Muslim 'Mass Casualty Situation' At Orlando Gay Nightclub

[Mark]

ISLAMIC SPEAKER ADMITS: KILLING GAYS IS A BELIEF HELD BY ‘MODERATE MUSLIMS’
Yet the regressive left STILL defends Islam

In light of the massacre of dozens of people at a gay club in Orlando, it’s worth re-visiting the comments of Islamic speaker Fahad Qureshi, who admitted that the desire to see homosexuals killed was a belief held by so-called “moderate” Muslims.



During a conference held in May 2013, Qureshi complained that the media often frames views such as “the death penalty for homosexuals” or the subjugation of women as only being held by radical Muslims.

“I always try to tell them that….these are general views that every Muslim actually has….every Muslim believes in these things,” says Qureshi.

Qureshi then asks the audience of Muslim attendees – black, white and Arab – to raise their hands if they agree with gender segregation and stoning women for adultery, as taught by the Koran.

Virtually every single ‘moderate’ Muslim in the room raises their hand to agree with these positions.

Qureshi then asks the audience if they go to “normal Sunni mosques in Norway.” Virtually everyone raises their hand in agreement once again.

“What are the politicians going to say now? What is the media going to say now? That we are all extremists? That we are all radicals? That we need to deport all of us from this country?” states Qureshi.

The chillingly ironic thing is of course that in trying to argue that most Muslims are not ‘radical extremists’, Qureshi only proves the point that so-called “moderate” Muslims do in fact hold radical, violent and extreme views about the treatment of women and homosexuals.

The clip attests to the fact that intolerant and hateful viewpoints are not just held by a tiny minority of “radical” Muslims, they are held by most Muslims period, and they’re taken directly from the Koran.

rest: http://www.infowars.com/islamic-speaker-admits-killing-gays-is-a-belief-held-by-moderate-muslims/

[Psalm 51:17]

Mat 12:26  And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?
Mat 12:27  And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.

[Mark]

Clinton Foundation Donors Stone Gays
She and her supporters see no hypocrisy.

Despite portraying herself as a champion of LGBT rights that will fight for the right of gays and lesbians to force any baker to make them a wedding cake, Hillary Clinton's foundation has taken millions of dollars from countries that stone or execute homosexuals, reports Fox News.

According to Fox the Clinton Foundation took $500,000 from Algeria where homosexual acts are punishable by two years in prison. The Foundation also accepted between $5-10 million from Kuwait where homosexual acts can net you 7 years in prison.

The Clinton Foundation accepted between $10-25 million according to the public filings, even though in that country, depending on the circumstances, gay sex can result in being stoned to death.

"The Clinton Foundation should probably have to give the money back," investigative journalist and author Matthew Vadum told Fox. "Because they shouldn't take money from these totalitarian countries that punish and torture and execute gay people."

Fox asked the Clinton Foundation if they would return the money or refuse to take money from such countries in the future; the foundation did not respond.

http://www.truthrevolt.org/news/clinton-foundation-donors-stone-gays

[Mark]

More Than 1,000 to Protest in Sacramento Outside of Church Where Pastor Delivered Controversial Sermon on Orlando Attack

An estimated 1,000 people are expected to gather in North Sacramento Sunday to protest a local pastor who delivered a controversial sermon hours after the June 12 terrorist attack on a gay Orlando nightclub.

Pastor Roger Jimenez of Verity Baptist Church told his congregation last Sunday that they “shouldn’t be mourning the death of 50 sodomites,” sparking widespread outrage and garnering the critique of Christian leaders.

Given the reactions to Jimenez’s sermon and subsequent comments, law enforcement is preparing for large crowds, KOVR-TV reported.

More than 100 people from Sacramento’s LGBT community gathered Wednesday evening to protest Jimenez, the Sacramento Bee reported.

John Hayden, who created the Facebook page for the June 19 event, included a note explaining why he believes a larger protest is in order:

Why am I calling to action the people of Sacramento? The Verity Baptist Church is right here in our own backyard. It disgusts me that this immoral, sacrilegious individual is spewing hatred and ignorance, and is condoning murder to his churchgoers who may not be old enough to see what true religion is instead of the brainwashing he is doing.

