First Jewish Gay Wedding in Sweden

Two man wed at Great Synagogue of Stockholm at a ceremony conducted by Rabbi David Lazar and attended by some 50 people.

Wedding cake for two grooms (illustrative)

Wedding cake for two grooms (illustrative) Photo: REUTERS

The Great Synagogue of Stockholm hosted Sweden’s first Jewish gay wedding.

The couple, two men who had been living together for the past 28 years, was wed at the synagogue on Sunday at a ceremony conducted by Rabbi David Lazar and attended by some 50 people.

The online edition of the Swedish magazine QX reported Tuesday that the men, Ruben Ben Dor and Stefan Gustafsson, have been members of the Great Synagogue of Stockholm — a Conservative congregation — since 1990, when Gustafsson returned to Sweden after living for some years in Israel. Both men are gardening enthusiasts and create postcards of flora in collaboration with a Swedish photographer, the website reported.

“We were lucky to have four good friends who came from abroad to be our witnesses, and four other friends to hold up the huppa,” Gustafsson said. He added he and his husband were “recovering from a great day and wonderful celebration.

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LGBT – friendly Mosque Opens in France

The first gay-friendly mosque, a place of cult where gay and trans Muslims can join others with no fear nor shame, was opened in France.

With a clamorous rupture in the relationship between homosexuality and Islam, this initiative aims at guaranteeing a fundamental requirement for a sacred temple: no follower should be denied access, not even based on sexual orientation. Even if some Islamic followers consider homosexuality as a normal expression of human feelings, with no relation to negative judgments, they are still a minority. Moreover, the debate taking place under the Eiffel Tower on gay marriage led Imam Ludovic-Mohamed Zahed to the utmost discretion, even on the position of the Tawhid Mosque. Of which we only know the location – XVIII° arrondissement in Paris. The exact address will be accessible only for those registered in the French Muslim Gay Association (HM2F).

via  – West.

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A Gay Muslim Responds to British Imams on Equal Marriage

Muslim leaders in Britain have claimed introducing gay marriage would undermine traditional families and take away parents’ and teachers’ rights, A Gay Muslim denies that they are speaking for the Muslim community as a whole.

imam suliman

Imam Suliman

In what British right-wing newspaper The Telegraph calls ‘an unprecedented intervention from the British Muslim community,’ over 500 imams have signed a letter to express ‘serious misgivings’ about Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron’s gay marriage bill.

As a gay Muslim and LGBT rights advocate I have serious concerns about this stance and letter, especially as it is apparently being penned in my name, as a British Muslim.

As far as I am concerned those who oppose equal marriage are homophobes plain and simple for marriage is NOT a religious institution but a civil right.

Muslim opposition claim that this should be seen as a challenge to David Cameron’s claims of acting in the interests of ‘equality’ and ‘diversity’. I question this and the statement that says ‘on behalf of the Muslim communities we serve’ for am I not part of that community of Muslims?

It needs to be pointed out that, like in other religious, an Islamic marriage is only legal when it is signed into contract by law. Thus: ‘Marriage is a sacred contract between a man and a woman’ is only legal when formalized into civil law, so how does same sex marriage disrupt or lessen this ‘sacred contract’.

This ‘radical change’ will actually not change what is taught in Islamic schools and by stating that Muslim teachers will have their religious values compromised is no different to asking for permission to discriminate and special rights to be given to a group.

By those standards they are already being ‘forced into the contradictory position of holding private beliefs’ as they are not allowed to portray homosexuality in a negative light under current hate and discriminatory laws.

The same argument stands for ‘Muslim parents will be robbed of their right to raise their children according to their beliefs, as gay relationships are taught as something normal to their primary-aged children.’

Every parent has the option available to them already, as to where they send their children to be educated as most metropolitan cities have Islamic schools, who can chose to ignore the fact that gay marriages are not abnormal, but a fact of life and that everyone is entitled to equality, in law – as other religious schools can.

We do not live in a country that is dictated by Sharia law or one that is predominately Muslim, but in a multi-cultural, multi-faith country, where democracy and civil law rules.

As I have expressed before the introduction of Sharia law into Britain would put LGBT people’s safety and civil rights at risk.

– full report at Gay Star News.

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Denver Nuggets’ Kenneth Faried Makes His Two Muslim Moms Proud

Minutes after Jason Collins revealed he was gay on April 29, a certain Denver Nugget fired up his iPhone to send out an urgent tweet. He wanted to be the first to give a standing ovation, the first to say the world was a better place. It took him about 60 seconds to type his words in, and, presto, Kenneth Faried was in the fray again:

Wow this is amazing all smiles. So so happy Jason Collins came out &announce he was openly GAY…ALL SUPPORT OVER HERE #ATHLETEALLY #LGBT

Predictably, there were immediate tweets about his tweet. Some were heartfelt and upbeat:

Choosing new fave NBA players based off Jason Collins reactions; shout out to Kenneth Faried for the best one.

But others were darts right back at him:

Kenneth Faried supporting Jason Collins … he a f** too

Kenneth Faried a lil too happy Jason Collins came out the closet lol

I’m not a hater, but I dunno how I feel about Kenneth Faried’s tweet about Jason Collins. You happy to find out a man is gay?

It was like grade school all over again — Kenneth Faried being called “gay boy” … Kenneth Faried wanting to ball up his fists … Kenneth Faried having to stick up for his mom … and his other mom.

Faried, Mcgeeski

Every rebound tells a story. So Kenneth Faried has hundreds of them. His first tale is about his father, Kenneth Lewis, and his mother, Waudda Faried, who weren’t a couple as much as they were basketball buddies. The two had met while Waudda was working at a warehouse in Newark, N.J., and although they never married, they would together take their young son, Kenneth, to Newark’s inner-city blacktops.

At first, 5-year-old Kenneth used to watch from a bench while Waudda and Kenneth Sr. played in pickup games. Waudda would be the only female on the court, but because she tied her hair into tight braids, wore a baggy shirt and was fearless on the court, she’d unintentionally blend in with no one knowing. That’s how talented she was. She had been a star player in high school, the kind of baller who could either lower her shoulder on her way to the basket or step back to shoot the 3. She would also talk ad nauseam. Whenever she’d drain a shot, she’d yap, “Can’t guard me” or “Gonna be a long night.” If one of her male opponents got riled up, Kenneth Sr. would protect her. There was never a dull moment.

continue reading at  ESPN.

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