreign policy is thought to be the cause of Islamic terrorism, what has Belgium done to deserve the recent bombs in Brussels?

Well, perhaps Daesh (Isis) don’t mind which bit of Western Europe they attack, and Belgium is an easy target. But whatever the cause, we have to begin from where we are now.

There is much discussion about the extent to which our freedom should be sacrificed in the interest of security. That, presumably, is what the terrorists want, and is precisely not what we should do.

It’s tempting to regard the bombers as mindless louts who deserve no sympathy, though many of them may be the victims of brain-washing. Either way, the extensive coverage given to them is probably a source of satisfaction, and may aid recruitment – should it not be reduced?

But if we really want to get to the root of the problem, surely the solution is to talk to them, unpalatable as that might be. The Northern Ireland situation didn’t improve until discussions took place.

Unfortunately this might not sit well with some politicians, who appear to prefer macho pomposity. We can only hope that they are holding talks behind the scenes, as John Major is alleged to have done with IRA members.

Susan Alexander

Frampton Cotterell, Gloucestershire

Change money at a bank? You’re joking

After a successful fundraising, I asked a local branch of a leading high-street bank to change £370 of coin into notes, as in previous years. This service was refused.

I was told that this was because “It wouldn’t show up as activity in their records”, “You don’t have an account” and “You don’t have a credit slip for another bank”. Astonishingly I was also asked “Why do you want the money changed?” as my arms lengthened under the weight of coins.

It seems that the idea of a local bank doing a simple service for someone local is now dead. That’s company policy.

I then spent half an hour vainly trying to get the North Yorkshire regional manager’s address from what is laughingly called Customer Service, a call centre in Mumbai. I was eventually given a number but it turned out to be unrecognised.

So I went to the Post Office, who did the job in 10 minutes.

Allan Friswell

Cowling, North Yorkshire

It is easy to mock the current platitudes used in customer service (letters, 25 March), but please don’t be too harsh.

Ten years ago, I worked in a special unit teaching what I called “misfits” (excuse non-PC terminology), 15- to 16-year-olds who could not fit in with school routines. One was a boy who was agonisingly shy and gauche, with low self-esteem, but methodical and intelligent.

He went into further education but work was hard to get around 2010. Three years ago he got a basic job on the check-out at a large local supermarket. Now it is a joy to see him amiable and chatty, initiating conversation with customers. Staff training may not be perfect, but it has enabled one very shrinking violet to flourish.

S Lawton

Kirtlinton, Oxfordshire

Software with the human touch

When Alan Turing, father of modern computing, invented the Turing test in 1950, to test a machine’s ability to exhibit intelligent behaviour indistinguishable from a human, he probably didn’t envisage an artificial intelligence (AI) chat robot being taught to swear and espouse racist propaganda by millions of Twitter users within 24 hours of going live.

That’s what happened when Tay, a robot developed by Microsoft, had to be taken down because the software firm said it was, “making some adjustments”. Tay is a small part of the wider growth in the trend for business automation software. Digital transformation is increasingly putting pressure on companies to sacrifice the human element of business to make digital services available, creating fears that robots will take our jobs.

As we develop digital services, businesses should remember that automation software should enhance human interaction, not replace it. Improvements in efficiency and profitability are only likely if AI is used to enhance human-to-human interaction. Passing the Turing test is great, but not if it fails to enhance relationships between people.

Stephen Parker

CEO, Parker Software

Knypersley, Staffordshire

A smear to silence critics of Israel

What can explain the furore over alleged antisemitism in the Labour Party? There seem to have been a few reprehensible instances of individual party members expressing racist stereotypes of Jews. But these are not the main target of the attacks against Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership. The true motivation is to discredit the party and its many pro-Palestine activists with a smear of antisemitism.

It is not antisemitic to support the international Palestinian campaign of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), nor to denounce the Israeli regime as an apartheid system. It is not even antisemitic to question the regime’s right to exist, just as it was not racist to deny the South African apartheid regime’s right to exist.

It surely is antisemitic to equate Jewish and Zionist identities. This racist stereotype silences many Jews and makes us more vulnerable to blame for Israel’s systemic war crimes. The true racists are those who blur the distinction between antisemitism and anti-Zionism in order to protect the Israeli regime from the BDS campaign.

Les Levidow

Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi

Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods, London

Wrong time for a Europe referendum

It is absurd to have a referendum on whether to stay in the European Union at this time. Europe is in turmoil, our political parties are in turmoil, and we have an appalling refugee crisis on our doorstep. It is not the moment to be making really long-lasting decisions.

How much more sensible to postpone it, save the expense and use the money to relieve the plight of those desperate refugees.

L Grant

Burwell, Cambridgeshire

The so-called in-out referendum is no such thing. The choice is between the United Kingdom being out of the European Union and being half out. A dismal dilemma for anyone who is thoroughly pro-EU.

Andrew Belsey

Whitstable, Kent

Hail and farewell

I was worried about going the way of the app, but as I read it today for the first time on my iPad I realised this really is progress. I hadn’t realised I’d get more detail than in the paper, such as additional photos on the German destroyers in Portsmouth Harbour.

Phew! I have read The Independent since day one, so this is a great relief.

Sean O’Hara

Robertsbridge, East Sussex

I’ve decided I like the app: it arrives before breakfast; I can read it while eating my toast; my wife can also read it on her iPad so we don’t argue about dismantling the paper; and finally I can wipe the marmalade off it and it’s still readable.

David Wallis

Cirencester

While you may disappear in paper form, one edition will live for ever in our hearts: 20 November 1993. We found each other through your original Independent Hearts column, and were married in 1995. Thank you.

Guy and Caroline Carmichael

London W1

It is difficult to understand how The Independent, which took such a principled stand against Britain’s illegal invasion of Iraq, will be out of print before the inquiry into that invasion goes into print.

J Samuel

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