I am calling for a peaceful protest for anyone who would like to join me. I won’t stand for this. Not in my own backyard. The church opens at 10:00am. I would like to assemble at 8:30 am — so the members see what they are walking in to. Make signs, we can make a rally cry, I’ll make it up along with anyone who would like to help me organize. I don’t care if I’m the only one out there. But it is my hope that we can [draw] attention to this “pastor” and church, because this is what homegrown terrorism looks like.

According to KOVR, Sacramento Sheriff’s deputies have been in communication with the protesters and the church and will have provide ample security around the church on Sunday to ensure that things do not escalate to violence.

“We have requested there be no weapons at the event whatsoever and that has been made clear to both sides,” sheriff’s spokesman Tony Turnbull told KOVR.

As of Saturday, more than 1,000 people said that they plan on attending the protest. Another 2,300 indicated that they were “interested” in attending.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2016/06/18/more-than-1000-to-protest-outside-of-church-where-sacramento-pastor-delivered-controversial-sermon-on-orlando-attack/

[Mark]

Turkish Police Fire Tear Gas, Rubber Bullets at Gay Pride Parade

Turkish police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse demonstrators who gathered Sunday for a gay pride rally in Istanbul despite a government ban.

Dozens of participants advocating transgender rights assembled off Istiklal Street, a major commercial artery, some brandishing rainbow flags.

Police called on them to disperse and prevented activists from marching or making statements. A couple of individuals were detained.

More than 300 policemen in anti-riot gear and backed by water cannons were deployed along the pedestrian thoroughfare and on side streets.

Istanbul’s governor had banned gay, lesbian and transgender individuals from holding two annual parades this year, both Sunday’s seventh Trans Pride March and a broader LGBT pride parade on June 26. His office cited security concerns as the basis for the ban.

In a statement that they were prevented from reading publicly, Trans Pride organizers said the community was “terrorized by both the state and puritanical groups.”

Turkish Islamist and ultra-nationalist groups had threatened counterdemonstrations to stop the parade from taking place but didn’t turn up Sunday.

Istanbul has witnessed a series of deadly bombings in the past year, including two suicide attacks targeting tourists – one on Istiklal Street.

On Friday, Istanbul LGBTI+ Pride Week organizers issued a declaration with a #LoveWillWin hashtag in Turkish rejecting security concerns as a reason to ban the parades.

It said “the governorship prefers to limit people’s rights and freedoms instead of taking measures to deal with the threats.”

Sunday’s organizers, in their statement, also paid tribute to the victims of a bloody rampage at a gay night club in Orlando that left 49 people dead.

“We bow with respect to the memory of our friends massacred in Orlando and promise a world without homophobia and transphobia,” their statement read.

The U.S. consulate in Istanbul this week unfurled the rainbow flag in celebration of gay pride and to honor the Orlando victims.

http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2016/06/19/turkish-police-fire-tear-gas-rubber-bullets-gay-pride-parade/

[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/obama-doj-replaces-word-allah-god-edited-orlando-terrorist-transcript/

Obama DOJ Replaces The Word ‘Allah’ With ‘God’ In Edited Orlando Terrorist Transcript

So today, when the Obama Department of Justice released the doctored 911 transcripts of the Islamic killer Omar Mateen, who used the word Allah and never the word God, all places where he said Allah have been replaced with Name of the God of the Bible. In one, fell swoop, Obama first sanitized all connection between the Muslim killer and Islam, as well as promoting the lie that 'Allah is the Muslim name for God.'
6/20/16

The Obama Justice Department replaced references to ‘Allah’ with ‘God’ in an edited transcript of the 911 call Orlando jihadi Omar Mateen made during the Pulse nightclub attack.

“Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.” Isaiah 45:22 (KJV)

As any reasonable informed and well-read person is aware, the word ‘Allah’ is not the Arabic way to say God of the Bible. Christians and Jews say ‘God’ when talking about the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that’s written about in the Holy Bible, both Old and New Testaments. The word ‘Allah’ comes from the compound Arabic word, al-ilah. Al is the definite article “the” and ilah is an Arabic word for “god”, i.e. the god. Rather than being the Name of the Creator, Allah is a purely Arabic word which refers to god or gods in the generic sense. Allah was the Moon God of antiquity long before Mohammad came on the scene.

Doctored Orlando shooting 911 call transcripts released:

Officials have released the scrubbed and doctored transcripts of the 911 calls made by Omar Mateen during the Pulse nightclub shootings in Orlando. Listen to them listen to the perverted transcripts that foster the lie that the names Allah and God mean the same thing.



