Subscribe to Breaking News
Loading ...Lowenstein: Gays killed in Iraq after cleric calls for crackdown
04.06.2009 10:42am EDT
Earlier this month, reports came out of Iraq that the government had more than 100 prisoners on death row– some of them imprisoned merely for being gay– and was planning on starting executions imminently.
That bad news has been met with outrage by Amnesty International and other groups, but rather than resolving itself, the situation has just gotten much worse.An anonymous official at Iraq’s Interior Ministry revealed that two gay men were found shot to death at the end of last week after their families disowned them and a tribal meeting in their home town of Sadr City made the decision to kill them. The official confirmed that there had been four similar murders in the Sadr City slum during the end of March. The victims were found with the word “pervert” pinned to their chests– there is no mystery surrounding the reason for their vigilante executions.
The murders have been credited to a call to action by Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who’s militia group is headquartered in Sadr City. The group has a history of anti-American attacks, which al-Sadr denies. The cleric owns his call for action against, homosexuals, however. He has said in the past to the Associated Press that homosexuals “have brought shame on Sadr city people.”
John Aravosis makes the smart connection to another recent news event in the region:
And this on the heels of the news from Afghanistan that our puppet there, President Karzai, just signed a law that legalizes some forms of rape and removes lots of other rights from women…
Yes, we’ve truly brought democracy to the Middle East.
We should, in this situation, recall that President Barack Obama’s renewed commitment to improving the status of women and girls around the world and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s statement to the European Parliament that “human rights is and always will be one of the pillars of [the United States'] foreign policy. In particular, persecution and discrimination against gays and lesbians is something we take very seriously.”
President Obama and Secretary Clinton, if we take these issues “very seriously,” where’s the action?
Who the heck is copyediting this site? I would have thought a big company like Logo would eventually improve on 365gay.com’s horrific lack of attention to spelling and grammar, but apparently they don’t care.
“The murders have been credited to a call to action by Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who’s militia group is headquartered in Sadr City.” It’s “whose,” people.
shawn asked:
“Umm…not to be sarcastic but didn’t the big bad US Military put an end to these swines in human skin when it “liberated” the poor oppressed iraqis?”
No, our political leadership decided to dabble in Democracy building and made an idiotic mistake by leaving a powerful enemy to both the US and Iraqi government in place and still capable of influence.
This almost assuredly means that American forces will be called upon when the Iraqi administration finally gets tired of bending over every time Sadr feels frisky.
Politicians make policy. Soldiers pay in sweat, blood and sacrifice in the implementation. It’s been that way since the first city-states decided they needed standing armies.
Our own government doesn’t equate “gay rights” with human or civil rights. Why should we expect our allies to do so?
President Obama seems to be trying to take the moral high ground with immoral allies. This does not compute.
The Menstruator,
“Meanwhile? Women are raped in this country and murdered and beaten on a daily basis. Their sexuality is of no interest. Their needs and pain are of no interest. But gay MEN are being and that’s more important?”
Yes, because this site is about gay news not how people, male or female, are being treated in general throughout the world.
Umm…not to be sarcastic but didn’t the big bad US Military put an end to these swines in human skin when it “liberated” the poor oppressed iraqis?
Muqtada al Sadr needs some lead poisoning. This “Holy” man is nothing but a terrorist leader, general of his own private army, and thorn in the side to both the Iraqi government and Coalition forces.
Menstruator – point taken. Religious denigration of women is also abhorrent. However, that fits into the religious intolerance that is “easy” to speak up against, since women should obviously not be cast as second/third/lower class entities.
Criminalization of “being” gay men/women, on the other hand, is difficult to speak against, since homosexuality has been considered immoral for many years. Being a woman is not considered immoral, so the discussion points are not the same.
To your point, however, the adminstration has already taken a stand against the subversion of laws against women. Clinton (the secretary of state) has clearly indicated America’s stance toward the betterment of women’s rights around the globe, and I applaude the administration for doing so.
Now it is time for America to speak up in the same manner for a group of people who have also been chastigated throughout history, expecially when that group is specifically being killed for being who they are.
The Menstruator,
You are so funny! Time to take your act on the road.
Sincerely,
James
Meanwhile? Women are raped in this country and murdered and beaten on a daily basis. Their sexuality is of no interest. Their needs and pain are of no interest. But gay MEN are being and that’s more important?
I understand thinking globally and as soon as I feel safe in my own country I will focus clearly on issues around the world.
Stop treating women like they are the “N” of the world.
Mr. President,
As an ardent supporter of you, I am very pleased at the progress you have made regarding our economy, our security and our culture.
Regarding our economy, the budget your administration has proposed can and will help us to move out of the recession in which we are currently. Though I do not agree with some specifics of the “plan”, the overall concepts seem sound and I believe that, with the support of America, you will successfully navigate us through these difficult times. I have called both of my senators and conveyed my support. With a more staunch guide over our industry leaders, we all can begin to contribute to the long path of economic growth, one purchase and one step at a time.
As for our country’s security, your very demeanor in working to set yourself as a collaborator among the world’s other nations rather than an aggressor to them is building a positive American image anew in the eyes of the world. I am impressed by your efforts to reach out and create lines of communication with those whom we have previously denoted “enemies” as well as your firmness in response to behavior which is inappropriate. This duality implicit to the way in which you interact with the world is surely helping to bolster the security of our home. With each individual relationship of trust that you build with each foreign leader, we are a little closer to being in a world where we can all contribute to one another’s safety.
Regarding our culture, again, I look to your ability to act as a collaborator and a conversation developer rather than a dictator of morals. America finds itself in dire times; the weight of our economic stress and security issues has pushed us away from the American ideal of togetherness and accepting. We find ourselves torn between local community and country, between church and secular requirements and between those who appear to “have” and those who do not. We hunger for guidance in blending these dissimilarities and find hope in a president who sets as a priority doing exactly that. By your example, we can begin to build dialogues between every American, regardless of background, and gradually move to an America that will be free of violence and non-acceptance.
All that above having been said, I do have a request concerning the apparent silence from your administration regarding the reported murders of gay Arabs in Iraq. America is still a country to which billions of people, across the world, look for leadership and hope. Despite our past failures to provide clear guidance on some issues related to other countries, now here is an opportunity for America to staunchly protest this waste of human life.
As I stated above, I fully support your agenda and look forward to the bettering of our America under your guidance. My hope is that while we work to improve our national lives – economically, security-wise and morally – that we do not forget about those who are outside of our country. We can, and must, speak up against the obvious horrors of genocide and religious self-martyrdom that have impacted many parts of our world. However, it is no less urgent, albeit more difficult, that we speak against those acts that are taken against those who are simply trying to love their own gender without harming others. The belief in liberty and the pursuit of happiness cannot be a purely American ideal. Surely it must transcend country boundaries and should be espoused as good for all nations.
Your responsibilities are incredibly cumbersome, and I know I speak for a large number of Americans in thanking you for taking on the role of President. I am more sure of our country’s success now that you are helping to run our government than I have been in the past. Now I ask you to take a moment out of your busy life to speak against the murder of individuals whose only crime is the innocent attempt to live their lives in an honest expression of their love. I have no false hope that a word from even one as eloquent as you can cause immediate change, especially in a part of the world where fervent religiousness is an everyday part of life. However, your input may begin the dialogue and help just one other person to say “no” to the inhumanity. Perhaps that one person will help another to speak up, and so on, until the momentum disallows acceptance of killing for religion’s sake.
Thank you for your service to America.
Sincerely,
Jonathan