Labels: Annise Parker, gay politicians, hate groups, Houston, LGBT rights, religion, Texas, Texas Supreme Court
Friday, July 24, 2015
Via JMG: Houston Mayor Annise Parker: We'll Take This To The Voters And We'll Win
Via http://islamicommentary.org: Same-Sex Relationships & the Fluidity of Marriage in Islamic History
One scholar’s response to Reza Aslan and Hasan Minhaj’s “Open Letter to American Muslims on Same Sex Marriage”
by ALI A. OLOMI for ISLAMiCommentary on JULY 17, 2015:
Since the legalization of same-sex marriage by the U.S. Supreme Court on June 26th 2015, various religious groups have responded to the ruling. Muslim Americans, who themselves are a minority group in the United States, have struggled to find consensus.
Some have openly condemned the ruling. Others have urged a more hesitant acceptance of the court’s decision. Cognizant of the precarious position of minorities in the United States, Imam Suhaib Webb posted an online message where he encouraged a nuanced perspective that respected the ruling and supported it politically, while acknowledging the theological and ethical dilemmas for conservative Muslims. A group of Afghan American thinkers and activists on The Samovar Network took a more accepting stance when they held an online panel (via a Google hangout) and showed support for the ruling and the LGBTQ community as a whole.
Author, Reza Aslan and comedian, Hasan Minhaj wrote an open letter, published in Religion Dispatches, to Muslim Americans encouraging acceptance and tolerance, reminding Muslims that they too are a minority in the United States and should stand for the rights of their fellow minorities.
People were surprised by the letter and some have attributed the position of the authors to Western influence. Popular representations in America and Europe, tend to depict Muslims as staunchly against same-sex marriage. But I would point out that positions like Reza’s and others like him actually highlight a forgotten part of Islamic history.
Just as in the case of Christianity, the history on same-sex relationships in Islam is far more complex than some would have you believe.
First, we have to acknowledge that though same-sex relationships are timeless and gay people have existed throughout history, according to theorists, like Michel Foucault, homosexuality as an identity emerged alongside heterosexuality in modernity. Indeed, an argument can be made that homophobia itself is a predominantly modern fear tied to anxieties about masculinity within nationalist contexts. The Qur’an itself does not address homosexuality directly, but refers to specific practices.
When it comes to same-sex relationships, Muslims point to the infamous Qur’anic verses on the People of Lot (7:80-84), which some modern scholars — by projecting modern sensibilities on the verse — interpret as being a condemnation of homosexuality. Yet, other scholars point out the context of the verse in the Qisas Al Anbiya, a commentary and history on the lives of the Islamic prophets by Al Kisa’i, that relates the tale of Lot as a condemnation of the corruption festering in the people of Lot, whose bestial carnality led to rape and sodomy; i.e. it’s not a direct condemnation of sodomy.
In fact, the Qur’an actually supports diversity of desires when it
states that God created various mates for mankind (30:21). Furthermore,
the Qur’an uses homoerotic imagery to describe paradise as full of
eternally youthful manservants so attractive that “when you see them,
you’d think them as beautiful as scattered pearls.” (52: 24, 76: 19).
We must also consider the Prophet Muhammad’s life and how his wife, Umm Salama, had a gay or interest manservant, Hit. In addition to Hit, there was also Tuways and Al Dalal. These individuals, known as mukhanathum, were counted as companions of Muhammad, or disciples and friends. The mukhanathum even served as guardians of Muhammad’s tomb when he died.
Same-sex relationships and romance existed throughout the history of Islamic civilization from the 7th century on. The famed Persian poet Rumi and the father of Classical Islamic poetry, Abu Nawas, wrote verses extolling the beauty of young men. Indeed, in medieval Abbasid, Ottoman, and Safavid empires, the normative standards of beauty in works of poetry and art revolved around the youthful and desirable appearance of young men.
While women were absolutely praised, the normative standard of beauty focused primarily on a concept of youthfulness that was equated to vitality and desire. In many of the poems like those of Abu Nawas and Rumi and many others, this meant young men, but these young men were attributed with feminine qualities, highlighting the fluid nature of masculinity and femininity.
Caliphs like Al Amin in the 8th century Abbasid caliphate engaged in same-sex relationships, and it is written that the warriors of Abu Muslim, who overthrew the Umayyads, lay with their male pages. While periods of oppression certainly existed and scholars anxiously debated whether acts were permissible or prohibited, on the whole, Islamic civilization tended to be not only tolerant, but accepting of same-sex romances.
