The Islamic Council and Gays, continued

This post is a follow-up on two of my previous posts, The Norwegian Islamic Council and Gays, and The Christian People's Party and Gays.

The most recent developments on this issue is that the leader of the Norwegian Islamic Council, Senaid Kobilica, has called upon the Norwegian Imams and asked them to be open to talking with muslim homosexuals. According to an interview with Dagsavisen, "the Islamic Council do not want homosexuals, whether they be muslim or not, to be living in the closet. They are living in Norway, a democratic country, and are free to come out." Also, he has pointed out that the Norwegian Islamic Council are against capital punishment for homosexuality in Norway, but do not want to involve itself with legislation in other states.

Although Kobilica still holds the view that it is incompatible to be a practicing muslim and also to be a practicing homosexual, this is uplifting, and it is a step in the right direction. It is also an example that the Islamic community very much is capable of debate on defining issues. Let's just hope the debate and developments continue in the right direction.

We should also remind ourselves that a similar debate has been going on and is still going on in the Christian Church community in Norway. There is still a strong resistance towards letting homosexuals occupy religious positions in the Church. To me, there is no principal difference between the Church and the Islamic Council in this respect, at least when it comes to their stance on homosexuals in Norway.

The Christian People's Party and Gays

The politician Ole Henrik Grønn in the Sarpsborg Christian People's Party (KrF) resigned his position with the party last week. His resignation is due to the stark criticism he has been at the receiving end for because of his sexual orientation. According to the leader of the local party, Marit Sverresen, Grønn's position in the party is incompatible with living in a relationship with another man.

As I stated in my August 17 post, The Norwegian Islamic Council and Gays, reactionary attitudes are not at all reserved for Muslims or any other religious faith. It is a sliding scale, of course, and barring certain people for membership in a political party is not the same as punishing them with execution. The similarities are nevertheless obvious.

If we want to force the Norwegian Islamic Council to hold certain views and values that we find politically correct, why not also impose the same on our political parties? Anything else is in my opinion pure hypocrisy.