U.K. Muslim
leader calls gays immoral

The head of the Muslim Council of Britain has infuriated gay rights leaders and some lawmakers by saying that homosexuality is "immoral" and "spreads disease." Sir Iqbal Sacranie added that civil partnerships, which attained legal recognition last month in the United Kingdom, are "damaging to society," TheTimes of London reported Wednesday. Sacranie was appearing on BBC Radio 4's PM program when he said that civil partnerships do "not augur well in building the very foundations of society: stability, family relationships. And it is something we would certainly not in any form encourage the community to be involved in." The newspaper reported that he added: "Each of our faiths tells us that it is harmful, and, I think, if you look into the scientific evidence that has been available in terms of the forms of various illnesses and diseases that are there, surely it points out that where homosexuality is practiced there is a greater concern in that area." Peter Tatchell, founder of gay rights group OutRage! told the Times, "It's tragic for one minority to attack another minority." The most prominent openly gay conservative in England, parliament member Alan Duncan, agreed: "This is an absurd medieval view. One should separate the religious from the secular. Such general condemnation is no longer acceptable in a civilized modern world." According to the newspaper, almost 700 civil partnerships were entered on December 21, the day they became legal in England and Wales. (Advocate.com)