Today’s New York Times tells the gruesome story of Ahmet Yildiz, a gay student in Istanbul, gunned down by his own father, who had gone mad after he discovered Ahmet was gay. According to Ahmet Kaya, Yildiz’ cousin, the notion that people could go from gay-to-straight through prayer and therapy entered into the deadly equation.
“Ahmet’s father had warned him to return to their village and to see a doctor and imam in order to cure him of his homosexuality and get married, but Ahmet refused,” Mr. Kaya said. “Ahmet loved his family more than anything else and he was tortured about disappointing them. But in the end, he decided to be who he was.”
Interestingly, Exodus Global Alliance is now working its scientific sorcery in the Middle East, with its website proclaiming, “Contact the Exodus Global Alliance office in Canada for information on the work of Exodus in Middle East.”
While there is no direct link between this so-called “honor” killing and Exodus, they are the primary worldwide source of misinformation, teaching distraught, religious parents that “Change is Possible.” I do not doubt that Exodus opposes such brutality. They did not cause this killing, nor would they approve. But, once this group pushes its destructive pseudoscience on the Internet, in the Middle East and in Africa, it clearly loses control of how these messages may be interpreted.
We may never know if Ahmet Yildiz might be alive today had his father not been sold the lie that his son could be “cured”. However, we do know that Exodus’ forays into cultures they do not understand, such as Uganda, have led to serious consequences.
A very real change did occur for Yildiz. He is dead. Pushing the notion that one can “pray away the gay” can have serious ramifications that it appears Exodus has yet to grapple.
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Wayne,
I visit this website frequently and almost everytime I find the information interesting, reliable etc. And I do admire your work and find inspiration in your commitment.
That is why I am really sorry to say that this article is definitely under the mark.
I was attracted to read it because of the title – I heard about this honor killing in Turkey some time ago and information about Turkey is generally of interest to me because COC Netherlands (the organisation I work for) has a project in that country.
But the article title is utterly misleading – it says so in the text (…no direct link…). So way give the impression that there is?
Exodus International is an organisation that has much to account for – and in the Netherlands we are aware of that because of the Dutch origines they have, as you probably know – but to link them in anyway to this killing is uncalled for.
I hope I have not offended you, but I just had to tell you…
Comment by Rene van Soeren — November 26, 2009 @ 5:54 pm
Uhh, Rene, Wayne said right off the bat there is no direct link. The point is that once Exodus starts pushing its lies in the middle east that gays can and should change, this may help feed violence against gays as it has in Uganda.
Comment by Priya Lynn — November 26, 2009 @ 6:40 pm
Rene:
I must respectfully disagree with you. The father who committed the killing wanted to “cure” his son. The primary worldwide group responsible for this message of “change” is Exodus.
I thought I made it crystal clear and was quite explicit that there was no direct link. You said so yourself, meaning you fully understood what I was not imparting.
With the Internet and Exodus’ forays worldwide, anyone can access their harmful theories and quack therapies, such as a desperate father in Turkey, for example. As long as they are promoting the false and misleading idea that “change is possible” (and people should change), they are, in my view, creating a hostile climate where crimes and sins are committed in the name of “change”.
This is particularly true when they are manipulating the minds of fundamentalists who are more likely to believe in the false miracles promoted by Exodus. When the miracle does not occur or the gay person refuses to take part in the alleged “cure”, the GLBT individual is often subject to intense ridicule, rejection, abuse or worse.
Is Exodus responsible for what happened in Turkey. No. Are they responsible for creating the conditions for abuse and harm (physical and psychological) of GLBT people? I think the answer is quite clear, particularly when one considers the perilous impact this organization has had in Uganda.
For these reasons, I believe this post was accurate and on-target.
The very existence of Exodus and its destructive message leads to serious ramifications worldwide.
Comment by Wayne Besen — November 26, 2009 @ 6:51 pm
Rene:
I just want to add one more point. You say that, “the article title is utterly misleading.”
The blog title says absolutely nothing of Exodus, thus it is not misleading. The headline specifically reads: “Ex-Gay Myth Linked with Anti-Gay Turkish Honor Killing.”
