redwasp
17th May 2010, 18:16
Get out, Fight back.
A Jihad against homophobia.
One day the companions of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) had caught a gay man. They wanted to kill this man, for that was the custom of their culture. Gay men were either killed or enslaved in the time of ignorance. Gods messenger looked at the poor man, his eyes filled with compassion. Then he said to his companions: "I am not allowed to kill a man who prays to Allah. Bring him to An Naqi, there he will be safe."
This was an act of mercy byt Gods Messenger that took great courrage. Mukkhanthun, gay men, had been treated as vermin for generations. Just like women, orphans and beggars they had no rights in the old society. Muhammad's new religion treated all human beings as equal and gave them the right to live their lives without fear for persecution. Islam was the first religion on the Arabian peninsula that advocated gay rights.
It took conservative forces over ten centuries to abolish these rights. The new homophobia that dominates the Islamic world today, could only see the light after all revolutionary ideas had been banned from Islam. For over a thousand years gay people were protected in the Islamic world. Only after western colonisators had supported ultra-conservative tendencies in the Islamic world, we once again became a target for the violenc of the so called normal majority.
Today all muslims should go back to the liberating ideas of the original Islam, as it was revealed to Gods Messenger and passed on to the generation of the Sahaba. We should follow the example of our beloved Prophet and fight homophobia wherever it shows its ugly diabolical face. When gay men are tortured and killed in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Iran and other nations of Islam, we should oppose these regimes and support our sisters and brothers who fight for their human rights there. When in the United States hate-crimes against gays are committed by ultra-right christian fanatics, we should condemn these crimes and fight back.
Today, international day against homophobia, my prayers are for the two boys who have been murdered in Iran, suspected of being gay, but also for the hundreds of anonymous gay men who are tortured to dead by butchers who call themselves muslims in Iraq. My prayers are for Matthew Sheppard and all these other gay men and women who are murdered in the United States and other christian countries. My prayers are for Harvey Milk, who stood up for gay rights and was murdered for it. May God have mercy on them and grant them entrance to paradise, for they have given the hardest testimony of love that a person can give. They are martyrs on the path of Gods all-encompassing love.
My prayers also are for the millions of sisters and brothers who are locked up in the closet of silence and dispare, because homophobes in the society make it impossible for them to be honnest about their identity. May God give them the courage to stand up for their rights and to fight bigotry and homophobia in their society. May God open the closet for them and put an end to the lies and cover-ups. May God give them the strength to come out and to be free.
But i also pray for the heroes of today, I pray for Faisal Alam, Al Farouk Khaki and Salman Parvez. I pray for Peterson Toscano and Peter Tatchell. They are the ones who follow the example of Gods Messenger, they walk in the footsteps of Harvey and the countless others who have fought for our rights. Aware of the danger, they did what they had to do. May God protect them and make their deeds succesfull. May God be pleased with the sacrifice they bring.
I pray for all my sisters and brothers, for muslims, christians, jews, atheists. May God bring his promised kingdom of justice and freedom. May one day we all wake up in a world where homophobia is but a thing of the past.
God, help us, make us strong enough to continue this jihad against homophobia. Make us proud whenever we say:
We're here, we're queer, takbeer!
Allahu Akbar.
A Jihad against homophobia.
One day the companions of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) had caught a gay man. They wanted to kill this man, for that was the custom of their culture. Gay men were either killed or enslaved in the time of ignorance. Gods messenger looked at the poor man, his eyes filled with compassion. Then he said to his companions: "I am not allowed to kill a man who prays to Allah. Bring him to An Naqi, there he will be safe."
This was an act of mercy byt Gods Messenger that took great courrage. Mukkhanthun, gay men, had been treated as vermin for generations. Just like women, orphans and beggars they had no rights in the old society. Muhammad's new religion treated all human beings as equal and gave them the right to live their lives without fear for persecution. Islam was the first religion on the Arabian peninsula that advocated gay rights.
It took conservative forces over ten centuries to abolish these rights. The new homophobia that dominates the Islamic world today, could only see the light after all revolutionary ideas had been banned from Islam. For over a thousand years gay people were protected in the Islamic world. Only after western colonisators had supported ultra-conservative tendencies in the Islamic world, we once again became a target for the violenc of the so called normal majority.
Today all muslims should go back to the liberating ideas of the original Islam, as it was revealed to Gods Messenger and passed on to the generation of the Sahaba. We should follow the example of our beloved Prophet and fight homophobia wherever it shows its ugly diabolical face. When gay men are tortured and killed in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Iran and other nations of Islam, we should oppose these regimes and support our sisters and brothers who fight for their human rights there. When in the United States hate-crimes against gays are committed by ultra-right christian fanatics, we should condemn these crimes and fight back.
Today, international day against homophobia, my prayers are for the two boys who have been murdered in Iran, suspected of being gay, but also for the hundreds of anonymous gay men who are tortured to dead by butchers who call themselves muslims in Iraq. My prayers are for Matthew Sheppard and all these other gay men and women who are murdered in the United States and other christian countries. My prayers are for Harvey Milk, who stood up for gay rights and was murdered for it. May God have mercy on them and grant them entrance to paradise, for they have given the hardest testimony of love that a person can give. They are martyrs on the path of Gods all-encompassing love.
My prayers also are for the millions of sisters and brothers who are locked up in the closet of silence and dispare, because homophobes in the society make it impossible for them to be honnest about their identity. May God give them the courage to stand up for their rights and to fight bigotry and homophobia in their society. May God open the closet for them and put an end to the lies and cover-ups. May God give them the strength to come out and to be free.
But i also pray for the heroes of today, I pray for Faisal Alam, Al Farouk Khaki and Salman Parvez. I pray for Peterson Toscano and Peter Tatchell. They are the ones who follow the example of Gods Messenger, they walk in the footsteps of Harvey and the countless others who have fought for our rights. Aware of the danger, they did what they had to do. May God protect them and make their deeds succesfull. May God be pleased with the sacrifice they bring.
I pray for all my sisters and brothers, for muslims, christians, jews, atheists. May God bring his promised kingdom of justice and freedom. May one day we all wake up in a world where homophobia is but a thing of the past.
God, help us, make us strong enough to continue this jihad against homophobia. Make us proud whenever we say:
We're here, we're queer, takbeer!
Allahu Akbar.