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Challenging Both Homophobia in Islam and Populist Bogeyman of ‘The Homophobic Muslim’; and More in Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…e pre-eminent guardian of western liberal values, voted against the bill.” BBC News reports on a Berlin mosque where “men and women pray together, women are allowed to lead Friday prayers, and gay, lesbian and transgender people are welcome.” “Our mosque is open for everybody,” says mosque founder Seyran Ates, a German Turkish-born lawyer and women’s rights activist. “And we mean that really seriously: everybody, every lifestyle. We are not God. W…

LGBTs in Philippines Reflect on Papal Visit; Francis Meets Trans Man Shunned by Parish; French Group Turns ‘Bar of Sodom’ into ‘Pub of Mercy’; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…es of families we have in our country.” Egypt and Sudan: Stories of LGBT struggle for survival Susanna Berkouwer, Azza Sultan, and Amar Yehia have published “Homosexuality in Sudan and Egypt: Stories of the Struggle for Survival” in the Harvard Kennedy School’s LGBTQ Policy Journal. Gay and lesbian Sudanese and Egyptians struggle daily to cope with the constant fear, discrimination, and physical abuse that they and their peers face, harboring a re…

Critics of Hasidic Schools Exposé Missed the Point: It Wasn’t Antisemitic or the Product of Secular Bias — It’s a Story of Corruption

By Shaul Magid

…the money was for a summer program run by the yeshiva to teach English to new Russian immigrants. I knew nothing about this program and didn’t sign the forms. When I returned and the Rosh Yeshiva asked why I’d refused to sign the forms I asked him about the program. He told me no such program existed. When I asked, “How can we take public money for a program that doesn’t exist?” he smiled and looked at me as though I’d landed from another planet….

Virginians may Vote in Elections, But in Counties with Militias Democracy Hangs in the Balance

By Carolyn Gallaher and Priya Dixit

…races a conspiratorial world view. In the 1990s, the movement warned of a “new world order;”[24] today it echoes Trump’s “deep state” narrative. Both conspiracies cast members of the U.S. government as internal traitors working with global elites to undermine the country.[25] Key to the movement’s growth is a tendency to support existing social hierarchies that favor its largely White, male base. Some militias accept openly racist members[26] and…

Is Change Possible? Shifting the Ex-Gay Question

By Lynne Gerber

…ments in social organization—a possibility recently postulated in a recent New York Times op-ed by former gay marriage opponent David Blankenhorn? Exodus may becoming more like its earlier self in its focus on the personal struggles of conflicted individuals, but its historic willingness to support anti-gay positions means it can not be allowed to disavow the political implications of its positions, actions, or inactions. Whatever Exodus does or d…

Vick Redeemed by Record-Breaking Performance

By Anthea Butler

…ll the wrong he committed to pit bulls. Giving up his body to the pain, by running, passing, and strategizing his way into the record books, (bruised ribs and all), his penance is made pure in the eyes of the public because of the resulting touchdowns. That is, if one believes in penance. Judging from some of the commentary, prison isn’t even enough to garner forgiveness. Had the Eagles not taken a chance in signing Vick, I don’t think he would ha…

High on Drugs: Breaking the Just Say No Addiction

By Gary Laderman

Forget the war on drugs. As Jimmy Carter recently argued in the New York Times, it is time to call off this wasted effort, heed the recommendations of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, and create more reasonable, empirically-based, economically beneficial rules and regulations. It is time to shift policies, attitudes, and responses in the face of a rampant hunger for drugs across all sectors of society. Let’s face facts: despite the vacuous s…

Pro-Gay Christians Breaking Out

By Peter Montgomery

…for you Kevin, if you call yourself a Christian, why don’t you believe the words of Jesus in the Bible?” Rudd responds: Well, mate, if I was gonna have that view, the Bible also says that slavery is a natural condition. Because St. Paul says in the New Testament, slaves be obedient to your masters… I mean, for goodness’ sake, the human condition and social conditions change. What is the fundamental principal of the New Testament? It is one of univ…

Islamophobia and Racism: Civil Rights at the Breaking Point

By Erik Love

…is to show them the truth, no matter how unpleasant. I tried my best to deliver the truth as it was told to me by the dozens of advocates I spoke with, and as I saw it in the archival record. If I am even partially successful, then anyone who reads the book will want to learn more about what these remarkable advocates are doing. I hope some will get inspired to become more personally involved in the struggle against Islamophobia. What alternative…

If the Media Are Reluctant to Properly Label the GOP’s Racist, Christian Nationalist Ideologies, We’ll Have Trouble Hanging on to Democracy

By Annika Brockschmidt

…lacement.” Prominent Republican politicians have joined him in his racist crusade. As has been pointed out since the shooting, Elise Stefanik, the third-highest ranking Republican in the House of Representatives, has not only in the past campaigned on “White Replacement,” but has in fact doubled down on it—even since the Buffalo shooting. While some large media outlets like the New York Times and the Washington Post have called the shooter’s motiv…