On US Embassy and Pakistani Homosexuals

(First published at Let Us Build Pakistan-LUBP)

Now that its been sometime since the US embassy Pride event took place I believe it is time to shout back at the ensuing homophobia resulting out of it. The resultant fear of many queers that a public anti-homophobia discourse would only be harmful and call more of uncalled attention to the LGBT community made me contain my thoughts and emotions for the right time. The pride event was held on June 26 but reported later on, and that is when the trouble started.
The fact that the pride event was held by an American embassy, made it a field day for Islamist parties in Pakistan. According to Jamaat E Islami homosexuals “…don’t deserve to be Muslim or Pakistani, and the support and protection announced by the US administration for them is the worst social and cultural terrorism against Pakistan,”.
Once again the Mullah pressure groups have deemed it their responsibility to assure us who is and is not a Muslim. If anything the Islamists who are largely responsible for the notorious image of Pakistan in the world “don’t deserve to be Muslim or Pakistani”.

What social and cultural terrorism? Homosexuality was,is and will be an aspect of Pakistani society,just as it has been present in all times and places. Rants by the religious parties of homosexuality being a western import are laughable, especially given the amount of same-sex pedophilia cases against Mullah class itself.
Nevertheless, Uncle Sam must understand it has to stop poking its nose unnecessarily and that may one be secular, liberal or conservative, there is hatred for American foreign policies across the board. Given the situation American embassy’s insouciant behavior to issue a statement showing encouragement to LGBT activists is plain shocking. Have they hit the same road of complacence British Empire did? Hold a pride event for sure, as US embassy is technically considered American soil. Call whomever you wish. But why endanger already handful of LGBT activists? An event consisting of mere seventy-five people decided behind the closed and protected walls it was time for gay rights in Pakistan, showing their oblivion to the turmoil Pakistani state at present is going through and the disastrous result it could result in.

It was all the more astonishing for me, when I heard a fellow queer activist inform me how she was told by someone she knew in the embassy that US would not be willingly to give asylum to any homosexuals in Pakistan. No security. No funding for community building in Pakistan. No asylum for the bunch of activists, on whose head danger already looms, in case extremist parties come for their lives. But oh well! We have the wonderful words of encouragement from Mr.Richard Hoagland.
Our kind request,and I speak for a plethora of queer community in Pakistan, to any embassy, especially Anglo-American, is to kindly deal with such a sensitive issue in the light of present circumstances in Pakistan, for it can easily endanger many a lives, after much consultation and farsighted critical thinking.

In a country where raped women still await justice, where Ahmedis are targeted out and about and where every other person roams around the street as a guardian of Islamic faith ready to slit the throat of dissident it seems we’d have to work thrice as hard as India or US for Gay equality.
It would be much wiser if US pushes Pakistan for a more Secular constitution and to provide security to the warriors of humanity. The rest than then would be the job of activists and communities themselves. The change has to come from within and not without. Perhaps Anglo-American officials need to embed this notion. At most they can be our allies with unflinching support. But given the history of American politics it seems like a silly idea.

The anti-Gay protests in Karachi,Lahore and Islamabad were not as much about as homosexuality but US. Its an old trick called “killing two birds with the same stone” and it just could not have been more perfect of an opportunity for the anti-American rightwing. Raising a fear of impending doom were homosexuals to be allowed basic rights and freedoms,right wing made sure to fuel anti-Americanism. So were this pride event held by Dutch or Swede embassy, it would not have led to so much clamoring by the rightwing and Islamists.And so it puts an extra pressure on Britain and US when dealing with advocacy of minorities.

As for the Jamaat E Islami and other religious parties and clerics, it is kindly advised to focus on and label much more ruthless event and acts as inhuman and vile than what goes between two consenting and loving adults of same sex who harm none. I am waiting for them to take out the rally next time against those who bury five women alive in Balochistan. And it would be really appreciated if they first try to eradicate pedophilia and same-sex activities within their own class and institutions before barging into other people’s homes.
They are also advised to read or listen to Amreen Jamal, Imam Muhsin Hendricks or Imam Daayiee Abdullah next time before they go around as the only authority on the story of Lot and his people with their orthodox analysis.

I Condemn Zamir Akram

(Originally published in Express Tribune -Pakistani daily newspaper- on July 2 2011)

In 2003, Brazil brought the case for homosexual rights on the United Nations table, only to be derailed at the lat minute by the Muslim and African countries.

Instead, amendments were introduced for removal of any reference to discrimination based on sexual orientation.

My country, Pakistan was the captain of Team Homophobe .It distributed a memo to the member states declaring that the approval of the recommendation would be “a direct insult to 1.2 billion Muslims around the world.”

This year, thanks to three abstentions, China being absent, Libya’s suspension, and the efforts of South Africa to table to resolution again, it was approved. This is the first time UN has officially condemned homophobia and commissioned a study into the plight of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) community, so that they may be reviewed and discussed later on in Geneva.

But then what? How long will China be absent? How long will Libya remain suspended?

Ironically the states which sat there, disapprovingly eyeing the resolution, are the ones with the worst human rights violations- be it freedom of expression, religious minority rights or any other democratic principle for the essential working of a modern and open society.

Who are they to vote on “fundamental” human rights when their own record reeks with violations?

Frankly, it seems like a joke to allow these countries to cast a vote on human rights.

I am here to inform the world and Zamir Akram, Pakistan’s envoy to UN, that homosexuals do exist in Pakistan and that we demand our rights to love people of our own gender or even change our gender when we feel necessary to do so.

It is our body- the state and the ordinary mullah on the street, must keep out of our beds.

We, the Pakistani queer people and our straight alliances, disapprove of the statement by Mr Akram that the resolution has nothing whatsoever to do with “fundamental human rights”.

Quite the contrary, LGBT rights are as much of incontrovertible human rights as the rights of women and religious minority. It’s only the rampant homophobia of the aggressively heterosexist society which has come to believe and make us believe otherwise. It is the fundamental right of homosexual, bisexual or transgender man (or a woman) to love, to marry, to form a family, and to work without discrimination in a workplace of his choice and be unapologetic.

It might seem like an elite concern to heterosexuals but this is a basic right to those demanding the right to love.

As a Pakistani, I condemn the words of Zamir Akram and stand as a proof that there are many in Pakistan who dream of an egalitarian and gay-friendly nation here.

Some rights are “fundamental” and need to be defended against the face of notoriety and odds. Queer rights are one of them. Full stop. Nothing to be apologetic about it.

Muslim and African countries must be pushed, by the international community, to give into gay rights, just as we would want to push them greater application of women’s rights and freedom of expression (or any other human right for that matter).

