Showing posts with label persecution. Show all posts
Showing posts with label persecution. Show all posts
Monday, July 06, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali's campaign against homosexuality worries George Pitcher.
If you're reading, Bishop Michael, I really didn't want to have another pop at you about your trenchant and sometimes bizarre views about what constitutes Christian truth. As to the rest of you reading this, I'm sorry if it looks as if whenever Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, who retires as Bishop of Rochester in September, makes a public statement I launch an attack on him. Believe me, the routine is tiresome for me, too.
But his comments in yesterday's Sunday Telegraph, which he is expected to repeat today, that homosexuals should "repent and be changed" cannot pass unchallenged. Or rather, they should not go challenged only by homosexual rights campaigners, such as Peter Tatchell, who you would expect to be somewhat antipathetic to the expressed view.
Because Dr Nazir-Ali is wrong in the eyes of a broad swath of kind and tolerant people of differing sexualities, social mores and of the Christian faith, other faiths and no faith at all. Badly, badly wrong.
I say that I didn't want to have another fight with him because such fights polarise Anglicans, and we're at our best when we're talking. I went to a private lunch recently, to which Dr Nazir-Ali was also invited. He didn't show. The seat next to me went empty. I do hope he didn't bottle it; it's important that religious leaders don't just inhabit comfort zones with friends who share their views.
Dr Nazir-Ali's friends are the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (Foca), who this week will try to get the Anglican schism over homosexuality going again, while denying that they are doing any such thing. Had he turned up to our lunch, I would have asked him why he and Foca are so convinced that they know the mind of God better than those who disagree with them and that their interpretation of scripture is with absolute certainty the one and only true one.
When I write about the Church and homosexuality, inevitably I receive messages that read simply "Romans 1:26-27" or "1 Corinthians 6:9", as if that settles something. We can argue scripture until we're at the pearly gates. But the essential difference between Dr Nazir-Ali and me is this: I accept, disappointing as I would find it in my fiery furnace, that he might be right. By contrast, he and his friends cannot accept that I might be right, claim that I can't be a proper Christian, and some of them go so far as to suggest that I'll burn in hell for all eternity.
And there's the real problem: it's an issue of intolerance. Anglicanism has long been characterised by a broad tolerance. But my tolerance of Dr Nazir-Ali and his friends, that they are Anglicans with whom I happen vehemently to disagree, doesn't seem to be reciprocated.
Dr Nazir-Ali is leaving his bishopric, it is said, to develop his ministry among persecuted Christians. That is admirable. Persecution of Christians is a very bad thing. But persecution of homosexuals is a pretty bad thing, too, as is persecution of any part of humanity, all of which he will agree is made in God's image. >>> George Pitcher | Monday, July 06, 2009
TELEGRAPH TV: Same-sex Marriage in Iowa
Saturday, April 18, 2009
BBC: Grainy footage taken on a mobile phone and widely distributed around Baghdad shows a terrified young Iraqi boy cowering and whimpering as men with a stick force him to strip, revealing women's underwear beneath his dishdasha (Arab robe).
"Why are you dressed as a girl?" roars one of the men, brandishing his stick as the youth removes his brassiere.
The sobbing boy, who appears to be about 12, tries to explain that his family made him do it to earn money, as they have no other source of income.
The scene, apparently filmed in a police post, reinforced reports of a campaign against gay men in Iraq which activists say has claimed the lives of more than 60 since December.
In the latest manifestation of the campaign, posters have appeared on walls in the poor Shia suburb of Sadr City in eastern Baghdad, listing alleged homosexuals by name and threatening to kill them.
Those named have gone underground, while gay men throughout the city and in some other parts of the country also live in fear. >>> By Jim Muir, BBC News, Baghdad | Saturday, April 18, 2009
Watch BBC video: Jim Mui’s report >>>
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Hedi (Politzer) Pope:
Johanna (Gerechter) Neumann:
Susan (Strauss) Taube:
Susan (Hilsenrath) Warsinger:
Inge (Berg) Katzenstein and Jill (Gisela Berg) Pauly:
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum >>>
Monday, April 13, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: Iraq's leaders have been accused of ignoring a wave of violence against homosexual men.
