You certainly don't mince words. I'm not surprised that you make enemies easily! I suppose people want to think that there are more "cultural" Muslims just as there are cultural Christians who don't necessarily practice what their imams preach. Certainly the Muslims I know fit this picture, but they're South-East Asian, not Middle Eastern. I fear your words will fall largely on deaf ears. Even with their throats slit the mad Left will still be gasping about the religion of Peace.

Agreed.

I agree with everything you said. Western leaders are cowards for not fully confronting the islamist. I laugh ever time i here a reference to "moderate muslims". I think you have a better chance of finding Bigfoot.

As an European, I have to point out to you Mike that many here in Europe would agree with you. England where i live is a far more secular country we expect people to keep their private lives private and are very tolerant generally, even here in deepest rural England church going farmers in the markets are far more tolerant of gays but view islam with great concern. Many share your views, but in much of Europe it is manners that prevent us from saying much, but increasingly, there are demands for something to be done. The muslims suffer the delusion of a superiority complex, but if you are interested the main books on the subject are by Karen Armstrong who does try to give the islamic viewpoint but even she struggles with much of it and then there is Ibn Warraq a ruthless destroyer of the history and theology of islam he gives no quarter, be warned though his knowledge and waspish words equally apply to much religion esp christianity aswell, rather like the late Bertrand russell(why i am not a christian). To an american it must seem that all europe sits back and puts up with it, you are mistaken we are simply very polite in the language we use and we expect our politicians to be diplomatic in the extreme, it takes time but they do eventually come up with ideas, France has had enough of religious education, Holland is starting to demand tolerance and point out that a tolerant people have the right not to tolerate the intolerant, UK has given directives to religious schools and even the muslim council has accepted publicly there is a problem, and so on. Americans are always popular at dinner parties because of their blunt talking, its not that we dont think the same we just express differently that is all. Europe is fully aware that all the problems of the 20th century came from communism and fascism all the solutions came from america(democracy, open government,etc). But dont stop ranting it is important for artistic people to rant and think and express it helps your art, but then hey calm down a bit your not alone in your thinking, just figure a way of turning your thoughts/feeling into art. Make a film say with a gay muslim coming out or a muslim women having an affair etc and facing these issues, etc. Regards, martin

Lucas: I am a French Jewish person and I do hope you will hear my comment without trying to censor it. Feedback helps the soul and hen you make comments like this, it is healthy to listen to feedback.

You greatly undercut your claim to be open to people of all races when you call Muslims "dogs" and use other hateful language.

Why stoop to hateful people's level?

It is simple enough to qualify your language and say "Muslims who are terrorists." There are hateful, xenophobic people of all walks of life, Lucas. Most Muslims are, in fact, ordinary human beings who are trying to survive and thrive against the grain of their governments.

You repeat the harm of hateful people by using hateful language. It is possible to have strong, pointed criticisms without resorting to unintelligent, generalized foul language (and, while not profanity, your unqualified characterizations of Muslims in your first paragraph especially, are foul).

I can understand you're angry and problably also a bit scared. It's right to point out that what happens in the world is not acceptable.
But - it's alraedy said in one of the comments - there are many moslims who are paeceful and want live together with other religious people. Today my paper showed me the song "Say no to terrorism"by Yeh Hum Naheen. Very impressing. We have to do efforts to help them.

I want to answer to Anthony, le juif francais, who commented above.

Miss Thing, Miss Thing; put on your thinking cap please!

If somebody uses a strong word against Muslims, that can not possibly undercut their claim to being open to all races, for the simple reason that "Muslim" is not a race.

Then, where in the first paragraph of Michael's post do you see "unqualified characterizations of Muslims"? You've maybe heard Muslims saying it is politically incorrect to beat gay people in Holland? When? Where? Do you have it on tape?

Miss Thing, or since you're French, maybe I should say Mademoiselle Chose; you have missed the whole point of this post. Congratulations on being a dolt!

The discovery that the plotters in the UK were trained physicians shows the folly of trying to analyze why Muslims would do such things. No analysis is necessary, if the attackers identify as Muslim.

Why not? Because there is one main reason why Muslims do such things. They would do these things for THAT reason whether they were starving in a gutter or sitting on sheets made from spun-gold threads.

They do them because of what they have read in the Koran.

