Ahmed Marcouch, chairman of the heavily immigrant Amsterdam neighborhood of Slotervaart, is taking it upon himself to fight persistent homophobia in the locality, including presenting a memorandum with measures to make the neighborhood more gay-friendly. Name-calling, being spit on, and harassment are common experiences for gay persons passing street corners – and a number of…
Controversy seems to follow Tariq Ramadan wherever he goes. In Rotterdam, where the Swiss philosopher and theologist has been asked to contribute to the multicultural dialogue, the gay community is up in arms over Ramadan’s statements about homosexuality and the role of women in society. A split tongue, is how French journalist Caroline Fourest described…
A young Montrealer has been sentenced to seven years in prison on Thursday for firebombing two Montreal Jewish institutions. With evidence that couldn’t be reported until their guilty plea, investigators say Omar Bulphred and an accomplice were arrested after police heard them on wiretaps describing the abduction of a gay man to rob him and…
The Royal Court Theatre in London presents a play that is being praised ‘a Muslim Bridget Jones’s Diary’. In Shades, the audience accompanies liberal Muslim Sabrina on her quest for Mr Right in London, joining her on an Islamic speed dating event and meeting her gay flat mates. She finally has to decide between the…
Bosnia’s first gay pride festival has been forced underground after 10 people were injured when protestors attacked visitors on the festival’s opening night. Dozens of people chanting “kill the gays” punched, kicked, and threw stones at people leaving the event. Islamic leaders were angry that the festival of pride, which includes art, films, and workshops…
