vincentML
Posts: 9980
Joined: 10/31/2009 Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: dcnovice quote:
In Nigeria such behavior carries a maximum judicial death sentence. A trial of seven men was prevented by a lynch mob hostile to the defendants. I have read recently that evangelicals from America have been influential in promoting anti-gay laws in African nations. Perhaps someone else has more info on that. In any event, it appears the Biblical/Quaran injunction is still operative. This is interesting--and heartbreaking--but it doesn't address what I said. From my perspective as a gay man, the landscape is sharply mixed. There's been amazing progress--some of which, such as gay marriage, I never expected to see in my lifetime. And there are places where bigotry remains in the most hideous forms. To be honest, I'm not sure what point you're trying to make. Probably because my point sometimes evolves while I think and write on an issue. I agree the landscape is sharply mixed. I found this that might be interesting: There are at least 83 countries where homosexuality is condemned in the criminal code; 26 of these are Muslim countries and in seven the death penalty for persons presumed guilty of homosexual acts makes sexual minorities extremely vulnerable. In spite of such obstacles, same-sex relationships do take place, even in the most repressive countries. Sometimes the very segregation of the sexes allows for intimacy between people of the same sex without it being considered abnormal. There are positive examples of same-sex relationships to be found in different Muslim cultures, e.g. in travelling theatre and musical groups and in poetry. Controversy regarding the position of Islam on homosexuality is ongoing, as the Qur'an is far from clear on the issue. There is also a strong connection between homophobic assaults by fundamentalists and those directed against women who do not “behave”. Sexuality and sexual conformity may be the focus of attention by fundamentalist forces because individual choice and autonomy, especially for women, is seen as a threat. Despite a threatening environment, sexual minorities are organising and becoming more visible in Muslim countries and communities; whether mainly political, social or religious in their motivation, these organisations all aim at breaking the isolation faced by sexual minorities. The above suggests that religion is just a tool to preserve heterosexual male hegemony. I guess Patrimony is the more direct word. SOURCE
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