So today, when the Obama Department of Justice released the doctored 911 transcripts of the Islamic killer Omar Mateen, who used the word Allah and never the word God, all places where he said Allah have been replaced with Name of the God of the Bible. In one, fell swoop, Obama first sanitized all connection between the Muslim killer and Islam, as well as promoting the lie that ‘Allah is the Muslim name for God.’

During the call, Omar Mateen made an Islamic prayer in which he said:

“Praise be to Allah, and prayers as well as peace be upon the prophet of Allah [in Arabic]. I let you know, I’m in Orlando and I did the shootings.”

In comparison, the edited DOJ transcript says:

“Praise be to God, and prayers as well as peace be upon the prophet of God [in Arabic]. I let you know, I’m in Orlando and I did the shootings.”

It’s obvious the Obama administration is doing everything it can to downplay the Islamic connection to the attack, all while demonizing Christians and gun owners.

“His very first words are the Bismillah (Arabic: بسم الله‎‎, ‘In the name of Allah’), the Islamic prayer,” commentator Pamela Geller revealed. “It’s what terror-tied CAIR chants in every press conference and press release.”

“The Obama administration knew right away and they have been deceiving the American people ever since, protecting and defending the ideology they calls for our destruction.”

[Mark]

Public Outcry Forces Obama’s Hand: Uncensored Orlando Transcripts Released

It shouldn't be censored at all. God and allah are not the same. allah is the MOON god, and has at least 2 daughters. God is the Father and has 1 son in Jesus. Big difference. But they would have you believe they are the same and they are NOT!

The Department of Justice and the FBI released a more complete transcript of Muslim terrorist Omar Mateen’s 9-1-1 phone call with his statement pledging allegiance to the Islamic State after he gunned down dozens in a gay Orlando night club last Sunday.
“Unfortunately, the unreleased portions of the transcript that named the terrorist organizations and leaders have caused an unnecessary distraction from the hard work that the FBI and our law enforcement partners have been doing to investigate this heinous crime,” the joint statement read. “As much of this information had been previously reported, we have re-issued the complete transcript to include these references in order to provide the highest level of transparency possible under the circumstances.”

The new transcript still replaces the Muslim god “Allah” with God:

2:35 a.m.: Shooter contacted a 911 operator from inside Pulse. The call lasted approximately 50 seconds, the details of which are set out below:

(OD) Orlando Police Dispatcher

(OM) Omar Mateen

OD: Emergency 911, this is being recorded.

OM: In the name of God the Merciful, the beneficent [Arabic]

OD: What?

OM: Praise be to God, and prayers as well as peace be upon the prophet of God [Arabic]. I wanna let you know, I’m in Orlando and I did the shootings.

OD: What’s your name?

OM: My name is I pledge of allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi of the Islamic State.

OD: Ok, What’s your name?

OM: I pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi may God protect him [Arabic], on behalf of the Islamic State.

OD: Alright, where are you at?

OM: In Orlando.

OD: Where in Orlando?

[End of call.]

The Obama administration drew intense criticism for initially scrubbing the terrorist’s references to the Islamic State as he perpetuated the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. “What we’re not going to do is further proclaim this man’s pledges of allegiance to terrorist groups, and further his propaganda,” Attorney General Loretta Lynch declared Sunday, before the administration reversed its decision.

http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2016/06/20/public-outcry-forces-obamas-hand-uncensored-orlando-transcripts-released/

[Mark]

EXCLUSIVE – Anjem Choudary: Put Practicing Gays To Death Wherever They Are

Gays should be put to death under sharia law whether the Islamic doctrine is implemented in Muslim countries or the West, exclaimed Britain’s most notorious radical Islamist preacher, Anjem Choudary, during an interview.
Asked whether gays who were confirmed to have engaged in homosexual acts should be stoned under sharia law, Choudary replied:

They would be wherever you are, whether in the East or the West, if we had the Sharia implemented, as you say, with a judiciary, with a legitimate leader and the courts, etc., were there. Then yes. They will face capital punishment. I mean, people differ about the way that punishment would be implemented, but it would be the death penalty.

Choudary was speaking in a joint interview with Breitbart News and this reporter’s Sunday night weekend national talk radio program, “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio.”