It's not because they're poor. It's not because they feel "humiliated" about this, that, or the other. It's not because they wish they could be Islamic drag queens, wearing full veils in the streets.

It's because of what they've read in the Koran.

I'll also take this opportunity to point out the stupidity of interviewing Muslims about Muslim attacks. Let's say there's a Muslim at the head of the British International Doctors' Association (there is). You get non-Muslim reporters asking him his opinions (they did). He claims to be horrified (he did). In reality, his first loyalty in life is to the Koran (if somebody says they are a Muslim, THAT's what they mean). The guy can be hoping and planning for a huge attack in the UK, and still say he was horrified by these attempted attacks. What do you think he's going to say; that he was in favor of the attempted attacks? Please. There was an Imam who told the BBC he condemned the 9/11 attacks and later was caught on video referring to the 9/11 attackers as "the magnificent 18."

As much as I hate to have to acknowledge it, not all gay people escape the curse of a double-digit IQ.

Peter, with his comment above, proves that it so. He says "We have to do efforts to help them." That is of course brilliant English phrasing in any event. The "them" in it was a reference to supposed "moderate" Muslims.

What about the following passage copied from Michael's post does the moron Peter not comprehend?

"Don’t be stupid enough to believe that so-called "moderate" Muslims are allied with non-Muslims of any sort. If they're reading the Koran and worshipping according to it, they are acting in consort with each other to achieve an exclusively Muslim world. That is what the Koran tells them to do."

Peter, you are the kind of dummy who makes it necessary for Michael to say "Read the fucking Koran already."

Considering what many muslims say when interviewed on BBC or CNN - is Islam a hate bsaed faith? Why do they have to force themselves on other people? If living under Islam is so great why can't they live in their own countries instead of the UK, Netherlands, France and Germany..when will europe get tired of being pushed around by them?

great website!!

If all that you say is true, Michael, then I despair. The only solution, it appears, would be the eradication of those who practice the Muslim religion, and I for one do not have the stomach for genocide. My liberal gut wants me to rebut your comments, but my mind fears that your statements are more accurate than they are offensive. Which is saying a lot. I fear that no positive result will come from the growing tensions between the Muslim and Western worlds.

There are no winners here.

Weel

in Brazil we never had this king of information (GAY-BEATEN-BY-MUSLINS) in our press!!!

Michael, you hit the nail on the head w/ this one. Fanaticism of any nature is DANGEROUS!!! It breeds hate, killing, etc. and seems to be gaining strength instead of receding.

wow. i'm not sure where to begin with this one michael. i've listened to your rants about muslims before, but this one really takes the cake. how it is that you think you've positioned yourself to be morally superior to the world's one billion muslims by calling us dogs, koran-crazed, etc is beyond me. the sheer hubris of your position is staggering. for someone who occasionally sees so clearly about political problems, you've really missed your mark here.

to say that there are no moderate muslims is quite simply asinine. do your homework. have you ever heard of a group of muslims who call themselves progressive muslims? do a google search, check out the website, pick up a book by the same title edited by omid safi, or pick up any of farid esack's books or any of tariq ramadan's.

it's so tiresome to hear members of historically oppressed minorities picking on each other. yes, there are islamists in the world who promote violence against lgbt people, who are fundamentally misogynist, and who distort their sacred text to fit their narrow understanding of their faith in a changing and frightening world. the same could very easily be said of pat robertson's or oral roberts' people, who have been dubbed the "AmTaliban" by progressive bloggers, and for good reason. if you want to be scared of religious people, look no further than washington DC. these folks have managed to successfully infiltrate all 3 branches of the government of the world's last superpower. they don't have to strap bombs to their bodies, they own the freakin' supreme court of the united states. but they wear clothes that look like yours so i guess it's ok that they're trying to screw lgbt folks out of our rights and have actively promoted an environment in which we can be killed indiscriminately.

or to land the point closer to home for you michael, what about the haredi rabbis and yeshiva students who publicly pronounced a medieval curse on all of those who supported last month's jerusalem pride march? what about the homemade bombs those guys were carrying around, ready to do what they considered to be hashem's work? using the same asinine logic that you've so blithely applied to the world's billion muslims based on the hateful activities of a very few, all of the world's jews are equally complicit in the bigotry and outright hatred spewing from the mouths of those haredim in jerusalem a few weeks ago.

