No dancing and no gays if Hamas gets its way

[hipipol]

Americas "religious" right

Have to have some tolerance of homosexuality as "their boys" in Bagram and Abu Ghraib are busy buggering all those nice brown boys
It would reduce morale if they were to be in any way "dissed", wouldn't it?

 

[oi2002]

Now, show me something similar from Palestine or even any other Islamic-controlled city or country.

It's always struck me that large numbers of US fundagelicals are screaming from within the closet. It's heartening to see them out shaking their booty.

Muslims are not obliged to hate the sin and love the sinner and such bachanailian excess would be an anathem to sober Islamic countries. The Al-Fatiha Foundation is the only Islamic gay rights orgainization I've heard of.

While you will find enthusiastic early adopters of the western lifestyle practice we call homosexuality all over the Islamic world the more macho Muslim cultures prefer to keep things to the historically traditional discrete preference for boys which is much safer than dallying with the ladies out of wedlock.

Alarm at certain rather too traditional Afghan warlords sexual preferences was a key reason for the rise of the eyeliner wearing Taliban. This brave chap found post Taliban Kabul with it's huggy all male social life rather to his tastes.

 

[Yossarian]

Surely you understand my point. The US religious right has a particular opinion and viewpoint, but it doesn't control the lives of those who disagree with them. The same can't be said for most countries with an active islamic fundamentalist representation.

That being the case, why support a war in Iraq that is having the net effect of bringing Sharia law to the country?


http://washingtontimes.com/world/20050916-102918-9346r.htm

 

[oi2002]

JC has a point here of couse. Here's a Kuwaiti enraged by the flood of snake hipped Philipinos corrupting the nations youth with their small hands.

Our own people open up hairdressing salons, and employ them, and they call it "massage", in order to make a few dinars. What a disgrace: that's a massage?! The massage I know is the kind you get at a public bath from Iranian masseurs who have hands this big. They say "Yes, sir" and begin to squeeze you. They give you a good wash and a massage, and that's fine. This is a proper massage given by a man to a man, but a wimp of the third gender – you want him to give me or you a massage? Just because it's called progress or civilization? Brothers, this is a disgrace.

My friends have told me things that actually happened... These things should not happen, and are logically, religiously, and legally unacceptable. People, let's be reasonable. Somebody who comes to Kuwait and wants to live a good life – may Allah bless him. Nobody would object to that, and we respect it. But when we get these... Excuse me for using this word... I'm ashamed to say it. I am honestly embarassed to say the word. They come to our country, and you can't tell if it's a man or a woman, and they are corrupting our youth. They walk down the street, striding in a disgraceful manner: [in English] "Hello, sir, how are you?" What is this? That's all we need.

 

[pbman]

pbman, would you vote for a gay hamas then?

Pro gun and republican and christian?

Running against barbara boxer?

In a NY minute.

 

[vimto]

Pro gun and republican and christian?

Running against barbara boxer?

In a NY minute.

So you have pro gay sympathies pbman?

 

[vimto]

Pro gun and republican and christian?

What with you being a Chickenhawk 'n'all?

 

[nino_savatte]

You really are a cowardly bully aren't you? You sure you've got enough people on your side here to make an intervention safely? You usually need at least 4 or 5 people with you before you dare to raise your head...

Problem, phil?

 

[nino_savatte]

Surely you understand my point. The US religious right has a particular opinion and viewpoint, but it doesn't control the lives of those who disagree with them. The same can't be said for most countries with an active islamic fundamentalist representation.

No, but it can ensure that its agenda becomes mainstream...as it already has.

 

[In Bloom]

Pro gun and republican and christian?

Running against barbara boxer?

In a NY minute.

So you'd vote for a member of Hamas as long as they were a Christian?

 

[Streathamite]

Surely you understand my point. The US religious right has a particular opinion and viewpoint, but it doesn't control the lives of those who disagree with them. The same can't be said for most countries with an active islamic fundamentalist representation.

errmm...you're not being clear, and the sitch is more complex than that. do you mean 'active islamist parties' or 'active etc in Government'?@ The two are v diff; Algeria, e.g. is a rigidly secular state where the highly active Islamist movements are the govt's principal suppression target.
and whilst most arab societies, or nations with a high proportions of muslims tend to have a more conservative, homophobic culture than - say - downtown LA - their societies are as ever-mutating, eddying as most societies and there IS - assuredly - a gay subculture in places like Leb, syria, Bahrain, even the UAE.
I should know, an Arab businessman in full keffiyeh tried to chat me up in the bar of the Dubai hilton!
(PS; Arabic society has always had a gay undercurrent. It goes back all the way to the poetry of Abu nuwas. That's 1,250 years+ by my reckoning)

 

[Roadkill]

Surely you understand my point. The US religious right has a particular opinion and viewpoint, but it doesn't control the lives of those who disagree with them. The same can't be said for most countries with an active islamic fundamentalist representation.

You must see that there is a huge similarity between them, though? Both, in the end, are people seeking impose their religious idea of a morally correct society on everyone else - and clamp down on groups deemed morally incorrect in the process.

But there is a big difference of degree, I agree, in the respective ability of Christian and Islamic fundies to force their agenda on the rest of their societies. The US is a secular state (no matter how much the fundies object!) with a liberal constitution and inbuilt protection for minorities; most of the states that the Islamists have great influence in are conservative, theocratic dictatorships, which gives them a lot more influence.

In the end, it just goes to show that religion and politics make an extremely dangerous combination.

 

[Streathamite]

/\/\/\/\
which is what I'd also have said, had I the time....
edit; except for

most of the states that the Islamists have great influence in are conservative, theocratic dictatorships

not necessarily; there are only 2 real islamic theocracies, KSA and Iran (Ironically a crypto-democratic theocracy), whereas Islamist organisations have real big sway in many more (eg algeria, egypt, Tunisia, Oman....)

 

[Roadkill]

not necessarily; there are only 2 real islamic theocracies, KSA and Iran (Ironically a crypto-democratic theocracy), whereas Islamist organisations have real big sway in many more (eg algeria, egypt, Tunisia, Oman....)

Fair comment.

Either way, i think the point stands that the places where Islamists have most clout are on the whole those with a lot less in the way of secular society and legal protection of minorities than the US of A.