Derby faces down the 'phobes!

[marshlander]

Anyone go to Derby Pride this weekend? Here's some cheering news. The citizens of Derby helped raise enough racket to drown out a counter demo by members of the city's Muslim community who decided to tell us how evil we are <yawn!!>.

Oh yes mile:

the story

I suppose it's only fair to put this in some kind of perspective

Gulfraz Nawaz, secretary of Derby's Jamia Mosque, said last night: "The views of the protesters do not represent all the Muslim community – they are a very small minority and they give the majority of Muslims a bad name.
"I think we should live and let live."

Norwich Pride is coming up again on the 31st. I can't see the citizens of good, green Narch standing up to the inevitable leaflet-distributing phalanx of "Christian" gay-haters in the same way. I wonder why that is :confused:

[peterinmalaga]

Gulfraz Nawaz, secretary of Derby's Jamia Mosque, said last night: "The views of the protesters do not represent all the Muslim community – they are a very small minority and they give the majority of Muslims a bad name.


The evidence for this does not seem strong:

Same-sex intercourse officially carries the death penalty in several Muslim nations: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Mauritania, northern Nigeria, Sudan, and Yemen.[29][30] It formerly carried the death penalty in Afghanistan under the Taliban. The legal situation in the United Arab Emirates is unclear. In many Muslim nations, such as Bahrain, Qatar, Algeria and the Maldives, homosexuality is punished with jail time, fines, or corporal punishment. In some Muslim-majority nations, such as Turkey, Jordan, Indonesia or Mali, same-sex intercourse is not specifically forbidden by law. In Egypt, openly gay men have been prosecuted under general public morality laws. (See Cairo 52.) On the other hand, homosexuality, while not legal, is tolerated to some extent in Lebanon, and has been legal in Turkey for decades.


In Saudi Arabia, the maximum punishment for homosexuality is public execution, but the government will use other punishments—e.g., fines, jail time, and whipping—as alternatives, unless it feels that homosexuals are challenging state authority by engaging in LGBT social movements.[31] Iran is perhaps the nation to execute the largest number of its citizens for homosexuality. Since the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, the Iranian government has executed more than 4,000 people charged with homosexual acts.


Wikipedia: LGBT topics and Islam



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[fredv3b]

Perhaps Nawaz was meaning the Muslim community in the UK, rather than globally. Muslims in the UK being acutely aware that an intolerant society is not good for them.

Just giving him the benefit of the doubt....

[marshlander]

Perhaps Nawaz was meaning the Muslim community in the UK, rather than globally. Muslims in the UK being acutely aware that an intolerant society is not good for them.

Just giving him the benefit of the doubt....

That was my interpretation too. I've rabbited on about the other stuff often enough in the past, but thanks Peter. I need regular reminders how it is for others.

[peterinmalaga]

Perhaps Nawaz was meaning the Muslim community in the UK, rather than globally. Muslims in the UK being acutely aware that an intolerant society is not good for them.

Just giving him the benefit of the doubt....

OK. I live in Catholic Spain but I'm still British and atheist. Some things don't change when you move to another country.

[matty7]

at first i wanted to write something about the muslim protesters but im choosing to ignore them as they must be spreading themselves thin anyway with having to hate the rest of the world as well as us gays.. hope the pride day was a great success - lovely that local community joined in with vocal support too, always nice to feel welcomed

[marshlander]

at first i wanted to write something about the muslim protesters but im choosing to ignore them as they must be spreading themselves thin anyway with having to hate the rest of the world as well as us gays.. hope the pride day was a great success - lovely that local community joined in with vocal support too, always nice to feel welcomed

Yeah, round of applause for Derby