Listen to the full interview below:

http://www.breitbart.com/jerusalem/2016/06/20/exclusive-anjem-choudary-put-practicing-gays-to-death-wherever-they-are/

[Mark]

PHOTOS EMERGE of Orlando Killer’s Father with Top US Lawmakers in DC



IMAGINE THAT, A DEMOCRAT! 

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2016/06/orlando-killers-father-took-pictures-us-lawmakers/

WOOPS, couldnt get any worse could it? 

Breaking=> ISIS Mass Murderer Omar Mateen Was Hillary Clinton Supporter

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2016/06/isis-mass-murderer-supported-hillary/

[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/tampa-bay-rays%e2%80%99-pride-night-draws-best-attendance-in-decade/ar-AAhhhgz?ocid=spartandhp
6/19/16
Tampa Bay Rays’ Pride Night draws best attendance in decade

Following the horrific attack at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub in the early morning hours of last Sunday, the Tampa Bay Rays came up with a great way to help those affected.

While Friday night was scheduled to be “Pride Night” at Tropicana Field, the Rays upped the ante with an announcement that they were dedicating the night to the Pulse nightclub victims and that included the money made. All proceeds from ticket sales, which were reduced to $5 for all open seats at The Trop, were to be given to charities benefiting the victims.

What resulted was the best-attended regular season home game in over a decade with 40,135 people in attendance.

more

[Psalm 51:17]

[Mark]

Calls to Omar Mateen's Family Now Being Directed to CAIR

Welcome to the terror-tied CAIR hotline, how may I direct your call?

Counter Jihad is reporting that members of the media and investigators who attempt to call the father or other family members of Omar Mateen are now being directed to a lawyer for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Not only that, another lawyer is being allowed to sit in with the FBI as it conducts interviews with suspects at the Fort Pierce mosque that Mateen attended. It is noted that the FBI has suspended formal ties to CAIR over its association with terrorist groups.

Paul Sperry for Counter Jihad writes:

CAIR lawyered up a suspect who was interviewed by two FBI agents at the mosque for about 30 minutes on Friday. The CAIR lawyer, Omar Saleh, also happens to be a longstanding member of that same mosque — the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce — as well as a friend of the Mateen family. Mateen’s sisters, who work at the mosque and own property on the same street, follow local CAIR coordinators on social media.

The small Islamic center has now graduated two deadly terrorists in the past two years, including a worshiper who became the first American suicide bomber in Syria. Local law enforcement authorities call it “a breeding ground” for terrorists.

Saleh has positioned himself as the arbiter between investigators and the mosque members. He isn't charging for his legal help and has offered the entire local Muslim community free legal advice.

CAIR has also taken over as the mosque's official mouthpiece and have managed to minimize Mateen's involvement with the mosque "claiming he was a fringe member who was quiet and kept to himself," according to Counter Jihad.

Saleh added, "He was just a person who came in and out. Most people didn’t know him at all … There’s no way anyone would know [he was going to kill Americans.]"

CAIR has placed itself in a position of power to control the narrative of what happened in Orlando, just as it did in San Bernardino, when it called that attack "workplace violence." The Hamas-tied organization is deflecting from the facts that show Mateen was radicalized and that his father has supported the Taliban. Currently, the elder Mateen is on the federal terrorist watchlist.

If you'd like further details, contact CAIR, where the spin is so hard, you're responsible for jihad.

http://www.truthrevolt.org/news/calls-omar-mateens-family-now-being-directed-cair

[Mark]

FBI Investigators: No Evidence That Orlando Islamist Omar Mateen Was Gay

FBI investigators so far have not found evidence that Orlando nightclub killer Omar Mateen was gay. Investigators collected evidence from Mateen’s phone and have interviewed nearly 500 interviews.
The AP reported, via Free Republic:

FBI investigators so far have not turned up persuasive evidence that Orlando gunman Omar Mateen was gay or pursuing gay relationships, according to two government officials familiar with the investigation.

The FBI began looking into that possibility after media reports last week quoted men as saying that Omar Mateen had reached out to them on gay dating apps and had frequented the gay nightclub where the June 12 massacre took place. One man claimed to be Mateen’s gay lover in an interview with Univision that aired this week, while another recalled Mateen as a regular at the Pulse club who tried to pick up men.

