Human Rights Watch has criticised a World Cup Ambassador over comments he made to a German journalist. Former Qatar international Khalid Salman said that homosexuality is “damage in the mind.”
He went on to say that: “they (homosexuals) have to accept our rules here. I am not a strict Muslim but why is it haram (forbidden)? Because it is damage in the mind.”
Shock horror. A Muslim believes that homosexuality is sinful. Who’d have thunk it?
The world’s media has been relentless in its pursuit of a story that isn’t a story at all. Homosexuality was illegal in Qatar twelve years ago when FIFA made the decision that the country would host the 2022 World Cup.
How did Qatar come to be awarded the World Cup in the first place? That’s an important question. The short answer is corruption.
Qatar is a semi-constitutional monarchy. Its laws were derived from a mix of Sharia and civil law. Alcohol is forbidden. If a Muslim is found guilty of drinking alcohol by a Sharia court, he might be flogged.
Illicit sexual relations and adultery is also punishable by flogging.
Blasphemers can be sentenced to up to seven years in prison.
Homosexuality is forbidden and is an offence punishable by death.
HOWEVER, nobody has ever been executed for homosexuality in Qatar. This is important to remember. The mainstream media and LGBT rights groups imply that homosexuals are running for their lives from the death penalty there. This is a nonsense.
Public displays of affection are forbidden in the country. Kissing and fondling outside the home is against the law. This applies to everyone, regardless of their sexuality.
So, it’s a bit of a shithole apparently. I wouldn’t want to live there that’s for sure. I don’t believe that people should be jailed for taking the Lord’s name in vain. Flogging belongs in the dark ages. In my opinion, homosexuality is not a disease of the mind. And, I do really love a Bacardi and coke.
But, here’s the thing. Muslims (and Christians) believe that homosexuality is a sin. An old and valued friend of mine – a British Pakistani – believes it to be evil. He’s a devout Muslim. He will never change his mind. I know Christians who feel the same way.
The thing is though, they keep their beliefs to themselves. The Muslims and Christians I know are a tolerant bunch. They’re not out in public or on social media, insulting homosexuals. They mind their own business. Proper order.
Funnily enough, the older gays and lesbians I know are a tolerant bunch too. They are quite happy to co-exist with people who disapprove of them. Tolerance. Whatever happened to that?
Quietly disapproving and keeping our thoughts to ourselves is no longer acceptable. We are constantly reminded that “silence is violence” or asked to confirm that we are “allies” of the LGBTQ+ community. Fuck off.
Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, himself a gay man, once told me that it is unacceptable “to think that homosexuality is a sin.”
Naturally, I tore him a new one. What gives him or anyone else the right to dictate to people what they can and cannot think?
What next, re-education camps?
So, back to Qatar. Like I said, it sounds like a shithole. It should never have been awarded the World Cup. That’s the real story.
To LGBTQ+ lobbyists and their allies, I say this. If you disapprove of a country’s laws, don’t travel there. It really is that simple.
Most Qatari’s are Wahabbists.
They believe that homosexuality is a sin.
You are not going to change their minds.
You have no right to.
Get over it and practice some of that tolerance you demand from everyone else.
