{"id":940,"date":"2016-06-12T15:44:51","date_gmt":"2016-06-12T20:44:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/?p=940"},"modified":"2016-06-12T15:46:59","modified_gmt":"2016-06-12T20:46:59","slug":"thank-you-tim-teeman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/thank-you-tim-teeman\/","title":{"rendered":"Thank You, Tim Teeman, For Your Insight: It Is Important That Pulse Is a Gay Nightclub"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the Name of God: The Extremely and Eternally Loving and Caring<\/em><\/p>\n

In my column reacting to the horrific Orlando shooting<\/a>, I wrote:<\/p>\n

It is not important that the site of the massacre, Pulse, was a “gay nightclub.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What I meant was that all life is sacred, and that the sexual orientation of the victims was immaterial. They were fellow Americans who were gunned down and senselessly murdered. I then came across this article<\/a> by Tim Teeman<\/a>, senior editor and writer at the Daily Beast:<\/p>\n

\n

Please, no more ‘thoughts and prayers,’ unless they come with a vocal recognition of this as an attack against LGBT people in an LGBT bar.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

Please, no more talk of the Pulse as a ‘nightclub’ without the word ‘gay’ or ‘LGBT’ attached to it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

Please, no more talk on this being an “attack on all of us” unless LGBT people are accorded the same rights as everyone else.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Wow. I have a little better understanding now. It is<\/em><\/strong> important to mention that Pulse is a gay nightclub because, as Mr. Teeman puts it:<\/p>\n

Pulse was a club where LGBT people went to feel comfortable and have a good time; LGBT clubs exist because gay people need places to congregate because they were not welcome or comfortable elsewhere. They should be a ‘safe space,’ a retreat, breathing space, refuge, dance paradise, fun house–not somewhere to be hurt or murdered.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And to have this place savagely attacked like it was makes it even more tragic than it already is.<\/p>\n

To me, the fact that the victims of the massacre were, and are, gay is immaterial. Like I said, they were my fellow Americans – my brothers and sisters – who were viciously murdered. I still believe that the attack on Pulse is an attack on all of us. But, Tim Teeman is absolutely right when he writes:<\/p>\n

Let’s say it plainly: This was a mass slaying aimed at LGBT people.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Yes it was, Mr. Teeman. As a Muslim, as an American, and as a fellow human being, I am disgusted to the core because of it. Thank you, Sir, for your insight.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the Name of God: The Extremely and Eternally Loving and Caring In my column reacting to the horrific Orlando shooting, I wrote: It is not important that the site of the massacre, Pulse, was a “gay nightclub.” What I meant was that all life is sacred, and that the sexual orientation of the victims…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":175,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,538],"tags":[95,743,719,741,740,401,742],"class_list":["post-940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-common-word","category-i-speak-out-against-terror","tag-article","tag-daily-beast","tag-lgbt","tag-omar-mateen","tag-orlando","tag-shooting","tag-tim-teeman"],"yoast_head":"\nThank You, Tim Teeman, For Your Insight<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Tim Teeman's powerful article about the Orlando attack gave me great insight into why it matter that Pulse is a "gay nightclub." 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Hassaballa","description":"Hesham A. Hassaballa is a Chicago doctor and writer. He has written extensively on a freelance basis, being published in newspapers across the country and around the world. He has been a Beliefnet columnist since 2001, and has written for the Religion News Service. He is also a columnist for Patheos. His articles have been distributed worldwide by Agence Global, and he was also a guest blogger for The Chicago Tribune and has blogged on ChicagoNow\" . In addition, Dr. Hassaballa has appeared as a guest on WTTW (Channel 11) in Chicago, CNN, Fox News, BBC, and National Public Radio. Dr. Hassaballa is co-author of The Beliefnet Guide to Islam (Doubleday), and his essay, \u201cWhy I Love the Ten Commandments,\u201d was published in the award-winning book Taking Back Islam (Rodale). His latest book, Noble Brother, is the story of the Prophet Muhammad told entirely in poetry, and it is now published in its second edition. In 2007, his blog \"God, Faith, and a Pen\" was nominated for a Brass Crescent Award for a blog that is \u201cthe most stimulating, insightful, and philosophical, providing the best rebuttals to extremist ideology and making an impact whenever they post.\u201d \"God, Faith, and a Pen\" has also received an award for being one of the \"Top Muslim Blogs for 2010\" by Awarding The Web. In addition to writing, Dr. Hassaballa helped found the Chicago Chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations and currently serves on their board of directors. He also co-founded the Bayan H. 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