In recent weeks, 25 young men and boys have been killed in the country and gay rights groups claim the government has given tacit support to the death squads by staying silent on the crimes.
The lack of action by the authorities has prompted Amnesty International to the Iraqi President, Nouri al-Maliki, demanding "urgent and concerted action" by his government to stop the killings, according to the Independent.
The majority of the deadly attacks have taken place in the Baghdad suburb of Sadr City, controlled by ultra-conservative Shia militia.
The bodies of four gay men, each bearing a sign with the Arabic word for "pervert" on their chests, were discovered in Sadr City three weeks ago. No arrests have been made.
Amnesty said the murders appeared to have been committed by militiamen and relatives of the victims, who had been incited by religious leaders who condemned 'deviancy'. >>> | Monday, April 13, 2009
THE INDEPENDENT: Iraqi Leaders Attacked over Spate of Homophobic Murders
Dozens of young men and boys killed by death squads in Baghdad
Iraqi leaders are accused of turning a blind eye to a spate of murders of homosexuals after 25 young men and boys were killed in recent weeks.
Gay groups claim the Iraqi government is giving tacit support to the death squads targeting young homosexuals who venture outdoors.
In an unusual move, Amnesty International will today write to the Iraqi President, Nouri al-Maliki, demanding "urgent and concerted action" by his government to stop the killings. Amnesty said the murders appear to have been carried out by militiamen and relatives of the victims, after being incited by religious leaders. Homosexuality has always been taboo in the country, but a surge of killings followed religious leaders' sermons condemning "deviancy".
The violence came after the improved security situation briefly encouraged some gay men to start meeting discreetly in public. This led to furious condemnation from clerics who have called for homosexuality – which can lead to a prison sentence of seven years – to be eradicated from Iraqi society.
Most of the killings have taken place in the Baghdad suburb of Sadr City, controlled by ultra-conservative Shi'ite militia. Murders have also been reported in Basra, Najaf and Karbala.
The bodies of four gay men, each bearing a sign with the Arabic word for "pervert" on their chests, were discovered in Sadr City three weeks ago. Following the discovery of another two corpses six days later, an unnamed official in the city told Reuters: "They were sexual deviants. Their tribes killed them to restore their family honour." >>> By Nigel Morris, Deputy Political Editor | Monday, April 13, 2009
YOUTUBE: Gay Life, Gay Death in Iraq
Thursday, September 11, 2008
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers (UK) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback, direct from the publishers (UK) >>>
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
LE FIGARO: Les persécutions ont repris contre cette minorité religieuse pacifique.
Beyrouth, L'ARRESTATION sans motif, mardi, de six dirigeants de la communauté baha'ie, vient de susciter un profond émoi parmi les membres de cette minorité religieuse régulièrement persécutée en Iran. « Depuis l'arrivée au pouvoir de Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (juin 2005), on assiste à un durcissement. Il y a deux ans, une cinquantaine de jeunes Baha'is avaient déjà été arrêtés. Mais là, c'est la première fois que ce sont des coordinateurs importants de la communauté qui sont touchés en bloc », indique au Figaro Diane Ala'i, représentante de la communauté baha'ie auprès des Nations unies, à Genève.
Depuis la révolution islamique de 1979, le culte baha'ie, né en Iran au XIXe siècle, est proscrit. À l'inverse des autres minorités religieuses (chrétiens, zoroastriens, juifs) du pays, la petite communauté ne dispose d'aucun représentant au Parlement iranien. Au début des années 1980, les neufs membres de l'assemblée spirituelle baha'ie disparurent sans laisser de trace. L'année suivante, huit des neufs nouveaux membres furent exécutés. À l'époque, la répression finit par pousser la communauté à s'organiser dans la plus grande discrétion, et à créer un groupe d'amis, chargé de gérer les affaires de la communauté de manière informelle. C'est de ce groupe que faisaient partie les six personnes arrêtées, Behrouz Tavakkoli, Saeid Rezaie, Fariba Kamalabadi, Vahid Tizfahm, Jamaloddin Khanjani et Afif Naeim. Le septième membre du groupe, Mme Mahvash Sabet, était déjà emprisonné depuis le 5 mars. Incitation à la haine >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Broché)
The Dawning of a new Dark Age (Relié)
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