It thw text of The New York Times story there is a direct quote that reads.
“Ahmet’s father had warned him to return to their village and to see a doctor and imam in order to cure him of his homosexuality and get married, but Ahmet refused.”
Given this quote, it is irrefutable and factually correct to claim, “”Ex-Gay Myth Linked with Anti-Gay Turkish Honor Killing.”
If the headline had read: “Exodus Linked with Anti-Gay Turkish Honor Killing”, you would have been correct in your assessment. However, the headline does not say this.
The evidence does, indeed, tie the ex-gay myth – meaning the message that one can be cured of homosexuality – to this specific case.
Comment by Wayne Besen — November 26, 2009 @ 7:35 pm
You are right Wayne- the idea that gay people can be “cured” has a powerful allure for distressed parents and shamed gay men and women but it is destructive for the individual and dangerous for society- especially socially conservative societies where people face death for any deviation from the “norm.”
Your post is clear and I applaud you for continually showing the ugly, awful, and may I submit: UN-CHRISTIAN results that Exodus and its philosophy create here and around the world.
It’s shameful and one day will be seen as an organization and belief system that has promoted as much evil and destruction as those who burned heretics and witches on our shores 150 years ago and those who promoted fake science and religious philosophies that relegated blacks to “inferior” or sub-human status in more recent decades.
Comment by JR — November 26, 2009 @ 7:39 pm
The simplest parallel is with the fomenting of violence by right-wing hate talkers. For example, Bill O’Reilly spent several years reporting on “Tiller the Killer,” twisting facts and whipping up the “pro-life” base against the legal, necessary work done by George Tiller.
Was O’Reilly directly responsible for Tiller’s murder? No. Did he whip up the fervor and help set the stage for an unhinged man named Scott Roeder to gun him down in church? He sure helped.
Comment by Evan — November 27, 2009 @ 12:08 am
I’m curious: Exodus promises to give its clients the power to change through ‘Jesus Christ’. I don’t understand how this would work with Muslims, who regard ‘Isa’ as a mere prophet, and for whom St Paul’s writings are irrelevant.
Comment by adrianT — November 27, 2009 @ 7:02 am
It’s interesting that you should bring up that point, adrianT. Some time back, I found on the Internet the testimony of a former Christian who claimed that his homosexuality had been “cured” by his conversion to Islam. I wonder what the Exodus brigade would make of that.
Similarly there have been claims of homosexuality being cured by Christian Science, Scientology, and God knows what else. To borrow the words of Thomas Paine:
“…for my own part, I disbelieve them all.”
Comment by William — November 27, 2009 @ 9:35 am
AdrianT:
The power of the message, “Change is Possible” is quite adaptable. People will overlook specific religious differences and make adaptations to fit such ideas into their own belief systems. That is why you have Evergreen, for Mormons and Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality (JONAH) for religious Jews. Although, JONAH barely makes the effort and has members read fundamentalist Christian texts.
People of different faiths read Exodus literature, much as Exodus reads the Bible. Like a buffet, they pick and choose the parts they like and discard the rest.
One reason religious groups like Exodus adopted the quack therapies of Elizabeth Moberly, Charles Socarides, Irving Bieber, Richard Cohen and NARTH’s Joe Nicolosi – is so they would have a wider appeal than just their religious base.
While Exodus is fundamentalist Christian, their messages are quite flexible in terms of other faiths, or those who are non-religious.
Comment by Wayne Besen — November 27, 2009 @ 12:49 pm
That, Wayne, is because the work of Exodus has absolutely nothing to do with Jesus.
Simple as that. :)
Comment by Evan — November 27, 2009 @ 3:51 pm
Evan, funny how Exodus created a sexually obsessed version of Jesus completely devoid of love. Quite a feat, I’d say, on their part.
I think Exodus asks, “What would Jesus do” and they do the opposite.
Comment by Wayne Besen — November 27, 2009 @ 4:09 pm
The Anne Lamott quote comes to mind, something to the effect of “You know you’ve made God in your own image when he hates all the same people you do.”
Comment by Evan — November 27, 2009 @ 4:27 pm
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