A.G. Gancarski
On Thursday, the Jacksonville Coalition for Equality announced that 75 faith leaders vowed to support a fully inclusive Human Rights Ordinance expansion. While the number was significant, not all denominations were represented.
Pentecostals and Catholics, for example, were nowhere to be found. And, observed Parvez Ahmed on Friday, who was among the 75, the Islamic faith was likewise underrepresented.
“I was honored to be part of a group of faith leaders asking my city of Jacksonville to update their Human Rights Ordinance (HRO) so that it will protect our LGBT community from legalized discrimination much like the ordinance now protects people of different races and religions,” Ahmed said. “I was disappointed that I was the only Muslim joining the coalition. I am not a clergy and I do not speak on behalf of all Muslims. Why did imams and board members of Islamic congregations not join?”
Ahmed, when nominated to the Human Rights Commission six years ago, faced a hailstorm of criticism from the Christian right. Former Councilman Don Redman asked the Fulbright Scholar and University of North Florida professor to recite a prayer to his God, while former Councilman Clay Yarborough asked Ahmed a wide-ranging variety of questions about Islam, gay marriage, and other topics.
That experience seems to have cauterized Ahmed’s opposition to prejudice and discrimination in all forms: “Muslims cannot keep complaining about Islamophobia while turning a blind eye to homophobia,” Ahmed said, noting that “both attitudes stem from the same fear of the ‘other’ and a lack of empathy for the challenges other minorities’ experience.”
“A person of faith can support equality of all citizens without having to compromise on their beliefs about homosexuality,” Ahmed said. “The HRO is not about theology; it is about our commitment to fundamental equality of all citizens. Many leaders of other faiths have stepped up and even courageously changed their positions. It is time Muslim leaders, imams, board members of mosques and leaders of Islamic civic and civil rights organizations, step forward.”