But the officials say the FBI, which has conducted about 500 interviews and is reviewing evidence collected from Mateen’s phone, has not found concrete evidence to corroborate such accounts nearly two weeks into the investigation. They also cautioned that the investigation is ongoing and that nothing has formally been ruled out.

The officials were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation by name and spoke on condition of anonymity.

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2016/06/fbi-investigators-no-evidence-orlando-islamist-omar-mateen-gay/

[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/local-news/20160626-lgbt-activists-protest-fort-worth-pastor-who-wished-more-would-have-been-killed-in-orlando-massacre.ece
LGBT activists protest Fort Worth, TX pastor who wished more would have been killed in Orlando massacre
6/26/16

In Fort Worth on Sunday, dozens of LGBT activists and North Texas residents took to Jacksboro Highway to protest the controversial comments of a pastor of a small church.

Sansom Park Police, Fort Worth Police, Tarrant County Sheriff's deputies, and even MedStar Ambulance service were present, in case the protest or any counter protest turned ugly or if anyone was overwhelmed by the heat.

Armed with signs, songs, and chants, the group expressed their displeasure with the hateful speech of a Stedfast Baptist Church Pastor Donnie Romero. The church is located in tiny Sansom Park, but the group gathered and marched from inside Fort Worth city limits.

"Our main goal is to make a peaceful response to a hateful statement," said Karen McCrocklin, an organizer with the group I Am Done.

"And when this kind of hate speech happens we're going to take a stand against it," said LGBT activist and Dallas resident Steve Atkinson.

The hate speech in question came from a sermon delivered by Pastor Romero in the wake of the Orlando shooting, where 49 people were gunned down inside a gay night club. Romero's sermon is posted to the church's YouTube Channel.

Stedfast Baptist Church is affiliated with Faithful World Baptist Church of Tempe, Arizona, according to Faithful World Baptist's website.

The website also links the two churchs to Verity Baptist Church in Sacramento, where Pastor Roger Jimenez praised the shooting for killing members of the LGBT community.

"I agree 100-percent with Pastor Roger Jimenez," Romero says in his sermon posted to YouTube. "These 50 sodomites are all perverts and pedophiles, they're the scum of the Earth and the Earth is a better place now and I'll take it a step further."

Romero uses several gay slurs and then talks about those injured in the nightclub shooting. "I'll pray to God like I did this morning, and I will again tonight, that God will finish the job that that man started," Romero said.

The Southern Poverty Law Center considers the church an anti-LGBT hate group. The Faithful World Baptist Church is considered a general hate group, per the SPLC's website.

Such comments might have been ignored in the past, but those attending the protest say things changed that night in Central Florida.

"After what's happened in Orlando, we are done with not responding, and not providing some kind of peaceful and loving response to hate," McCrocklin said.

McCrocklin is a local organizer of "I Am Done", a group that formed after Orlando to stand up to hate with love.

"And spend a couple hours outside, to making sure that Pastor Romero is aware that we are done with his hateful statements," McCrocklin said.

The church did not answer our calls for comment and a representative asked NBC 5 to leave the property when we sought comment for this story.

Despite the increased police presence there were no incidents during the protest, which lasted a little more than an hour.

[Mark]

[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/only-seven-orlando-victims-remain-in-hospital-two-weeks-after-attack/ar-AAhM4TC?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartandhp
6/29/16
Only seven Orlando victims remain in hospital two weeks after attack

Only seven victims of the Pulse nightclub attack remained in hospital in Orlando on Wednesday, authorities said, one day after police and fire officials released hundreds of pages of documents that chronicled the horror of the 12 June mass shooting that left 49 dead.

Florida Hospital, one of the downtown facilities that admitted the 53 people who were wounded in gunman Omar Mateen’s deadly rampage, announced it had released the last of its 12 patients on Tuesday after two and a half weeks of treatment.

At the Orlando Regional Medical Center, closer to the scene of the shooting, five of the remaining patients were in stable condition on Wednesday, one in “guarded” condition and the seventh critical, hospital managers said. Surgeons said they completed their 63rd operation on one of the victims on Tuesday.

“Overall the patients are doing well,” trauma surgeon Michael Cheatham said.

“Now it’s mostly minor issues, wound closures, nothing that is life threatening at this time.”

