''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.''
Ahmet Kaya, cousin of a gay Turkish man, Ahmet Yildiz, who murdered for being gay -- hunted down and shot five times by his own father, Yahya Yildiz. The so-called "honor killing" is a heinous tradition in Muslim culture where family members come to the twisted conclusion that the only way to clear the stigma of a family member's "sins" is to murder them. The NY Times is reporting in this article that Mr Yildiz, 26 at the time of the murder 16 months ago, has become a catalyst for a broader cultural discussion about these horrific acts and about homosexuality in general since it is generally considered a taboo subject. The elder Yildiz is on trial despite not being present because he's in hiding at an unknown location.(New York Times)
''The police and local religious officials are trying to protect the killer because they think homosexuality is a sin. But in Islam killing is an even bigger sin, and no one but Allah has the right to decide between life and death. Ahmet was a nice, gentle boy and he didn't deserve to die.''
Ummuhan Darama, who was injured during the shooting of Ahmet Yildiz, a gay man living in Istanbul, Turkey. Yildiz's muslim father murdered his own son because of his belief that having a son who is homosexual is worse than the sin of murder. (New York Times)
