Free pass on gay hatred? Turning a blind eye

[Ian David]

Free pass on gay hatred?
Turning a blind eye
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | November 24, 2008

Outside observers have been quick to criticize any signs of anti-Semitism connected to the new Roxbury mosque. But there has been little or no public comment about the virulent homophobia that can be found within the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB) and the Muslim American Society of Boston (MAS-Boston) communities.

BU's Stephen Young surveyed 50 local ISB and MAS-Boston members for a just-published dissertation on the ISB. They were asked on a numerical scale how strongly they agreed or disagreed with the statement: "Homosexuals are hardly better than criminals and ought to be severely punished." Rather than rejecting this extremist sentiment, the average response fell in the middle. The Arabs among those surveyed were most likely to agree.

"These things are settled in Islam," says Talal Eid, an imam in Quincy who is considered relatively moderate. "No Muslim group is going to say, 'We are going to teach that it is okay for people to be gay and lesbian.' That is not going to happen."

City Councilor Chuck Turner of Roxbury equates the Koranic defense of homophobia to the Biblical interpretations used by Southerners against blacks — "all that Noah and Ham bullshit, that was a thin veil to justify their racism."

Yet Turner and other local leaders strongly supportive of gay rights — including Mayor Thomas Menino and State Senator Dianne Wilkerson — have said little to condemn the astonishing bigotry that's being taught at the Cambridge ISB, and that might well be expected to find its way into the Roxbury mosque.



More:
http://thephoenix.com/Boston/News/72382-Free-pass-on-gay-hatred/


See prior threads:

2 local imams arrested in alleged visa scheme (at least 1 is anti-gay activist)
Topic started by IanDB1 on Nov-16-06 07:58 PM (6 replies)
Last modified by smirkymonkey on Nov-16-06 09:30 PM
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=158&topic_id=11231


Gays 'Threaten Society' Islamic Leader Says
Topic started by JI7 on Mar-01-05 07:15 AM (58 replies)
Last modified by ashmanonar on Mar-02-05 09:39 AM
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1274076

Abramoff -- His Crimes and Connections to Public Figures...
Topic started by Open Edit on Nov-11-05 06:24 PM (58 replies)
Last modified by chat_noir on Jun-10-08 08:53 AM
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=358&topic_id=597




Also:

Jewish World Review Dec. 2, 2003 / 7 Kislev, 5764
Queer allies
By Evan Gahr
http://www.jewishworldreview.com

The little-noticed alliance between gay marriage opponents and alleged terrorist sympathizers


The Massachusetts Supreme Court decision to legalize homosexual marriage in the Bay state re-ignited the culture wars. The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, perhaps the preeminent liberal Jewish organization in Washington, DC, applauded the ruling. Religious-minded conservatives, however, were horrified. They are determined to stop the gay rights movement in its tracks. At what price?

JewishWorldReview.com has discovered that prominent religious conservatives — Jews, Catholics and Evangelical Christians — are allied with a radical Islamic group to stop gay marriage. Pushing a constitutional amendment that would restrict marriage to heterosexuals, they work with the Islamic Society of North America. What is ISNA? According to terrorism expert Steve Emerson, ISNA:

* has held fundraisers for terrorists (e.g., after Hamas leader Musa Marzuk was arrested, it raised money for his defense, claiming he was innocent and not connected to terrorism)

* has condemned US seizure of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad assets in the United States after 9/11

* has consistently sponsored speakers at their conferences that defend Islamic terrorists. Recently, a leader denied in an interview with an NBC affiliate that ISNA took any Saudi money but that was a brazen lie as evidenced by a recording of an ISNA conference in which it was revealed that money came from Saudi Arabia.

"ISNA," says Emerson, "is a radical group hiding under a false veneer of moderation."

<snip>

Although efforts to contact some ISNA's colleagues were unsuccessful, those that were located hardly seemed perturbed when provided last week with detailed information — from impeccable sources — about ISNA. Thus far, it appears they'll remain with ISNA on the advisory board to the Alliance for Marriage, which has attracted considerable Congressional support for its much ballyhooed constitutional amendment to prohibit gay marriage.

More:
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/1203/marriage_terrorists.php3