Subscribe to Breaking News
Loading ...Doctor suspended for anti-gay remarks
11.07.2008 3:23pm EST
(London) A well-known British doctor’s medical license was suspended for one year after a homophobic letter he wrote was published in a medical journal.
In a letter to the editor of Pulse – a journal for general practitioners – Dr Muhammad Siddiq, the head of the Islamic Medical Association, said that gay patients deserve neither help nor pity but they do need “the stick of the law to put them on the right path.”“There is punishment and a fine if you throw rubbish or filth in the streets. The gays are worse than the ordinary careless citizen,” the letter said. It also claimed that gays “are causing the spread of disease with their irresponsible behavior. They are the root of many sexually transmitted diseases.”
In addition, the letter said that a depressed transsexual awaiting gender reassignment was “twisted.”
After a complaint was filed with the medical board, Siddiq denied writing the letter, claiming that it was written by his son as a joke and he signed it not knowing the son would send it to the publication.
But the Pulse editor testified before a board hearing that the publication checked with Siddiq prior to publishing the letter and he did not deny writing it. Colleagues also say that he told them he had written the letter.
The chair of the board hearing the complaint, Dr. Andrew Popat, called the Siddiq’s actions inappropriate and not in the best interests of his patients.
Popat said that the letter was “liable to undermine public confidence in the medical profession and liable to bring the profession into disrepute”, adding that “the panel continues to have concerns regarding Dr Siddiq’s insight into his actions.”
Siddiq refused to attend the hearing, claiming the board was biased against him.
…and Christianity is so tolerant?????
It’s amazing that so many folk are coming to this mans defense. I keep hearing this myth about moderate Muslim’s and that Islam is a religion of peace. Anyone ever seen anyone of importance within Islam give a speech regarding tolerance and acceptance? If this is such a tolerant religion, I’m waiting for some to finally stand up. Heck, in the US we’ve been waiting since September 11, 2001. The Spanish have been waiting since March 11, 2004. The Brits have waited since July 7, 2005. The Israelis have been waiting for decades.
Whoa. There are so many misunderstandings coming from a lot of the people posting here. I truly can’t believe any homosexual could be so quick to judge based on stereotypes and media hype. Isn’t that what we’ve been fighting against all our lives??
What Dr Siddiq done was awefull, but so to were the publishers of the letter. are there not any checks and balances in the publication? How is it that this letter even got published in the first place?
A guy like that should be introduced to the stick that he so mentioned. Then striped of he medical liscences.
A jail term would be a nice alternative but to hang him would work too as I believe that is the only real solution to that kind of hate.
Apparently English citizens do not have the right of free speech, and comments already posted below by the politically correct suggest they agree with censoring.
All the doctor did was write a letter showing his bigotry. The letter speaks for itself but the doctor should have the right to express his viewpoint. No homosexual patient needs to be seen by this physician. Writing a letter is not grounds for revoking a medical license, only conviction for a crime, or repeated malpractice are grounds for the revocation of a medical license.
And by the way, I am NOT gay, I am homosexual. Gay is such a irrelevant word.
The Home Office in London, or Homeland Security in the U.S., has legislation drafted to bar all immigrants who espouse hatred and killing of its gay citizens among others from entering the UK. About time. Its radical and bold. All countries should do the same. If they hate the west so much, why do they keep migrating and abusing the new found freedoms they wouldn’t have a chance of having in their own backward, regressive countries? Its beyond biting the hand that feeds them. Ungrateful bastards.
After all the complaints about the homophobia of African Americans in California, how refreshing it is to see that racism and Islamophobia are flourishing among the gay community! How nice that this community too is full of bigots and ignoramuses, just like everyone else.
I don’t even have time to begin to point out all the fallacies, misconceptions, and outright untruths in the above 7 comments. While I am mystified by Dr Siddiq’s frankly erratic behaviour (I suspect there may be a screw loose in that fine medical mind), to extrapolate from this that the UK is under siege from radical Muslims, or that all Muslims are backward and dangerous, or that Europe should close its door to immigrants, is – at best – the height of intellectual laziness.
I live in the UK. While we have much to learn about multiculturalism from the US, I can assure you that Muslims are not taking over, that they are not imposing Shari’a law on anyone else, and they are most certainly not “destroying this country.” I do, however, think that Dr Siddiq is entirely entitled to his (rather barmy) views, and LGBT people are fully entitled to not visit his practice if he promotes them. Just as I think all the crazy, barking people above are fully entitled to their poorly-thought-out and ill-informed views. Living with obnoxious people is, alas, the price of liberal democracy.
suprise [freaking] rag head! Basically, he HATES “fags” he may not have that specific word in his vocabulary, but trust me, he hates gay people and YET AGAIN, they (race minorities) don’t want anyone to hate them… how ironic.
Notice he didn’t want to go to the meeting because “bias” against him. NO doubt he is going to say his Race or Religion is reason. surprise.
He should go back to middle east and roll himself in the street or teach his kid all the hate he wants there and leave the British people alone. O wait, they already do that.
From what I hear BRITAIN is close to becoming the new Rag Head country of west europe…. sad. but you wont find no “Western” or big settlements of Westerners and spread of western ideals in the East…
Hell they arrested and almost stoned a British Couple in Dubai for just Kissing on the beach.
They just want our money for their oil and want to use our education system, then turn it all around to hate us.