An Open Letter To Tom MacMaster

Mr.Tom MacMaster,
I would refrain from using the entitlement of 'dear' and 'respected, for I believe to millions of LGBT people you no longer remain the former nor do they,or I for that matter, would have respect (apart from your being a human being perhaps?)for a person who not only molested the feelings of many who were extremely worried about the kidnapping of her (Amina Arraf, your darling creation) but also then tried to cover up his fault by declaring one of the most bizarre,and shall I say moronic,explanations I could expect at the very least.
They are reporting you are a peace activist. I am still trying to decide whether I should be banging my head against the wall over it or leave the usage of the term 'activist' to describe myself altogether, for not only its a clear evidence of as to how much the term has become overly used and misused for that matter. I donot wish to remain in the league of heterosexual men who for some reason decide to play with the feelings of many and still be called 'peace activist'.
You not only jeopardized the security of people who would have ended up on Syrian streets to inquire about your (Amina's) whereabouts, but also then came out with your immature explanation for your still largely inexplicable behavior: somehow because you were not taken seriously in the intellectual circles on Syria and Arab-Israeli conflict (should we be surprised Mr.MacMaster?) being looked down upon as some kind of traitor hating his own freedoms you decided to lead people on into believing you are Gay Syrian woman. Bill Graber,Paul Brooks you might remember since you are both the sailors of the same boat,seems to also have come up with this sort of unbelievably moronic explanation:They would take my activism for Lesbian cause seriously since I am heterosexual.Heck yeah they wouldnt Bill, if you steal the identity of your own wife! Let me spell it out clearly for you , both of you straight men. I,being a Pakistani stand against antisemitism under my real name,in person,during discussions with conservatives in a country like Pakistan where everything wrong is labeled as the export of Anglo-American world and/or Israel/India.I dont use a pseudonym necessarily for that,and certainly not because I feel iwouldnt be taken seriously but purely for security reasons. If anything the fact that straight man has started "Lez Get Real" and believes in Queer cause would only be more beneficial and thought provoking then a Lesbian fighting for her cause, for it would be largely unthought of by homophobes. Same goes for a white married straight man in discussion of Arab/Israeli conflict and Syria.Its...ummm... common sense! I wonder why didnt Ellie Weisel or Noam Chomsky start their own hoax blogs to get their opinions to reach the other side of the room without prejudice? Let me think for a minute: Because they have intellectual integrity,intellectual honesty and strength to stand up against opposition and critique! Not too much to ask of a Peace activist now,is it?
Can you kindly explain to me ,if it were all about your great(and greatly unneeded as many would agree) service to the Arab cause and/or contribution to the debate over the whole Mid East issues, why in the world would you end up abruptly stating the disappearance of Amina? Why would steal the pictures of Jelena Lecic? Why would exchange romantic letters with Sandra Bagaria?
Wait. I guess I found some answers.Thank Goodness this time you didnt come up with an unbelievably screwed up explanation. According to Guardian, you do admit to having acted out of "vanity" and created the blog. You do admit that you are "guilty" of trying to play with emotions of a human being. As you state:
"I feel really guilty about that ... I got caught up in the moment and it seemed ... fun"
However just when it starts to surface about your psyche (as well as of common heterosexual men!) and you realize you have your tail between your legs you tell us you dont want to talk about any talk being sexually aroused by the interaction between you and Miss Bagaria stating "I don't want to go into that aspect particularly of it."
Oh no, we,and more especially Miss Bagaria, deserves honesty and honest explanation from your part. Perhaps its hard for you, but its one of the things you would have to do to save your humanity in the eyes of world.
Let me check. Just a minute.Fine.I am back and I just read all the activism oriented literature in the world and nowhere does it say you have to screw the romantic feelings a grown adult woman (human) or risk the security of media persons just to interact with you, in order to become some big hot shot peace activist. Kindly recommend something.
But Mr.MacMaster, more importantly my personal feelings are outraged for I write under a pseudonym.Right now,as you are a Peace "activist" you must know, openly speaking about LGBT rights is a far cry.If we just get to keep this country on a road to basic humanity and proper democracy,it would be an achievement in itself. Thus I am at risk for displaying my photograph or state my real name,even if some fellow activists do know it.Your idiocy may have shown us the flaws in the culture of activism under pseudonym and the internet blogging, but it also means next time someone shows a Pakistani homophobe my article,and if the knowledge reaches the homophobe about me using a pseudonym, the first and major reaction would be to question Nuwas Manto's existence and the authenticity of my being a Pakistani.While I would take it positively and optimistically hoping in the best outcome and as stated above some fellow activists do know my "other" persona, it does in no way redeem you.What you did was heinous and immoral (I dont need refer to read Kant or Mill(s) in order to reach that conclusion.Majority of irate articles on you may have shown you that already).
In our country,Pakistan,we,as children,are often told as to how hiding one lie leads to another. You perfectly demonstrated it to us this day.Also how the lie shall never be everlasting. Next time I have to show my nephew and nieces how lying can get you ended up as a loathsome piece of crap,I'd post a photography of yours on their FaceBook wall.
You apologized for you actions. You are too late.You are to be held accountable for identity theft,molestation of million of people's feelings,taking the focus off the real Syrians fighting out there bravely to oppose the Assad regime, jeopardizing the security of not only the activists up in alarm to run out and rescue you but also media personnel as well as making a complete mockery of the word "activist".Apology NOT accepted.Or else I'd have to accept the apology of Tracy Morgan as well,and then the list goes on.I dont know why,but you people to think with you feet and do the actions and then if and when there is reaction come out and apologize. I wonder what your reaction would be if someone can entangle your darling daughter in romantic relationship only to reveal to to her he is Gay and was acting out of "vanity".
Nuwas Manto.

The Birdcage, distorted in Pakistan

Originally published in Express Tribune


Having first learned of the theatrical debut of ‘BirdCage’ in Lahore, I could not help but feel jubilation and mirth.

A gay-themed play? I almost fainted with anticipation. This was something I was definitely going to watch.

First things first. The producer Dawar Lashari, co-producers Waleed Zafar and Shaheryar Khan and director Ijlal Khan must not only be thanked for bringing us this light-hearted comedy amidst these insane times to our country, where one cannot switch to news channels without expecting another macabre breaking news, but also they should be lauded for their courage to even think of staging a gay-themed play.

