"Petty and cruel dictator" Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to Columbia University to speak but was surprised by the reaction he got. Not only was he embarrassed but he also was forced into some rather bizarre statements.
Chief among them was that there are "No homosexuals in Iran." That probably comes as a shock to the homosexuals featured in the three part CBC feature on gays in Iran (below) and homosexuals who are murdered by the Islamic republic.
Iran's treatment of homosexuals is sadly not uncommon. While many in the first world dispute over whether or not rights should be created so homosexuals may marry; very few call for gays to be executed or imprisoned. The third world is different. Just look at the (NOTE: LINK CURRENTLY DOWN) map and read the article about the primarily African and Islamic laws against gays. Gay author and reporter Bruce Bawer is an American who left the United States to escape what he saw as the Christian Right trying to limit his freedoms. What he encountered was a backwards culture which wanted him dead.
It is unfortunate that realpolitik is interfering with those who see themselves normally as the champion of "gay rights." Let all of us unite for the right to life for all people.
4 comments:
The gap is exactly 622 years large. Muslims live in 1385 after Muhammad's Hegira. Remember how "public morality" was enforced in 1385 in the Christian world, and you'll find ayatollahs have very civilized manners compared to the Inquisition...
Goulu,
That explanation doesn't cut it for me. Considering not all those countries are Islamic and remember for a time the Muslim world was more advance than Western Europe. The idea that a founder of the religion "restarts the clock" is deeply flawed. Mormons should be way primitive and Jews should be on the moon by that logic.
I believe western cultures are using appeasement in dealing with extreme Islamic conduct. We will all pay a price for this.
MMM
Your link to the African map is not working.
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