SAD PEOPLE trying to move to our countries with their hate and ideals. (AND NO I AM NOT DUMB AND THINK ALL OF THEM ARE LIKE THAT, JUST A REALIST, MOST ARE! Sorry if you are Islamic or whatever and your feelings are hurt, this anger is not to you, but you KNOW the truth hurts, but its true! Please if I am wrong, prove me wrong. Show me a Gay ARAB/Islamic group working with others in their culture(s) for change.
I see gay rights and equality in Denmark, Holland, Sweden, Norway, lots of Europe now, etc… Did I miss any middle eastern countries or cultures?
Bri, for the record, reform Judaism is not a “radical” religion. It is a liberal, progressive branch of Judaism that fully supports the LGBT community. Reform Rabbis also perform same sex marriage ceremonies.
Wow Quasi… while I respect your right to not like doctors, it’s a GRAVE GRAVE GRAVE error to call ALL Muslims evil. Islam is not an evil religion, however it has become overrun with radicals, sort of like Protestantism, Mormonism and if I’m remembering the right group, Reform Judaism. Please as a fellow gay man do not single out an entire group for the actions of their most vocal, it makes us no better than they are.
That being said, I think this doctor needs to have his license revoked and several news reports sent out to the public claiming him to be a hack, lest anyone ever try to hire him as an “Alleged Expert” for some Appeal To Authority argument.
My sympathies for your grandmother.
I already distrust doctors as “experimental shaman”, having experienced a really devastating week of the death of my 79-year-old Mother where the doctors could not agree on a treatment plan, and she became an experiment. They call it “practicing medicine” for a reason, because they do not really know what they are doing. At best they make educated guesses and most people die from congestive heart failure because that is what happens when a heart begin to quit working, but what makes the heart quit working when they cannot find any blockages? They call it “unknown causes”.
There are so many foreigners, and particularly Muslim women and doctors here in Florida, that I fear they are giving overdoses, wrong doses and extra doses (of X-rays, radiation and medicine) and I have no way of knowing that it is or is not occurring. I have not studied medicine, and the medical community protects their own, for fear they all will be found out.
I trust no one. Do I try to get the Muslims removed from my case before a test begins? Do they work behind the scenes in the pharmacy and the radiation screens or in the machine calibration and repair?
It looks like I will have to die whether I receive treatment or skip a treatment. In which situation will I live the longest? I find it hard to make a decision but I know that there are new “Muslim temples” arising everywhere I look, and I just don’t trust any of them. They ALL are sneaky and evil.
Abraham Lincoln said our downfall will come from within, not from without. I am sure our enemies are working from within as I write and as you read this.
And to the tune of the article, I cannot pass on diseases if I do not associate with people, gay or otherwise, and stay to myself, which I have done with my loving partner of over 30 years.
This ignorant and bigoted man Siddig does not know about what he speaks, because the largest group that are passing on diseases are the heterosexual Africans (66%) in Africa, and the ones here in the United States. In the United States, over 3.5 million are believed to be infected with the virus. African Americans and Hispanics have a higher proportionate number of cases compared to Caucasians. But new infections are now occurring at the fastest rate in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, areas which now account for 16% of all those infected, now expected to be over 100,000,000.
I saw a documentary on PBS a couple of weeks ago, and they have found that AIDS existed in tissue samples from the United States as early as the 1930’s. I often wonder if this was a disease “manufactured” by the government to be used in biological agent warfare.
Nonetheless, I sure hate people who are ill-informed and stupid to boot. Here is another case of one who is waving the flag of fear to those who are also ignorant and even more ill-informed, and wish to stay that way.
Eurabia’s already a fact, isn’t it?
I’m a disabled Medicare/Medi-Cal patient. As such, I get all the young foreign-born doctors just starting out in the public health clinics. I’ve been seen by all … Muslim, Hindu, Filipino, etc. I cannot say that I have EVER had ANY problem with ANY of them. Prop. H8 notwithstanding, the medical and social service establishments are CRYSTAL-clear about equal treatment. The admitting staffs at hospitals even have a spiel they have to read to you when you’re admitted, which ends with a long list of physical, spiritual, etc. needs and do you need any of them met that aren’t BEING met.
I frankly don’t know how to balance those experiences with letters from friends in France, the Netherlands, England, and South Africa asserting that radical Muslims are (1) taking over, (2) trying to impose Sharia law, and (3) destroying those countries.
They also accuse the Archbishop of Canterbury of refusing to stand up for gay people because Muslims threatened to attack Anglican churches worldwide if he did (some did anyway).
So … what’s to be done? Expel all Muslims to historically Muslim countries? Not without a world war, I imagine. RADICAL Muslims REFUSE to be integrated into 21st century Western culture, OR acknowledge laws about religious freedom, personal freedom, and religious and political pluralism.
We have never faced THAT particular problem before, and I don’t know the answer.
RAYMOND H. BURGOON-CLARK
SAN DIEGO CA USA
“I may be a 2nd-class citizen for the moment, but not in my heart, the heart of my husband, or in the eyes of God, or in heaven.”
Clearly Dr. Siddiq should be reduced to Mr. Siddiq and have his license to practice medicine REVOKED and not suspended.It’s more than overdue to STOP “coddling” the ‘Muslims’ and their backwards and dangerous viewpoints from the 21rst World. If they cannot join the modern world then stay in your own country!!