Anti-gay Iran, Iraq, Afganistan etc

[Daniel]

I'm starting this thread for anti-gay news in Middle East Countries like Iraq, Iran and Afganistan, Eygpt, Saudi Arabia etc. Sharia law, which is prevalent in many of these countries, is extremely anti-gay. The punishment for same-sex activity is stoning, hanging and decapitation.

We must nor forget our brothers and sisters, who are jailed, beaten and murdered because of who they are.


http://www.towleroad.com/2007/05/iranian_police_.html
Iranian Police Assault and Arrest 87 at Gay Birthday Party

Up to 87 were arrested at a birthday party for Farhad, a member of Iran's gay community last Thursday, and while several women among those arrested have been released, the gay men are still jailed.

One guest, identified as 'Peyman' told the Toronto-based Iranian Queer Organization: "I went to buy a gift for Farhad and so I arrived late for the party. As soon as I turned in to their street, I saw police cars parked everywhere; all my friends were arrested while seven or eight policeman beat them with batons. Fearing the usual punishments for attending a party, two had jumped from the second-floor window and were in a bad condition. Farhad’s family were also arrested. Everyone was transported into a big car and taken into custody. All their cell phones are off and we have no information about the situation inside the jail."

Another guest, Kia, reported: "Guests had come from Shiraz, Tehran, Shahin Shahr to Isfahan for Farhad’s birthday. When they were coming out of the house followed by the police, their clothes were ripped, their faces and bodies were covered in blood. They were beaten up badly."

[Zerbie]

:pray:

Stories like this are why I receive alerts from Amnesty International. I wish there was something we could do. Writing a letter now and then really doesn't feel like enough.

I read about a police raid in NYC around the time of Stonewall where a young man panicked trying to escape a police station by jumping from an upstairs room to a roof. He landed on a spiked fence and was impaled there, still alive while they had to remove part of the fence in order to transport him to a hospital. The part about people being injured jumping from windows reminded me of that.

[NathanATX]

I agree Zerbie... I want to do more. Hopefully, by focusing our collective energies on this issue we can create something powerful.

Nate

[Zerbie]

I agree Zerbie... I want to do more. Hopefully, by focusing our collective energies on this issue we can create something powerful.

Nate

Like what?? What can we possibly do? :'(

[kimmyd]

I'm starting this thread for anti-gay news in Middle East Countries like Iraq, Iran and Afganistan, Eygpt, Saudi Arabia etc. Sharia law, which is prevalent in many of these countries, is extremely anti-gay. The punishment for same-sex activity is stoning, hanging and decapitation.

We must nor forget our brothers and sisters, who are jailed, beaten and murdered because of who they are.


http://www.towleroad.com/2007/05/iranian_police_.html

Can I just say this: we are not their 'brothers and sisters'--unless we're related to terrorists who would love nothing more than to see America's demise.

Two of my sons are in the Army and fighting the war against them, to help create a stonger, safer America tomorrow. Try showing some support by not suggesting they're the 'brothers' of the people who would just as soon see them dead as alive.

As for their anti-gay problems: who cares???? I mean, really: who cares?

I'm posting from America and would prefer you act like it also.

[dsdrane]

Can I just say this: we are not their 'brothers and sisters'--unless we're related to terrorists who would love nothing more than to see America's demise.

Two of my sons are in the Army and fighting the war against them, to help create a stonger, safer America tomorrow. Try showing some support by not suggesting they're the 'brothers' of the people who would just as soon see them dead as alive.

As for their anti-gay problems: who cares???? I mean, really: who cares?

I'm posting from America and would prefer you act like it also.

Here we go again.

Moderators, anyone?

This is a completely obnoxious post.

[kimmyd]

Obnoxious?

I call it honest.

Moderators or not, I stand by this.

[Zerbie]

Can I just say this: we are not their 'brothers and sisters'--unless we're related to terrorists who would love nothing more than to see America's demise.

Two of my sons are in the Army and fighting the war against them, to help create a stonger, safer America tomorrow. Try showing some support by not suggesting they're the 'brothers' of the people who would just as soon see them dead as alive.

As for their anti-gay problems: who cares???? I mean, really: who cares?

I'm posting from America and would prefer you act like it also.

This is absolutely uncalled for.