However, as sometimes happens, Birdcage turned out to be one of those productions which are anticipated with joy and mirth but leaves us with disappointment and heartbreak. Even if crtieria for judging the play was simply how many people it made laugh or how good the acting skills were,the play would still rank average. Although many jokes were spot on and were clear to the public, sometimes they stretched too long.
This could not have been more apparent than in the very first scene where, Armand (Ijlal Khan),the co-owner of a gay club named ‘Birdcage’, is talking to his eccentric partner and co-owner of the club Albert (Ian Eldred). What started initially as a joke about bending gender roles, soon stretched out too long. Playing too much around the stereotypical images of gay people at first may have made the audience laugh but after repeated jokes along the same line, it atleast made me yawn a big one, (save for the acting of Waleed Zaidi.)
While Ijlal Khan’s acting as Armand and that of Ian Eldred’s as Albert was par excellence,Waleed Zaidi (playing Agador Spartacus) simply stole the show and possibly even saved it.
However,while these three were great in their art, the others just lagged behind. Ayesha Akram,playing Miranda, perhaps could not differentiate between the act of speaking loud enough (a theatrical requirement) and screaming in a high pitched voice – enough to irritate anyone. Muhammad Hayat, playing Garry, failed to deliver a commendable performance. With lack of real emotions in his acting he made it all look premeditated – just like the play.
But wait till you would have seen the whole Bailey family! A. Shehzad Shah murdered the character of Senator Bailey with his performance of a teenager. The booklets awaiting the audience on our seats,inform us that Huriyeh Iftikhar received a standing ovation for ‘Anybody for Murder’. Perhaps it would have been better had she put in an iota of that same effort into playing the character of Mrs Bailey. The worst performance was that of Esha Khan, playing Elanour Bailey. Calista Flockhart, the actress playing Elanor in the film,would have had a cardiac arrest watching her role being turned into that of almost a mute extra, save for one or two lines at most.
To be just, it must be pointed out that perhaps most of these actors were on stage for the first or second time. It does not in any way seem excusable that a perfectly good gay-themed comedy should be wronged and murdered in such a way as to make all the wrong adaptations to the play and making none where they were needed.

The worst change in the story was not that of changing the character of Garry to brother instead of son or that of Miranda as a mother for that matter but the change in the ending of Pakistani Birdcage.

While the movie played around with stereotypes of gay people it did justice to the homosexual community. Why? In the end it did what homosexuals craved most even until the late 19990′s when the movie came out: humanise them and their sexuality.

That is exactly what the movie and the Broadway play did in the end when Garry takes the wig off Albert’s (who is posing as his mother because his real mom failed to be punctual) head, and announces to the Senator that Armand and Albert were leading what this play’s production team terms as ‘eccentric’ lifestyle (a slap in the face of Pakistani LGBT community) in the accompanying booklet and that they were indeed his real parents who raised him.

What was the message of the film?

That gay people are humans and can raise ‘normal’ children too.

What did the Ijlal Khan and his team do? They totally changed the ending.

A fuming Armand is tired of the whole cat and mouse game and starts to narrate the whole story to the Bailey family, including how Garry persuaded him to hide the truth. So after all the most important part of the whole story was cut out. The excuse is that it would have bothered homophobes is inane.

All you could see in the audience were English speaking people from the elite or upper middle class. Besides, everyone there knew from word of mouth that Birdcage is a gay-themed play. The fact of the matter is that no matter what the excuse, people who have watched the movie or the Broadway play are going to make comparisons between them and this play.

Perhaps if somebody would have enjoined the production team about this beforehand they would have done better. Add to this the hurt feelings of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans gender community in Pakistan. Some other queer friends and I stepped in to the theatre hoping the production would at least do justice to the movie. It went the other way round and we came back feeling like we had been slapped hard across our faces. The play caged was surely caged by homophobic undertones.

Finally! We are On FaceBook!

I am exremely happy to announce the fact that finally I hav created a Pakistan LGBTIQ(Lesbian,Gay,Bisexual,Transsexual,Intersex andQuestioning People's) Movement FaceBook group to show the homophobes strength of Pakistani Queer society as well as to assist the Queer Cause in a country like Pakistan and to help in spreading the 'Gay Consciousness' to those who are not so happy with their sexualities.
Please join and spread the word as each and every member's suuport counts.
Thanks
Nuwas Manto

Allah’s Pink Sons; Persecution of Homosexuals in Islamic Countr‏ies

The Below article is a translation of the German article in Der Spiegel's this week issue.Thanks to Mr.Faris Malik,of Queer Jihad for sending me the translated document.


Here is the Article:


In most Islamic countries, homosexuals are despised, persecuted and sometimes even killed. Repressive regimes foment hatred against "effeminized men."



Bearded men kidnapped him in the middle of Baghdad, threw him into a dark hole, bound him with a chain, urinated on him and beat him with an iron pipe. But the worst moment of all for Hisham, 40, came on the fourth day when his abductors called his family. He became scared they would tell his mother that he was homosexual and that this was the reason they had abducted him. Then he would never see his family again. The shame would be unbearable for them.



"Do what you want with me, but don't tell them!" he cried.



Rather than humiliate him in front of his family, the abductors demanded 50,000 dollars in ransom, a huge sum for an ordinary Iraqi family. The parents had to borrow money and sell all of their son's possessions. A short time later, the abductors threw Hisham out of a car in northern Baghdad. They did not shoot him, they let him walk, but they yelled after him: "This is your last chance. If we see you again, we'll kill you."



That was four months ago, and Hisham has gone to Lebanon. Helies to his family, telling them he was fleeing violence and terror, and had found a job in Beirut. He kept it to himself that, as a gay man, he could not remain in Iraq because of the death squads that are hunting down "effeminized" men.

At the beginning of the year in Baghdad, there began a new series of murders of men suspected of homosexuality. They are often raped,their genitals cut off, their anuses glued shut. Their corpses end up in trash dumpsters or on the street. There is a "systematic campaign" with hundreds ofmurder victims, according to Human Rights Watch, which has documented this string of violence.



The trigger for the murders, rapes and kidnappings isconsidered to be the video of a party in Baghdad in the summer of 2008, at which men danced with one another. It was viewed thousands of times on handheld devices and the Internet. Islamist preachers then began agitating against the spreading danger of a "third sex," brought into the country by American soldiers. Especially followers of radical Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr have since then felt called to restore "religious morality." Their black-clad militiamen patrol their bastion, the Sadr City district of Baghdad, and lie inwait for everyone whose "unmasculine behavior" catches their attention. Longhair, tight t-shirts and pants, or a strutting walk often enough bring a death sentence.



Other groups, too, not only the Mahdi Army, are said to be involved in the murders of gays: for instance, Sunni militia who are close to Al-Qaida, but also Iraqi security forces.



The lives of homosexuals are particularly endangered in Iraq at the moment, but they are ostracized virtually throughout the Islamic world.More than 100,000 women and men are discriminated against or threatened,according to gay groups. Thousands commit suicide, end up in prison, or have fled.

More than 30 Islamic countries prohibit homosexuality bylaw. The punishments range from flogging to life in prison. In Mauretania, Bangladesh, Yemen, in parts of Nigeria and Sudan, in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Iran, gays even face the death penalty.

But even in countries where homosexuality is not prohibited by law, gays are persecuted, arrested, and sometimes murdered. Egypt is particularly harsh, although the country was long known for its open gay scene. Homosexuals are pursued by a morals police force that taps phones and recruits informants. Then they are charged with "debauchery."



In Malaysia, homosexuality is even used as a political weapon: In the year 2000, the well-known politician Anwar Ibrahim was sentenced to nine years in prison for "unnatural sexual intercourse" with his chauffeur and a speechwriter, but then was exonerated on appeal in 2004. In the summer of2008, the macabre drama was repeated. The charge was "homosexual sexual intercourse," and the trial still continues.

