India Muslim Party Reportedly Calls For Homosexuals To Be Executed

We recently discussed the Indian courts reinstating the criminalization of homosexuality in that country.  Now, the Indian National League, a Muslim political party, has reportedly launched a public campaign calling for all homosexuals to be killed under the nation’s death penalty. The posters appearing around the country also claims that freedom of expression is being abused by gays and lesbians in advocating their cause. This story has appeared on a couple of gay rights sites covering India but has not appeared in the mainstream press.

The Muslim party is capital punishment is the only punishment fitting gays and lesbians and quotes the Quran that “if a society does not destroy the evils in it, it will inevitably bear its consequences.” Thus, they want to kill thousands of people for loving people of their own gender.

The attack on free speech is telling. There continues to be a fundamental disconnect in the understanding of free speech between the United States and various Muslim allies. For many years, I have been writing about the threat of an international blasphemy standard and the continuing rollback on free speech in the West. For recent columns, click here and here and here. The Obama Administration has supported effort to develop a standard for the criminalization of speech with Muslim countries who view criticism of Islam to be blasphemy and an abuse of free speech.

The fate of gays and lesbians in India remains an acute international concern. However, the continued advocacy of the death penalty for homosexuals in the name of faith reflects with growing divide with some of our closest allies.