Chicago Free Press Editorial - Unholy alliance
Chicago Free Press Editorial - Unholy alliance
Copyright by The Chicago Free Press
August 2, 2006.
Given that religion is the greatest source of homophobia in the world, there is no place more suitable to stage WorldPride than Jersusalem. A holy city to Jews, Christians and Muslims, Israel’s capital is in many ways the spiritual epicenter of gay oppression.
Developments leading up to WorldPride Jerusalem 2006, which gets underway Aug. 6-12, have underscored the fact that nowhere on earth is in greater need of witnessing this event. Unfortunately, the rhetoric and threats it has provoked from ultra-conservative Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders suggest that not even an appearance by God Almighty could change these hearts.
While their theological differences have accounted for much—if not most—of the strife and misery in the world over the past millennia, fanatics of the West’s three great religions are implacably united in their hatred of gays. If ever there was an issue that demonstrated the homogeneity of religious extremism, this is it. The theme of WorldPride is “love without borders,” but the world is seeing instead that hatred has no borders, that it flows with blood across history’s fiercest battle lines. The depth of orthodox religious leaders’ hostility toward gays is not exceeded even by their hatred of one another.
An anonymous flyer distributed in ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem last month offered about $4,400 to anyone who killed a WorldPride participant—an offer similar to bounties that have been offered by jihadists to suicide bombers’ families. The threat was a chilling reminder of an attack last year by an ultra-Orthodox Jew who stabbed and wounded three marchers in a Jerusalem Pride parade.
Sheik Taissir Tamimi, head of the Islamic court in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, called on Palestinians to take to the streets to prevent WorldPride participants from entering east Jerusalem, location of the city’s holy sites. “This group of homosexuals, we consider them impure,” he said, warning ominously that they “must not be allowed to enter Jerusalem.”
Two weeks ago, authorities cancelled the Pride march that was to have been the centerpiece of WorldPride Jerusalem. They said the escalating conflict between Israel and Lebanon had left them without adequate forces to ensure the parade’s security. But in an article that appeared in the Jerusalem Post, officials admitted that was largely an invented excuse to ban an uncomfortable and controversial event.
WorldPride organizers said that events other than the parade would go on as planned, including a multifaith clergy conference, a gay film festival and a health conference. WorldPride Jerusalem had originally been scheduled for last summer, but was postponed due to Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. This time WorldPride leaders have apparently decided to cut their losses by settling for the less controversial programs on the agenda.
Many observers read the march’s cancellation as an admission of defeat. But the organizers of WorldPride have made their point. The event has put GLBT Pride smack in the face of some of the world’s most vicious homophobes. And, more importantly, it has incontrovertibly exposed the hypocrisy of so-called spiritual leaders who claim to follow a just, all-merciful and loving God.
Copyright by The Chicago Free Press
August 2, 2006.
Given that religion is the greatest source of homophobia in the world, there is no place more suitable to stage WorldPride than Jersusalem. A holy city to Jews, Christians and Muslims, Israel’s capital is in many ways the spiritual epicenter of gay oppression.
Developments leading up to WorldPride Jerusalem 2006, which gets underway Aug. 6-12, have underscored the fact that nowhere on earth is in greater need of witnessing this event. Unfortunately, the rhetoric and threats it has provoked from ultra-conservative Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders suggest that not even an appearance by God Almighty could change these hearts.
While their theological differences have accounted for much—if not most—of the strife and misery in the world over the past millennia, fanatics of the West’s three great religions are implacably united in their hatred of gays. If ever there was an issue that demonstrated the homogeneity of religious extremism, this is it. The theme of WorldPride is “love without borders,” but the world is seeing instead that hatred has no borders, that it flows with blood across history’s fiercest battle lines. The depth of orthodox religious leaders’ hostility toward gays is not exceeded even by their hatred of one another.
An anonymous flyer distributed in ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem last month offered about $4,400 to anyone who killed a WorldPride participant—an offer similar to bounties that have been offered by jihadists to suicide bombers’ families. The threat was a chilling reminder of an attack last year by an ultra-Orthodox Jew who stabbed and wounded three marchers in a Jerusalem Pride parade.
Sheik Taissir Tamimi, head of the Islamic court in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, called on Palestinians to take to the streets to prevent WorldPride participants from entering east Jerusalem, location of the city’s holy sites. “This group of homosexuals, we consider them impure,” he said, warning ominously that they “must not be allowed to enter Jerusalem.”
Two weeks ago, authorities cancelled the Pride march that was to have been the centerpiece of WorldPride Jerusalem. They said the escalating conflict between Israel and Lebanon had left them without adequate forces to ensure the parade’s security. But in an article that appeared in the Jerusalem Post, officials admitted that was largely an invented excuse to ban an uncomfortable and controversial event.
WorldPride organizers said that events other than the parade would go on as planned, including a multifaith clergy conference, a gay film festival and a health conference. WorldPride Jerusalem had originally been scheduled for last summer, but was postponed due to Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. This time WorldPride leaders have apparently decided to cut their losses by settling for the less controversial programs on the agenda.
Many observers read the march’s cancellation as an admission of defeat. But the organizers of WorldPride have made their point. The event has put GLBT Pride smack in the face of some of the world’s most vicious homophobes. And, more importantly, it has incontrovertibly exposed the hypocrisy of so-called spiritual leaders who claim to follow a just, all-merciful and loving God.
posted by Carlos T Mock at 3:14 PM
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