Distressing reports from Uganda

All my enemies whisper together about me *
and devise evil against me.
Psalm 41:7 (BCP)

Andy Towle reports:

An article appearing in The Guardian over the weekend reports that the death penalty and life imprisonment provisions in Uganda's "kill the gays" bill as it has come to be known, have not been dropped, as Bloomberg reported last week.

The President and Senators Grassley, Coburn, and Feingold have spoken against this bill. Even the Vatican chimes in, not mentioning Uganda but the timing is suggestive:

"As stated during the debate of the General Assembly last year, the Holy See continues to oppose all grave violations of human rights against homosexual persons, such as the use of the death penalty, torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. The Holy See also opposes all forms of violence and unjust discrimination against homosexual persons, including discriminatory penal legislation which undermines the inherent dignity of the human person. As raised by some of the panelists today, the murder and abuse of homosexual persons are to be confronted on all levels, especially when such violence is perpetrated by the State. While the Holy See’s position on the concepts of sexual orientation and gender identity remains well known, we continue to call on all States and individuals to respect the rights of all persons and to work to promote their inherent dignity and worth."

Genocide is genocide and the ignorance, deceit, and cruelty behind this proposed legislation is staggering.

Must the road to Uganda be purchased once more with blood?

The martyrdom of Bishop James Hannington

--the BB

Moral authority squandered

I have written extensively about genocide in the past years because for me it is personal. I grew up among survivors of the Armenian genocide during WWI. I lived among survivors of the Holocaust. I pastored Cambodians who survived Pol Pot. I cannot be silent about the threat of a new law in Uganda that would execute LGBT people and cast in prison those who do not denounce them. Rowan Williams thinks it is his duty to remain silent about this, at least in public. It is strange how quickly he jumps in to threaten some folks and remains silent about others.

Public silence on impending genocidal legislation in Uganda where human lives are at stake and not only silence but pressure for others to remain silent. Immediate public response to the election of a bishop suffragan in Los Angeles. +Rowan Cantuar has interesting priorities and they seem to be institutional.

I like Lois Keen's comment:

"...if our bonds of affection are to hold."

I must speak out. I can stand it no longer. Affection is not affection at all if it is conditional on anything. Affection has no prerequisites. It is not qualified.

Most of all, affection carries no thinly veiled threats of breaking affection.

Rowan has no affection for TEC, except we throw our LGBT brothers and sisters under the bus. Others in the Anglican Communion, for whom we still have affection, have no affection for us except we declare our LGBT brothers and sisters intransigent, disordered, unhealthy sinners. Subsequently, there is no bond of affection in the Anglican Communion.

But worst of all, to base communion on "bonds of affection" is a fallacy, if not a category mistake.

Communion is in and through Christ Jesus, and him alone. In him and through him our paltry, meager affections toward one another are unnecessary. We can never feel our way to loving one another. We can only do our way to loving one another, and that's hard work, because it holds up to judgment our refusals to work with another because in our judgment the other has "broken the bonds of affection".

Thank you, Lois. No human bond is sufficient; the Spirit's bond transcends our brokenness and, yes, our hatred (as you wrote elsewhere).

Jim Naughton added:

Lambeth Palace says it would be counterproducrive to speak out against a law that legalizes the murder of gays people and the imprisonment of their confidants, but thinks that inserting itself into the middle of the consent process of a duly elected Episcopal bishop is a good use of the Archbishop's moral authority. Do the clergy and people of the Church of England feel comfortable with this?

Look with pity, O heavenly Father, upon the people in every land who live with injustice, terror, disease and death as their constant companions. Have mercy upon us. Help us to eliminate our cruelty to these our neighbors. Strengthen those who spend their lives establishing equal protection of the law and equal opportunities for all. And grant that every one of us may enjoy a fair portion of the riches of this world, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

--the BB

Visitors from three new nations

I have not had time and energy to note our first visitor from Uganda, and I apologize for waiting . This morning I looked and we had first visitors from two more nations: Iraq and Georgia. Welcome to you all!

