Homosexuality in Dutch debates on Islam and multiculturalism
December 23, 2016 5:40 AM Subscribe
A queer nodal point: Homosexuality in Dutch debates on Islam and multiculturalism.
"In the context of conflicts over Islam and multiculturalism, the acceptance and equal treatment of homosexuality have come to have an unprecedented centrality to Dutch politics. This article explains homosexuality's prominence in these debates as the effect of its ability to serve as a centrepiece of a critique of Dutch ‘consociational democracy’."
Important background: the assassination of Pim Fortuyn in 2002.
tl;dr: Homosexuality emerged as a locus of non-negotiable values in Dutch political discourse, but from the right wing, populist front.
"In the context of conflicts over Islam and multiculturalism, the acceptance and equal treatment of homosexuality have come to have an unprecedented centrality to Dutch politics. This article explains homosexuality's prominence in these debates as the effect of its ability to serve as a centrepiece of a critique of Dutch ‘consociational democracy’."
Important background: the assassination of Pim Fortuyn in 2002.
tl;dr: Homosexuality emerged as a locus of non-negotiable values in Dutch political discourse, but from the right wing, populist front.
I think what's addressed here is (also called) homonationalism.
Not only is it a major nuisance to see LGBT achievements misused to marginalize specific minority cultures, it also renders queer Muslims invisible - as they are occupying an intersectional space which national politicians claim to be non-existent. And aggravatingly, it also leads queer Muslim men to refrain from being in contact with white gay men, as "they wouldn't understand it and say Muslim culture is backward".
Interesting topic.
posted by bigendian at 6:57 AM on December 23, 2016 [18 favorites]
Not only is it a major nuisance to see LGBT achievements misused to marginalize specific minority cultures, it also renders queer Muslims invisible - as they are occupying an intersectional space which national politicians claim to be non-existent. And aggravatingly, it also leads queer Muslim men to refrain from being in contact with white gay men, as "they wouldn't understand it and say Muslim culture is backward".
Interesting topic.
posted by bigendian at 6:57 AM on December 23, 2016 [18 favorites]
Once more, a population roundly hated by the Right is used as a cudgel against Islam. Which doesn't erase the homophobia of many Islamic groups (in power or not), but surely there is a "mote and beam" situation going on....
posted by GenjiandProust at 8:39 AM on December 23, 2016 [10 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 8:39 AM on December 23, 2016 [10 favorites]
This is something I keep a close eye on when I'm using my queerness as a weapon to advocate against right-wing attacks on diversity and freedom. I have a few queer Muslim friends, including two Muslim converts, and I keep them in the back of my mind when I look at potential allies and rhetoric I think might keep my local queer communities safe. It's probably also worth noting that I've watched two or three separate American Muslim activists specifically and explictly mention queer-friendliness in their own speeches asking for support for their own communities at local protests in my area; I suspect that there are quite a few liberal Muslim advocacy groups that have similar conversations to the ones I have seen ricocheting around my local queer networks, about remembering who exactly our enemies really are. I remember the outright rage I saw from queer people in my networks when right-wingers tried to co-opt the tragedy at Pulse to attack Muslims here instead of the culture of heterosexism that incubated the violence against us, and I think I'm not the only person thinking that way.
I think there's value, as a white queer woman from a Catholic background, of publicly pledging to stand with Muslim* friends when they are targeted by right-wing politicians with things like registries. Aside from the obvious value of protecting my fellow citizens from undemocratic and oppressive political attacks, I view doing this as a move of self-preservation: I remember who stands out to protect me, and what groups send representatives to stand with me. I figure that if American Muslims see queer people standing and marching in support of them, it's more likely to increase sentiment in Muslim communities that queer folks are allies and friends, not oppressive Others who are trying to harm their families. So I'm very careful to be explicit both that I stand with any marginalized group who is trying to stay safe in an unfriendly climate, but also that I'm queer, and that informs my commitment to protecting my fellow Americans.
I think it's helping, at least in small ways. I hope so, anyway.
*and ethnically Arabic; those aren't quite the same things in my experience, although there's a lot of bleedover
posted by sciatrix at 9:50 AM on December 23, 2016 [9 favorites]
I think there's value, as a white queer woman from a Catholic background, of publicly pledging to stand with Muslim* friends when they are targeted by right-wing politicians with things like registries. Aside from the obvious value of protecting my fellow citizens from undemocratic and oppressive political attacks, I view doing this as a move of self-preservation: I remember who stands out to protect me, and what groups send representatives to stand with me. I figure that if American Muslims see queer people standing and marching in support of them, it's more likely to increase sentiment in Muslim communities that queer folks are allies and friends, not oppressive Others who are trying to harm their families. So I'm very careful to be explicit both that I stand with any marginalized group who is trying to stay safe in an unfriendly climate, but also that I'm queer, and that informs my commitment to protecting my fellow Americans.
I think it's helping, at least in small ways. I hope so, anyway.
*and ethnically Arabic; those aren't quite the same things in my experience, although there's a lot of bleedover
posted by sciatrix at 9:50 AM on December 23, 2016 [9 favorites]
This has started in the UK recently.
This mock concern over Islam because it's such a homophobic religion.
It's bullshit! It's bullshit fake concern.
People pushing this don't give a fuck about the rights of others, they're just playing with a new angle to demonise others.
Islam is no more homophobic than Christianity is.
Which is to say that there are hardliners using religion to push their own agenda.
You don't get to tell me that this culture or religion is bad whilst there are white christians, whilst the fucking Vice President of the USA! thinks that you can (or need to) cure gayness!
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 10:35 AM on December 23, 2016 [12 favorites]
This mock concern over Islam because it's such a homophobic religion.
It's bullshit! It's bullshit fake concern.
People pushing this don't give a fuck about the rights of others, they're just playing with a new angle to demonise others.
Islam is no more homophobic than Christianity is.
Which is to say that there are hardliners using religion to push their own agenda.
You don't get to tell me that this culture or religion is bad whilst there are white christians, whilst the fucking Vice President of the USA! thinks that you can (or need to) cure gayness!
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 10:35 AM on December 23, 2016 [12 favorites]
Judging a whole group based on some of its members is just a bad look regardless of what group your talking about.
I can easily imagine a politically liberal (and afraid) Muslim-American having very good reasons for strongly disliking Peter Thiel for being a huge asshole and contributing to the evisceration of our democracy, but it would be a completely incomprehensible stretch to take that personal negative feeling and extrapolate it to all members of the LGBTQ community.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 11:03 AM on December 23, 2016
I can easily imagine a politically liberal (and afraid) Muslim-American having very good reasons for strongly disliking Peter Thiel for being a huge asshole and contributing to the evisceration of our democracy, but it would be a completely incomprehensible stretch to take that personal negative feeling and extrapolate it to all members of the LGBTQ community.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 11:03 AM on December 23, 2016
See also: opposition to the burqa in the name of "women's rights".
posted by tivalasvegas at 11:47 AM on December 23, 2016 [13 favorites]
posted by tivalasvegas at 11:47 AM on December 23, 2016 [13 favorites]
Ernst Röhm believed many of the same things, albeit with different targets, until he found out the hard way that hating other people wouldn't guarantee his own survival.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 4:58 PM on December 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 4:58 PM on December 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
Mod note: A couple deleted. Mary8nne, please don't bring in these exact same simplistic arguments that use the handful of most extreme fundamentalists as representative of all 1.6 billion Muslims and ~50 majority-Muslim countries to prove that anti-Muslim hardliners are right.
posted by taz (staff) at 6:17 AM on December 24, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by taz (staff) at 6:17 AM on December 24, 2016 [4 favorites]
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