African religious leaders rebuke Obama’s ‘view’

NAIROBI, Kenya — Religious leaders in Africa strongly rebuked President Obama’s call to decriminalize homosexuality, suggesting it’s the reason why he received a less-than-warm welcome during a recent trip to the continent.

In a news conference in Senegal during his three-nation tour, just as the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal ban on same-sex “marriage,” Obama said African nations must grant equal protection to all people regardless of their sexual orientation.

“My basic view is that regardless of race, regardless of religion, regardless of gender, regardless of sexual orientation, when it comes to how the law treats you, how the state treats you … people should be treated equally,” Obama said. “And that’s a principle that I think applies universally.”

However homosexuality is illegal in 37 African countries, according to the Washington-based Council for Global Equality, and many religious leaders there view it as contrary to scriptures and custom. Indeed some clerics said Obama’s statements on gays spoiled the welcome religious leaders and their followers could have accorded the first African-American president.

Sheikh Saliou Mbacke, a Senegalese Muslim leader who coordinates the Interfaith Action for Peace in Africa, said, “The subject of homosexuality must not be used as a tool to blackmail and coerce society to defy God’s command, which is more important than any world power.”