it's not about being politically correct or incorrect, it's about being accurate. and the truth of the matter michael, whether you like it or not, is that the VAST majority of the world's muslims could give a damn about gays and lesbians, or foreign policy -- they just want to be left alone to feed their children and make their way as best they can. just like everyone else. and i believe that's exactly what the phrase moderate muslim is meant to denote.

michael, if you want to make a point about fundamentalism or extreme forms of religious belief being harmful across the board, do that rather than make yourself out to look like a shit-talking bigot. do you really want to be in the same company as john ashcroft, bill o'reilly, and the chimperor in chief? really? somehow i thought you better than that.

I am tempted to say just drop the bomb at Mecca or nuke Medina but my European friends will say that is rude and that what we need now is the polite language of diplomacy. Someone commented about the Muslim's humiliation as the root of all this terrorist rage. That is a lot of hogwash, the same lame excuse for Hitler who supposedly had a lonely, humiliated childhood. Fanaticism will use any excuse for its malignant intolerance. And maybe the only way to counter it is to use the terrorists' own method of madness. I say let's have another Crusade or bring back the Inquisition.

I just want to add that while not EVERY Islamic person practices hate and lives according to an anachronistic code, enough do to inspire fear.

My lover was brutally attacked in Paris by Islamic gay-bashers. The pointed end of an umbrella was jammed into his skull, causing much damage and requiring a lengthy hospitalization.

That's terrorism on a very personal scale.

(by the way, Islamic fundamentalists do not have a monopoly on brutality--just ask Matthew Shephard.)

You forgot to mention that the US is ruled by a dangerous fanatic too.

I get nervous when people start name-calling a minority group (Muslims are a minority in the U.S. and western Europe).

As well as fighting against terrorism, maybe Western governments should also look at what causes Islamic fundamentalism. It doesn't help that the U.S. supports a brutal monarchy in Saudi Arabia, and the Saudi government, to placated disaffected citizens, pushes Wahabism.

PDXProfessor who commented above has some answering to do.

I took a look at the "Progressive Muslims" website he recommended. On that site's home page it is clearly stated that the group advocates basing civil and national law on Koranic legal verses. Relgious texts are not acceptable as the basis for public laws in the modern world. The site says that it is advocating for "laws based on the system of God" (as described in the Koran, no less). That is sheerest non-sense. I'm not even going to mention what the Hadith say should be done to gays. But if you give abroad to people to believe that it is good to base modern civil law on religious texts, then somebody is going to pop up with the "kill the gays" Hadith, and then actually kill gays.

The entire argument is too detailed to get into here. But a person like PDXProfessor should be confronted with the many offending passages of the Koran, those that council violence against others, those that insult other religions, even the claim at the beginning that it is "the only true book." What kind of an intellectual cripple would go around thinking that ANY book was "the only true book"? And when that "true" book advises its readers to "find the Jew behind the rock and kill him," then in truth everybody involved with perpetuating the book as an alleged "holy" text is complicit in the deaths of Jews behind rocks. In sum, Michael's point that supposed "moderate" Muslims are aligned with other Muslims, not with non-Muslims, enjoys some weight of evidence showing that it corresponds to reality.

The subject of the blurring of separation of church and state in the US is separate from questions Michael addressed here. That blurring is indeed bad. But it needs to be addressed separately. Stating that it exists as though its existence excused the wrongs of Islam is shoddy argumentation.

PDXProfessor even gives himself away as a rotten totten when, speaking about the influence of the religious right in Washington, he says "they don't have to strap bombs to their bodies, they own the freakin' supreme court of the united states." As much as we disagree with many recent Supreme Court decisions, have any of them actually ended innocent lives, as happens when a suicide bomber strikes? There is no other way to describe PDXProfessor's logic there than to say that it is unmistakably Muslim.

The prof really thought he was slingin' a zinger when he asked Michael about the Haredi ultra-orthodox in Israel. In today's New York Blade Michael has a column that is strongly condemnatory of that group. Also, we know that Jews aren't all anti-gay bigots because a Jewish group marched at the head of Gay Pride New York 2007. Where, however, was the Muslim group? There were Christians and Buddhists.