The documents released on Tuesday, meanwhile, provide a glimpse of the three hours of chaos inside the gay nightclub through 911 call logs and police radio transmissions, starting at 2.02am, moments after Mateen entered the club and began shooting with an assault rifle and handgun.

The records, compiled by emergency dispatchers, reveal brief snippets of what terrified clubgoers were hearing and seeing around them as the shooting continued, including reports of people trapped in a toilet cubicle hearing the gunshots getting louder as the shooter approached.

In all, almost 600 pages were released, many of them fire department or code enforcement inspection records of the nightclub building stretching back decades. Both the fire department and attorneys for Pulse on Tuesday denied a suggestion in the records that one of the club’s six exit doors might have been blocked, claiming there were no safety concerns or violations.

But it is the 125 pages of Orlando police department (OPD) records that provide a detailed timeline of the unfolding horror, including calls from people describing the severity of the wounds they had suffered or witnessed.

The first entry on OPD’s “incident narrative” comes six seconds before 2.03am on 12 June with a report of “shots fired” at Pulse. The first 911 call comes less than a minute later from a male inside the club who reported he was “hiding upstairs” with five others while shooting was still going on.

The dispatchers, having already been advised of “multiple down”, recorded that they could hear shots in the background on open lines with clubgoers, and a female caller at 2.05am says she is hiding in a closet.

more

[Psalm 51:17]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/orlando-shooting-progressive-muslims-push-000000107.html
After Orlando shooting, progressive Muslims push for LGBT acceptance
6/29/16

Less than a month after the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, questions linger about what role the gunman’s Muslim faith — and in particular, its opposition to homosexuality — may have played in his decision to open fire inside a gay nightclub in Orlando.

For at least two weeks after the shooting, there emerged a steady stream of reports from people who said they engaged with the shooter, Omar Mateen, on gay dating apps or talked with him at various gay clubs in Orlando including Pulse, the scene of the massacre. One man even claimed to be the married gunman’s former lover.

At this point, however, speculation about Mateen’s sexuality remains just that. And while transcripts released by the FBI last week show that he did pledge allegiance to the terrorist group ISIS during a 911 call the night of the massacre, investigators have yet to reveal any statements Mateen may have made about gay people or other explicit explanations for targeting the LGBT community.

At the same time, the absence of a clear motive has prompted unprecedented conversation about the small, relatively unknown population of LGBT Muslims and the complex challenges that accompany this dual identity.

Five years ago, Mirna Haidar arrived in the U.S. from her native Lebanon and applied for political asylum. Not long after, Haidar, who identifies as both Muslim and queer gender nonconforming, recalls that she was approached by members of the mainstream LGBT community.

“They tried to recruit me to become a member of a church,” Haidar says. “They saw I cared about my religion, my faith, and they thought, ‘You can’t be Muslim.’ So they said, ‘Let’s take you to a church.’”

Looking back, she says, “that was offensive and did more harm than good.”

Now 27, Haidar is the lead organizer and advocacy trainer for the Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity, or MASGD, a national organization that seeks to connect LGBTQ Muslims around the country.

Pronounced “masjid,” like the Arabic word for mosque, MASGD was established six years ago, Haidar explained, because “people who identified as queer and Muslim felt there were no spaces where they can be accepted for all the identities they had at the same time.”

To fill that void, MASGD created what is now an annual retreat for LGBTQ Muslims.

“The retreat changed my life, because you can be different and who you are at once, and you are accepted and loved,” said Haidar. Throughout the rest of the year, she explained, the organization’s 12 steering committee members — who are scattered throughout the country — “connect folks to local people that they can actually physically meet and be among and pray together if they want to.”

MASGD is on a short list of resources that exist for LGBT Muslims in the U.S. But even in a country that grants asylum to refugees fleeing violence because of their sexuality or gender identity, LGBT Muslim Americans struggle to find acceptance from within their own faith.

Exact data on LGBT asylum seekers in the U.S. is nonexistent because the Department of Homeland Security, which processes asylum requests, does not keep a record of applicants’ gender identity or sexual orientation. But one estimate, from the the international nonprofit Organization for Refuge, Asylum and Migration, suggests the number of LGBT refugees accepted by the U.S. each year might be close to 4,800 (PDF).

Though the Quran itself does not promote one specific policy on homosexuality and variant gender identities — causing the response to vary between mosques, countries and families — mainstream Muslim teachings generally reject those who identify as anything other than heterosexual.

