Indonesian Sharia police separate Aceh lesbian couple

BBC News, ByAlice Budisatrijo, Jakarta, 25 August 2011

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Islamicpolice in the Indonesian province of Aceh have forced two women to have theirmarriage annulled and sign an agreement to separate.

Aceh is the only province in Indonesia to
apply Sharia law

The womenhad been legally married for a few months after one of them passed as a man infront of an Islamic cleric who presided over their wedding.

Butsuspicious neighbours confronted the couple and reported them to police.

The twowomen are now back with their families, forcibly separated and undersurveillance by the Islamic police.

The localSharia police chief told them Islam said they must be beheaded and burned forwhat they had done.

But Aceh,the only province in Indonesia that is allowed to implement Sharia law, has yetto adopt any provisions dealing with gay and lesbian people.

Theprovincial parliament passed Islamic laws authorising the stoning to death ofadulterers and the caning of homosexuals in 2009, but the governor has refusedto sign it.

Homosexualityis frowned upon but legal in Indonesia.

Activistshave blamed Aceh's Sharia laws for encouraging vigilantism and intolerance, andsay they violate the Indonesian constitution.

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About the Challenges of Being a Gay Man – Oct 23, 2010 (Saint Germain channelled by Alexandra Mahlimay and Dan Bennack) - “You see, your Soul and Creator are not concerned with any perspective you have that contradicts the reality of your Divinity – whether this be your gender, your sexual preference, your nationality – or your race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, or anything else.”


"The Akashic System" – Jul 17, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: Religion, God, Benevolent Design, DNA, Akashic Circle, (Old) Souls, Gaia, Indigenous People, Talents, Reincarnation, Genders, Gender Switches, In “between” Gender Change, Gender Confusion, Shift of Human Consciousness, Global Unity,..... etc.)  New !

Indonesia's Transgender Community Facing Test of Faith

Jakarta Globe, Elisabeth Oktofani, May 28, 2011

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For Indonesian transgenders, practicing religion in public is not an easy thing, but that doesn’t stop some from trying.

Mariyani, a 50-year-old transgender hairdresser, said during a discussion on homosexuality and religion that transgender people, just like other people, wish to be able to practice their religion openly.

“If I ever had the choice, I would not want to be a transgender, but this is what God has decided for me,” Mariyani said.

“It needs to be understood that it is not true that all transgenders are bad, because there are good transgenders who actually have a strong willingness to publicly practice religion but unfortunately we are not accepted,” she said.

But Merlyn Sopjan, a Christian transgender who heads the Malang Transsexual Association (Iwama), told the Jakarta Globe that unlike Mariyani, she has never experienced rejection in her church.

“Even though there are many people who know that I am a transgender, no one stares at me every time I walk to the church and I feel so comfortable because I can practice my religion peacefully,” Merlyn said.

“I think it is because that in Christian religious rites, the male and female believers are not segregated,” she added.

“However, I have one friend who was told by the priest that he cannot join the Mass if he dresses up as a woman.”

Merlyn said she expects that transgenders will eventually be accepted within religious groups.

“As human beings who are committed to our religion, we just want to have the freedom to practice our religion as other people do,” she added.

Mohamad Guntur Romli, a prominent liberal Muslim intellectual and a graduate of Egypt’s Al Azhar University, said on Thursday that the root cause of suspicion of homosexuals in Indonesia is ignorance.

“The lack of knowledge about rights and health issues related to homosexuality has created hatred within society,” Guntur said.

“Homosexuality is being equated with a mental disorder or the homosexual community is blamed for having spread HIV/AIDS, for instance. That’s not proper information about homosexuality and this has led to homophobia among wider society,” he explained.

Guntur said religious institutions and leaders have also played a role in the stigmatization of homosexuals.

“Religious institutions and leaders often find it difficult to be sympathetic toward homosexuality,” he continued.

He said that self-righteous religious leaders and institutions see homosexuals as sinners.

“Ignorance about homosexuality has created homophobia in society and religion is being used to spread hatred toward homosexual communities,” Guntur added.

Muhammad Syukri, an openly gay man from Yogyakarta, told the Globe on Friday that obvious signs of gayness sometimes lead to rejection.