From Wikipedia:

The Republic of Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa, bordered on the east by Kenya, the north by Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by Tanzania. The southern part of the country includes a substantial portion of Lake Victoria, within which it shares borders with Kenya and Tanzania. Uganda takes its name from the Buganda kingdom, which encompasses a portion of the south of the country including the capital Kampala.

When I met the imam of the Shi'ite mosque in Oakland shortly after 9/11, I learned that he was from Uganda. He appeared Indian. Well, his family was from India, had moved to Uganda, fled under Idi Amin to Canada, and eventually he was called to be the spiritual director in Oakland. My other, very indirect, connection with Uganda was the partnership between St John's in Oakland and the Anglicans in Uganda, one that involved lots of building and sharing until the support given by TEC to the LGBT community led to the Bishop of Uganda severing all ties. Now, I ask you: why is it easier for me to get along with my Muslim sisters and brothers than with my Anglican ones? I would suggest because our interfaith dialogue focused on our human commonalities and our intra-communion squabbles focus on our differences. The differences with our Muslim friends were not denied, just not moved to the center. Is there anything to be learned by this?

If you are young enough not to recognize references to Idi Amin, you may find extensive information here and here.

My first emotional ties with Uganda came through Lesser Feasts and Fasts, where I learned of the feasts of James Hannington and Companions and the Martyrs of Uganda, whose number later came to include Archbishop Janani Luwum.

We hear and read so much about Iraq these days, though little of its significance in the history of civilization. Let us remember that it was the site of great ancient civilizations on whose heritage the entire western world is drawn. Think of the Code of Hammurabi. Wikipedia has this:

The region of Iraq was historically known as Mesopotamia (Greek: "between the rivers"). It was home to the world's first known civilization, the Sumerian culture, followed by the Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian cultures, whose influence extended into neighboring regions as early as 5000 BC. These civilizations produced some of the earliest writing and some of the first sciences, mathematics, laws and philosophies of the world; hence its common epithet, the "Cradle of Civilization".

It is sad to ponder the contrast between that and the current situation.

There is also a very rich history between ancient and modern eras. Just consider what "Baghdad" conjured up before the past decade and a half.

Georgia (Georgian: საქართველო, transliterated as Sakartvelo) is a Eurasian country, chiefly located in the South Caucasus, at the juncture of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. [Wikipedia] When I look at Russian headlines I see references to Georgia by its Russian name, Gruznya (Грузия).

The ancient kingdoms of Colchis and Iberia were here and it was one of the earliest nations to become Christian. Georgia struggles with independence movements in Abkhazia and Ossetia and is in tension with Russia related to this. More from Wikipedia:

Georgia is a representative democracy, organized as a secular, unitary, semi-presidential republic. It is currently a member of the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the World Trade Organization and the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation. The country seeks a membership of NATO and, in the longer term, accession to the European Union.

OK, time for some music.

Treat your woman right!

That should have your hips moving.

Ekitagururo - Victoria Burke


Iraq's greatest musician and artist, Ilham Al-Madfai singing the old song "Khutar", directed by Fadi Hagopian. Video was shot and produced in Amman-Jordan.


An interesting mix of cultures here in a wedding theme bit of song and dance - I believe we have the "treat your woman right" theme at an earlier stage here, sauce for the goose and all that. Rather cute video.


iraqi music majed almohandes - wallah wahshny
[If only his hands would sit still. The dramatic romantic scenes are nice. Et un beau visage, n'est-ce pas, Comtesse?]


I have one or two CDs at home of Georgian music and I really like it. A very rich tradition of lush harmonies.

This video is, in spots, a bit too military for my taste but here is some Georgian patriotism nicely sung, the national hymn:


Very elegant and restrained dancing - not the exuberance of Riverdance for sure.


Here is a great dance sampler by the ensemble Rustavi (embedding not allowed). Here is another bit of music and dance, demonstrating the rich a cappella harmonies and seriously fancy footwork. [I think I am now in the market for a Georgian boyfriend.]

Something a little calmer: Qeti Melua - Tcitcinatela


Americans-"ქართული ანსამბლი" sing Georgian music [for your Sunday evening worship]:


We conclude with a blast from the past: Vintage collection-Georgian vocal quartet


Enjoy!
--the BB