Anwar was once the protégé of Mahathir Mohamad. He was supposed to succeed him as prime minister, until Mahathir sacked him in 1998. Ten years later, Anwar won back his seat in Parliament – but that is as far as his comeback has made it so far.



Even in cosmopolitan Lebanon, homosexuals are threatened with one year in jail. Still, Beirut is the home of the only gay and lesbian organization in the Arab world, called "Helem" (meaning "dream"). At an office in the middle of the city, posters about AIDS education and tips against homophobia are on the walls. Helem is no more than tolerated, as the Interior Ministry has yet to issue an official permit to the organization. "And it is hardly conceivable that we will ever get it," says executive director Georges Azzi.



In Istanbul, there is a free homosexual scene and a Christopher Street Day festival, and even devoutly religious fans rave for transsexual pop diva Bülent Ersoy or gay singer Zeki Müren. But away from the catwalk or the stage, it is considered a disgrace, a disease, to be a "götveren" (meaning"faggot"). In the army, homosexuality is grounds for discharge. To unmask fakers, military doctors require photos or videos as evidence, showing the recruit having sex with a man – in the "passive" role, of course, because being active passes as masculine enough in Turkey.



It looks as though a wave of homophobia has gripped the Islamic world, which was once known for its openness. Homoerotic literature was widespread here, sex roles were less narrowly defined, and, like the ancient Greeks, men let themselves be entertained by dancing youths.



But now the Islamists have assumed cultural hegemony. They include men like popular Egyptian television preacher Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who demonizes gays as perverse. Shiite Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani published a fatwa four years ago, in which he called for the most brutal possible murder of gays. These opinion leaders justify their aversion with the history of Lot in the Qur'an: "You approach men in lust instead of women. You are immoderate people." For these sins, the people of Lot are destroyed along with their cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. In addition, there are a few statements of Muhammad, in which he condemns the "act of the people of Lot," once even calling for the death penalty.



However, the Lot story and other Qur'anic verses were not clearly applied to homosexual sex until the 20th century, says New York professor Everett Rowson. He says this redefinition originated in the West, of all places – due to the prudery of European colonial masters, who spread their sexual morality in the newly conquered world.



In fact, half the prohibitions of homosexuality that still exist worldwide go back to a single law promulgated by the British in India in1860. "Many attitudes toward sexual morality, that are said to be identical with Islam, owe more to Queen Victoria than to the Qur'an," Rowson declares.

Modern persecution of gays was brought on, above all, by the politicization of Islam, because since then sexual morality has been no longer private, but rather is regulated and instrumentalized by the state.



"The most repressive are secular regimes like Egypt, Morocco and Turkey, which are under pressure from Islamists and therefore try to outdo them when it comes to morality," says Scott Long of Human Rights Watch. "In addition, the persecution of homosexuals shows that a regime has control over the private lives of citizens – that is a sign of power and authority." Thus for the last few years there has been a deliberately fomented "moral panic" in many countries.



For instance, in Iran. Since the Islamic Revolution,homosexuals have been persecuted, sometimes more, sometimes less – and rather more since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took office, who never tires of stressing that there are no homosexuals in his country at all.



Even the suspicion of "unnatural" acts is enough to earn a whipping. Anyone who is caught multiple times faces the death penalty. So far148 gays have been executed according to official figures, but presumably the number is far higher. The most recent case to draw attention was that of 21-year-old Makwan Moloudzadeh, who was hanged in December 2007. He is alleged to have raped three boys years before. Homosexuals are almost always charged with other crimes in addition,like rape, fraud, or theft, in order to justify the execution.

Thousands of gays and lesbians have fled Iran for this reason, and for most the first stop is Turkey. "There was no alternative for me but to flee," says Ali, a 32-year-old doctor. "If I had stayed, they would have killed me."



Ali had been careful. He only rarely went to parties, used several different Internet cafés for chatting, and he did not even tell his family his secret. That went well, until his boyfriend's father caught the two of them kissing. Two days later, Ali lost his job at the hospital, then he washit by a car, apparently not by accident, and a short time later he received a call: "We want to see you hang."



What he had not known before was that his boyfriend's father was a high-ranking member of the Revolutionary Guard.

Ali withdrew his savings from his account and took a train to Turkey, where he applied for asylum. Since then, he has been living in a tiny apartment in Kayseri in Central Anatolia – one of 35 gay Iranian exiles living in this city.

Arsham Parsi, 29, fled too from Shiraz four years ago. This graceful man with downy cheeks and glasses is one of Iran's "most wanted" men,because he founded the country's first gay network in 2001. They only communicated by e-mail, few people knew his real name, yet he was still found out. Parsi managed to escape the morals police at the last second. He received a visa for Canada, where he founded the "Iranian Queer Organization," which now has 6000 members in Iran. They include many transsexuals – or people who consider themselves such. After all, Parsi estimates: "Nearly half of all sex changes are undergone by gays."



Gay persecution has led to a boom in sex changes, so that more operations are performed in the Islamic Republic of Iran, of all places,than anywhere else in the world except Thailand. They were permitted in 1983 by Ayatollah Khomeini himself, who defined transsexuality as a disease that could be cured with an operation. Since then, thousands have sought the treatment,with a portion of the costs borne by the state.



"Relatives and doctors push gays to undergo operations to normalize their improper sexual orientation," says Parsi. This is also how a high-ranking Shiite religious scholar was able to finance a female body for his secretary and then marry him afterwards.



The ultra-conservative Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the only Arab country where Shari'ah law is applied exclusively – homosexuals are whipped or executed. "Nonetheless, gays are much freer here than in Iran," says Afdhere Jama, who traveled through the Islamic world for seven years researching his book "Illegal Citizens."



The Kingdom leaves gays an astonishing amount of freedom in everyday life. Newspapers report on lesbian sex in school bathrooms. Certain shopping centers, restaurants and bars in Jeddah and Riyadh are considered gay meeting places, which is an open secret.



"There are many Saudi Arabs who take boys as love objects,because they are single or because their wives happen to be pregnant," says Jama. Homosexual sex is often the only option to have sex at all – extramarital affairs with women are virtually impossible. "Here in the West, a man would be considered gay in that case, but in countries like Saudi Arabia, it is harder to make that classification," says Jama. Most Muslims hardly know what to make of the Western conception of a "gay identity" – there is no gay lifestyle or movement here.



Daayiee Abdullah, 55, is an imam, he wears a prayer cap and a beard – and he is gay. That makes him one of only two imams in the world who openly declare their homosexuality. He voluntarily chose Islam, having grown up a Baptist in Detroit. During his studies in Beijing, he came to know Chinese Muslims and converted to Islam. "They told me it was no problem to be gay and a good Muslim."

The imam – and not only he – interprets the history of Lot differently: The people whom God condemned were not homosexuals, but rapists and robbers. It is not homosexuality, but rape, that the Qur'an detests. "The rejection of gays is based on culture and politics," he says. "Just like honor killings and arranged marriages – those things are not in the Qur'an, either."

