Larvatus Prodeo

Remnant is an integrist and ultra-right wing Catholic newspaper with something of an obsession about “sodomites”. In a recent article, the paper appears to condone, if not cheer on, Jewish and Islamic groups whose intention to protest LGBT festival Jerusalem WorldPride:

But Jewish and Muslim religious leaders say that they will do everything they can to prevent the event – especially the march – from taking place. And although they are calling for nonviolent protests, some say things could get bloody.

Are we supposed to stand up now and cheer on violence perpetrated by Muslims or Jews? No. But it is a fact of human existence that people – all people – defend themselves when under attack. The WorldPride folks know exactly what they are doing. Their concerted assault upon the very fabric of the Holy City may be a lark or a “public statement� to them, but there are those to whom the city’s spiritual patrimony means everything. The organizers could stop it. And they would stop it, if they believed even one iota of their own “spiritual� propaganda.

Bizarrely, radical ultra-Orthodox Jewish groups opposed to the event appear to be hoping that it will lead to Muslim violence:

Levin said that he wants the Arab masses to “rise up in indignation” now, so the Israeli security establishment will see the homosexual event as a security risk and put a stop to it. “I want to make an appeal, a desperate appeal to the entire Muslim community,” said Levin. “We are faced with the prospect of six days of promiscuity and debauchery unparalleled in the Middle East,” he told reporters at a press conference organized for the benefit of the Arabic media.

While religious leaders are advocating peaceful protest against the large-scale gathering of homosexuals, lesbians and transgender individuals, Levin said he fears there will be violence. Rabbi Menachem Froman predicted even worse. The shocking things that the world witnessed as a result of the publication of the caricatures of Mohammed in European newspapers would be nothing in comparison to the Muslim outrage that would be sparked if a homosexual parade takes place in the streets of Jerusalem, said Froman, the rabbi of the Jerusalem-area settlement of Tekoa who has been involved in Jewish-Arab contacts for years.

And evangelical Christians are joining the condemnation fest:

The “evangelical� statement quoted above says it well: The decision to hold this event in Jerusalem can only be seen as a calculated and confrontational act meant to provoke and offend those who adhere to timeless, biblical moral standards in the very place they hold most dear. You can already imagine the headlines. “Marchers in mascara, spiked collars and ultra-tight shorts line the streets where Jesus walked!�

It’s more than a little depressing that fundamentalist extremists from all three Abrahamic faiths find it easy to agree on one thing: potentially violent homophobia is a holy cause. The WorldPride slogan is “Love without Borders”. It seems certain anyway that religiously justified hate knows none.