Isaiah
59:9 So justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us.
We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk
in deep shadows.
The call by UK and Australia on 28 Oct 2011 at the
bienneal summit in Perth for a repeal anti-gay laws in the Commonwealth
nations have instead resulted in more persecution against the GLBT
community in Malaysia. If the other minorities, and religious groups do
not defend the Gay community but stand by silently, there would be no
one to defend them when it is their turn.
A new reign of darkness seems descending upon the
GLBT community in Malaysia with the banning of the activities of the GLBT
group. However, there is usually a stirring before the light of dawn and
for issues of equality and social justice to be addressed. In a display
of hypocrisy where corruption reigns in the political and religious
scene, we have these groups calling upon gays as the greatest sinners.
On 03 Nov, the Malaysian GLBT group “Seksualiti
Merdeka” or “Freedom in Sexuality” has its festival - "Queer without
fear" curbed in response to complaints by Muslim religious groups
triggering a political rush to make it a scapegoat by the major
political parties eager to show their religious credentials. The Humans
Rights Watch in New York has condemned the ban by the Malaysian
Government against Seksualiti Merdeka’s festival 2011, a GLBT “festival”
held since 2008 consisting of a few low-key indoor events. A
similar closed door event has been held in Singapore called IndigNation
since 2005 without any issues in view of providing the maximum secular
space.
The ban was triggered by Perkasa, a Muslim NGO
grouping, who quoted the Article 25 of the Cairo Declaration on Human
Rights in Islam as a basis for their discrimination. In essence, their
religious rights to practice the Shariah Law in their own religious
faith have been used as the right to restrict the basic human rights of
others. This sets a dangerous precedence and if Gay Muslims do not rise
up and present an alternative religious discourse, there is no strong
argument against it since Malaysia is not a secular country but has an
official religion. For example, conversion to Christianity is also
illegal as reminded to Christians in the Damansara Utama Methodist
Church raid.
The ban is surprising since the festival was
private and closed door event rather than any open gay pride. The
invitation to Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan to preside over the event may
have caused the backlash as she is a leader of Bersih, a torn in the
Malaysian Government who had
campaigned against corruption.
The root of the issue is the prescriptive nature of
the Muslim Faith much more than the Christian Faith which is based on few simple
sacraments ordained by Christ such as Baptism and the Holy Eucharist.
Jesus went around performing water baptism for people to repent and to
enter the Kingdom of God, which was affirmed through His death and
resurrection. It was about love rather than the insistence of religious
laws.
The Malaysiakini on-line news site published an
article “‘Muslim NGOs: Homosexuality is against all religions” in an
attempt to gather support for their anti-gay agenda. But the reality is
that the Indian, and Buddhist Faiths have less problems, and even the
Christian Faith in the US and Britain are starting to re-look at the
ancient text. The Jews have legalized same sex acts since 1988, but the
laws have not been enforced in Israel since 1963.
The common text between the Muslim, Jewish, and
Christian Faith is the story of Lot and his experiences in Sodom. Gays
have become a scapegoat and a re-interpretation of history where the
concern then was the abomination of having sex with the deities,
producing giants, and also the abomination of idol worship which
involved anal sex in particular to join one with the deities. It was
considered a terrible sin to join oneself with the evil spirit through
sex. Hence, the entire city was destroyed not because they were flaming
gays (which is highly unlikely to be beyond 5 to 10% of the population).
They were straight people whose religious worship took and joined them
to the evil deities until God have had to destroy the entire city. We
often lose our humanity in religion.
Gays become the scapegoat because to interpret it
correctly means to acknowledge the existence of Satan and his demonic
principalities, and furthermore the need to act against idol worship in
our society if we were indeed so zealous for God! They took all their
righteous indignation and blamed gays who were never in the picture in
Sodom. Gays become a scapegoat for our self-righteous religious
indignation.
Sodom and Gomorrah also speaks of a cruelty and
injustice motivated by worshipping Satan, resulting in a nation that
victimized and abused the nations around them until the weaker cities
complained to God in heaven. They would have tortured the peoples, and
the men would have destroyed the dignity of their captured slaves have
having anal sex with them, thus making them as if women, ie property
belong to them. They were in the slave trade. Wrong believing results in
evil and cruel actions.
Hitler, a good Catholic, thought he was doing God’s
work and sent more than a hundred thousand gays to death in the
concentration camp. Gays are the victims of religious persecutions for a
thousand years just as the Jews were persecuted because they were called
after God’s name, a people of God. The Gay Community represents the
grace of God, the colour of the rainbow. They are the innocent children,
prevented from coming into the Kingdom of God.
We may approach Gay rights as an issue of social
justice, but is it ultimately rooted in religious faith. It is in the
depths of darkness that we can see the candle of light shining forth as
a beacon of truth. The ban on Seksualiti Merdeka would have happened one
day, and the situation could get worse. It has to be addressed at a
religious front, where people of faith should stand up for the GLBT
people if indeed there is love, and mercy in their respective beliefs.
In US, and
Britain, the conversation is about Gay marriage. There is a Spirit of
freedom in Christ, a spirit of mercy where justice to the outcast is
remembered. When we are just to the least in the community, reflecting
God’s grace. It was some
time ago that Homosexuality was decriminalised in Britain, over 40 years
ago. (The Sexual Offences Act 1967 in Britain).
That wave of freedom, the wave of justice, is
starting to sweep Asia and the Commonwealth, and in the midst of what is
seemingly deep darkness and persecution of the gay minority in Asia and
Africa, there comes a Hope for a better future. It can only get better.
As Christians, a people called after Christ, we are mandated to continue
on the ministry of Christ on earth reflected in love, mercy and grace to
a broken world. The good news is here, not only that there is freedom in
our sexual orientation (or “Seksualiti Merdeka”), but God loves You, the
real You within - who you are –whether gay or straight. There can only
be hope when we take away the covering of religion and all its man-made
laws – to see the basic humanity and dignity within.
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