Textual evidence for same-sex relationship between women were not as widespread in the Arabic and Islamic literary tradition, but there is still ample evidence of the tolerance and even praise of same-sex relationships between women. For example, in the 10th century, Jawami al-Ladhdha or, Encyclopedia of Pleasure by Abul Hasan Ali, he relates a story of love and romance between two women, Hind bint al Nur’man and Al Zarqa.
Some periods of Islamic history were more accepting than others and
we should acknowledge that there was regional variation, but the
historical arc was significantly towards toleration. When famed 19th
century Moroccan scholar, Muhammad al Saffar traveled to Europe he was
surprised to find same-sex courtship repugnant to the Europeans in
contrast to its acceptance in the Islamic world. Indeed, that acceptance
of same-sex courtship and romance was used by European Christian and
orientalist writers as a sign of the supposed moral laxity of the
“orient.”
Same-sex relationships between men, for example, were depicted in art, including in these images (now in the public domain): 1) “Shah Abbas and Wine Boy”- 17th Century art by Muhammad Qasim depicting Safavid ruler, Shah Abbas with his lover and wine boy; 2) “Haft Awrang”- The Seven Thrones, an illuminated manuscript by 16th Century Jami. Depicts a male youth with his male suitors; 3) “Aqa Mirak” – 16th Safavid watercolor by Aqa Mirak Tabriz depicting two young princes and lovers (currently located in the Smithsonian) and 4) “Sawaqub”– 19th Century Ottoman depiction in Sawaqub al Manaquib depicting sexual relations between a man and his wine servant.
These cultural and social realities of same-sex relationships in Islam have been made subterranean in historical reflection. People who wish to push a singular interpretation of religion conveniently ignore these parts of Islamic history in favor of narratives hewn from their prejudices. While the historical existence of relationships between couples of the same sex is an irrefutable fact, these narratives are often swept under the rug and the history of tolerance is forgotten in favor of depictions of Islam as a homophobic and aggressive faith.
Make the jump here to read the full article
“Aqa
Mirak” – 16th Safavid watercolor by Aqa Mirak depicting two young
princes and lovers. (currently located in the Smithsonian)
Since the legalization of same-sex marriage by the U.S. Supreme Court on June 26th 2015, various religious groups have responded to the ruling. Muslim Americans, who themselves are a minority group in the United States, have struggled to find consensus.
Some have openly condemned the ruling. Others have urged a more hesitant acceptance of the court’s decision. Cognizant of the precarious position of minorities in the United States, Imam Suhaib Webb posted an online message where he encouraged a nuanced perspective that respected the ruling and supported it politically, while acknowledging the theological and ethical dilemmas for conservative Muslims. A group of Afghan American thinkers and activists on The Samovar Network took a more accepting stance when they held an online panel (via a Google hangout) and showed support for the ruling and the LGBTQ community as a whole.
Author, Reza Aslan and comedian, Hasan Minhaj wrote an open letter, published in Religion Dispatches, to Muslim Americans encouraging acceptance and tolerance, reminding Muslims that they too are a minority in the United States and should stand for the rights of their fellow minorities.
People were surprised by the letter and some have attributed the position of the authors to Western influence. Popular representations in America and Europe, tend to depict Muslims as staunchly against same-sex marriage. But I would point out that positions like Reza’s and others like him actually highlight a forgotten part of Islamic history.
Just as in the case of Christianity, the history on same-sex relationships in Islam is far more complex than some would have you believe.
First, we have to acknowledge that though same-sex relationships are timeless and gay people have existed throughout history, according to theorists, like Michel Foucault, homosexuality as an identity emerged alongside heterosexuality in modernity. Indeed, an argument can be made that homophobia itself is a predominantly modern fear tied to anxieties about masculinity within nationalist contexts. The Qur’an itself does not address homosexuality directly, but refers to specific practices.
When it comes to same-sex relationships, Muslims point to the infamous Qur’anic verses on the People of Lot (7:80-84), which some modern scholars — by projecting modern sensibilities on the verse — interpret as being a condemnation of homosexuality. Yet, other scholars point out the context of the verse in the Qisas Al Anbiya, a commentary and history on the lives of the Islamic prophets by Al Kisa’i, that relates the tale of Lot as a condemnation of the corruption festering in the people of Lot, whose bestial carnality led to rape and sodomy; i.e. it’s not a direct condemnation of sodomy.
2. “Haft Awrang”- The Seven Thrones, an illuminated manuscript by 16th Century Jami. Depicts a male youth with his male suitors.
We must also consider the Prophet Muhammad’s life and how his wife, Umm Salama, had a gay or interest manservant, Hit. In addition to Hit, there was also Tuways and Al Dalal. These individuals, known as mukhanathum, were counted as companions of Muhammad, or disciples and friends. The mukhanathum even served as guardians of Muhammad’s tomb when he died.