“Being gay is not as hard as being transgender ... whenever I want to practice my religion, I do not get a hard time from another believer, because I do not dress up as a woman,” Syukri said.

But as soon as he would begin acting in what is seen as a feminine way, trouble often starts. “Some people make a fun of me and actually, that is a form of harassment,” Syukri said.

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About the Challenges of Being a Gay Man – Oct 23, 2010 (Saint Germain channeled by Alexandra Mahlimay and Dan Bennack) - “You see, your Soul and Creator are not concerned with any perspective you have that contradicts the reality of your Divinity – whether this be your gender, your sexual preference, your nationality – or your race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, or anything else.”

Gay imam spreads message: "Homosexuality is not sinful"

RNW, 18 February 2011, by Klaas den Tek

(Photo: RNW)

South African Muhsin Hendricks is an Islamic cleric and a gay man.

He runs a foundation called The Inner Circle, which helps Muslims, who are struggling to accept their sexuality. He has come to the Netherlands to spread a simple message: “It’s okay to be Muslim and gay!”

It’s a message not everyone agrees with and the reason why Mr Hendricks is no longer officially a cleric.

Muhsin Hendricks looks a little tired. He is in the Netherlands at the invitation of the Amsterdam branch of gay rights organisation COC and he’s on a punishing schedule. There is enormous public interest in the “pink imam”, as he’s been dubbed.

Sin

But every trace of fatigue vanishes as Mushin Hendricks talks about his faith and his sexuality.

“Being Muslim and being gay are both strong identities. And I think that they are both innate identities for me. So somewhere along the line I had to reconcile the two.”

This was far from easy for Muhsin Hendricks. He was born into an orthodox Muslim family in South Africa. His grandfather was a cleric in one of Cape Town’s most prominent mosques. Mushin discovered at an early age that he was different. He played with dolls rather than cars. He was seen as being feminine and was teased as a result. All this was long before he even knew there was such a thing as homosexuality.

Mushin Hendricks took comfort in his faith, in spite of the fact that many Muslims believe it offers no place to homosexual feelings. Sexual love between two men or two women is prohibited. It is seen as one of the worst possible sins, punishable in some Islamic countries by death.

Sodom and Gomorrah

But Muhsin Hendricks decided to discover for himself what the Qur’an has to say about homosexuality. He pursued his Islamic studies in Pakistan. “It didn’t seem fair for a very merciful and compassionate God to condemn me for something that I didn’t choose.”

Muhsin Hendricks drew a striking conclusion from his studies: nowhere does the Qur’an state that homosexuality is forbidden. Not even in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Mushin refutes the interpretation that God destroyed the cities because men had sex with one another. He argues that the cities’ residents were punished for rape, not for consensual sex between men.

Divorce

The controversial cleric argues that there are even one or two Qur’an verses in which Allah acknowledges the existence of homosexuals. One example is in sura 24, verse 31. “It says that women have to put on extra clothing when they go out in public ... But not in front of those men who have no attraction for women. They must be the gay people,” he laughs.

Despite these discoveries, Mushin still did not feel able to acknowledge and openly express his own homosexual feelings. He married, and he and his wife had three children. Mushin’s wife was aware of his homosexuality but still tried to make the relationship work.

Mushin Hendricks’ knowledge of Islam and Arabic earned him respect in the mosques of Cape Town. But his feelings did not go away. After six years, his marriage ended in divorce and that was the moment when he officially came out of the closet.

Satanist

His mother fainted when she heard the news that her son Mushin was gay. But little by little she is beginning to understand. Some members of the family want nothing more to do with him.

Now Mushin Hendricks has met the love of his life. His partner follows another faith – Hinduism – and has not yet come out of the closet.

Mushin’s work at the mosque came to an abrupt end. His take on the relationship between homosexuality and Islam does not rhyme with the official doctrine. He has been branded a Satanist. Although he has never been physically threatened, he has to endure much abuse and criticism.

Empowerment

“Imams see me as a threat to their worldview and the way they see Islam. I don’t feel they should be threatened. It’s just another view that I would invite them to look at. My view allows queer Muslims to continue being Muslim but also to accept themselves for who they are.”

