Fundamentalism ain't new in the Middle East. Or, anywhere for that matter. Zealots reign on all sides of religious chasms, splintering off into their own wings and sub-wings. And, as fundamentalists, these fools think homosexuality's fundamentally wrong. It comes as no surprise, then, that the Islamic Council in Israel has raised its voice against an upcoming conference organized by a Palestinian lesbian group, Aswat.

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Meanwhile, in other news: Uri Lupolianski, the mayor of Jerusalem, found himself stoned while visiting an ultra-orthodox neighborhood. For those of you not paying attention, there's been a fierce fight over Friday's gay pride parade in the city. The more conservative religious types aren't so keen on the idea and are promising violence if the parade goes ahead. Even though Lupolianski spoke out against the parade, many people still hold him responsible for what they see as an affront to their holy city. Ynet News reports:

Despite the fact that Lupolianski has called out against holding the parade in the city, many in the haredi community hold him directly responsible.

Word spread quickly of the “Zionist” mayor’s visit to the heart of Me’a Shearim, prompting dozens of haredim to make their way to the hall and stone the structure.

Meanwhile, rioting continues to crop up around the city and police are preparing for what will undoubtedly be a traumatic day on Friday.

Don't worry, though, the Muslims and the Jews are still united against the homos.

We're not sure what organizers were expecting when they decided to hold World Pride in the middle of the Holy Land, but there has been a rare moment of unity between the Christian, Muslim, and Jewish faiths in Israel as they cry "foul" together over the event. Despite the fact that only one quarter of the city of Jerusalem wants World Pride held in their city and that all these conservative religious leaders are having aneurysms over it, plans are going forward for the celebration, which should draw hundreds of thousands of queers from all over the world to the embattled region for a few days of gay revelry.

In general we think that spreading gayness to the Middle East will have a positive effect on the general global understanding. For example, if 500,000 gays come and party in Jerusalem for a few days and the city doesn't get swallowed into the sea or smote by the Hand of God, maybe the hysteria will lessen ever so slightly. Or are we being foolish optimists? Our main concern is that things don't turn violent, and we hope the Jerusalem police are prepared for the possibility will protect the safety of their visitors.

Christian leaders slam gay parade [Jerusalem Post]

Is it easiest to throw a gay off a high building or burn him to death?

"There is disagreement," says Muslim cleric Yusuf Qaradawi.

The schools of thought disagree about the punishment. Some say they should be punished like fornicators. Some say we should throw them from a high place, like God did with the people of Sodom. Some say we should burn them, and so on.

Mr. Qaradawi is also a big supporter of suicide bombers, meaning that he must really just want the world all to himself. After you kill all your enemies and all your friends blow themselves up, who is left?

Muslim cleric backs gay burnings [Pink News]

• Two out of every three Spanish citizens support the Prime Minister's decision to legalize gay marriage. Maybe when God didn't send a tsunami to punish them, they decided it was okay. [365 Gay]

• The Pope says that condoms are okay (for straight, married couples where one partner is HIV-positive). Thanks, Ratzy. [N-TV via Random Good Stuff. Source is in German]

• Despite previous statements to the contrary, Muslims in Britain in fact do hate the gays. [The Guardian]

• Elton John will have none of George Michael's blame game. [Pink News]

NOTE: "Short Stack" is your morning news round-up, posted every weekday morning around 9:30.

• Rick Santorum has unwittingly leaked the Republican master plan to the gay elite! [Terrene]

• Goth teenagers are more likely to do well in school and be successful, well-adjusted adults, according to this detailed report. Our rich, goth friends have been telling us that for years! [The Guardian]

• Another minister, this time Unitarian, has chosen not to sign marriage licenses for straight couples until samesex marriage is legal in North Carolina. Not to be pessimistic, but these guys are pretty clever to eliminate an annoying administrative job in a promise they know will last maybe the rest of their lives. [365 Gay]

• Supreme Court Justice John Roberts has sent a coded message to The Gays about "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Can we take the hint before 2008? [Village Voice]

• The penalty for suggesting that Islam could somehow be reconciled with Democracy and human rights? It's uncertain, but certainly your "safety cannot be guaranteed." An Islamic theologian was recently pressured not to make a speech suggesting Islamic reform in the UK because of such veiled death threats. [Pink News]

We really never understood the whole Muslim Cartoon flap that had the world up in arms a few weeks ago, but then, we don’t understand why Tim Allen is famous, so what do we know. But still, The University of Toronto’s student newspaper, The Strand, is stepping into the fray.

To some degree, we felt like it was our duty to do so. We would be making a statement: that freedom of expression triumphs over all, that tactics like the administration emptying newsstands over publication of controversial subjects are Draconian and detrimental to an environment like a university, which claims to nurture new ideas and inspire independent thinking. After all, freedom of speech and freedom of the press are basic values in Canadian society. But where does freedom of images fit in?

Luckily, it’s just some student newspaper, or we all might have to suffer through another uproar. Still, it’s pretty bold of our neighbors to the north and we applaud free speech in any form. Now add the Buddha into the mix and we’ve got a cartoon we can really embrace.

Toronto Cartoon Flap [Rhymes with Right]

• The queer animal kingdom was doing so well, what with gay pink flamingos and pink penguins making the news this month. That is until those gay Israeli vultures ran back into the closet. [Haaretz Daily]

• Playing gay has been so good for Heath Ledger's career, he might just give it another go. [Post Chronicle]

• After her performance at the Grammys last week, Madonna had a surgeon perform on her. Bitch had a hernia. That's what you get for wearing nothing but constricting leotards. [NY Post]

• Traditionally leftist Canada has gays worried that their new Bush clone of a leader might take away their same-sex marriage rights. We adore our neighbors to the North for their progressive stance, so let's hope not. [USA Today]

• Once the current uproar over that controversial Mohammad cartoon dies down, some traditional Muslims are going to have another thing to protest: a documentary about Islamic gays. [Variety]