The prof also will have a hard time convincing many that there are just a "few" bad apples in the Islamic barrel. The riots over the Danish political cartoons happened with the support of many influential Muslims not actually participating in them, and those riots really did have the effect of squelching reasoned criticism of Muslims and Islam. Perhaps, professor, there was a degree of irony and well-meritted sarcasm in Michael's presentation of his reaction to the attempted attacks in the UK. That is to say, if they are going to deny you your freedom to make accurate criticisms of them, you might as well go the whole hog and use the term "Koran-crazed."

dear michael,
it might be seen as silly but I believe in an integration of people with different religions cultures, within respect and tolerance of each other.
I don't believe in sawing hatred by offending phrases as an solution of such old and historic problems when different people live together. In the Netherlands the government moves away imams of mosques preaching hatred and jihad.
Violance against gay people and other minorities is completely unacceptable.
Also the European Union Commission works on integration. They made an video which show erotic scenes (and also an scene with two men kissing each other)as propaganda for Europa, named 'Let's come together' (youtube.com/watch?v=koRIFnBIDHO.

Peter

Many of you here have taken Mike to task about his views. I think he is entitled to them and it is important to remember that it is very difficult to believe that there is such a thing as moderate islam. Islam was supposedly founded by a man called mohammed who seems to have started out as quite reasonable in his demands, but as time went on he was clearly corrupted by power, indeed he asked god what he thought of him and god replied that mohammed was very wicked!!(it is in the koran). Before many of you condemn Mike for his views I suggest you read the Koran and about the founder, and also look at the very serious problems eastern europe(esp south eastern Europe) has had with Islam. Neverthe less Christianity was shamed into behaving better by having its power taken from it and some pointed home truths told about it, so modern Christians are still with us but not as violent as once they were. When i speak of politeness and diplomacy see my earlier entry, i mean it is better to do to Islam what was done to Christianity, politely point out its serious errors and flaws, diplomatically put it in a position of having to go through a reformation. There is plenty of flaws in the islam religion, from questions about the legitimacy of mohammed being a prophet(his scribe helped him to produce revelations and pointed out that mohammed was a false prophet) his moral behaviour(sex with a child, incest, rape, adultery,etc) and the authenticity of the texts(several different versions of koran all are of a later date than the period they speak of)the life of mohammed(written down very late nearly 200yrs after his death). Further archaelogy does not back up the story but does back contempory accounts from outside arabia. We ought to look at history of islam it is not pretty, this is due to political structure of not giving rights to any but adult male muslims and hence the 'decline' of all other religious groups in islamic world. Mike has every right to his views but in a modern world this ought to be dealt with by clever means, China once a muslim country managed to rid itself of islam and go back to confucian basics of a secular state that point blank refused to give any religion powers. All it requires is not giving the religion powers and politely pointing out its many and very serious flaws this should take away much certainty that causes mulims to blindly follow their imans. Also remember that most muslims live not in free countries and therefore have little knowledge of the world outside what is told them, but again with al jazeera tv this is slowly changing.

I'm not one for violence of any sort. However, there comes a time when one must lay down their position of peaceful resolution and make a stand. That being said, I think it's time the US (and the world) take a "fight fire with fire" approach, rather than letting the attacks and hatred continue while we "hope" we'll find someone to take into custody. I'm not saying we should uses terrorist tactics, but maybe a good old fashion blitzkrieg is in order.

M,

Hey babe. I don't know how you find time to write this long a blog. Ghostwriter? lol.

Dinner?

xo,
EJ

Great analyses michael, wish only some of our politicians would stand up and act before it's too late.

This shows an Ann Coulter-esque willful misunderstanding of Islam, but what do you expect? Hopefully Lucas can visit Istanbul one day, a secular and peaceful country with an Islamic backdrop. The men and women there are delightful.

That being said, at its worst, fundamentalist Islam is undoubtedly the most dangerous of the religions.

I'm sick of all religions, frankly. I wish they could all just go to their own planet and fight it out there.

I agree with JD. The real problems begins when an individual identifies TOO STRONGLY with any given religion. All actual "thought" seems to go out the window, only to be replaced with dogmatic ideology.

I believe in Kharma (no one can escape it).
Live in the present, and try to be as kind and respectful to other human beings as possible.

