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Imam’s gay comments slammed after talk at Edmonton school

An imam’s fiery comments on homosexuality are stirring up a political storm in Edmonton.

In a video posted online, Sheikh Mustafa Khattab of Al Rashid Mosque talks to Junior High Students at the Edmonton Islamic Academy. Filmed last fall, it shows Khattab discussing various issues to do with teens growing up, and was to centre on social interactions between boys and girls.

The conversation then took a turn towards homosexuality. In January, Khattab uploaded the video to YouTube in which he tells the group of teens that homosexuality is “against everything” and referring to homosexual people as ‘abnormal’. He went as far as likening it to a person suffering from a terminal disease.

[ Related: Comments about gays taken out of context, imam says ]

“For me, someone who is homosexual is like someone who has diabetes or someone who has cancer or AIDS,” said Khattab.

He talked about his discomfort in the presence of gay men, adding ”Personally, I wouldn’t like to be associated with them.”

The video has garnered a lot of attention online. Alberta politicians like Education Minister Jeff Johnson have taken notice of the comments. Speaking to CTV, he had this to say about the investigation:

““What we’ve learned is that the person who made those comments was not making those comments in the classroom,” Johnson said. “He was not an employee in the school; he was not in the school, and the school does not endorse those comments.”

Khattab sent a statement to CBC, in which he attempts to explain his comments. He says he was responding to a student’s question about homosexuality and tried to use humour to make a point.

“I agree I might have been unlucky in my choice of words, but I believe the comment was taken out of context and misrepresented,” Khattab wrote.

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“Whoever reported the comment failed to mention what I said about gays and lesbians being our brothers and sisters in humanity and they shouldn't be discriminated against — even if we might disagree with what they do.”

According to Beacon News, the video has since been removed. Khattab has reportedly stepped down as imam at the Al-Rashid Mosque for unrelated reasons.