The world is not so black & white. Just because they were born in the middle east you believe they are terrorists? I think the ACTUAL terrorists believe WE are bad just because we were born over here. Don't become the very thing you despise.

[Daniel]

Can I just say this: we are not their 'brothers and sisters'--unless we're related to terrorists who would love nothing more than to see America's demise.

Two of my sons are in the Army and fighting the war against them, to help create a stonger, safer America tomorrow. Try showing some support by not suggesting they're the 'brothers' of the people who would just as soon see them dead as alive.

As for their anti-gay problems: who cares???? I mean, really: who cares?

I'm posting from America and would prefer you act like it also.

Kimmyd- I'm sorry that you do not seem to share the goals and aims of Soulforce, which is to respond nonviolently to the suffering of GLBT persons everywhere, not just here in the United States.

I don't don't know if you are a Christian, but Jesus taught us to treat others as we would like to be treated ourselves. And in light of his teaching, your comments above are highly intolerant and insensitive.

I pray for your sons safe return.

[kimmyd]

Kimmyd- I'm sorry that you do not seem to share the goals and aims of Soulforce, which is to respond nonviolently to the suffering of GLBT persons everywhere, not just here in the United States.

I don't don't know if you are a Christian, but Jesus taught us to treat others as we would like to be treated ourselves. And in light of his teaching, your comments above are highly intolerant and insensitive.

I pray for your sons safe return.


The thing is, those people have far more to worry about than intolerant gays. FAR more. Their biggest concern is surviving the day, gay or not. I do feel empathy for the innocent mid-east people suffering every day, but not about their sexual preferences at this point. To me, that is a rediculous subject to pity them about, when their biggest concern is walking home from a market without getting blown up. I don't think they need our support in their sexual preference issues as much as our prayers for their freedom and safety.

I am not a cold person, just a realistic one. Waging a campaign for gay rights in Iraq, right now, is just plain stupid, IMO. I support gay rights here and abroad. But let's not go overboard with this thing by bringing it to the mid-east. It just isn't the big issue in that regard.

[kimmyd]

This is absolutely uncalled for.

The world is not so black & white. Just because they were born in the middle east you believe they are terrorists? I think the ACTUAL terrorists believe WE are bad just because we were born over here. Don't become the very thing you despise.



I really don't care what ACTUAL terrorists think one way or the other, since they are murderous bastards.

That said, do not ever--and I mean EVER, Zerbie, warn me to not become a terrorist. Ever. I am a law-abiding AMERICAN and will be to the end.

[kimmyd]

Kimmyd- I'm sorry that you do not seem to share the goals and aims of Soulforce, which is to respond nonviolently to the suffering of GLBT persons everywhere, not just here in the United States.

I don't don't know if you are a Christian, but Jesus taught us to treat others as we would like to be treated ourselves. And in light of his teaching, your comments above are highly intolerant and insensitive.

I pray for your sons safe return.

Also, Daniel, thank you very much for what you said about my sons. I do appreciate that.

If, someday, things are safe enough in the mid-east to do so, I'd love to engage in the battle for their right to be gay. I just don't see that day coming any time soon.

[Daniel]

I am not a cold person, just a realistic one. Waging a campaign for gay rights in Iraq, right now, is just plain stupid, IMO. I support gay rights here and abroad. But let's not go overboard with this thing by bringing it to the mid-east. It just isn't the big issue in that regard.

Whether you are a cold person or not is not the issue here.

This thread is about anti-gay violence in the mid and near east. If you don't want to know about, you don't have you. With that in mind, I suggest to avoid this thread in the future.

[dsdrane]

No one is saying one thing outweighs another; any time a person's life is unnecessarily put in danger, we should make ourselves aware of it and do what we can to help.

One of the biggest responsibilities, in my view, that gay people and those who love them (and you know who you are :D) have is to bear witness to the crimes against "our own" because we've learned all too often that no one else will. That's what Daniel was doing (I believe) when he started this thread -- making us aware of crimes being committed. He did this because he knows I care and would want to know and that others care and would want to know.

The fact that you, kimmyd, don't care is irrelevant to me. What is not irrelevant is coming into "our house" and shooting your mouth off about the fact.

There are guidelines on this site, which I believe you've broken. I hope your privilege to post is revoked, but it is not my decision to make.