In fact, according to the Human Rights Campaign’s Religion and Faith team, there is not a single mainstream mosque in the United States that accepts LGBT people — at least not publicly.

Within the past decade, however, groups like the Los Angeles-based Muslims for Progressive Values and Toronto’s El-Tawhid Juma Circle have emerged as part of a slow-growing movement toward a more tolerant Islam. The Human Rights Campaign estimates that there are about 10 progressive mosques in the U.S. affiliated with one of the these two main groups, which promote human rights, LGBT acceptance and gender equality.

Among the leaders of this charge is Ani Zonneveld, a Malaysian-American singer and activist who founded Muslims for Progressive Values (MPV) in 2007 after feeling increasingly stifled by the conservative male voices that have long dominated her faith.

“That, and once my eyes and heart became aware of the slew of injustices in the name of Islam,” she told Yahoo News. “It’s not possible to live my privileged life in good conscience.”

Since then, MPV has grown into a global grassroots organization that works to foster inclusive, egalitarian Muslim communities at the local level, and challenges human rights abuses justified by Sharia law at the international level.

MPV’s motto is “Be Yourself. Be Muslim.” But, Zonneveld notes, this seemingly simple maxim “is so hard to do in Muslim communities and societies” where “homophobic theology [is] taught in Islamic schools and reinforced during Friday prayer sermons.”

A key tenet of the MPV mission, Zonneveld said, is to counter these homophobic teachings, which she argues are “the antithesis of Islam,” with a more modern and accepting interpretation of the Quran.

Because the progressive mosques that preach such ideology are still so few and far between, Zonneveld teamed up with Imam Daayiee Abdullah, founder of the MECCA Institute in Washington and one of the only openly gay Imams in the U.S., to create an easily accessible YouTube lecture series on LGBT rights in Islam.

“Living a closeted life is not healthy, it leads to self-hate, depression and sometimes suicide,” Zonneveld said. “It is sad when I receive phone calls from … Muslims who have been threatened by their parents or forced into marriage to cure their homosexuality.”

Zonneveld pointed to speculation surrounding the Orlando shooter’s own sexuality plus his religious beliefs as evidence that such attitudes need “to end once and for all.”

“These homophobic religious leaders have blood on their hands,” she said. “They must be called out. We will not allow for these 49 innocent people to die in vain.”

[Psalm 51:17]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/scams-waste-loom-charity-millions-donated-orlando-155126638.html
Scams & waste loom as charity millions donated after Orlando
8/27/16

The more than 430 fundraisers posted on the GoFundMe website after the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando have exposed weaknesses inherent in these popular do-it-yourself charity campaigns: waste, questionable intentions and little oversight.

The fundraisers — an average of more than four for each of the 49 killed and 53 wounded — include travelers asking for cash, a practitioner of ancient healing, a personal safety instructor who sells quick loaders for assault rifles, and even convicted identity impostors.

"There was a deluge," said Holly Salmons, president of the Better Business Bureau for Central Florida. "It was almost impossible for us or anyone else to be able to vet."

The crowdfunding sites operate outside traditional charitable circles and often beyond the reach of government regulation. Appeals can be created in minutes by almost anyone and shared around the world.

The officially sanctioned Equality Florida campaign raised more than $7 million via GoFundMe, but another $1.3 million went to smaller appeals — mostly set up by people with little or no charity experience.

The Associated Press examined 30 campaigns chosen from throughout the lengthy list produced by a GoFundMe search for "Orlando shootings." Within a month of the June 12 shootings, they had raised more than $265,000.

Half said donations would be used for legitimate-sounding purposes: to cover funeral, medical and other costs. Some campaign organizers were relatives of the dead or wounded. A high school basketball coach raised $15,297 for the family of Akyra Murray, a star player who had just graduated before dying in the attack.

But most campaigns lacked key details, such as exactly what the donations would cover or even who was asking for them. Only nine of the 30 organizers agreed to interviews.

One man wanted money for travel costs to Orlando to shoot independent news video. He hadn't raised anything two months later. Another organizer raised just $25 for travel money to hold a community healing ceremony inspired by ancient shamanic rituals. She dropped that plan in favor of sending painted rocks with an inspiring word of support.

