In case you missed the news, Orlando suffered the worst terrorist attack in the United States since 9/11 on June 12th 2016. An Islamic Terrorist killed 50 people, and injured over 50 more at a “gay bar” in Orlando. Before the shooting started, the terrorist called 911 and pledged his allegiance to ISIS.
I hear it every time there is another Islamic Terrorist killing people. “It is a fringe minority”. But is it really?
In America, murder is punishable by the death penalty. Not everyone in the USA agrees with the death penalty, but almost all of us agree that murder is bad. Pretty much, the only thing (other then murder) that can get you the death penalty in the USA is espionage, or treason. Some people are also against the death penalty for these acts, but most still agree that they are wrong.
I bring this up to demonstrate that it is fair to conclude that if a country, as a whole, has capital punishment (the death penalty) for a particular crime, then most people in that country likely believe that the offense is a crime.
Yemen, Iran, Iraq, Mauritania, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) all have the death penalty for homosexuality. That is 10 entire Muslim countries that think killing people for being gay is okay. Al-Fatiha estimates that 4,000 homosexuals have been executed in Iran since their revolution in 1979. This is not some “fringe minority”.
Recently, a Muslim Scholar was recorded as saying that homosexuals need to die, and killing them is the compassionate thing to do. In a 2013 speech Sheikh Sekaleshfar said this regarding gays, “Death is the sentence. We know there’s nothing to be embarrassed about this, death is the sentence…We have to have that compassion for people, with homosexuals, it’s the same, out of compassion, let’s get rid of them now.”
What is even more disturbing is that this man was in the Orlando area speaking at a local Mosque weeks before this despicable act of terrorism took place.
I am all for free speech. People should be able to say whatever they want, however, it is the duty of everyone who doesn’t agree with that speech to not give those people a venue to express their toxic views. This vile person should not have been allowed to speak, much less invited to speak, at a Mosque (or any other venue) in the USA. This man, as well as all the people that supported his visit to central Florida are complicit in the horrendous act of terror that has happened in Orlando.
Of course, all of Islam does not follow this tenant. The Hanafite school of Islam (currently seen mainly in South and Eastern Asia) teaches that no physical punishment is warranted for homosexuality. Gay Imam Ludovic Mohammed Zahed (from France) says “Allah does not speak out against homosexuality in the Quran”. So it is clear that not all Muslims share this hatred of homosexuality. However, it is far more then a “Fringe Minority”. I feel that it is the responsibility of the more sensible Muslim leaders to constantly denounce the hate that is being spewed by the Muslims that promote hatred. When they do not, they are
Some people may claim that Christianity holds the same animosity toward homosexuals. This is not true. No Christian nation holds homosexuality as a crime punishable by death. Although there are fringe groups (like Westboro Baptist Church) that claim that “God Hates Fags”, it is clear from scripture that God doesn’t hate anyone. People who hold these beliefs are not following the teachings of Christ who said in John 13:14 “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.”.
The Episcopal Church affirmed at the 1976 General Convention that homosexuals are “children of God” who deserve acceptance and pastoral care from the church and equal protection under the law.
The Catholic Church states in the Catechism of the Catholic Church “The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible… They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.”.
Anyone who makes the claim that their religious sect advocates violence against homosexuals is themselves an evil person who should be chastised and repudiated by the rest of the followers of their faith. And when entire nations promote such violence based off of religious ideologies, the should be expelled from the community of nations. There population should be denied the freedom to travel to other nations that do not share their views, and they should be denied aid by countries that do not share their views. (Of course, their should be exceptions for people who are fleeing the oppression of those regimes who denounce those beliefs).
To eliminate this behavior, it is necessary to isolate the people with these beliefs, and not let them co-mingle with humanity at large. And yes, that means we need to stop buying oil from Saudi Arabia. We need to stop vacationing to Dubai. We not to immediately stop giving hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Nigeria.
By continuously supporting countries that advocate the death of homosexuals, both financially, and socially, we are, in effect, supporting the murder of homosexuals. This needs to stop.
