Two issues have dominated the headlines over the last couple of weeks - The upcoming same-sex marriage postal plebiscite and the wearing of a burqa into Parliament House by Pauline Hanson.
I've commented on both separately, but it struck me how linked they are!
There is great irony that those who support same-sex marriage also have been loud in their condemnation of Hanson's attack on the burqa.
It has struck me that the Left has aggressively jumped to the defence of both the Muslim and LGBTI community. This strikes me so because these two groups are obviously incompatible.
The Islamic world is about as hospitable to homosexuals as Pluto is. (I didn't suggest Uranus for obvious reasons...)
Not only do Muslims not want same-sex marriage, but they don't even think homosexuality should be legal. A higher percentage think homosexuals should be killed, than think it is acceptable behaviour.
Here's a map of the Muslim population in every country. The darker the green, the higher the percentage of Muslims in the country:
And in 2011 the UN General Assemble held a vote in support of LGBT rights. The blue countries supported the motion, the red countries opposed it (the grey ones neither supported, nor opposed it).
The correlation is striking!
Seven countries in the world punish homosexuality with death - Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iran, Afghanistan, Sudan, Mauritania, and northern Nigeria. Guess what the major religion for all seven countries is?
The Islamic worldview is uniquely hostile to homosexual rights.
We have to be able to reject racism and conservative Islam.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_in_Islam
http://www.pewglobal.org/2013/06/04/the-global-divide-on-homosexuality/
I've commented on both separately, but it struck me how linked they are!
There is great irony that those who support same-sex marriage also have been loud in their condemnation of Hanson's attack on the burqa.
It has struck me that the Left has aggressively jumped to the defence of both the Muslim and LGBTI community. This strikes me so because these two groups are obviously incompatible.
The Islamic world is about as hospitable to homosexuals as Pluto is. (I didn't suggest Uranus for obvious reasons...)
Not only do Muslims not want same-sex marriage, but they don't even think homosexuality should be legal. A higher percentage think homosexuals should be killed, than think it is acceptable behaviour.
Here's a map of the Muslim population in every country. The darker the green, the higher the percentage of Muslims in the country:
And in 2011 the UN General Assemble held a vote in support of LGBT rights. The blue countries supported the motion, the red countries opposed it (the grey ones neither supported, nor opposed it).
The correlation is striking!
Seven countries in the world punish homosexuality with death - Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iran, Afghanistan, Sudan, Mauritania, and northern Nigeria. Guess what the major religion for all seven countries is?
The Islamic worldview is uniquely hostile to homosexual rights.
Just 4% of Muslims believe Homosexuality should be accepted, according to a 2013 Pew Research study.
A Gallup poll in 2009 showed that none of the 500 British Muslims polled believed homosexuality to be "morally acceptable". Zero.
Now, just because you want equality for the LGBTI community, does not mean you have to hate Muslims. Obviously it is possible (and preferable) to stand up for the rights of all.
But I think the Left are so reflexive in their defence of minorities, they sometimes end up supporting some pretty horrible ideologies. Conservative Islam has to be viewed as one of these.
We have to be able to reject racism and conservative Islam.
So when we defend Muslims, we need to be careful what we are defending. Yes, we should defend their dignity as human beings. But we also need to be loud in our condemnation of their world views that are incongruent with the secular, liberal democracy we all enjoy.
We should, especially, be supporting any moderate Muslims who are trying to reform their religion and make it compatible with our secular liberal democracies, rather than trying to create Islamic theocracies that force Islamic law on to all citizens.
If the majority of Muslims hate homosexuals and want an Islamic state, we have to be able to publicly reject this.
If the majority of Muslims hate homosexuals and want an Islamic state, we have to be able to publicly reject this.
***
http://www.pewglobal.org/2013/06/04/the-global-divide-on-homosexuality/
Answer - Yep. But what can you realistically expect to be done about a belief that is so fundamentally entrenched? I've been reading up about Islam and sexuality before responding here - interesting to note that the extreme hard-line response is a fairly modern understanding. Both Islam and Christianity have very messy pasts around sex in some areas and less so in others than exist now. Are religions going sideways and backwards in a desperate attempt to maintain power/relevancy? And why always around sex ffs? Is there progression? Why do the masses of people buy the hate these hijackers in authority are selling?
ReplyDeleteIt's hard for me not to see those masses as unenlightened, uneducated, easily led and spiritually immature. And feel superior. I have to remind myself that I value and believe in equality. I have to ask myself would I still be who I am and believe what I believe if I had been brought up in another country under essentially a theocracy...I'd like to think I still could be - I have to highly doubt it. I too am much a product of circumstance, but yes, we must be more than that.
I feel pretty defeatist on all this. The Islamic world feels a long way from reformation on this issue. Heck, Christianity is only arguably barely at that point in this country. With regards to SSM, I doubt the percentage of Muslims will prevent it from happening so it barely feels worth bringing it up. But what about all the LGBTIQA in those red marked nations? Offer asylum? Hopefully in time the west's lead and yes - maintaining a dialogue on it - standing up for the oppressed etc. will make a difference.
I've actually been pondering because of this post whether to strike up a dialogue with the Muslim family living next door about their thoughts on homosexuality and SSM. They'd be fine with it, we get along great, really good levels of respect and they seem pretty cool and laid back, I assume they're pretty darn moderate. Maybe I should. I probably wont cos I feel like I'll be really disappointed...(they could surprise me)...and yet I'd have that conversation with Christian mates even though it'd be awkward. Reading between the lines - Am I more tolerant of one than the other, am I harbouring misgivings still toward one or the other?
My neighbours kids play in the garden, they love my dog. The whole family always says hello when we cross paths. They go to school, work, worship. They go on holidays and we watch their house as they do ours when we are away. They are utterly normal. They were raised within a different culture to me. I've come to see culture as being shared symbols of meaning - symbols that tell a narrative - that tell us who we are - that we can rally around. I reckon my neighbours and I share a lot of common understanding but yeah...it's bound to be different on a few understandings.
I guess we come back to, that hopefully we enough in common with others than is different so that we can dialogue about the differences openly and respectfully.
Changing an entrenched belief is hard work, but can be done. I've changed many beliefs I grew up with. I'm sure I am left with more that I haven't change. They key in my mind, is to encourage everyone, regardless of how horrendous I think their views are, to be willing to share their ideas. We must challenge those who stymie conversation by labelling people as racist, tree-hugger, biggotted, bleeding hearted, etc. If we think someone has an unhelpful view, we need to engage in conversation, not debate.
ReplyDeleteWhy do the masses buy the hate being sold? Because the penalties for not believing them are severe.
I think it's very unlikely you or I would have the views we have if we had the misfortune of being born into Iran or Saudi Arabia. The work ahead for moderates in these countries is immense. I am unsure what non-Muslims can do to help these people, as any alignment with them hurts their cause domestically.
But don't feel defeated! Look at the rubbish in Leviticus and see how far Christianity has come! If you want to feel defeated, think about Climate Change or AI. These are the things that could really destroy civilisation. You can take this as a positive or a negative, but as Mandela said: "it always seems impossible till it is done."
So long as you aren't worried about them beheading you in their backyard, I'd encourage that conversation with your neighbours! Respectful conversation is king!
Cheers for taking the time to respond, means a lot!