Abdullah lives in the US capital of Washington, and says prayer at funerals of homosexuals, especially when they died of AIDS, since no other imam is willing to do it. He performs same-sex marriages and has counseled pious gays for eleven years through his "Muslim Gay Men" Internet forum.

He receives death threats over and over, but at this point he laughs about it, saying: "How can two loving gays shake the foundations of God?"

Juliane Von Mittlestaedt/Daniel Steinvorth

The Day I Cried(Coming Out To Parents Poem).

That day I cried,

I wished before that very moment I would have died.

How I thought if I hid the fact from them,

I would be breaking their trust,

But little did I know that the second I told them the truth,

My life would be filled with mayhem.

I held their hands in mine,
Wishing this time life would be eaiser from now on,
That those days of hiding my true self are gone,
But forgot that sometimes our truthfulness,
For others is not so fine.

Oh that glare!
That glare from my father which said,
''You are being so unfair''.
And my mothers eyes,
filled with questions of why(s).
I wish I could tell them it was beyond me,
That by accepting me could they only set my soul free.
But ready they were not to hear,
To hear a word from me,
For it was too much for them to bear.

I sat there crying,
But thn I brought my hand to my face,
And wiped my tears.
From now on I will not hide my sexuality.
No I wouldn't even if there existed little acceptibility.
From no one atleast I wouldn't have any more fears.
Happy about that,
I smile and wipe my tears.

Failure of Anti-Gay Muslims at wordpress.com

Some of my friends at gaymuslims.wordpress.com are determined that homosexuality is not only a grave sin in Islam,but also curable.How?You may ask.
According them,we should try not have sex with someone from our own gender,as this is a period of test by the Almighty Allah.Fair enough.But is homosexuality also a test for those four hundred species in which homosexuality has been noted?Does that mean that God created the brains of gay men different than those of heterosexual men Himself,and wants to throw homosexuals in hell for eternity for something they are not responsible for?If that is the case then my friends at this blog make God look sadistic,rather than an 'All-Loving,All-Just' God that every religion preaches.
Its a well known fact that homosexuality has somewhat genetic basis,if not wholly,which seems absurd to my anti-Gay brothers.I have heard the most arguments against the biological basis of homosexuality.According to one argument 'If homosexuality is genetic is doesn't mean it is not a sin.What if tomorrow science finds a gene for alcoholics and a gene for other asocial habits such as theft'?
Does the above question even seem sane enough to you?Not to me?Drinking doesn't have to do anything with genes.You cant expect a gene there in your brain which teaches you how to create barrels of alcoholic wines.That is a procedure you plan out by using your own mind which is in your own control,where as homosexuality seems to be out of control for most of the people.These people don't feel the sexual needs towards the same-sex partners only,but same emotions as heterosexuals.They feel love for each other.That is why not every homosexual is a sex-freak and there exist celibate homosexuals too.If my brothers at gaymuslims.wordpress.com are trying to say that homosexuality as a promiscuous lifestyle should be condemned that is still understandable,to some extent,but if they mean that homosexuality should be condemned at all,I am sorry,I cant support them,for they are mixing two facts:
1:Homosexuals may be promiscuous
but
2:Not all homosexuals are so.And homosexuality is not the name of sex freakishness but an innate feeling of love towards same-sex partner.
As for theft and murder,I don't think we can find any gene for that either.But even if we do find any,the analogy of homosexuality and theft seems bizarre,for in theft a person or various parties maybe harmed or even killed but in homosexuality there is consensual love and sex between two people of the same gender.In the former case one if responsible for damage done to a person's life and if we forgive them(being lenient maybe an option) just because they had 'Theft -genes' they might end up harming Pete knows how many lives or even be responsible for tens of deaths.But how can two men,who love each other and are having consensual sex,harm any third party?Please!Don't tell me that THEY-HARM-BECAUSE-THEY CANT-PROCREATE-AND-SPREAD-AIDS/HIV/Hepatitis.
AIDS/HIV and hepatitis may be carried on a large scale among homosexuals but repressing one's sexuality is not the way to deal with it.Enforcing and condemning homosexuality will only be fuel to the fire.rather we should provide sex education and tolerance for sexual diversity.With new ages come new problems,but we always have to find new solutions,not rely on old traditions alone at least,if not wholly.
My brothers and sisters at gaymuslims.wordpress.com are telling Muslim homosexuals that even if homosexuality is genetic,wholly,that doesn't mean they are natural,even if they are not harming a single third person.That they should try to resist sexual attractions towards same-sex people.And of course to be fully in the presence of Allah,by going to mosque five times a day and reading Quran,along other methods.
If homosexuality is a choice(If one can vanguish same-sex attraction by mere resistance,it has to be a choice)then I wonder why so many famous homosexuals dared to come out publicly and not try to change their sexualities.Then why is it mostly found among Muslim lands,in one form or another(such as bisexuality,bi-curiosity,lesbianism,homosexuality,trans-sexuality)where it is publicly condemned and even punishable by stoning to death.
Patrick Neil Harris,the star of 'How I Met Your Mother' TV series,admitted that he had sex with more than a dozen women before he accepted his sexuality.That's strange,considering that having sex with women is,according the morally righteous, a perfect solution for homosexuality.
There was once a case that surfaced,about a madrassah-teacher(Muslim religious school teacher) who had tried to force his student to have sexual act with him,and that student was a young male child).
This is what happens when:
1:Sexual segregation is promoted
2:Homosexuality is condemned(Homosexuals are torn between religion and sexuality and so end up with destruction of self-confidence and feeling of unnaturalness,thus not caring about whether they have sex with a Mayor or a Mullah).
3:When homosexuality becomes an non-debatable subject(due to this homosexual children might not be able to find enough information concerning their sexuality and end up in wrong hands,such as people who practice gay promiscuity,rather than monogamous homosexuals).
My anti-Gay brothers and Sisters succeeded in pointing out that homosexuality is a sin in Islam on the basis of Quran and Hadith and Sunnah(Though they havent given any references but just keeping on blatantly saying ''Islam only speaks about hetrosexual love''.To this I reply,Islam also doesn't talk about contraceptives,(such as condoms)What does that mean then?,about Japan(which was existent then).Nor were they able to provide any link to any established institution,such as APA(American Psychiatric Association) or person,such as Richard Dawkins(Evolutionist and Biologist),to support their YOU-CAN-CONTROL-YOUR-SEXUALITY Theory.At the maximum they might be able to get stuff from NARTH but it is a controversial organisation itself,promoting reparative therapy which has shown miserably failed results when it comes to changing one's sexuality through therapy.

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Queer Genes

Now that some conservative Muslims face problem between homosexuality and religion,after realizing that Gay Rights activitsts are not day dreaming about 'Gay Gene',they have come up,yet again,with their laughable arguments against accepting homosexuality just because we have a large body of sicentific data considering homosexuality to be natural on the basis of a high possibility of existence of gay gene.

One of the arguements is that even if we accept a gay gene,that doesnt mean its not immoral.What if we find out a gene for alcoholism ?What if we find out a gene for theft,or rape or murder?

