tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984317470266050424.post682899038770930498..comments2024-03-03T17:50:27.025-05:00Comments on Gay Influence: Sultan Qaboos bin Said of OmanTerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18219632588063153768noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984317470266050424.post-60268755837039497712021-09-02T23:17:12.232-04:002021-09-02T23:17:12.232-04:00From your blogger: My sources for this post were n...From your blogger: My sources for this post were not up-to-date, so I stand corrected. Homosexuality is no longer illegal in Bahrain since 1976, Lebanon since 2014, Northern Cyprus since 2014. But homosexuality has been legal in Turkey since the country was founded in 1923.Terryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18219632588063153768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984317470266050424.post-44208299597581250612021-09-02T19:17:02.251-04:002021-09-02T19:17:02.251-04:00"So to this day, Turkey is the only predomina..."So to this day, Turkey is the only predominantly Muslim country in the Middle East where homosexuality is not outlawed." <br /><br />^ This is not an accurate fact. Bahrain is another Muslim country where homosexuality is not outlawed.<br /><br />https://www.equaldex.com/region/bahrain<br /><br />https://lib.ohchr.org/HRBodies/UPR/Documents/Session1/BH/ILGA_BHR_UPR_S1_2008_InternationalLesbianGayAssociation_etal_uprsubmission.pdfAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984317470266050424.post-9963152332598645312020-12-24T22:23:54.458-05:002020-12-24T22:23:54.458-05:00From your blogger -- I did not belittle the Sultan...From your blogger -- I did not belittle the Sultan's achievements, I enumerated them (in paragraph after photo of pipe organ). However, Ataturk achieved more than this in the early twentieth century, pushing Turkey out of the dark ages into an enlightened secular nation. I have visited Istanbul many times, and gay bars are numerous and freely accessible to all tourists. Ataturk turned backward Turkey on its head. If he could accomplish all that, so could Sultan Qaboos. To read about Ataturk, click the link in the sidebar.Terryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18219632588063153768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984317470266050424.post-45415810886314061972020-12-23T10:00:23.825-05:002020-12-23T10:00:23.825-05:00Who ever wrote this clearly cribbed everything and...Who ever wrote this clearly cribbed everything and had no experience of living in Oman, understanding of the political realities within the country and local geopolitical area or an idea of the tightrope the Sultan walked. <br />His Majesty, the late Sultan Qaboos Bin Said was an incredible man of outstanding intelligence, conscience and duty. He dragged an essentially mediaeval feudal country into the 20th century at a rate that defied belief. I know because I was there for a time watching part of the transformation.<br />It’s true, by so called civilised western standards, there were and are areas where this transformation would be considered lacking, but those who most vociferously argue these points completely ignore the starting point and the constraints of being a Muslim country.<br />Sultan Qaboos introduced an obvious don’t ask don’t tell policy in most disputed sociopolitical areas in the 1970’s which was decades ahead of the same policy adopted by the USA regarding the military. He permitted western overseas worker the right to maintain their liberal lifestyles, the consumption of alcohol, gambling, cultural activities etc within the confines of their own living areas. The only condition was to respect the areas where these were allowed and not spread them outside designated areas. The Sultan not only respected other faiths by allowing places of worship to be built, he personally paid for a large number of them. I could list hundreds of examples but that would be labouring the point. The simple truth is, he was a good man who did as much as he could within the constraints imposed upon him. He had no choice in remaining on good terms with countries like Saudi Arabia, yet still managed to push boundaries far beyond what Saudi would tolerate from any other Arab leader or nation. <br />It’s easy to lazily highlight only faults whilst ignoring or disingenuously belittling the incredible achievements. Apply the same vapid inept analysis to any country and every single one of them is left wanting. If a level playing field isn’t stringently applied any analysis is little more than an exercise in cultural and social fascism.Moresby's Musingshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03041351416161237507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984317470266050424.post-65777011142260209972020-08-24T03:37:01.902-04:002020-08-24T03:37:01.902-04:00If you visit Morocco, you will soon learn that mos...If you visit Morocco, you will soon learn that most citizens consider the ruling king being a gay man. Many local stories about his lovers ... Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02408162689269512745noreply@blogger.com