The Blue Mosque in Amsterdam has been linked to the Egyptian-based Muslim Brotherhood, the umbrella organization for most of the Islamic terrorist organizations around the world. So it should come as no surprise when asked by the mayor of Amsterdam to sign a statement endorsing protection for the LGBTQ community, the mosque would not only refuse but take offense.
Regardless of what Scripture in any religion says about homosexuality, all religious leaders should condemn violence directed toward the LGBTQ community.
The below article from today's Telegraaf is translated by Fousesquawk.
Mosque denounces call against LGBTQ violence from the municipality of Amsterdam
Yesterday at 12:44 in domestic
Amsterdam- The leadership of the Blue Mosque in Amsterdam is angry about a letter from the municipality. In (the letter), Mayor Femke Halsema asks the leadership of the mosque to sign a statement of support in which there is a call to condemn violence against LGBTQ people.
Caption: The Blue Mosque in Amsterdam
The Blue Mosque calls it, "absurd, discriminating, and accusatory." "That only the mosques are asked to explicitly condemn violence is a direct accusation against the Islamic community," according to the mosque in a statement.
Halsema has invited the mosque leaders to a meeting next Monday regarding the protection of the LGBTQ community, "and the contributions the mosques can give to strengthen the security of this group." In the invitation letter, it states the mayor will present a statement to the mosque leadership in which violence against LGBTQ persons is condemned, and in which support is expressed "for those who are victimized by this form of discrimination and violence."
The mayor would like that the mosque leadership, as much as possible, sign this statement to show that the mosques are a positive force in Amsterdam society. According to the Blue Mosque, "with this, the Islamic community, for the umpteenth time, has been found guilty by the government of a lack of trust, until they themselves prove otherwise."
Also asked of Jewish and Christian organizations
A spokesperson for Halsema announced that Jewish and Christian organizations are also being asked to sign a similar type of statement. According to the municipality, religious organizations play an important role in fighting against discrimination and violence against LGBTQ people due to direct contact with believers whom they represent. "We are not asking too much of them," says the spokesperson.
The Blue Mosque says that it is possible that the call was made to other religions as well, "but what we know is only what is in the letter," says a spokesperson. The organization is not coming to the meeting on Monday.
The Blue Mosque is one of the larger mosques in the country. The organization often speaks out on Muslim positions and other societal subjects. How many people the mosque represents, the spokesperson cannot say precisely, but according to him, about a thousand people come to Friday sermons.
The interesting thing is, we have pretty much the opposite situation here. What I mean is that when they conduct polls, US Muslims are more likely to support LGBTQ rights than their Christian counterparts. (Not sure where US Jewish congregations line up, but I would imagine that it's probably comparable with the US Muslims.)
ReplyDeleteThe US Muslim population tends to be more educated than those in Europe, and politically, I am guessing that they are more in line with liberals. At least their so-called leaders are (CAIR, MPAC, etc)
ReplyDelete