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Fri, 24 December 2010 12:12 PM
“To All Men & Women of Goodwill"
In my opinion Christmas is a time to reflect and the arrival of the New Year a time to wish for ourselves & those we love a much better future.
The Christian world celebrates the birth of Jesus sent by God as an act of pure love, to show each of us how to love one another without boundaries or restraints. Born the poorest among the poor he teaches about tolerance, respect and understanding for all, no exceptions.
I am one of those who believe that during the last 100 years our society has made huge progress and although slowly and perhaps painfully we are building a better world; at the same time much remains to be done..
FACTS:
As of May 2010, 76 countries criminalize consensual sexual acts between adults of the same sex.[9] They are punishable by death in seven countries:
▪ Iran:[10] Since 1979, the government has executed more than 4,000 people charged with homosexual acts.[11]
▪ Mauritania
▪ Saudi Arabia: Although the maximum punishment for homosexuality is execution, the government tends to use other punishments (fines, prison sentence, and whipping), unless it feels that homosexuals have challenged state authority by engaging in LGBT social movements.[12]
▪ Sudan
▪ Yemen
▪ Parts of Nigeria and Somalia[9]
Countries where homosexuality is criminalized but not punished by death, by region, include:
Africa
Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Comoros, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria (death penalty in some states), São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia (death penalty in some states), Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Asia
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Burma, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Syria, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Gaza Strip under Palestinian Authority
Europe
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (internationally unrecognized)
Latin America and the Caribbean
Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago
Oceania
Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands[13]
Afghanistan, where such acts remain punishable with fines and a prison sentence, dropped the death penalty after the fall of the Taliban in 2001, who had mandated it from 1996. India criminalized homosexuality until June 2, 2009, when the High Court of Delhi declared section 377 of the Indian Penal Code invalid.[13]
International human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International condemn laws that make homosexual relations between consenting adults a crime.[14][15] Since 1994, the United Nations Human Rights Committee has also ruled that such laws violated the right to privacy guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.[16][17][18]
See also: Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni
Relationship between religious condemnation and violence
See also: Religion and homosexuality
Abrahamic religions
And if a man lie with mankind, as with womankind, both of them have committed abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
—Leviticus 20:13
The above verse, along with Leviticus 18:22, is the cause of much tension between the devout of the Abrahamic religions and members of the LGBT community. It is viewed by many as an outright condemnation of homosexual acts between men, and, more commonly in ancient times than today, justification for violence.
Christianity
See also: Christianity and homosexuality
In today's society, most Christian denominations welcome people attracted to the same sex, but teach that same sex relationships and homosexual sex are sinful.[19][20] These denominations include the Roman Catholic Church,[20][21] the Eastern Orthodox church,[22] the Methodist Church,[19][23][24][25] and many other mainline denominations, such as the Reformed Church in America[26] and the American Baptist Church,[27] as well as Conservative Evangelical organizations and churches, such as the Evangelical Alliance,[28] and fundamentalist groups and churches, such as the Southern Baptist Convention.[29][30][31] Pentecostal churches such as the Assemblies of God,[32] as well as Restorationist churches, like Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons, also take the position that gay sexual activity is immoral.[33][34]
Some Christian groups advocate conversion therapy and promote ex-gay groups. One such group, Exodus International, argues that conversion therapy may be a useful tool for decreasing same-sex desires.[35] The medical and scientific consensus in the United States is that conversion therapy is likely harmful and should be avoided because it may exploit guilt and anxiety, thereby damaging self-esteem and leading to depression and even suicide.[36][37][38] There is a broad concern in the mental health community that the advancement of conversion therapy itself causes social harm by disseminating inaccurate views about sexual orientation and the ability of gay, lesbian and bisexual people to lead happy, healthy lives.[36] This promotion of the idea that homosexuality is immoral and can be corrected may make would-be attackers of homosexuals feel justified in that they are "doing God's work" by ridding the world of LGBT people.[39]
Pope Benedict XVI, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church has stoked this sentiment as well, stating that "protecting" humanity from homosexuality was just as important as saving the world from climate change and that all relationships beyond traditional heterosexual ones are a "destruction of God's work".[39] Further, a Vatican official called homosexuality "a deviation, an irregularity, a wound".[39] While the Catholic Church teaches that same-sex attraction itself is not sinful, homosexual acts are "acts of grave depravity". Homosexual congregation members are to be accepted and not discriminated against, but are asked to remain celibate.[40]
Evangelicals in Africa sometimes use religion to justify violence against LGBT people and criminalizing homosexual behavior. Archbishops Peter Akinola of Nigeria and Henry Orombi of Uganda would not condemn violence against gays and lesbians when questioned on the issue at the Global Anglican Future Conference.[41] Mark Russell, Chief Executive of Church Army, expressed outrage over their resistance, stating "Quite honestly [refusal to condemn violence against gay people in their home countries] is disgraceful, it sullies their cause, and is totally un-Christian. You cannot justify violence in God's name. Period. [...] Those who perpetrate violence against gay people in Africa now can use this silence to justify their behavior. Christians must speak up and say this is wrong."[41]
Islam
See also: Islam and homosexuality
The Qur'an, the holy book of Islam, cites the story of the "people of Lot" (also known as the people of Sodom and Gomorrah), destroyed by the wrath of Allah because they engaged in "lustful" carnal acts between men.