Muhsin Hendricks still sees himself as an Islamic cleric. With his foundation The Inner Circle he tries to help Muslims with their coming out. He gives empowerment workshops to make young people more self-aware. He will also give one here in the Netherlands: over sixty people have already signed up for it.

Visit the Inner Circle website or Facebook page

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Gay man seeking asylum: I can't return to Indonesia

CNN News, By Sarah Hoye, February 15, 2011

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Anton Tanumihardja came to the U.S. from Indonesia in 2002
• He applied for asylum because of his sexual orientation
• He faced deportation on Valentine's Day, but got a last-minute reprieve
• His attorney says his case spotlights inequalities for same-sex couples applying for asylum

Philadelphia (CNN) -- Anton Tanumihardja had his bags packed, anxious about his flight back to his home country, Indonesia. It was a trip he did not want to make after spending the past eight years in the United States.

Anton Tanumihardja has applied for asylum,
fearing persecution for his sexual orientation
in Indonesia.

He feared his absence would mean the end for his relationship with his boyfriend. In a bitter twist, he would be leaving on the night of Valentine's Day.

At the last minute came a temporary reprieve: Federal immigration officials issued a stay of deportation just three hours before his flight was to take off.

Tanumihardja, who is openly gay, has filed for political asylum, fearing persecution if he is forced to return to Indonesia. He says his homeland is not tolerant of homosexuals.

Although the order gives Tanumihardja more time in Philadelphia, it does not guarantee he can stay forever. It remains in effect until authorities decide whether to reopen his political asylum application.

Tanumihardja, 45, came to the United States in 2002 with a tourist visa from Jakarta, Indonesia. After his visa expired, he filed for political asylum and received a work permit while his case was being reviewed.

When his asylum application and subsequent appeals were denied, immigration authorities told him he had to leave on Monday.

"I got a lot of support from the people who love me and want me to stay," Tanumihardja said before breaking down into tears. "I do not expect anything in return from this country. I just want my status to be legal here."

In addition to his sexual orientation, Tanumihardja is ethnic Chinese and Catholic, making his return to Indonesia more daunting because he would be a triple minority in the predominantly Muslim country.

"Going back to my country means I have to be closed," he said, referring to his sexual orientation. "I cannot come out in my country and have to be hiding who I am."

The root issues of Tanumijardja's case are more complicated than simply deporting someone for an overstayed visa or denying a political asylum application, according to his attorney, Lavi Soloway.

The case sits at the intersection of gay rights and immigration reform, he says.

"Our whole immigration system, 80% of the cases are based on family unification, it's about keeping the family together," Soloway said. "But this just doesn't register with the LGBT community. It's a reflection of anti-gay discrimination."

Tanumihardja started dating Brian Andersen last fall, and they have been inseparable ever since.

Andersen, 28, is an American citizen. If they were heterosexual and planned to marry, Tanumihardja could possibly have been sponsored for residency, Soloway argues.

Under current U.S. law, the sponsorship option does not exist for same-sex couples.

Tanumihardja, who has a degree in accounting and marketing, works at Coventry Deli in downtown Philadelphia where he also doubles as the bookkeeper.

He will continue his fight to stay, he said.

"I do my best for this county, I love this country," he said.

Soloway says he fears for Tanumihardja if he is forced to return to Indonesia.

"He is a gay man who has had the opportunity to live openly as a gay man in Philadelphia. And now he's going back to live where in order to survive, you cannot be open," Soloway said. "We guard against taking for granted our freedom to be with those we love."

The last-minute stay of deportation has Tanumihardja and Andersen relieved, but cautious.

"This is the best we could of hoped for at this point," Andersen said after hearing the news. "It's something that is very real and happening."

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Members of committee of the Q! Film Festival install banners during pre-festival preparations in Jakarta on September 24, 2010. A gay film festival hailed as the biggest in Asia and the only one in the Muslim world kicks off in Indonesia on September 24, hoping to draw 15,000 viewers to screenings and fringe events. In its ninth annual edition, the Q! Film Festival will showcase 150 films from more than 20 countries including France, Japan and the Philippines, highlighting such issues as gay rights and HIV/AIDS. (AFP)

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Pinar Ilkkaracan : All of her sexualities, all of her Islams

The Jakarta Post, Julia Suryakusuma, Contributor, Jakarta | Wed, 10/06/2010 9:53 AM

Once upon a time there were two Muslims, one from Indonesia, the other from Turkey. Yes, they share a religion, but there’s scarcely any connection between the two in terms of how their faith affects their attitude to life.

