Sharia: what's it good for?

Well, it advocates the execution of gay men for being, um, gay men, which must please some people. I'm sure there'll be lots of happy people in Nigeria, looking forward to a good old fashioned stoning party.

But does the Koran, which is the basis for Sharia really demand that all gays must die?

Hmm. It turns out that people have been feeding me - let's be generous and call it 'inaccurate information'. For many years I've goaded myself into disliking the Saudi Nation on the grounds that they behead homosexuals, don't they. When I see headlines and reports linking gay activity to Saudi Arabia, it tends to involve the decapitation of gay men (and similarly with Iran, though in that place they string'em up).

So I was about to write something snarky and dismissive here about the Saudi preference for lopping the top-nobs off of their bender brothers when a residue of Civil Service ethos still lodged in my hind-brain popped up to suggest a quick check of my facts before posting my judgments to the blog.

And just as well I did, because it turns out that the Sandy Sheikhdom is a hotspot of homosexual activity - though not of homosexual identity - according to Nadya Labi in an article in May's edition of the Atlantic Monthly (alternative link here for those too damn tight to pay for an AM subscription).

So now I'm not able to be justifiably outraged in my accustomed, decadent western manner about the filthy sub-human habits of people who go about murdering people just because those other people wanted a bit of comfort'n'love from their same-sex mates. Instead I'll resort to hoping that the men arrested in Nigeria get a fair trial and don't get themselves stoned to death just for finding love in the 'wrong' place.

Sometimes I hate myself for being so fucking wooly and liberal ...