The Case of Asifa Lahore

Courage comes in many forms, including that of gay drag queen Asif Quaraishi - more widely known as Asifa Lahore - who has bravely taken on the role of spokesperson for those within the British Asian community who want the right to openly express their queer sexual identities without being ostracized, or living in fear of violent repercussions.   

But naivety also comes in many forms and it seems to me that Quaraishi, whilst clearly a sensitive and intelligent individual - not to mention an amusing performer - is being naive in his demand that he not only be accepted as gaysian, but also recognised as a devout Muslim. This is probably not going to happen anytime soon and does rather suggest he wants to have his cake and eat it.

For I think Islam - like Christianity - is very clear on where it stands on the practice of homosexuality: it doesn't much care for it. Based on teachings in the Qur'an, Islamic scholars condemn sodomy as an obscene act (al-fahsha') and as an abnormality (shudhudh) which is contrary to God's will and the natural order, thereby likely to lead to the destruction of humanity.  

Unfortunately, not everything is open to personal interpretation and sometimes a choice has to be made between mutually exclusive and irreconcilable oppositions, such as, in this case, the right to individual and sexual freedom, or strict religious observance. You can't be both a defiant homosexual in complete good faith and practice and a subordinate Muslim in complete good faith and practice. To try, is to lead a compromised life full of contradictions. But perhaps we all lack integrity truth be told ...             

What really surprises me is why anyone who is so clearly disprivileged and despised within a homophobic religious tradition would want to belong to it in any way shape or form; is it really so much harder (or more dangerous) to come out as a secular atheist than a cross-dressing homosexual? Is apostasy still the most unforgivable sin in the minds of believers? 


Notes:

Those interested in this subject should view Muslim Drag Queens, a First Cut documentary for Channel 4, dir. Marcus Plowright, to be broadcast on 24 August, 2015.

Those who want to see a video of super-glamorous Asifa Lahore in action can click here, or visit her website: asifalahore.com   

 

Why Atheism is a Non-Precarious Way of Living

 Ahn Jun: Self-Portrait (2011)

ahnjun.com

There's an irony in the fact that those who seek moral and existential certainty often pray to God to provide such; just as there's an irony in the fact that the Italian atheist philosopher Federico Campagna posits a concept of precariousness (or what he terms precarity) as part of his radical ethics and politics; or rather as a postmodern temporal condition which makes such an ethics and a politics both possible and necessary. 

In the case of believers seeking the assurance of truth - i.e. some form of solid foundation upon which to build and thus to find shelter and safety - the irony is that they make this entirely dependent upon God's will and God's grace; something to be obtained by entreaty. In other words, it's contingent upon the divine favour of an often unpredictable and spiteful deity who provides no guarantee whatsoever that mortal prayers will be answered.

The religious quest for certainty thus paradoxically places the faithful in an entirely precarious position. And so, despite what Nietzsche thought, living dangerously seems to involve living with and not without God.

The irony of an atheist philosopher subscribing to a concept of precariousness is thus also exposed. For not only is it essentially a religious notion, but it robs atheism of its one great advantage; namely, that it doesn't allow for doubt or uncertainty. As an atheist, you can know for sure that your prayers will never be answered and that there's no mercy, no justice, and no salvation.

(And you can know for sure what happens if you skip too close to the edge and fall from a tall building ...)   

Note: those interested in Federico Campagna's thinking might like to read The Last Night: Anti-Work, Atheism, Adventure, (Zero Books, 2013).

An Atheist Responds to Pope Francis

Well, there you go: I've just been insulted by Pope Francis in his first Christmas Day message to the faithful!

Speaking to a crowd of 70,000 people from the balcony of St Peter's, he called on even atheists to share in the desire for peace that fills the hearts of all true believers in God.

I mean, really, it's a bit much, no?  

Even atheists - as if we were the scum of the earth who knew only of hatred and were filled with a lust for violence. I might remind His Holiness that it is invariably religion that proliferates and intensifies tribal, racial, and sectarian conflict in this world: witness what is happening presently in the Middle East and in Africa.   

For ultimately, despite all their talk about desiring peace and being happy to receive their rewards in the next world, the leaders and followers of the great religions want power in this world and will slaughter anyone who might stand in their way - not least of all those who subscribe to a different faith, or to no faith.   

And with that I have done and pronounce my judgement: religion has left nothing untouched by its depravity. I call it the one immortal blemish of mankind ...  

- Nietzsche, The Anti-Christ

The Gospel of Cool Hand Luke

Cool Hand Luke (1967), directed by Stuart Rosenberg and starring Paul Newman, has been widely embraced by a Christian audience keen to equate the character of Lucas Jackson with Jesus. And they are certainly helped in this by the fact that the filmmakers were neither shy nor subtle in their use of overtly Christian themes, songs and imagery.  

However, we mustn't forget the storm scene wherein Luke explicitly identifies God as merely a mythological authority: he laughs at Dragline and his fellow prisoners for still believing in that "big-bearded Boss up there". And, after God fails to give any sign of his existence and power - despite Luke's daring him to do so - the latter looks round with a smile and declares: "That's what I figured; I'm just standin' in the rain, talkin' to myself."

This, for me at least, is the crucial line of the film: a brave man's honest resignation to the fact that he's alone in the world with no Heavenly Father either to look after him, or judge him; that it's not simply a failure to communicate.

This, of course - what we might refer to as the truth of the void - is precisely what Christians cannot and will not accept. They stare with horror and fear at the prospect of a world without supernatural significance or the hope of salvation and a life which, for them, is therefore without value or meaning and is just a kind of empty nothingness.

But as Luke also pointed out: Sometimes nothin' is a real cool hand.