Anonymous group asks 'Why are they dead?'

Flyers stating the Web site Whyaretheydead.net signed by "Anonymous" were hung last week all over the university campus. The Web site is an anti-Scientology Web site listing believers of the faith who have died.

The Church of Scientology refers to Anonymous as "a group of cyber-terrorists who hide their identities behind masks and computer anonymity."

Carol Bedgar, staff assistant for Residence Life, said all flyers must be stamped by Residence Life before they can be hung up around campus. The flyers signed by Anonymous did not get Residence Life approval.

"If it wasn't approved, a resident assistant or hall director or someone who would see them would take them down," Bedgar said.

Members of the anti-Scientology group Anonymous do not openly share their identities. Anonymous declared their hatred towards Scientologists after releasing a YouTube video in July 2007. Feb. 10 was a worldwide day of protest by Anonymous.

Whyaretheydead.net claims the Scientology followers died because of their beliefs.

Susan Taylor, public affairs director for the Church of Scientology in Washington, D.C., stated in an e-mail message that those people listed as dead on Whyaretheydead.net died because of natural causes or accidents.

In a statement from the Church of Scientology, Taylor said Anonymous justifies its actions against Scientologists by saying the Church members do not have free speech rights, but it is Anonymous that suppresses free speech through "illegal assaults on Church Web sites so as to prevent Internet users from obtaining information from the Church."

The Church of Scientology said its members are being harassed through e-mail, telephone calls, faxes and the mailing of suspicious white powder to several Churches.

Mark Ebner, who was the first journalist to write about Scientology by joining the organization undercover, said he has no direct affiliation with Anonymous, but believes its members are well-organized and bring significant amounts of people to the anti-scientology movement.

"[People in Anonymous] are very open-minded when it comes to religion and very vociferous about their opposition to dangerous cults," Ebner said.

In a statement from the Church of Scientology, it is said the "Communist Manifesto" by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels and Adolf Hilter's "Mein Kampf" are Anonymous' guiding literature and "quite obviously, this group is not just anti-Scientology, it is anti-freedom of religion and anti-free speech."

Richard Hanley, professor of philosophy, said he finds Anonymous' tactics unusual, but can understand the logic in its responses to Scientology.

"I guess the anonymous part is kind of weird, but I guess that's in response to Scientology's very aggressive defense of their doctrines and their legal standing," Handley said.

Scientologists keep track of all Web sites mentioning their religion as rumors spread of Anonymous disabling pro-Scientology Web sites, he said.

"If the rumors seeking to disable Scientology Web sites are true, then I disapprove of that," Hanley said.

He said he thinks Scientology is "nonsense" but understands why people are attracted to the religion.

"It's a fairly recent religion and one of the things we know about Scientology is who started it," Hanley said. "That makes it a little bit unusual. But it seems to me it has a lot of the basic features that many religions have."

Ebner said he finds faults in Scientology and said the theology does not have a charitable arm.

"Scientology is designed as not so much as a religion, not anything like a religion, but more as a multi-level marketing scheme," he said. "You have to pay for any 'services' on an escalating scale."

Reverends of Scientology use mind-control techniques on their followers, Ebner said.

"They cut them off from the media, their families," he said. "They have a disconnection policy that is in effect."

Scientology has two aspects that make the doctrine totalitarian - clearing the planet so that followers focus on their analytical mind rather than their reactive mind and wiping out psychiatry and other manifestations of mental health care, Ebner said.

He described Scientology as an organization whose founder, science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, was solely concerned with making money.

"It's an evil, criminal mind-control cult with a goal of making money and wiping out psychiatry and what they call degraded beings," Ebner said.

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