Cleric: Why would I call for the death of gay people when my sister is gay
An Islamic cleric, who is speaking at an event at Newcastle United Football Club this evening, denies ever calling for the death of LGBT people and says his sister is gay.
Yusuf Chambers made the remarks on Twitter following criticism by human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell.
@PeterTatchell @islam_diversity @NUFCOfficial who do I call for the death of lgbt when my own sister is Gay. You disgust me Peter.
— Yusuf Chambers (@YusufChambers) December 3, 2013
@PeterTatchell they claimed I had called for deaths. I have never done so. I couldn’t kill a fly, I used to be a vegi!!
— Yusuf Chambers (@YusufChambers) December 3, 2013
Mr Tatchell has called for tonight’s Islamic Diversity event at Newcastle United Football Club (NUFC) to be cancelled because of Chambers’ presence on the panel.
Chambers is a member of the controversial Islamic Education and Research Academy (IERA).
In a discussion with Dr Zakir Naik, Chambers said “JazakAllah Khair (May Allah grant you goodness) for clearing that issue up” when told by Dr Naik that “homosexuality is forbidden in Islam and the punishment for homosexuality is death”.
Chambers added: “So may Allah preserve us from…”
Dr Naik is a former IERA trustee who has been barred from entering the UK.
Student Rights, an anti-extremism campaign group, also claim Chambers has stated that homosexuality is something that “is bad for you”.
Stand for Peace, one of Britain’s leading Jewish-Muslim interfaith organisations, say that Chambers has in the past, “expressed the desire for homosexuals to be killed and has denied that homosexuality has any natural or genetic origins.”
Chambers has previously been subject to students protests when attending university debates, such as at the University of York in June 2012, because of his views.
PinkNews has approached Newcastle United Football Club for comment regarding Chambers’ visit.