Eminent scholars of Islam, such as Sheikh ul-Islam Imam Malik, and Imam Shafi amongst others, ruled that Islam disallowed homosexuality and ordained capital punishment for a person guilty of it.[42]
The legal punishment for sodomy has varied among juristic schools: some prescribe capital punishment; while other prescribe a milder discretionary punishment. Homosexual activity is a crime and forbidden in most Muslim-majority countries. In some relatively secular Muslim-majority countries such as Indonesia,[43] Jordan and Turkey, this is not the case.
The Qur'an, much like the Bible and Torah, has a vague condemnation of homosexuality and how it should be dealt with, leaving it open to interpretation. For this reason, Islamic jurists have turned to the collections of the hadith (sayings of Muhammad) and akhbar (accounts of his life). These, on the other hand, are perfectly clear and particularly harsh.[44] Ibn al-Jawzi records Muhammad as cursing sodomites in several hadith, and recommending the death penalty for both the active and passive partners in same-sex acts.[45]
Sunan al-Tirmidhi again reports Muhammad as having prescribed the death penalty for both the active and the passive partner: "Whoever you find committing the sin of the people of [Lot], kill them, both the one who does it and the one to whom it is done."[42] The overall moral or theological principle is that a person who performs such actions challenges the harmony of God's creation, and is therefore a revolt against God.[46]
Some imams still preach extremist views, stating that homosexuals and "women who act like men" should be killed. Abu Usamah at Green Lane Mosque in Birmingham defended his words to followers by saying "If I were to call homosexuals perverted, dirty, filthy dogs who should be murdered, that's my freedom of speech, isn't it?"[47] Less extreme leaders decry this sort of preaching, calling it a "distortion of Islam itself, the abuse and misuse of this great faith".[47]
Judaism
See also: Judaism and homosexuality
In Judaism, the death penalty has not been used in practice for more than 2000 years, though many movements still view homosexual acts as sinful. Orthodox Judaism generally prohibits homosexual conduct. While there is disagreement about which acts come under core prohibitions, all of Orthodox Judaism puts certain core homosexual acts, including male-male anal sex in the category of yehareg ve'al ya'avor—"die rather than transgress"—the small category of Biblically-prohibited acts (also including murder, idolatry, adultery, and incest) which an Orthodox Jew is obligated under the laws of Self-sacrifice under Jewish Law to die rather than do.
The Reform Judaism movement, the largest branch of Judaism in North America, has rejected the traditional view of Jewish Law on this issue. As such, they do not prohibit ordination of gays and lesbians as rabbis and cantors. They view Levitical laws as sometimes seen to be referring to prostitution, making it a stand against Jews adopting the idolatrous fertility cults and practices of the neighbouring Canaanite nations rather than a blanket condemnation of same-sex intercourse or homosexuality. Reform authorities consider that, in light of what is seen as current scientific evidence about the nature of homosexuality as a biological sexual orientation, a new interpretation of the law is required.
Rastafari movement
Jamaica has some of the toughest sodomy laws in the world, with homosexual activity carrying a 10-year jail sentence.[48] In the tougher parts of the island nation, children are raised surrounded by strict anti-gay Christian churches and Rastafari preachers.[49][48][50] This was the case for many reggae and dancehall artists, such as Buju Banton, Elephant Man, Sizzla, and others. Banton wrote a song when he was 15 years old that became a hit when he released it years later in 1992 called "Boom Bye Bye". The song is about violently murdering homosexuals and "advocated the shooting of gay men, pouring acid on them and burning them alive."[49] A song by Elephant Man proclaims: "When you hear a lesbian getting raped/It's not our fault ... Two women in bed/That's two sodomites who should be dead."[48]
Due to the violent, homophobic nature of some of their songs, several reggae artists have been investigated by police for promoting anti-LGBT violence. Some lyrics have been investigated by Scotland Yard, and Sizzla was barred from entering the U.K. in 2004 while being investigated for promoting murder through his music.[51][49] Gay rights advocates have started the group Stop Murder Music to combat the promotion of hate and violence by artists. The group organized protests, causing some venues to refuse to allow the targeted artists to perform, and the loss of sponsors. In 2007, Stop Murder Music introduced the Reggae Compassionate Act, which states that "the artists promise not to produce music or make public statements inciting hatred against gay people. Neither can they authorise the re-release of previous homophobic songs." Several artists have signed the Act, including Buju Banton, Beenie Man, Sizzla and Capleton,[49] but have later denied making any commitment to stop promoting homophobia.[48][52]
Our source : Wikipedia
To all men and women of goodwill, to all people who know how love each other regardless of sexual orientation, race, skin colour, nationalities or social background & even those who don't, in hope that you soon will, we at Alternative Holidays would like to wish you all a wonderful christmas and great 2011
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