Same-sex relationships and romance existed throughout the history of Islamic civilization from the 7th century on. The famed Persian poet Rumi and the father of Classical Islamic poetry, Abu Nawas, wrote verses extolling the beauty of young men. Indeed, in medieval Abbasid, Ottoman, and Safavid empires, the normative standards of beauty in works of poetry and art revolved around the youthful and desirable appearance of young men.
While women were absolutely praised, the normative standard of beauty focused primarily on a concept of youthfulness that was equated to vitality and desire. In many of the poems like those of Abu Nawas and Rumi and many others, this meant young men, but these young men were attributed with feminine qualities, highlighting the fluid nature of masculinity and femininity.
Caliphs like Al Amin in the 8th century Abbasid caliphate engaged in same-sex relationships, and it is written that the warriors of Abu Muslim, who overthrew the Umayyads, lay with their male pages. While periods of oppression certainly existed and scholars anxiously debated whether acts were permissible or prohibited, on the whole, Islamic civilization tended to be not only tolerant, but accepting of same-sex romances.
Textual evidence for same-sex relationship between women were not as widespread in the Arabic and Islamic literary tradition, but there is still ample evidence of the tolerance and even praise of same-sex relationships between women. For example, in the 10th century, Jawami al-Ladhdha or, Encyclopedia of Pleasure by Abul Hasan Ali, he relates a story of love and romance between two women, Hind bint al Nur’man and Al Zarqa.
“Shah Abbas and Wine Boy”- 17th Century art by Muhammad Qasim depicting Safavid ruler, Shah Abbas with his lover and wine boy.
Same-sex relationships between men, for example, were depicted in art, including in these images (now in the public domain): 1) “Shah Abbas and Wine Boy”- 17th Century art by Muhammad Qasim depicting Safavid ruler, Shah Abbas with his lover and wine boy; 2) “Haft Awrang”- The Seven Thrones, an illuminated manuscript by 16th Century Jami. Depicts a male youth with his male suitors; 3) “Aqa Mirak” – 16th Safavid watercolor by Aqa Mirak Tabriz depicting two young princes and lovers (currently located in the Smithsonian) and 4) “Sawaqub”– 19th Century Ottoman depiction in Sawaqub al Manaquib depicting sexual relations between a man and his wine servant.
These cultural and social realities of same-sex relationships in Islam have been made subterranean in historical reflection. People who wish to push a singular interpretation of religion conveniently ignore these parts of Islamic history in favor of narratives hewn from their prejudices. While the historical existence of relationships between couples of the same sex is an irrefutable fact, these narratives are often swept under the rug and the history of tolerance is forgotten in favor of depictions of Islam as a homophobic and aggressive faith.
Make the jump here to read the full article
Same-Sex
Relationships & the Fluidity of Marriage in Islamic History (by Ali
A. Olomi) - See more at:
http://islamicommentary.org/2015/07/same-sex-relationships-the-fluidity-of-marriage-in-islamic-history-by-ali-a-olomi/#sthash.evhCQAj6.dpuf
Same-Sex
Relationships & the Fluidity of Marriage in Islamic History (by Ali
A. Olomi) - See more at:
http://islamicommentary.org/2015/07/same-sex-relationships-the-fluidity-of-marriage-in-islamic-history-by-ali-a-olomi/#sthash.evhCQAj6.dpuf
Today's Daily Dharma: Look to Life
Look to Life
I
don’t believe we should look to any metaphysical order on the far side
of experience nor to any metaphysical subject on the near side of
experience but simply, as it were, to life.
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Thursday, July 23, 2015
Today's Daily Dharma: Wishing Others Well
Wishing Others Well
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When
we really see, in our mind?s eye, a person we think we don?t like, and
instead of solidifying our reasons for hatred we honestly wish them
happiness, good health, safety, and an easeful life, we start to forget
what we thought we hated and why we felt that way in the first place. A
sense of equanimity toward everyone arises as we do this practice?we
feel compassion for those who were once invisible to us, and our
disregard and apathy morph into concern for their well-being and safety.
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Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Via JMG: Obama Jokes On Daily Show: I'm Issuing Executive Order That Stewart Must Stay
The Guardian reports:
Barack Obama mocked foes, talked up his legacy and teased Jon Stewart in a nostalgic final appearance as president on The Daily Show, providing a bittersweet farewell for the old sparring partners. “I can’t believe you’re leaving before me,” Obama told his host, who is due to retire in two weeks after 16 years in the Comedy Central hot seat. “I’m going to issue an executive order: Jon Stewart cannot leave the show. It’s being challenged in the courts.”