Courtesy of Pinar Ilkkaracan

The one from Indonesia is Tifatul Sembiring, minister of what should be called the (Mis)communication and (Mis)information Department in the Second (Dis)United Indonesian Cabinet.

Yes, Tifatul is notorious for his odious statements and tweets, the most recent ones in reaction to the Q! Film Festival (http://www.q-munity.org). He targeted gays with a series of homophobic tweets blaming “perverted sex acts” for the spread of HIV/AIDS, quoted a passage from the Koran about God “smiting with rocks from a burning land”, and broke down the acronym AIDS as “Akibat Itunya Dipakai Sembarangan” (what you get for sticking your penis into just about everything).

Titaful’s tweets would be insulting, offensive and deeply inappropriate coming from anyone, but being a Cabinet minister only makes this embarrassingly flagrant display of bigotry and ignorance worse.

Now, compare our pathetic minister with that other Muslim I mentioned, Pinar Ilkkaracan. She is a researcher, activist, trainer, psychotherapist — one of Turkey’s leading feminists — and her mission in life is to do the exact opposite of people like Tifatul wherever possible.

Pinar was the executive director of Women for Women’s Human Rights (WWHR)-New Ways for twelve years (1994-2006), an organization she founded in 1993. WWHR engages in advocacy and lobbying for women’s human rights at the national, regional and international levels, conducts training programs, and coordinates an international program to promote sexual and bodily rights as human rights in Muslim societies.

For almost two decades Pinar has worked tirelessly to dispel prejudices and promote understanding about the centrality of human sexuality and the difference it can make in people’s lives.

In her country, the campaign led by Pinar’s organization brought about the reform of the Turkish Penal Code in 2004, which included 30 amendments that constituted a major step to the protection of women’s human rights. Internationally Pinar is also very active in UN forums. She recalls being involved in a milestone event when as a result of immense pressure from thousands of women and women’s groups, the UN finally recognized that women and girls have human rights — only in 1993!

Pinar was recently in Jakarta in her capacity as one of the international coordinators of the Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights (CSBR) in Muslim Societies (see my column “Divided by Culture, United by Religion and… Sex”, in TJP, Sept. 29 2010). This was not the first time she’s conducted an event in

Indonesia.

She says she loves it here because she was inspired by what she saw then as the tolerance for sexual diversities. That’s why in 2004 Pinar organized the first South and Southeast Asian Conference on Sexuality and Human Rights in Muslim Societies here in Jakarta (http://www.wwhr.org/files/jakarta.pdf), in collaboration with the Indonesian Women’s Health Foundation (http://ykesehatanperempuan.org/).

WWHR gathered 25 NGO representatives and researchers from Muslim societies in Jakarta, to discuss key issues on sexual and bodily rights, sexual politics and human rights. If Tifatul invokes the Koran to justify hatred, Pinar’s press statement at the 2004 conference invoked it in the name of an all-embracing love. It emphasized that “social justice and the dignity of women and men are enshrined in the Koran” and that sexual oppression was not Islamic but, like so many things, a result of political, social and economic inequalities.

Despite the taboo on sex in many Muslim societies, many scholars have argued that the Koran itself discusses these things openly, and in great detail. Pinar has certainly picked up on this and is one of an increasing number of Muslim scholars who reinterpret texts to allow for a wider spectrum of sexual relationships, including homosexuality. In Islam, she says, sex is pretty cool — in fact, it’s obligatory within marriage.

Why did Pinar chose Indonesia again, given increasing violent protests and demonstrations against a number of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Transgender) events this year by Muslim hard-liners like FPI (Islam Defenders Front)? She said that’s precisely why she felt it was important to hold the event in Indonesia: to counter the bigotry of the thugs who call themselves Muslims. Not just Tifatul, but also the likes of Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) who also gave the thumbs down on the Q! Film Fest.