At first this arguement seems sane,but only if you ponder a little bit,it seems to be the work of some one totally insane.

First of all we havent found out any gene for theft or rape or murder neither for alcoholism.And comparing sexuality to theft,rape,murder,alcoholism is laughable and outrageous simultaneously.These kind of childish questions result when people try not to look at the other side of their world.What if we find a 'God-centre' in the human brain?What if we find out that a person is born religious beause there is a gene out there to do such a job?The list can then go on if we argue that 'what if such and such thing had a gene'.
Furthermore there is alot of difference between human sexuality and rape/murder/theft/alcoholism.
Let's say that we find a gene for theft/murder/rape,but even then you cant compare homosexuality and such heinous deeds since there exists an array of differences between these two,human sexuality and theft/murder/rape,the biggest one being that in theft/murder/rape person(s) is/are being harmed.But in Pete's name is some one being harmed because of homosexuality?When did people start dying after hearing the news that two men got married in Belgium?If we find out that there exists genes for theft/murder/rape,then we would need new innovative ideas to deal with such crimes,not go back to the agrigarian societies' moral code.
If we find out that there is a gene for alcoholism,then we would need to find out how we can make alcoholics leave alcoholism,or if they cant then how we can help them,or how such an alcohol type should be produced which keeps alcohols and society both happy.
Alot of people would argue that homosexuals can be as harmful as theives since they spread AIDS(an idea entertained by quite alot of people).Homosexual society might consist,to a large extent,promiscous members,but again we would need new methods to deal with new problems.We must allow sex education for homosexuals too and make 'have safe gay lifestyle' campaigne.There are many monogamous gay and lesbian people too.In fact Church Of England has a virgin and celibate ones (who can now have civil partnership with their same-sex boyfriends) if you want to refute the argument that homosexuals are sexfreak and that homosexuality is a learned experience.Plus,homosexuals are not the only people who have AIDS.When did straight prostitutes in Heera Mandi turn Lesbians?Such claims that homosexuals are a sign of moral decadence and that they are HIV/AIDS carriers are baseless. (although it is true that they were the first victims of the disease.And even if its that reportedly in US and UK young Gay men are the worst hit group.But that is due to promiscuity and/or unsafe sex. Homosexuality has nothing innate in favor of the disease).
In the end I would add that genes are not the only factor that people see to consider homosexuality natural,but just one aspect of the belief that homosexuals have a right to live as blissfully as straight people.There are other moral arguements in favour of homosexuality too which,unlike religious orthodoxy,look at it from an objective point of view.

When You Should Come Out of the Closet?

Should you come out to your family about your sexual orientation or personal beliefs about religion(such as Agnosticism or Atheism or conversion to another religion)?
Honestly I think yes.But only after you have achieved such a status in your life that you can support yourself ably even when your family has kicked you out,for there are a great many chances of happening so.
There is nothing wrong in being an Atheist or turning away fromyour religion,if you feel that another stance or religion is better.There nothing wrong with you being homosexual or even pansexual .But try not to open up to your family when you are quite dependent upon them.There are advantages of coming out of the closet as well as disadvantages,for has there been anything with no side-effects and benefits,in this world?
Its better if you try to conceal your religious convictions or sexuality while you are financially dependent upon your family.They may kick you out and you may have no place to give yourself a shelter.
Once you have achieved the basic necessities of life such a wealth and education,you can then come out of the closet and proclaim yourself whatever you want,for then even if you family kciks you out you have a shelter to hide under and independence.

Till then you should try to:

1:Complete your education.
2:Open up to our close friends who you believe love you unconditionally.
3:Meet/Contact like minded people and try to converse with them as to how you should come out.
4:Join some communities in which you are sure your information will be kept confidential.
5:Be in peace with your religious convictions/sexuality and religion/yourself.
6:Try to educate other people about your stance,but be sure that they don’t rise against you for holding such an opinion or your sexuality.

The Time Is Now My Friends...

I just read about Matthew Wayne Shephard’s death from one of my friend’s blog.Seriously I am feeling so sad about his death.His death was the price he had to pay for coming out of the closet and being openly Gay.Although the incident happened in 1998,it feels like it just happened yesterday,especially given the fact that the negative stance against homosexuality all over the world has not changed much.Atleast I can speak for Pakistan.
The national criminal code punishes acts of Sodomy with a possible life sentence and has other provisons that impact the human rights of LGBT Pakistanis.
Other than that according to the Shari’a law of Pakistan/Hudood Ordinance a person can be sentenced to capital punishment,though this has not happened yet,atleast not in my lifetime,but the mere existence of such a punishment means that it can be applied every then and now by the blood thirsty extremists and politicians.Pakistani law is a combination of the colonial and Islamic view. Under the Pakistan Penal Code(PCC), homosexuality is deemed a crime that is punishable by a life sentence or being stoned to death.
Homosexuality has been a very sensitive issue and has been proven,by American Psychiatric Association,thatits not a mental illness,hence its eradication from DSM-R 4.
In Pakistan we may have many Matthew Shephards only that they havent had the courage to comeout of the closet.But even then there were some you voice their opinions,such as the lesbian-transsexual couple of Faisalabad who were senetenced to imprisonment.And then such organization as Al-Fatiha and Salaam.
Last but not the least Irshad Manji,who has been able to gain alot of media attention due to her controversial book ‘The trouble with Islam today’.
See, We,too,have some Gay heroes.But the problem is that either there is no one to support them or the homosexuals,who are torn between religion and sexuality and choose religion over sexuality,rather then trying to blance both of them,turn against them.
We are the educated ones.The ones who know that homosexuality is not grotesque and a social evil.Therefore,whether you like it or not, the responsibility of spreading awareness about homosexuality and religion in the light of science lies with us.
The time is now my friends.The time is now to act.To bring about a wave of change.
Some people tell me that I should shut up and that I am not a gay scholar that I preach like that.They tell me that I should keep this evil inside me and not discuss it with anyone.How is it possible?
Can they do the same?No.Just because they are straight.
They tell me that I should not spread the word or else it can result in my death.They say that I would be kicked out of the society.
To them I reply ”I dont care.What if Martin Luther King thought the same.What if the religious leaders(founders of the religions)thought the same?We would still be in a racist enviroment and in the period of ignorance or what the Muslims call period of ‘Jahillyah’.
How,What,Where you propogate your rights depends on you.
You can comeout of the closet and try to form an organization(dont give your address openly),or comeout and write in favour of your orientation.Or you can be anonymous and use net to get your words across.
There are a million excuses to do nothing,but there are few to do something.

Lindsay Lohan And Samantha Ronson.

