The Walton Serious, February 23, 2007
SoWal, meet Sheik Yo-Booti
Joining Cat Stevens and Cassius Clay in the list of Muslim converts, local gadfly 30-gAy announced Friday that he has converted to Islam.
30-gAy, whose new name will be Sheik Yo-Booti, said that he was inspired to announce his conversion to Islam more as a protest against those who are attempting to de-humanize an entire population. ?As a gay man, I know what it is like to on the receiving end of stereotyping. It is very easy to do horrible things to an individual of a minority group when you believe that all gay men are child molesters, all Jews are money grubbing, and all Muslims are terrorists.?
Sheik Yo-Booti added that while he does not plan to make the pilgrimage to Mecca (claiming that desert climates dry out his skin) he does plan to study Islamic art and culture as an exercise in personal enrichment and growth.
Sheik-Yo-Booti bristles at the idea that his conversion is a radical move, ?Oh please, last week I was participating in a Muskogee nation story telling festival and the week prior to that I was learning Hindi love ballads. I think sticking your head in the sand and not reaching out to people who are different from you is a far more radical idea.?