So which one of the two Muslim leaders do you think takes the inner message of their religion seriously?

Tifatul the turkey or Pinar from Turkey? The answer wouldn’t surprise anyone except of course, Titaful and that man in the palace who thought he was Ministerial material! Wrong again, Pak Beye!

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Gay Film Festival Opens in Indonesia

Jakarta Globe, Arlina Arshad | September 24, 2010

Jakarta. A gay film festival hailed as the biggest in Asia and the only one in the Muslim world kicks off in Indonesia on Friday, hoping to draw 15,000 viewers to screenings and fringe events.

In its ninth annual edition, the Q! Film Festival (www.q-munity.org/) will showcase 150 films from more than 20 countries, including France, Japan and the Philippines, highlighting such issues as gay rights and HIV/AIDS.

Festival director John Badalu said organizers did not expect public opposition but prefer to keep the event low-key due to the “stigma against gays” among conservative sections of the mainly Muslim population.

“We don’t want to publicise the event in the mainstream local media as they’re still very conservative,” Badalu said.

Social networking sites such as Twitter (twitter.com/Qfilmfestival) are abuzz with chat about the event, however, signalling it has already achieved one of its chief aims — to “let people know that the queer community exists in Indonesia”, he added.

Indonesian Muslims are often categorized as “moderate” but such generalizations, favoured by Western diplomats, upset religious and other minorities who have to endure the daily opprobrium of Islamic conservatives.

In March, a regional gay and lesbian conference was forced to cancel when scores of Islamic radicals stormed the venue and reportedly went from room to room hunting participants.

A month later, Islamic vigilantes burst into a civil rights awareness session for transsexuals held by the National Commission for Human Rights and sent the participants fleeing in panic.

Homosexuality is technically legal in the country of 240 million people but it remains a taboo, especially among the 80 percent of the population who are Muslims.

Lawmakers in deeply Islamic Aceh province last year voted to make homosexuality punishable by up to 100 lashes under local religious by-laws which the provincial government has refused to approve.

Communications Minister Tifatul Sembiring, chief of an Islamic party, in June implied a link between pornography and HIV-AIDS, and questioned whether state funds used to fight the disease could not be better spent.

“The country has dispersed 180 billion rupiah ($20 million) to curb HIV-AIDS. The budget should actually be reduced so the money can be allocated for other things that are beneficial for the country,” he told reporters.

Despite these attitudes, Communications Ministry spokesman Gatot Dewa Broto said the central government had given its assurances that the Q! festival could go ahead.

“We have no objections. As long as the content is not too sexually explicit, not too vulgar, we’re OK, we can tolerate it,” he said.

“This festival has been taking place for many years already. I’m sure the organizers know the do’s and the don’ts and consider the ethical and normative nuances in Indonesia,” he added.

Organizers are not taking any chances and have taken steps to ensure the festival takes place without incident.

Screenings, which are free, will be held in private clubs and foreign cultural centres in six cities, including Jakarta and Yogyakarta.

International backing also provides a protective umbrella and cosmopolitan legitimacy that radical fringe elements would be reluctant to challenge, Badalu said.

“Funding for the festival comes from foreign groups. We hold screenings at foreign centres. The radicals won’t dare to attack us. If they do, it’s like attacking several countries at one go,” he said.

He said Indonesia’s “double standards” on issues of sexuality, morality and privacy left space for events like Q! and what organizers jokingly refer to as the “Q-munity.”

“Indonesians are generally tolerant towards gays because you see, people have double standards. Some claim to be religious but surf porn Web sites at home, some say no to piracy but still use pirated goods,” Badalu said.

“Anyway, whatever happens, we’ll still be around. We can’t disappear just like that.”

Agence France-Presse

Members of committee of the Q! Film Festival install banners during pre-festival preparations in Jakarta on September 24, 2010. A gay film festival hailed as the biggest in Asia and the only one in the Muslim world kicks off in Indonesia on September 24, hoping to draw 15,000 viewers to screenings and fringe events. In its ninth annual edition, the Q! Film Festival will showcase 150 films from more than 20 countries including France, Japan and the Philippines, highlighting such issues as gay rights and HIV/AIDS. (AFP)

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