I believe Muslims are far more sensitive to any sort of physical insult to the Qu'ran than Christians would be in the case of the Bible. As a Christian, I should be sad if someone felt it appropriate publicly to burn a copy of the Bible, but I wouldn't feel the same sense of outrage and desecration which a Muslim would feel in the case of the Qu'ran.

Also, I doubt whether a Muslim would want to call a veil a 'face mask.'

Sorry, should have made it clear my last posting was in respone to Brian.

Interesting view. What evidence is there for it? Surely the fact that some people do change refutes any argument that sexual orientation is innate and can't be changed? Or else nobody would be able to change?

'nevermodern' said:

I don't think 'homosexual' and 'black' are absolutely interchangeable in this context. It is clearly wrong to discriminate against people for what they are. The traditional Christian teaching is not that gay people should be discriminated against for what they are (homosexually orientated) but that homosexual acts are wrong.

As I've said before, I have difficulties with this position, although I am a Christian. It implies that people with a homosexual orientation are. through no fault of their own, barred from giving sexual expression to a loving relationship with another person, which seems cruel. Jon thinks the answer is to try to change people's orientation. But I doubt whether that is possible in more than a very few cases, and, even if it is, I find the idea rather distasteful.

I didn't actually say that Robin - just stating that there are people who have changed their sexuality (both ways) - and not just people who say 'they found their true self', but people who say they changed from one to the other. If we could substitute homosexual for black, the argument is absolutely clear, but I don't think we can.

No evidence apart from almost everyone who knows anything's views, including gay people themselves, who clearly cannot be trusted to answer honestly about the innateness of their sexuality.

Don't tell me. It's a worldwide conspiracy to hush up the truth (like the 'everything being designed by God' thing).

Oh, I'm not gonna get into this.

In another hour it'll be time for a glass of wine and American Idol.

'Nevermodern' said:

Enjoy!

Yet again, the religious person asks for evidence for everyone else's views but his own.

If only that were true Baboonery, you might have a point.

With reflection to the earlier posts:

I note an earlier post states that that sexuality has changed "both ways" (gay to straight and straight to gay?). I'm not sure of the proportions here who are changing - 1%, 5%, 10%, or even 50%). But whatever the proportion is -innateness and change is not mutually exclusive!?

And what does "change" mean. A realisation (cf the late George Melly) that after a period of indulgence with one gender that you prefer the other gender (or perhaps both). Or pyschological counselling; or chemical treatment? Electric shock treatment?

I heard on the BBC Worldservice the other day that in 2001 the BBC's John Simpson slipped into Afghanistan wearing a burqa. Click this link.


John Simpson in Afghanistan


John Simpson preparing to slip into Afghanistan

What an inventive use of the burqa. And one that is probably widely used by various security services and others, I imagine.