[kimmyd]

No one is saying one thing outweighs another; any time a person's life is unnecessarily put in danger, we should make ourselves aware of it and do what we can to help.

One of the biggest responsibilities, in my view, that gay people and those who love them (and you know who you are :D) have is to bear witness to the crimes against "our own" because we've learned all too often that no one else will. That's what Daniel was doing (I believe) when he started this thread -- making us aware of crimes being committed in. He did this because he knows I care and would want to know and that others care and would want to know.

The fact that you, kimmyd, don't care is irrelevant to me. What is not irrelevant is coming into "our house" and shooting your mouth off about the fact.

There are guidelines on this site, which I believe you've broken. I hope your privilege to post is revoked, but it is not my decision to make.

'Your house' is a chat-site where I am allowed to give my opinion as much as you are. If you view this site as a 'house', you need a more meaningful life.

Get over yourself. The drama isn't necessary.

[dsdrane]

'Your house' is a chat-site where I am allowed to give my opinion as much as you are. If you view this site as a 'house', you need a more meaningful life.

Get over yourself. The drama isn't necessary.

Read the guidelines.

You are incorrect; you are not allowed to say whatever you want.

[kimmyd]

Whether you are a cold person or not is not the issue here.

This thread is about anti-gay violence in the mid and near east. If you don't want to know about, you don't have you. With that in mind, I suggest to avoid this thread in the future.

What I suggest is that you don't make this a place where the only opinion allowed is a warm, snuggly, hugging one that every single person agreees with. That is not realistic.

If you don't want differing opinions, don't start threads. It's that simple. But when you open one and invite people to post, expect differing views.

I am not a robot who just agrees with everything poured down my throat.

[kimmyd]

Read the guidelines.

You are incorrect; you are not allowed to say whatever you want.


I am, if I am not cursing or otherwise attacking people. I am ABSOLUTELY allowed my opinion, if this site is opened in America.

I know the guidlines.

Do you?

[dsdrane]

You have been overly hostile to individuals as well as to Soulforce's goals of helping gay and lesbian people everywhere. And you've now implied a thread to Zerbie.

(See below.)

This has happened before.

However, as I said before, it is not my decision to make. I trust the moderators will take the appropriate steps.





Inappropriate Content

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Anti-Gay comments
We welcome people who are on the journey to understanding and accepting gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people. However obvious anti-gay comments will not be allowed in the public forums. Such comments are not merely opinions, but rather a way to demean and oppress GLBT people. Any posts deemed by the Soulforce staff to be anti-gay will be removed. First time offenders will always receive a warning via private message. Repeat offenders will lose both their right to post messages on any of the Soulforce Public Forums and also their right to send private messages to other members.

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Some homosexual persons claim to have experienced a change in their sexual orientation. Their stories are their stories and we should not try to change them if they are sincerely happy. With that said, however, the vast majority of these brothers and sisters entered "ex-gay ministries" or "reparative therapy" under the belief of a homosexual orientation being morally inferior and a heterosexual orientation being morally superior. Such a belief is a falsehood that is used by many to deny GLBT people equality in society and full membership in our churches. Thus the promotion of "ex-gay ministries" or "reparative therapy" is not permitted on the forums and will be handled as anti-gay comments.

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[Jamie McDaniel]

This thread is being closed for review. I am shocked at your first post kimmyd.

Also, I'll take this opportunity to mention a documentary titled Dangerous Living: Coming Out in the Developing World

Update
(5/22/2007 7:15PM EST)
This thread is being reopened.

[Daniel]

A Little History....



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Iran

History of LGBT Rights in Iran

There is a large amount of literature in Persian that explicitly illustrates the ancient existence of homosexuality among Iranians.

In Persian poetry, references to sexual love can be found in addition to those of spiritual/religious love. A few ghazals (love poems) and texts in Saadi's Bustan and Gulistan have been interpreted by Western readers as homoerotic poems. In some poems, Sa'di's beloved is a young man, not a beautiful woman. In this he followed the conventions of traditional Persian poetry. Sa'di's own attitude toward homosexuals was more negative than positive. In the Gulistan he stated, "If a Tatar slays that hermaphrodite / The Tatar must not be slain in return." Another story tells of the qazi of Hamdan whose affection towards a farrier-boy is condemned by his friends and the king, who eventually says: "Everyone of you who are bearers of your own faults / Ought not to blame others for their defects." [2] Many misinterpretations of Persian poetry also stem from distorted translations. In the Persian language, there exists only one word for "him/his" and "her". In English translations, the translator has to select one and assign a gender to the word.