The two men bantered on Tuesday night’s show over Iran, Donald Trump, lost opportunities and the “Hope” posters – gentle jabs rather than blows that yielded a fond, affectionate coda to the satirical news show’s prickly relationship with the president. Obama joked that critics of the Iran nuclear deal seemed to think that “if you had brought Dick Cheney to the negotiations everything would be fine”.
Stewart, who reflected liberals’ initial euphoria and later disappointment with the Obama era, noted his guest’s recent run of victories: “It appears that you’re feeling it a little bit right now. Do you feel like seven years in …” “I know what I’m doing,” Obama interrupted. “A lot of the work that we did early starts bearing fruit late. The way I’m feeling right now is, I’ve got 18 months.” He vowed to tackle climate change and fuel-efficiency standards before leaving.
Reposted from Joe Jervis
Via JMG: STUDY: HIV Transmission Is Virtually Zero For Patients "Reliably" Taking Their Meds
Via the Charlotte News & Observer:
Reposted from Joe Jervis
Groundbreaking research conducted at UNC-Chapel Hill has demonstrated that potent drug cocktails can disable HIV to the point that the deadly virus can’t be transmitted to other people through sexual activity. The findings were announced Monday by AIDS researcher Myron Cohen at the eigth International AIDS Society Conference in Vancouver, Canada. Cohen, UNC’s chief of the Institute for Global Health & Infectious Diseases, has headed the global research project for a decade and studied more than 1,700 couples.The researchers stressed that they are not advocating unprotected sex for those taking anti-retrovirals.
The landmark study, financed with more than $100 million in federal research grants, confirmed initial results reported in 2011 and demonstrated that AIDS medications known as antiretroviral therapy, or ART, can suppress the virus for years. The virus can reemerge if the patient stops taking the medicine, but as long as it’s suppressed, the virus essentially is harmless and most patients can lead normal, healthy lives. “If people are taking their pills reliably and they’re taking them for some period of time, the probability of transmission in this study is actually zero,” Cohen said by phone from Vancouver. “Let me say it another way: We never saw a case of HIV transmission in a person who is stably suppressed on ART.”
Today's Daily Dharma: Not Always So
Not Always So
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Once
we notice the preconceptions that we are carrying around with us, then
it is possible for us to let them go and say, "Well, maybe so, maybe
not." Suzuki Roshi once said, "The essence of Zen is "Not always so."Not always so. It's a good little phrase to carry around when you're
sure. It gives you an opportunity to look again more carefully and see
what other possibilities there might be in the situation.
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Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Today's Daily Dharma: True Seeing
True Seeing
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It
seems to me that the advice of the Buddha was not to change how you
think about things so that you?re happy and content with them as they
are, but rather to see things as they are.
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Monday, July 20, 2015
The Huffington Post: Thomas Roberts Becomes First Openly Gay Evening News Anchor On Network TV
Until the broadcast, an openly gay person had never anchored the nightly news on network TV. Roberts told The Advocate that it was a "huge honor" to fill the role.
During the week, Roberts hosts "MSNBC Live With Thomas Roberts."
There are a few openly gay evening news anchors on cable TV -- MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, CNN's Anderson Cooper and Don Lemon -- but Roberts is the first for one of the big three networks.
Watch the historic broadcast
Via JMG: LOUISIANA: Married Gay Man Denied Communion At His Mother's Funeral
Tim Ardillo said he was standing next to his mother’s coffin leading his young son to receive a blessing when the priest presiding over the funeral Mass denied him communion. The longtime Catholic said the priest told him it was because he married outside the church, but Ardillo doesn’t think that’s the whole story. He believes he was denied the sacrament because, as is stated in his mother’s obituary, he is married to a man. The priest in question, the Rev. Mark Beard [PHOTO], of St. Helena Catholic Church in Amite, did not return multiple calls seeking comment in the week following the July 10 funeral. Ardillo said the church passed out a quotation from 1 Corinthians at Mass the next Sunday, which states, in a portion highlighted in red ink, “Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks in judgment of himself.”Ardillo says he has gotten an apology from the Diocese of Baton Rouge and from the Archbishop of New Orleans. (Tipped by JMG reader Ken)
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día - Flower of the Day 20/07/2015
“Por conta da repressão e dos traumas de exclusão, humilhação e
abandono, a criança cria mecanismos de defesa que servem para protegê-la
da dor, mas que a desconectam da sua verdadeira identidade. Com isso,
ela se torna carente daquilo que é a sua própria essência. Na maioria
das vezes a única maneira que ela encontra de suprir essa carência é
tirando energia do outro, ou seja, invalidando e colocando o outro para
baixo. Quando o outro se sente menos,
ela se sente forte. Isso é o que tenho chamado de círculo vicioso do
sadomasoquismo, uma doença coletiva gerada pelo rompimento com a
essência, com fonte que é o coração - a fonte que é o amor.”