Or, as Carl Jung said:

"The best political, social & spiritual work we can do is to withdraw the projection of our shadow onto others."

JD couldn't be more correct. Turkey is a wonderful place for GLBTers.

In August 2006, the gay march in Bursa organized by the Rainbow Group, officially approved by the Governor's Office, was cancelled due to large scale public protests by an organized group of citizens.

In 2006 Lambda Istanbul was evicted from its building, when the landlady learned that the organization was promoting LGBT rights.

The criminal code also has vaguely worded prohibitions on "public exhibitionism,” and “offenses against public morality" that are used to harass gay and transgender people.

Turkish military law bans homosexuals from military service as a mental illness

No laws exist in Turkey that protect LGBT from discrimination in employment, education, housing, health care, public accommodations or credit.

Turkey does not recognise same-sex marriages, civil unions or domestic partnership benefits. The Turkish Council of State has ruled that homosexuals should not have custody of children.

This is what is going on while the relatively secular government is in power in Turkey. The country is at present torn about 50 - 50 between those who want to remain secular, and those who want an Islamic law system.

I am a Muslim and I do want to get along with all other religions. The fact is many Muslims misinterpret the Koran and so do other religions. I love all people and I would never do harm to anyone. Please I am begging you to see that I am not just a Muslim but an individual. I never do anything that is not judged thoroughly by myself first. I am asking you to not bring a religion under fire for a bunch idiot's and coward's actions. I spit on terrorist's graves and will never support such actions.

Dear Mr. Lopo,

I do appreciate such outreach, but let's make it clear: What do you mean that "many Muslims misinterpret the Koran"? I've read the Koran myself and it does justify everything that is going on in today's world. It does say that if a Muslim converts to another religion, he should be killed. It does say that men are more superior than women, and that women should be beaten. It does support the Holy War against Infadels, etc. Etc. Etc. The list is long...

I do not have a problem with individuals. I believe that Muslims as individuals can be moderate, especially if they forget about their sacred book, which I can compare only to "Mein Kampf." But your religion, which is Islam, unfortunately, cannot be moderate.

I don't think that the world is spending hundreds of billions of dollars to protect itself against "a bunch of idiots." This "bunch of idiots" translates into millions of Muslims who support the idea of the world Jihad. Have you seen the latest Gallup poll statistics? 26 percent of American Muslims under the age of 30 support suicide bombings. In France, 56 percent under 30 do. I wouldn't call these people a "bunch" or "idiots" because among them there are not only the poor but also very rich and intelligent people with brains. Take Osama Bin Laden. Is he stupid? Poor? Neither. How about all those doctors who were arrested in London in the last few weeks. Were they poor? Were they uneducated? I think you should take a more critical view of the situation within your community.

And to others who keep telling me to go to Turkey: I've been there twice already, in both Istanbul and in the south of the country. If you, my dear fellow travelers, got fucked in Istanbul by a heterosexual Turk and were allowed to suck his cock, that doesn't give you ground to say that that country is a shining example of Islamic democracy. Istanbul has one gay-friendly bar which is as big as my bathroom. And look at the recent developments where the religious Turks are trying to take over the country. Google it or something.

Again, I've been to many Islamic countries. I've read the Koran. I've read many books on Islam and Christianity. I know the history more than most of you do. Don't separate terrorists from the world that breeds and shapes them, which is the world of Islam.

This conversation is open. Many agree. Many disagree. But I've made up my mind.

XXX
-Michael Lucas

(Istanbul, Turkey) Lambda Istanbul has been ordered to appear before a judge next week to face charges it is violating Turkish law by stating it represents gays, lesbians, and transsexuals.

The group was notified this week by the public prosecutor that the governor of Istanbul had requested the charges be laid under the Turkish Civil Code.

The law states that associations against law and morality cannot be established. If found guilty Lambda could be closed and its officers fined.

At last, someone has the guts to tell it like it is. Islam is a pernicious, evil cult. The koran is an instrument of hate full of incitements to violence and murder. Here in Britain, the 'thought police' government we have makes it illegal to even say that you despise Islam. We all, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddists, Confusionists, Shintoists and any other ists should stand up and tell these evil people, they have had there fun, now get back to the desert and suck off a few camels. That's all your good for. Oh and by the way, I HAVE read the koran and it is all mike says it is.