Vancouver Anti-Sharia Gay Pride Group Rejected Over ISLAMOPHOBIA

In the hierarchy of victimhood, it should now be abundantly clear that the Left favors Muslims over gay people. If their politically correct reaction to an Islamic terrorist opening fire on a gay nightclub in Orlando did not prove that, then this new report out of Vancouver should.

In August, a Vancouver gay pride group with an anti-sharia bent was denied participation in the city’s gay pride parade because organizers were afraid of being labeled Islamophobes.

Founded by Shawn Shirazi, an Iranian immigrant of Vancouver, the group “Cirque de So Gay” featured both transgender and gay Middle Eastern men known for getting a little too direct in their criticism of Islam. Though they marched in the Vancouver pride parade for several years, even earning awards for originality, the age of Trump stirred in parade organizers a different attitude toward their act, which they now deem “culturally insensitive.”

When applying for entry into the parade, “Cirque de So Gay” described the act as “casting off the shroud of oppression to unveil the Persian Princess beneath … The Islamic attire is more than just a piece of black fabric. It’s a tool used by governments to impose absolute control and authority over their citizens and even tourists.”

Shirazi said he wanted the act to have an open dialogue about Islamic society “so people can express themselves as they choose, without threat of being flogged, stoned or beheaded.”

The parade organizers would have none of it, saying the act ridiculed a nuanced issue, even though the parade organizers would have no problem if the group mocked Catholics by dressing in nuns’ habits.

Vancouver Pride Society’s co-executive director Andrea Arnot said burkas are not just about oppression, but also choice.

“Many women choose to wear burkas. It’s part of their identity, their religion and their culture,” she said. “Of course, there are places where it’s enforced.”

She described how shocked parade organizers were when learning of the act.

“When I asked other people who are from that cultural or religious background, they said it was offensive,” she said. “I definitely wanted to be sensitive to what is happening in our communities right now.”

The event organizers say words like “offensive” and “culturally insensitive” now, but that is not what they said in 2011 when the group used the exact same act, which had the dancers wearing burkas and then throwing them to reveal little underneath. The sudden change appears to come in response to President Trump and a growing populist mentality that rejects Islam.

Of course, Canada suffered the worst of anti-Muslim sentiment when a gunman opened fire on Muslims praying at a Quebec City mosque earlier this year, killing six men and wounding 19 others.