Well,I think a week ago my friends were talking about how hot Lindsay Lohan is,and then suddenly some of them were like ”But it’s no use….she’s Lesbian”.At first I couldn’t believe it,partly because I myself have a HUGE crush on Lindsay and partly because I thought that no one would be fool to let go of their opposite sex’s fan following.
But Lindsay Lohan did it! I am not sure if she’s Lesbian or not since I read that she had rocky relationships with her boyfriends.I guess she would be a Bisexual then.So what?
Angelina Jolie and Drew Barrymore are Bisexual too.Nobody talks about them not being hot due to their Lesbian side.It’s just that public needs someone to gossip about and poor Lindsay because of her crazy behaviour and attention-seeking soul fell for their gossip(she was always there to fulfill these people’s backbiting habits anyway).
And also because she had the guts to comeout and marry her girlfriend.She has surrounded herself with controversies and this one seems to be the biggest one.But what she did was right and I guess this was a great decision that she made-in what?-five years or so.
I am so angry at those journalists who cant get a story to write about and have turned to make a great deal about Lindsay’s commitment.What the hell is wrong with everyone.On orkut I went to one of Lindsay’s community where in a topic a person said that he was leaving the community now that it’s confirmed that she’s Lesbian.
Very first of all its NOT confirmed whether she is or not! Secondly even if she is so what?She’s less hotter?Her boobs have decreased in their size or she got a 6 inch penis?
I mean come on guys.The real fans of Lindsay would call themselves her ‘fans’ because they would be her well-wishers,not homophobes or wild dogs imagining her naked and masturbating.
I have a huge crush on Lindsay.But even if tomorrow it’s confirmed that she is Lesbian I would still be with her.
Lastly I congragulate Lindsay and Samantha on being so open,even if indirectly and unintentionally.
You have done what you should have and people who would love you will always stick by your side,even if they are homophobes.They might pray to God that you both turn straights but they would never leave you.
If you are worrying about your fan following and family and friend’s response, I will tell you something I read somehwere and something I really believe in:
‘It’s not the quantity but quality of family which matters’.(or the quantity of friends and fans).
Love you Lindsay.

India,Media And Homosexuality.

I have always been very fascinated by India and it’s culture.Pakistan and India are the sister of same age:61 years old.
However India due to its secularized state went on to be the ‘rani’ of sub-continent while,thanks to General Zia,Pakistan became sticky with notion of Shariah as the state law,which meant no freedom of expression and press,along with other UDHR violations.
But I must admit that I have been really disappointed by the way Indian media potrays homosexuals.Its as if all the gaymen are effiminate.I do concede the fact that there may be many out there,but not all homosexuals are so.Somebody needs to show Madhur Bhandarkar Ian Roberts,the openly gay Australian from his homeland’s football team.If Madhur was so interested to show the feminine side of gays then he has a responsibility to also show the fact that there exist,out there,many macho men who are either exclusively homosexuals,bisexuals with more attractions towards same sex and bisexuals with equal attraction towards both sexes.Please!Somebody also tell Mr.Bhandarkar and others about the ‘Kinsey’s scale’.
I am not criticizing directors such as Madhur or others.In fact I love his film ‘Fashion’ and ‘Page 3’ and how they potrayed the problems with homosexual in a society which is still in it’s young age of secularism.But all I am trying to say is that not all homosexual men are effiminate and if Madhur had put in two or three gay designers and make up men then he should have also put in atleast one male model to show that there are many in Indo-Pak industry who are gay and male models thus being fanatsy of millions of straight women.
Showing only the effiminate side of homosexual men and potraying them as sex freaks and hijras(eunuchs) is not going to help freedom of expression.It is the blatant use of it,trying to misrepresent the LGBT society.
But most disappointing of all was the film ‘Sunday’ in which homophobia was apparent in the dialogues of the film.If you want to see the homophobiac attitude of Indians,then watch this film.
Here I have a message for my LGBT friends,especially gaymen.They should stop acting ‘sexfreaks’.They should have some self respect for themselves.I know some homosexuals who ran after straight men who just made use of these gaymen and left them heartbroken.
LGBT society has also itself to blame for the tags that are associated with it and many of them seem to be true.But the media has a great part to play here.It must allow the true freedom of expression and let films such as ‘Fire’ to be shown openly,even to the straight public,so that there is also a positive impression of LGBT society along with the negative one which may help LGBT people realize their mistakes and there role as proper citizens of their nations.
Otherwise the media would be potraying just one side of the story and that is not acceptable.Then we must not object to the Americans tagging Muslims as terrorists without any dialogue and debates.We must not scorn Jade Goodie for giving racist remark to her Big Brother fellow and Indian film star Shilpa Shetty since that is also what they learned from their fellows about Muslims and Indians,repsectively.

