Thoughts from the movie and class...

                  First off, I really struggled with this post, because I do not agree with homosexuality.  I think that it goes against God’s original intentions for His creation.  That being said, it is impossible to argue my own beliefs, because they are what I consider to be truth, but others may not.  I cannot force my own beliefs on anyone else, and I hope that no one takes this as just a harsh judgment of mine on people with different beliefs, namely homosexuals.                   

Now as for my thoughts on the film and the topic of homosexuality as it relates to the Middle East.  First, although the fact that homosexuality is not altogether rejected in many parts of the Middle East seems to go against our original stereotypes of the Middle East, it is not wholly surprising if one looks deeper.  First, much segregation still exists between males and females in many parts of the Middle East.  When men and boys are deprived of interacting with women outside their own family, or at least only allowed to have very limited interactions, it is not surprising that they find other avenues for their passions.  Someone in the movie mentioned this segregation (or limited exposure) as leading to “a lot of frustrated people.”  Can you blame them? 

The part where they portrayed certain Koranic schools (I’m not sure when and where these school were located- that would be VERY important) as promoting- or even forcing- homosexual relations as a part of learning and developing as an adolescent was disturbing.  If you cannot force someone not to be homosexual, you certainly should not force them to be homosexual!  Now they did not talk very long on this subject, so I would be interested to find out the validity of the information that was given. 

                  And as for homosexual marriages existing before heterosexual marriages, that is a bit of a contradiction.  There had to be heterosexual marriages (or at least intimate relationships) in order to populate the earth enough to be able to have homosexual relations.  We all know that the basic family structure is man, woman, and children, whether we accept it or not.  Why then would we call it the “traditional” family?

                  As to gay churches, and how Islam views homosexuality versus how Christianity views it, I can at least address what Christianity says about it.  Even though there are popular movements to accept gays and lesbians, if you go back to the original text that founded Christianity, the Bible, it clearly condemns it.

                  With all of this being said, I just want to say that I have nothing against homosexuals themselves- they are humans just as anyone else, and deserve to be treated as such, with love and care.  I only have problems with the practice- and my opinions are not exactly the issue here.  The issue is that I am not wholly surprised about how the Middle East relates to homosexuals.