Muslim Mayor's Gay Rights Drive Fights Homophobia In Conservative Amsterdam Suburb

Ahmed Marcouch, the Muslim mayor of Slotervaart, an uncharacteristically conservative suburb of Amsterdam, is fighting back against a long-lived trend of homophobia in that town by inviting Amsterdam's annual gay pride parade to march right down main street, as it were. According to AFP:

Slotervaart's population is mainly of immigrant origin, many of the Muslim faith, like Moroccan-born Marcouch himself who came to the Netherlands in 1979 at age 10. The suburb has recently been in the news for homophobic incidents, with gays being called names, spat on and generally bothered.

The community grew particularly restless over gay men using Slotervaart's De Oeverlanden public park as a place to meet and have sex, a practice known as "cruising".

Following Marcouch breaking the ice, the town has now instituted further plans to accept previously persecuted gay community, such as with the opening of a gay culture center, AFP reports. However, Marcouch's actions have also drawn strong rebukes, namely from local religious leaders such as Mohamed Adardour of the el-Oumma mosque and the local Roman Catholic parish.

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Comments

[harriettubman]

01:09 AM on 07/04/2009

In Jamaica they're killing gay folks. I thought I heard everything but that is absolutely atrocious!!!

[BringmeReason]

05:39 PM on 07/03/2009

Similary accurances happened in India (refer to the article in the NYT) Thursday allowing for certain discriminator laws to be thrown out and more protection for homosexuals in general; it's still a small step but at least actions are set in motion. It seems to be taken time for the rest of the world to come out of their ridiculous ignorance and stupidity but at least sooner than later.

[SensibleJoe]

11:46 AM on 07/03/2009

Finally! One Muslim who gets tolerance, diversity, peaceful coexistence and respect for the individual human being. All power to you, Mayor Marcouch!

[BlackWidowPilot]

01:11 PM on 07/03/2009

How many Muslims do you actually know, Joey? Did you know that there's more than one varieties of Muslim, just like there's more than one variety of Christian?

Do tell.

Leland R. Erickson

Citizen

PROTESTant

[harriettubman]

01:10 AM on 07/04/2009

Many of them hate Christianity too so don't be surprised.

[MankyInky]

01:02 PM on 07/04/2009

Lots of Muslims are tolerant and peaceloving - the problem is, like Christianity, it is having its growing pains as a religion. Islam is having a very hard time now, but try and reconcile modern Catholicism with the medieval strain. Crusades, those horrible Inquisitions, the war between Protestants and Catholics..
Now, the worst thing the Pope does is discourage condom use.

I believe its not easy to truly think for oneself, ever. It is a hard road each Muslim must travel on his or her own. Its very difficult within economically deprived, politically repressed cultures to speak up, make big changes etc.

[aardvark13]

11:32 AM on 07/03/2009

That is what I called integrating into the society in which one lives! If the Muslims immigrants don't like the rights of the society in which they live, there are plenty of strict Islamic countries from which they can choose to move to. And as far as the upset Catholics... who cares? They have their own issues to deal with.

[hbhawaii]

04:51 PM on 07/03/2009

That's right -- how DARE they be offended that a bunch of guys are treating their public park like a bathhouse!

Not to diminish what this mayor's doing, but I do think respect and consideration cut both ways.

[ramal]

10:41 AM on 07/03/2009

Progressives: one; religious nutcases: zero.

[mcthfg]

12:41 PM on 07/03/2009

Don't it feel grand to win one for society?

Conservatives have really beaten the crap out of the US.

[mbondr1]

02:37 PM on 07/03/2009

No, they're strip mining it.

[GomezAdams]

10:21 AM on 07/03/2009

Good for you mayor..

[tommy8]

10:15 AM on 07/03/2009

This mayor better keep his eyes open and carry a gun if he wants to stay alive.

[MJinCanada]

10:42 AM on 07/04/2009

Read it again. He's in The Netherlands, not the US.

[Passenger57]

10:08 AM on 07/03/2009

Good for him!
Gay, straight - who cares?
Is tax money gay?

[obtusegoose]

09:56 AM on 07/03/2009

Very impressive. Well done, Mayor Marcouch.

[Joeyj1220]

08:15 AM on 07/03/2009

"Marcouch's actions have also drawn strong rebukes, namely from local religious leaders such as Mohamed Adardour of the el-Oumma mosque and the local Roman Catholic parish."

Yep... fundie Muslims and Roman Catholics... birds of a feather and all that

[GZLives]

09:03 AM on 07/03/2009

Fundie Catholics beheading people? Hmmmm can you post one example?

[SiberianRat]

09:32 AM on 07/03/2009

The Crusades?

[Apov]

09:39 AM on 07/03/2009

The Inquisition?

[MissMonde]

07:20 AM on 07/03/2009

Mr Marcouch, who by the way, is not the mayor but chairmain of the Slotervaart borrough council, has also proposed to kick off this years Gay Pride in his borrough! Kudos!

[Leftwingbloggin]

05:46 AM on 07/03/2009

God Bless you Mr. Mayor! Progressives reclaiming faith is always a good thing.

[totalliberal]

04:40 AM on 07/03/2009

There are no Muslim gays. There are however guys who like having sex with other men, but there is nothing gay about that.

[piul05]

08:55 AM on 07/03/2009

In fact your first sentence is not exactly wrong, although you obviously meant for it to be sarcastic. The figure of the homossexual as identity is a social construction, which is, by no means, universal.

You should read Michel Foucault's "History of Sexuality" for further insight on the argument.

[piul05]

09:02 AM on 07/03/2009

Sorry about the typo: insight into... ( I was going to write "You should read M.F.'s "History of Sexuality" and the subsequent debate ON the construction of identity")

I'm not a morning person and both sentences just got scrambled up...

[ZenCrusader]

12:40 PM on 07/03/2009

Gore Vidal often said that homosexuality is an act, not an identity.

[Hirnlego]

04:40 AM on 07/03/2009

Encouraging.

[ramal]

03:12 AM on 07/03/2009

Good for him. Tolerance and acceptance of others is something that you cannot usually reason with people to embrace. Sometimes it can only be forced on people and over a period of time it comes to be accepted as natural. Keep it up, Mr. Mayor.