Author Janet Afary, an associate professor at Purdue University, claims that "Classical Persian literature — like the poems of Attar (died 1220), Rumi (d. 1273), Sa’di (d. 1291), Hafez (d. 1389), Jami (d. 1492), and even those of the 20th century Iraj Mirza (d. 1926) — are replete with homoerotic allusions, as well as explicit references to beautiful young boys and to the practice of pederasty." She further states that "Professors of literature have been forced to teach that these extraordinarily beautiful gay love poems aren’t really gay at all and that their very explicit references to same-sex love are really all about men and women." She says that the 1979 revolution was partly motivated by moral outrage against the Shah's regime, and in particular against a mock same-sex wedding between two young men with ties to the court, and says that this explains the virulence of the anti-homosexual oppression in Iran.

~

Legal Status

Since the 1979 Iranian revolution, the legal code has been based on a conservative interpretation of Islamic Shari'a law. All sexual relations that occur outside of a traditional, heterosexual marriage (i.e. sodomy or adultery) are illegal and no legal distinction is made between consensual or non-consensual sexual activity. Homosexual relations that occur between consenting adults in private are a crime and carry a maximum punishment of death. Teenage boys as young as fifteen are eligible for the death penalty (see Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni). Approved by the Islamic Republic Parliament on 30/7/1991 and finally ratified by the High Expediency Council on 28/11/1991, articles 108 through 140 distinctly talk about homosexuality and its punishments in detail.

Male Homosexuality

Sodomy is a crime for which both partners can be punished by death, if the participants are adults, of sound mind and consenting; the method of execution is for the Shari'a judge to decide. A non-adult who engages in consensual sodomy is subject to a punishment of 74 lashes. (Articles 108 to 113) Sodomy is proved either if a person confesses four times to having committed sodomy or by the testimony of four righteous men. Testimony of women alone or together with a man does not prove sodomy. (Articles 114 to 119). "Tafhiz" (the rubbing of the thighs or buttocks) and the like committed by two men is punished by 100 lashes. On the fourth occasion, the punishment is death. (Articles 121 and 122). If two men "stand naked under one cover without any necessity", both are punished with up to 99 lashes; if a man "kisses another with lust" the punishment is 60 lashes. (Articles 123 and 124). If sodomy, or the lesser crimes referred to above, are proved by confession, and the person concerned repents, the Shari'a judge may request that he be pardoned. If a person who has committed the lesser crimes referred to above repents before the giving of testimony by the witnesses, the punishment is quashed.

Female Homosexuality

The punishment for female homosexuality involving persons who are mature, of sound mind, and consenting, is 100 lashes. If the act is repeated three times and punishment is enforced each time, the death sentence will apply on the fourth occasion. (Articles 127, 129, 130) The ways of proving lesbianism in court are the same as for male homosexuality. (Article 128) Non-Moslem and Moslem alike are subject to punishment (Article 130) The rules for the quashing of sentences, or for pardoning, are the same as for the lesser male homosexual offences (Articles 132 and 133) Women who "stand naked under one cover without necessity" and are not relatives are punished by up to 100 lashes.

Application of Laws

There are various reports of the death penalty being applied for homosexual conduct, and as this sentence has often been carried out against dissidents, it may be a tool to silence political dissent as much as to oppress homosexuals.

[Daniel]

I happened to watch Bill Moyer's program last week which featured Bruce Bawer who has written A Place at the Table and Stealing Jesus. On the program, Bawer talked about this new book While Europe Slept: How Radical Islam is Destroying the West from Within. It was a fascinating and alarming interview.


BRUCE BAWER: We're talking about a population that is growing very quickly. And it doesn't take long for five percent to turn to l0 to l5 to 20. If you have, you know, a native population that is decreasing quite rapidly, and an immigrant population that is growing quickly, you're going to see great changes very rapidly and that's something that people sometimes don't understand so well.

BILL MOYERS: So what is it about Muslims that make them outside the mainstream of assimilation, integration?

