A quite extraordinary story today. It tells of one man, seeking to shift minds across a worldwide religious community. At the International Consultation on Islam and HIV/AIDS in Johannesburg last week, Abu al-Sameed 'came out'. He asked that he and other homosexuals be respected and supported as community members, so they can seek support and help protect themselves against HIV infection. Such a plea was, apparently, unprecedented. The audience reaction? Well, after some initial discouragement, followed by a tense silence, Abu al-Sameed held the floor. At the end of the session, several listeners came up and apologised to him for anything offensive that they or others may have said about homosexuality in the past.
Abu al-Sameed's experience is reassuring for gay Muslims. But the story has broader significance. It seems that tales depicting the intolerance of Islam abound in the press. (Witness the furore over the British teacher and her class teddy bear in Sudan.) Stories like Abu al-Sameed's lend a balance and perspective that may prove critical if we are to build mutual understanding and trust between those of different faiths.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Day Fifty-Four: Islam and tolerance
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2 comments:
I think the title of the post overstates the case. Abu al-Sameed was indeed courageous to come out in the way that he did. The fact he had a measure of sympathy is a hopeful sign that, in some quarters at least, attitudes may be softening. However, Islamic fundamentalism - as with fundamentalism in all creeds - shows signs of increasing and hardening, It is ironic that the day before Abu al-Sameed came out, the parents of Makwan Moloudzadeh a 20-year-old Iranian man, were appealing for a stay in his public execution for a homosexual act.
Fundamentalism is the global warming of cultures - I am very hopeful that synthetic genomics can go a long way to help "solve" climate change; I have no idea how we can live with cults of unreason.
(Last night's BBC Dimbleby lecture on "A DNA driven world" by J Craig Venter is a very upbeat look at issues rehearsed on day 48 "How to help the planet".)
Harry - we have always lived with cults of unreason. Sometimes, they have been defeated or at least ground down, to reside only as a tiny minority of voices - Nazism is a good case in point. There are probably many more 'unreasonable' people that have been essentially ignored for years, even decades, until they are seen to present a more generalised threat. Examples abound - past and present.
Ideology is a continuum. Where does 'unreason' start in Islam? On some issues, like homosexuality, probably around the same place that it starts in Christianity - when one no longer respects others as human beings and sees them instead as symbols of a broader 'moral laxity' that must be 'attacked'. Hence Archbishop Desmond Tutu's plea several weeks ago (this blog, post Day Thirty-Eight) that the Anglican Church take a more forgiving and respectful approach towards the gay community. Tutu was standing up for others, rather than 'coming out', but I can't help see the parallels between his taking on of 'the establishment' and Abu al-Sameed's brave speech in Johannesburg. (And both in South Africa... how interesting...)
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