Matthew Wayne Shepards is one of the inspirational people in my life and I take his life’s example every then and now to explain my thoughts concerning homosexuality for I believe that our souls had much in common.We both have been gentle in our own ways and out-casted by our society in one way or another,much worse are the conditions in my life for Matthew’s family still accepted his homosexuality and he had the guts to be openly gay,but my family firmly believes that I am doing a sin,and will be burned in hell forever.
But these are the conditions not only faced by me.The form of hatred that Matthew suffered at the hands of his muderer is quite prevalent even now,atleast I can speak for Islamic nations,particularly Pakistan.
Here is something that I read at one of the websites,concerning the murder of Matthew:
‘Matthew was killed to make a point. His fragile, broken body was left strung up like an animal as a clear message to gay men everywhere. How can someone be so consumed with hatred for a fellow human being that atrocities like this happen? Why is homosexuality even an issue? Why does it excite such feelings of hatred and violence in people, when their lives will never be touched by it? Why is a person’s sexuality anyone else’s business; and who are we to judge other people?”
I have my own believes regarding the questions that are posed here.Gay hate crimes result partly from what our culture has been able to inculcate in us.Unfortunately that is hatred for homosexual,or anyone with a different point of view ,for that matter.
People are taught from homes to schools(I am strictly speaking about Pakistan) that homosexuality is a sin and a social evil.That homosexuals are maybe mentally sick but for sure ,immoral and trash of our society.That God hates Gay people.Homosexuals are sexually perverted.These are all the thoughts that are passed down from teachers and the parents to their pupils and children.Under this kind of impression of homosexuals who won’t have a probelm with homoseuxlality and gays?Who would say ‘Well,it’s their life and their bussiness.Who am I to interfere anyway.”?
People have their own fear.That they might be touched by it.What if their son/daughter go to school and find that homosexuality is normal and become gays themselves?Such kind of irrational beliefs are given birth by the minds filled with irrational stories about homosexuality told by clerics and the hearsay habits of people who never try to learn what in Pete’s name is homosexuality and whether it is what it is believed to be,but go on to spread the anti-gay word and even turn to the bestial side of theirs and gun down a gay or two.
Lastly coming to the question who are we to judge?
Well,for the people who’s mind is filled up with homophobiac trash it is their bussiness.In fact it is their duty to gun down homosexuals and spread the word against them.To make others aware of what an awful creature a gay man is.
Then partly,this kind of attitude results from the religious thinking and religious interpretation of the texts.
In my country it is firmly believed that Prophet Lut’s people were homosexuals and that they were punished for this very reason.To re-interpret Quranic text for them is out of question.What has been said had been said.No doubt about it.Dont speak and dont let speak.
First of all we need to allow the re-interpretation of the religious texts in the light of science and the present enviroment that we are living in.Homosexuals have been,are and will always be in our society and I have no doubts about it.To say that homosexuality can be diminished from the face of the earth is childish,irrational and idiotic.Therefore we have to speculate and let others carry out their own speculations as to whether it was the homosexuality or any other reason which caused the destruction of Soddom and Gomorrah.This might take a little time.But we have none!We cant just sit and wait while another gay person is murdered in the name of Allah.Therefore we must start interpreting Quranic texts,atleast personally,today.And then we can spread our interpretation to like minded learned indvidual.This may be done through either contacting them individually or using internet,or both.
Secondly we must demand that in schools we should let no kind of discrimination be allowed,whether based on relgious affiliations,sexual orientations,nationality or other kind of such irrational thinking.We must stress te need to educate our children that their is nothing with homosexuality.That they are not sick.And certainly not immoral.
It may seem like that we promoting homosexuality.But we are not.Homosexuality,first of all cant be taught and to assume it can be is an idiotic belief.Secondly we should preach tolerance not only concerning homosexuality and stress the need to accept it,but also to accept and tolerate different point of views,beliefs,faiths,gender(or sexlessness)etc.Preaching tolerance towards gays is just one aspect of the whole thing.
We must teach our children that whether one is gay or straight,Muslim or non-Muslim,religious or non-religious,of our country’s national or not,we have no right whatsoever to discriminate that person or hold a grudge against him/her/it.
Homosexuals are existent in every society andif there exists the one in which it is not,then I am sorry,I havent heard of such a society.Therefore rather then persecuting them we should try to make them part of our enviroment treating the with love and veneration.
Atleast in my country I cant see gay hate crimes get away too soon.But as aforementioned we already have wasted alot of time and lives.And we must start over today.Individually or as a group/organization, it depends on you.But try your level best to make a difference in atleast as many lives as you think you can or should,even if it one.For even that one person,if he/she is gay would start to feel better about themselves and stop thinking that God hates them.They would stop thinking that they are the reason why earthquakes happen in Pakistan(because God hates them and has sent them His sign.Whatever!).Teach them that they are natural and urge them to reserach,and think for themselves objectively.
If that person is an anti-gay,homophobiac,one he/she might murder some one.Maybe your knowledge and arguement can show them the way and save a life.
However be cautious,for they mgiht run after you instead.So start off with trying to convince them that we should be tolerant of difference in diversity of this world,beliefs and give freedom to express one’s self.If you think he/she is ready to be liberated then carry on.But if you believe that person is a fanatic or even a highly religious person then stop right there,and argue no more,trust me!
These are jst few of the suggestions I can give to stop the hate crimes committed in the name of God/Religions whether against homosexual,or blacks,or an enemy nations national.But these are not the ultimate ones and are certainly not carved in rock.If you believe I am wrong in my enjoinment or otherwise then please feel free to criticize or even appreciate[:p]
Latly here is something that I am going to leave you wondering about(And you can start off to make anti-gay people wonder with this thing):
Thisis what Rev. Anne Kitch said about Matthew Shepard:
“He was not always a winner according to the world’s standards. He struggled to fit into a world not always kind to gentle spirits. What was important to Matt was to care, to help to nurture, to bring joy to others in his quiet, gentle way.”
I ask one question:
Should we kill homosexuals just because we dont approve of the way they have sex or have sex with and forget the beautiful sous and the rights to life that they have,or should we concentrate on their positive side and think ‘Fine.I am not homosexual and aybe I dont even like homosexuality.But here is my friend.He’s gay and he’s such a beautiful soul.Whatever he does is between him and God and let me even die for him.’?

Coming Out Of The Dark Closet…..

Me and my mother,like sometimes we did and do,went for a walk in the park together.My mother has gone through alot because of me,but has never stopped loving me.Unlike others,who leave or loathe their parents for not accepting their orientation,my love for my mother is unconditional(until and unless she’s not telling me that I should sacrifice anyone else for her…haha).So, aswe were walking around in the park,we had a desultory talk in which she explained to me that I could tell her anything,since she’s already been through so much because of me.I took this opportunity and explained to her that I might have attarction towards women and men both.At that time I wasnt sure if I was gay or bisexual.And also I told her that I was having doubts about Islam.She was,obiously,disappointed.And tried to overlook the reality.She explained that this feeling that I was having towards my own gender would go away and it should be just a platonic one.To establish her point she went on to tell me that in her class there used to be these girls who used to cry for teachers and loved them because they were their favourite.Her desperation to somehow turn be staright was palpable.But I wasnt going to,since I couldnt.I gave her an immense amount of good research,over the time,in favour of homosexuality.I even tried to change her mind b introducing her to ijtihad(Islamic free reasoning) and that using it,Islam and Homosexuality could be reconciliated.But no! She wouldnt accept anything and turned her deaf ear to all my exlanation which I gave her every now and then.Then one day I recieved the email that my brother had sent me from Glasgow to give me an elder brother’s advise on how to be aware of those disgusting homosexuals,since I was moving to an all-boy’s school from co-education.I took this opportunity to tell him the truth about my bisexuality,which he didnt like either.Since then my whole family knows(maybe excluding one of my sisters,since she’s married and wasnt there when all of this happened).One of my sister think I am gay and that there’s no difference between bisexuals and gays and she even makes fun of my orientation and taunts me when we have a fight.My whole family is homophobiac.And my mother think gays are hijras(eunuchs),thanks to the media,especially that Nadia Khan of the Nadia Khan Show,who is one hell of an extremist.But I have decided.I have to stand for my orientation,even if it means leaving my family,although I’ll be a zombie without their love and them.Millions of people have gone through,are going through and will go through because of homophobia,misunderstanding of connotation of the owrd ‘gay’,and lack of education and tolerance.I have to be their voice.At this time anonymously ,maybe.But one day I’ll have a name and a title which will be able to influence others.And I’ll use it influence people and spread tolerance towards LGBT community,Hopefully….And anyway, I have always been giving my voice to minority,like secularists and repressed religious minorities of Pakistan,so why not my own community.Even if it mean my own life,because its better that I get killed than be frightened to death by these intolerant Mullahs and stupid and idiotic taboos of our society.My freedom from my Pakistani society or even my life for the freedom of others means nothing less to me then what Koran and Bible mean to Muslims and Christians ,repectively.The purpose to narrate my story here is not to scar you from coming out.But to encourage you.Even Hitler had his supporters.So be content with you orientation and stop worrying about what others will think,because if you’ll lose them it’ll be for your own betterment,since you’ll find others,who’ll be ready to accept your orientation as a part of you.Its not the quantity but the quality of you family which matters.And sometimes its better to leave the family that created you to create a family yourself,for the liberation of others and yourself.But the choice is yours.I am always here to be your friend and advise you and help you.Thank You