₦airaland Forum

SimonAndal: I'm sorry, but what?? This is stupidity. First a gay church, now a gay mosque. I mean wtf Why run into the same thing that'll gladly advocate your death? Please someone enlighten me. This is absurd!!!!

fellis: Hmm. Just look at how our tolerant and loving Christian brothers are displaying their tolerance and love on this thread.

Fkforyou: Hmm...funny how d media is manipulating people's feeble mind..it's simple logic,dey tried a film insulting prophet mohammed (s.a.w) it didn't work,now this one,well it's b'cos they knw people like all dis bigots are gullible b'cos they are blinded by their emotions(hate) and can't see any logic..and also there are some muslims who tend to overeact at any slight issue hence making their(the media) assertion seem true.The only gudnews is that with all this,people(with unbiased mind) are still findin out the beauty of islam,one more thing,this western media are hypocrites,Y didn't they report a 9-11 victim who just converted to islam some few days back...(pardon my error am typing from a phone)..

zaheed: I'm a French Muslim who is gay, and a feminist. I no longer want people in my country to think that it is an impossible blend, and that these different aspects of my identity are incompatible. Today in France, gay teenagers are almost 15 times more likely than those who are straight to kill themselves because of their sexual orientation. Left deeply bruised by this fact, I decided to create an association in support of gay French Muslims, which launched in 2010.

This eventually led me to plan an inclusive mosque in Paris – the first of its kind. It is a project born after a long personal journey. As a teenager, when my representation of Islam was a radical one, I learned half of the Qur'an by heart. I was bewitched by the beauty of the texts, which were steeped in universalism. But at the age of 17, I came to terms with the fact that I was gay. After more than 15 years of reflection on the matter, I now understand that the Qur'an does not explicitly refer to "homosexuality", nor does it refer to women as "inferior". Indeed, the strict and dogmatic interpretation of some verses of the Qur'an is no longer unanimous, especially in the eyes of progressive Muslims across the world (even if we remain, for the time being, a minority).

I also realised that neither homophobia or misogyny respect Islamic ethics, to which I adhere fully. I now want to share my love and search for a peaceful spiritual path with as many people as I can, drawing on new foundations to represent the daily experiences of French Muslims in their spiritual quest. This is why I want to open a place of worship where people will always be welcomed as brothers and sisters, whatever their sexual orientation or ethnicity. My project is supported by men, women, trans people and even fathers who tell us that they do not want to leave a radically exclusive Islam to their young daughters as their legacy.

My plan is not strictly about opening a "gay mosque", or even about celebrating gay marriages. Muslims consider marriage as a social contract between two consenting individuals, to be established in front of at least two witnesses, and celebrated in front of their community – that is, those who see them as a couple. The prayers of the imam only work to call attendees to bless the happiness of the newly wed, and they're certainly not intended to seal a contract between two zawjan – a gender neutral Arabic term meaning "spouse". Unlike the Catholic church, for example, which continues to unilaterally decide who may or may not marry, Muslims do not regard marriage as a sacrament.

This project gives hope back to many believers in my community. Common prayer, practised in an egalitarian setting and without any form of gender-based discrimination, is one of the pillars supporting the proposed reforms of our progressive representation of Islam. North American and Canadian vanguards have already started practising it. In North America, progressives are often assisted by Christian congregations or even private companies, which let them use a portion of their premises for Friday prayer. In Paris, we will for the time being benefit from the support of a beautiful Zen Buddhist temple in eastern Paris, but we are looking for a more viable solution in the long run, a venue more central to accommodate as many worshippers as we can.

I don't believe that the issue of minorities' rights allows citizens to carry specific claims, or make exceptions. It simply allows us to address issues that concern all French Muslims, and beyond that, all of our citizens. Looking at feminism and homosexuality within Islam permits us to look at our relation towards religious authority, to question institutional dogma and by extension, to ponder freedom itself – the freedom to define our identity, without concession, compromise or submission.

Amee1: May Allah destroy zahed. He is not a muslim. Hell on to him.

okeyxyz: It is astounding how nairalanders who are apparently well educated\literate yet they fail to grasp a simple innocent question.

In what part of the OP's question did he discriminate against non-christians? Has he said he's looking to employ only christian programmers? Has he announced a contract or scholarship that is open only to christians? And even if he did, as long as such a venture is being sponsored soley by christian organization and for the service of christians, then he is perfectly entitled to. But he has done non of these, so where the heck!! does the issue discrimination arise

@Freiburger blindly misses the point and the rest of y'all follow him like sheep being led to the slaughter. smh at your mental laziness..

fellis: wiegraf would you be kind enough to explain this statement?

musKeeto: Isn't he vedaxcool?

plaetton: So it's really confusing to know who did what and who created what.
lol.

plaetton: No.
The devil planted them there to deceive god's people.

Area_boy: I see where you're going with this. And I must say I do agree with you. Morality seem to shaped by the evolutionary process (us in this case). The longer we remain as a species, the better our morals get in dealing with one another. For the greater good maybe?

musKeeto: Served? Seriously? Did you even read my reply?
So u follow for d ppl wey lyk im post?

okeyxyz: There seems to be only one universal morality and from which all other moralities derive. That is the right to life. It is a universal belief of all living beings, whether plant or animal. So when confronted with a threat, this being would automatically exercise this right by either fighting or fleeing. As this being exercises this right, it would also naturally extend such right to it's own "family", because it's survival would also depend on the survival of this family, Therefore they would evolve or device methods to ensure this survival.

musKeeto: Tax free as far as I know.
In RCCG, 100% of tithes is sent to the national headquarters from all parishes. The other income is broken down into percentages and left for parishes based on their administrative roles: Zonal HQ, Regional HQ etc.
Can't say if it's the same for other churches though..
Winners, RCCG and in PCH Salvation Ministries( which is kind of an offshoot from Winners) are some of the biggest I know of. They'd probably account for 75% of Pentecostal Christians in Nigeria.

75% being my opinion.

Things get worse when you consider that there are close to 4 RCCG parishes on some popular streets in Port-Harcourt.

musKeeto: I've worked for one of the popular churches. I had access to most of the financial sheets within our church.

We'll ignore offerings(building, special, seedfaith, all other bullshit), and donations.

TITHES: this is the real windfall
Every month, each member is expected to pay 10% of his salary. For our case study, let's assume one church has a 100 members. Let's also assume each of them earns minimum wage.

18,000 * 10% = 1,800

1,800 * 100 = 180,000naira every month.

Imagine a church has at most 10 branches in a state.

180,000 * 10 =1.8million naira per month..

There are 36 states in Nigeria, Abuja is excluded..

1.8m * 36= 64.8m naira every month..

Need I say more..

REMEMBER OFFERINGS, DONATIONS, SPECIAL SERVICE OFFERINGS, ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THESE FIGURES.

uj_sizzle: aren't we speaking about good/evil, right/wrong??
I'm referring to the kinda laws that dictate killing is bad, stealing is wrong etc. We weren't fashioned to form opinions on our own from birth, but have been gradually taught based on the standpoint of the law.

uj_sizzle: the law was placed to give us a sense of good and evil, there's nothing subjective about that.