BRUCE BAWER: There's a problem with them living in enclaves. They've come to Europe and they've settled in their own communities-in closed communities. They've transported-- they've transferred their own societies essentially and social structures from the places they came from into Europe. It's a patriarchal society that exists within these modern democratic cities in Europe that we think of as the most advanced, progressive places on earth. And the contrasts between the ways in which some people in the city like Amsterdam live, and others do, is mind-boggling.

BILL MOYERS: When I read the book, I was thinking "Isn't there at the core of this an ideology as opposed to a theology?" Because there are so many Muslims who tell me they don't agree with that ideology.

BRUCE BAWER: I think it's fair to say that ideology really is the best word to use here, because I think it does make it very clear what we're dealing with. And one problem with the situation with Islam and Europe is that it is beginning to reawaken a lot of extreme right elements--

BILL MOYERS: How's that?

BRUCE BAWER: Who've responded to the presence of Muslims and not by turning to defend freedom and democracy and pluralism and secularism but by responding with a nativist intolerance toward any outsider. Toward, you know, the very ideas of outsiders and reclaiming their ethnic identity which is what got Europe in trouble in the first place. And that's a dangerous move.

BILL MOYERS: Bawer's book was a finalist for the prestigious National Book Critics Circle award, and it's been praised by many. But it's also been highly controversial. By throwing a light on the radical practices of some European Muslims, Bawer's been accused of xenophobia. THE ECONOMIST wrote that while he had revealed a real problem, he had cast "too wide a net."

Bawer says 'Let the reader decide.' He welcomes a debate about the conclusions he draws in his book, but says the facts will speak for themselves.

BRUCE BAWER: In Britain a poll by the Daily Telegraph showed that 40 percent of British Muslims support the idea of having Sharia Law.

BILL MOYERS: Which means?

BRUCE BAWER: Koranic Law in Britain

BILL MOYERS: Under Sharia law as you see it, and I know you're not a Muslim, but under Sharia law, what would happen to you as a gay man?

BRUCE BAWER: There are different interpretations. Some of them favor stoning. Some of them favor dropping a wall on you. There are disagreements about exactly which is the best method of execution.

BILL MOYERS: But I can hear many American Muslims saying "No, no, no. That's not what we're in America-that's not what we're about. He may be talking about a radical core of Islamic extremists. But we're in America because we don't agree with them."

BRUCE BAWER: Yeah, but when you have Sharia law, it's not run by people who are moderate and open minded. It's run by people who are judging according to what they read in the Koran and in their other holy books. And there are no questions about that as far as they're concerned.

~


BILL MOYERS: Are you still a Christian?

BRUCE BAWER: Yes.

BILL MOYERS: What does that mean when you say "I'm a Christian?"

BRUCE BAWER: Well, that's a good question. I'm-- I believe in the things that Jesus preached about. I believe in-- Jesus came to break down barriers between peoples. He came to preach a radical love. He came to break down taboos and to just destroy the pillarization that existed in his own time.

BILL MOYERS: Are you at peace with being gay and Christian? When in fact so many people say that's impossible?

BRUCE BAWER: I'm at peace with it myself, yeah. I'm constantly reminded that I'm not supposed to be, but I am.

BILL MOYERS: What about the members of the gay community who claim there is no such thing as gay and Christian? In fact, they equate Christianity with right wing homophobia.

BRUCE BAWER: Yeah, they do. And--

BILL MOYERS: What about those people? What do you say to them about your faith?

BRUCE BAWER: Well, I wrote a book about gay rights called "A Place At The Table", which came out in the early '90s. And I wrote about that. And it was in large part a very strong criticism of the religious right. But it was also a criticism of those in the gay community who feel that we should come out of-- we should come out of the closet only to climb into another closet where we're not allowed to be everything that we are. And we have to fit one certain little narrow mold that is defined by "gay leaders" or "gay community" or "gay activists" or what have you. And I think that it is-- it's all about being free. That's-- all my books really, ultimately are about being free. And in "A Place At The Table", I was writing about, in part, about my freedom to be gay and Christian.

BILL MOYERS: You write "It is not secular liberalism, but the truth of Christianity that strikes most penetratingly at the heart of what is wrong with the attitudes of reactionary Christians to homosexuality." What do you mean by that?