Jackson Yauck of Victoria, British Columbia, put up a lighthearted appeal to let the highest donor burn a pair of skimpy gold-colored shorts he wore to gay-pride events. He had created the appeal on Jan. 1 on behalf of other charities and when he tried to switch it to benefit the Orlando victims, GoFundMe froze his account for at least a week, he said. He agreed to transfer the donations to Equality Florida, and GoFundMe let the appeal go forward.

Yauck said he knew all but one of his 11 donors personally and didn't feel a need to tell them of the switch. "It was just for fun. If you look at the bigger picture, we raised $600 off a pair of underwear," he said.

Several businesses asked for contributions. One appeal raised $1,375 from 14 donors within two months to keep open a hair salon run by partners killed in the attack. A counseling center raised $150 to subsidize services to victims but closed its campaign when it found grant money elsewhere. GoFundMe helps make refunds when contributions go unused.

Weapons-accessory dealer Craig Berberich, of Bradenton, Florida, proposed holding public classes on personal safety. He posted a link to his business at the bottom of his appeal. He said he "wasn't trying to promote my business." Then he added: "I hope we didn't give the impression that we were a charity."

He said he was shutting down his appeal. It remained online over a month later — but with only $100 in donations. Among his store products: a high-speed loader for assault weapons.

Efe Atalay, of Clermond, Florida, raised $1,145 from 81 donors to buy security wands for nightclub entrances, but didn't say which clubs and spoke vaguely of lobbying politicians to require such security measures. He didn't respond to emails sent to his GoFundMe address.

Florida charities law generally requires no filings by crowdfunding campaigns meant for particular victims or their families or in support of other established charities. That accounts for the vast majority of appeals. Other states apply a patchwork of laws.

Yet, crowdfunding campaigns can distribute aid more quickly than large bureaucratic funds. And they have less overhead than traditional charities, with only 8 percent of donations on GoFundMe going to the website and credit card fees.

Bobby Whithorne, a GoFundMe spokesman, said the website's staffers were vetting the Orlando campaigns before releasing funds, and only a small fraction of a percent of past appeals involved outright fraud.

GoFundMe froze funds from entertainment company manager David Luchsinger's campaign when donations piled up quickly. Luchsinger said he was asked for more details of his plans to replace the ruined equipment of one of his deejays who was working at the club during the attack. Luchsinger set an initial goal of $5,000, and raised $8,742 in one month.

Asked about the website's vetting process, he replied, "Was it so strenuous that you couldn't fake it? No, you could definitely fake it."

Despite his good intentions, things got mixed up. He didn't realize someone else had launched a GoFundMe appeal for his deejay, who got his name removed from the second appeal. Two companies eventually replaced the equipment for free, so the deejay kept some of the donations to replace his lost salary and shared the rest with other club deejays, Luchsinger said.

Several big funds have joined forces in an official centralized campaign that raised more than $23 million, including the $7 million from Equality Florida's GoFundMe campaign.

The donations to the central fund are generally tax-deductible, since they go to registered charities. Donations to a crowdfunding site are typically not tax-deductible, unless the organizer is a tax-exempt charity.

The bigger charities — unlike many crowdfunding campaigns — give timetables for distributing aid, and detail recipients and how decisions are made. Ken Feinberg, administrator for the centralized fund, has already held two town hall meetings with survivors and family members of the victims.

In one crowdfunding campaign, friends Guardini Bellefleur and Demetrice Naulings asked for $25,000 to set up a vaguely defined foundation in memory of Eddie Justice, a friend of Naulings killed in the shootings. They said the money would pay for Justice's funeral and victim counseling.

Six people donated $253.

Wilhemina Justice said no one consulted her about the appeal in her son's name or made arrangements to give her proceeds. "To me, it's fraud," she said.

Florida bars anyone convicted in the past decade of certain crimes, including identity fraud, from running a charity. Yet, court records show Bellefleur was convicted in 2012 of buying $3,570 worth of furniture by impersonating the son of an account holder, and Naulings was convicted in 2008 of giving police a false name and driving with a suspended license.

"We've all done some bad things that we would want to change, but this was my moment to change," Naulings said.

Naulings acknowledged he never consulted Justice's mother or helped pay for his funeral, but said, without offering details, his future nonprofit would someday help her.

Bellefleur did not respond to repeated messages, but in an online video, rejected the idea the pair wanted the money for themselves.