The Lamps of Reason Extinguished

Alice C. Linsley

In September 2006, the National Cathedral of the Episcopal Church, which advocates for homosexual rights, hosted speeches by Khatami, an Iranian cleric and a former President of Iran. The organizers of the event didn’t seem to notice the inconsistency of their thought. Iran has zero tolerance for those who practice homosex. The punishment is execution.

State Department Deputy Spokesman Tom Casey said that Khatami was granted a visa in part because of U.S. treaty obligations as the host country of the United Nations. Besides speaking at the National Cathedral, Khatami was also to attend a United Nations conference in New York.

Almost 2 years later, the magazine of GALHA (the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association) called Islam a "barmy doctrine" growing "like a canker" and deeply "homophobic." In return, the London Hate Crime Forum asked Scotland Yard to investigate GALHA for "Islamophobia."

Got that? If a Muslim says that Islam is opposed to homosexuality, he can be investigated for homophobia. If a homosexual says that Islam is opposed to his gay life style, he can be investigated for Islamophobia.

Mark Steyn says, "The lamps are going out." I am reminded of CS Lewis' novel The Silver Chair. In the final scene, as the rescued prince, the two children and their muggle guide escape from the underworld, steadily climbing toward the surface of the earth, the rising waters extinguish the lamps one by one.

At his blog, Steyn has also written: Mr Earle is having a big ol' fundraiser in Toronto in July 2008. Denyse O'Leary's misgivings about the event may well be borne out, but, if I weren't going to be several thousand miles away, I'd certainly be there myself - and I urge all freespeechers in the neighborhood to attend: Be there even if you're square. No doubt many of the participants were hitherto entirely relaxed by the thought police cracking down on Swift Current White Supremacists and the First Church of Christ the Same-Sex-Marriage Disparager. But the reality is that any truly free society will have its share of anti-Semites and homophobic pastors and right-wing blowhards and left-wing pottymouth comics, and, if you give the government license to squash the liberties of selected citizens, you soon find they're selecting all kinds of other folk. So, if you're in Toronto this Saturday, do check out Guy Earle and co.

Source: The New Criterion, and hat tip to Northern Plains Anglican.