“Por causa de la represión y de los
traumas de exclusión, humillación y abandono, el niño crea mecanismos de
defensa que sirven para protegerse del dolor, pero que lo desconectan
de su verdadera identidad. Con esto, él se vuelve carente de aquello que
es su propia esencia. La mayoría de las veces, la única manera que
encuentra de suplir esta carencia es sacando energía del otro, es decir,
invalidando y poniendo al otro por abajo. Cuando el otro se siente
menos, él se siente fuerte. Esto es lo que vengo llamando círculo
vicioso del sadomasoquismo, una enfermedad colectiva generada por la
ruptura con la esencia, con la fuente que es el corazón - la fuente que
es el amor.”
“Due to repression and the traumas of exclusion, humiliation and abandonment, children create defense mechanisms to protect themselves from pain. These mechanisms disconnect them from their true identity. As a result, they become needy for their own essence. Oftentimes, the only way children can make up for this neediness is by robbing the other’s energy, which happens by invalidating the other and putting them down. When the other feels less than, the child feels stronger. This is what I call the vicious cycle of sadomasochism. It is a collective disease generated by the split with our true essence and the Source. The Source is our heart and love.”
“Due to repression and the traumas of exclusion, humiliation and abandonment, children create defense mechanisms to protect themselves from pain. These mechanisms disconnect them from their true identity. As a result, they become needy for their own essence. Oftentimes, the only way children can make up for this neediness is by robbing the other’s energy, which happens by invalidating the other and putting them down. When the other feels less than, the child feels stronger. This is what I call the vicious cycle of sadomasochism. It is a collective disease generated by the split with our true essence and the Source. The Source is our heart and love.”
Today's Daily Dharma: Religion Resurrected
Religion Resurrected
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If
we allow religion to be identified exclusively with a particular form
that it took in the past, something that will always be inadequate to
the present, we fail to take our own moment in time seriously and
surrender the opportunity for renewal and reform.
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Sunday, July 19, 2015
Via WGB: Most Republican and Christian business owners believe it’s wrong to turn away LGBTI customers
Two-thirds of small business owners from across the political spectrum oppose discrimination against gay people in US – but one in three still believe it’s OK.
The survey’s main findings were as follows:
• Eight in 10 entrepreneurs support a federal law to protect LGBT individuals against discrimination in public accommodations, such as restaurants, hotels and other businesses that are open to the public. Nearly half (47%) strongly favor a federal law banning this type of discrimination. Twenty per cent were opposed to any such federal law.
• Sixty per cent believed it to be wrong for a business owner to fire someone for being LGBT, while 40% believed it was acceptable. Full story here!
Via JMG: Evil Alabama Mother Still Won't Let Dead Son's Husband Have His Estate
"The issue is not whether someone may marry a member of the same sex today. The issue is whether a court may or should look back four years and recognize a marriage that was not legally valid. Of course, if the marriage is recognized it will only cause further economic harm to a family which has already lost one its own. And if recognized, this man will be awarded an entire spousal share of the wrongful death proceeds which would be unjust even under normal circumstances considering the two were 'married' less than 3 months."From FML president Kayla Moore, wife of Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore:
"It is outrageous that five unelected lawyers on the U.S. Supreme Court think they can invalidate a constitutional amendment adopted by 81% of Alabama voters in 2006, on the flimsy ground that violates a so-called 'right' found nowhere in the Constitution. It adds insult to injury to contend that this so-called 'right' should be applied retroactively to matters that should have been settled long ago."Back in November 2014 the Social Security Administration advised Paul Hard that since he and his late husband were not married "under the laws of Alabama," he is not eligible for federal death benefits. In February 2015, when same-sex marriage first became legal in Alabama, Paul Hard was granted an amended death certificate declaring him to have been the legal spouse of his late husband. That's when Hard's evil former mother-in-law employed the FML in an attempt to thwart Hard's receipt of his share of the settlement in a wrongful death suit filed following his late husband's car accident. According to yesterday's press release, the FML is now claiming that Obergefell does not retroactively apply to unsettled legal actions. Not incidentally, the FML openly advocates for replacing the government of the United States with a Christian theocracy ruled by "biblical law."
Labels: Alabama, Christianists, disgusting, evil, Foundation For Moral Law, hate groups, Kayla Moore, Obergefell, religion, Roy Moore
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