SYDNEY (News Desk) – British scholar Farrokh Sekaleshfar, who had called for death penalty as punishment for gays during a lecture in Michigan in 2013, has said that his anti-homosexuality comments have no connection with the recent Orlando shooting incident, in which 49 people were killed.
Talking to Australian media, shortly before his departure, he said “Nothing. I swear by Allah, nothing at all,” when asked if there was a link between his lecture and the massacre.
On the occasion, he also condemned the Orlando shooting, calling it a barbaric act of terrorism which could not be justified in any way.
His remarks came as the Australian government launched an urgent review of his visa. citing his comments about homosexuality.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said that his government has zero tolerance towards the people who come to Australia and preach hatred among people.
Farrokh Sekaleshfar is a renowned Shia Muslim scholar, who was in Australia to give lectures on the topic of spirituality at an Islamic centre in Sydney.
Previously, during his lecture in 2013, he had said that homosexuals were contaminating the society. He said that in an Islamic society, the death penalty should be the punishment for homosexuals who are engaged in sodomy, according to a recording available online.
