Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh holding one of the largest obstacles in the path to global peace

Welcome to Islamic homophobia awareness week on yourdailymuslim.com! This week’s posts are going to focus on homophobia and anti-LGBT discrimination in Islam, and the closet-case Muslims who call for death to gays and lesbians on a fairly constant basis.

If you haven’t heard of the Gambia, well, you’re probably like most of the world. It’s a country in west Africa that is home to many crazy Muslims. Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh-t-in-my-butt is the president of the Gambia (Gaymbia?) He seized power through a military coup in 1994 and has been reelected in every election since.

Jammeh stated, “Homosexuality is anti-humanity.” He thinks he has the right to say anything about something being “anti-humanity” when he believes in a religion that requires women to produce four devout male witnesses to prove rape? Or how about the commands to behead and dismember infidels? Islam is what is anti-humanity.

“Homosexuality is anti-god, anti-human, and anti-civilization. Homosexuals are not welcome in the Gambia. If we catch you, you will regret why you [were] born… Allowing homosexuality means allowing satanic rights. We will not allow gays here.” Satanic rights? So, if I’m reading this correctly, he’s basically implying that killing gays is thus a divine right. In 2008, Jammeh vowed that he would behead gays captured in the Gambia. After international pressure, he withdrew the threat, but has continued pledging to never permit same-sex relations in his country. Currently, being convicted of homosexuality in the Gambia earns a person 14 years behind bars. We all know what happens there: 14 years of gay sex.

Jammeh is a firm believer in pseudoscience. The Gambia has a high incidence rate of HIV among its population, and Jammeh felt a pseudoscientific revelation he had was the answer. He claimed that taking an herbal remedy in place of antiretroviral therapy would cure both HIV/AIDS and asthma. “I can treat asthma and HIV/AIDS… Within three days the person should be tested again and I can tell you that he/she will be negative.” Reducing an HIV viral count in the blood takes months of treatment and strict adherence to a medication regimen. Chewing the ganja or whatever other magic herb Jammeh found won’t do shit about a rapidly-mutating virus like HIV. Despite having received criticism, Jammeh stood by his word. In 2011, he claimed his tests of the herbal cure were going “very well.” However, no major pharmaceutical companies have taken interest in Jammeh’s magic plants… hmm, maybe that means something.

Here’s one last bit of the love and tolerance from this delightful Sunni Muslim: “If you don’t believe in God, you can never be grateful to humanity and you are even below a pig.”

If you want to read more stories of Islamic discrimination against LGBT people, click here.