Inclusion Minister Julia Farrugia has condemned controversial comments made by Malta’s Imam after he urged gay men to marry women and follow “the righteous path” in an interview this week. However, she stopped short of pushing for a police investigation as she has done in the past. 

“There’s no room for such philosophy of ‘resisting the inclination and marrying a woman instead’. As a country we strived a long way to attain historical rights when it comes to LGBTIQ+,” she told Lovin Malta. 

“We pride ourselves as a nation that Malta ranks top in the LGBTIQ+ index for the 6th year running. And I will work hard to defend what we have achieved in these past years.”

Still, Farrugia Portelli did not respond to questions as to whether she would report the Imam to police for hate speech as she had recently done with Father David Muscat, who said being gay was worse than being possessed by demons.

Imam El Sadi had reiterated his position on the LGBTQI community in a new interview this week, where he urged people to resist their ungodly temptations, no matter what they were.

“I don’t think they were naturally born with that urge, but become that way because of the environment, from learning… from parents, from friends, from lessons, from society,’ he said.

“God cannot create you with this urge, he condemns it… these relationships are prohibited in Christianity, in Judaism, in Islam…in many religions – how can God create people like this, then condemn them? It cannot be.”

People found the fundamentalist rhetoric to be outdated in 2022 – Equality Minister Owen Bonnici even posted a reaction, saying being gay wasn’t a choice but something people discover within themselves throughout their lives.

What do you think of the Imam’s comments?