BRUCE BAWER: I mean that when you look at what Jesus preached as opposed to what a lot of our fellow countrymen preach nowadays, they-- they-- they-- that's not what Christianity is to me. Jesus' message is the strongest thing that gay people have going for us, I think, in terms of asserting our right to be ourselves.

BILL MOYERS: And that message is?

BRUCE BAWER: Is that God loves us for who we are and everything we are. And that is in all our wholeness.

BILL MOYERS: And yet you're caught between these worlds. I mean, secular Europe, as you describe it, is seething with Islamic fundamentalism, and America is home to a powerful right wing fundamentalism whose bigotry against gays is a major pillar of the Republican Party.

BRUCE BAWER: Yep

BILL MOYERS: Where does that leave you?

BRUCE BAWER: Between a rock and a hard place, I guess. It's not easy, no.

You can see the full transcript and video here:

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/05182007/watch3.html


In light of the interview and the message of the book, it was chilling to read this news.

http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=1&story_id=40185

"Moroccans throw gay man in water"
25 May 2007


AMSTERDAM – A 38-year-old Amsterdam man has reported that three Moroccan youth assaulted him on Thursday night and forced him to swim around in the water in the Rembrandt park for two hours as they threw sticks and branches at him.

"We had dinner at my mother's and I went home. My partner Alexander stayed a bit longer and as he was walking home at about 12.30 he was pushed to the ground by three Moroccan teenagers near the park," Jeroen Bulterman told the Telegraaf.

Alexander was then dragged into the park and his shirt and jacket were torn from him before he was thrown into one of the large ponds. "The boys stayed on the side of the water and threw branches and whatever else was at hand at him. My boyfriend had to try to avoid getting hit in the pitch dark and it's a miracle he wasn't hit."


The victim has had a complete breakdown. "He was scared to death, he heard the three talking to each other in Arabic and thought they planned to do the worst to him. Alexander feels he must have been swimming around in the pond for about two hours before a car with bright headlights arrived at the scene. The boys got scared and ran off," Jeroen said.

Police spokesperson Sita Koenders confirms the report. "It was a cowardly act and we have started a thorough investigation. We are looking into the reason behind this sickening treatment and are also looking into whether it was a hate crime." The police confirm that the man is very traumatised.

Jeroen said he doesn't know whether the incident had anything to do with the fact that Alexander is gay. "Maybe something like this has happened to other people recently and they haven't dared to file a report. I urge them to come forward, so that the police will have more information in tracking down the perpetrators."

[Copyright Expatica News 2007]

You can find the book here.

http://www.amazon.com/While-Europe-Slept-Radical-Destroying/dp/0385514727

[dsdrane]

Bill Moyers has got to be some modern-day prophet.

God, I love this man. :love::agree::applause::cookie:

[BenL]

Bill Moyers has got to be some modern-day prophet.

God, I love this man. :love::agree::applause::cookie:

For those who don't know ... Bruce Bower is an Episcopalian. He grew up with a mixed religious heritage, which his parents did not impose strenuously on him. He came to the Episcopal Church as an adult, an intellectual, and a gay man ... and found a home there. His writing is well researched and his
argumentation always provocative. He's one of the few voices willing to take on the conservative right on their own turf. He also wrote Stealing Jesus: how fuindamentalism betrays Christianity (New York: Three Rivers Press, 1997). In it, he lays out the history of the millennial movement and how it has become a central part of fundamentalism. An important book and a good read.

[BrentRichards]

Worth watching ... very powerful. Broadcast in February of this year in Canada. "Out in Iran"

Note that Iran offers gender reassignment as a "cure" for homosexuality ... apparently gay men are pressured to have the surgery because of their attraction to other men, NOT because they identify as transgendered!

Video in three parts beginning below:

[BrentRichards]

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[BrentRichards]

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[BrentRichards]

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[BrentRichards]

Thanks, Daniel, for starting this thread, and Jamie for reopening it.

I am continually dismayed by our western "tendency" to see our own issues as trumping the rest of the world's. The western media image of the middle east, and obviously our recent experiences of terrorism and war, have made most Americans completely and irrationally anti-Arab ... not unlike our reactions to the Japanese in WWII, just to name one parallel. We fail to recognize that people are suffering elsewhere in the world, and horribly so. Every American, at some point in his/her life, should take the time to travel in the developing world to get a clue about what we really have going for us in the West. You can never see things the same again, when you see how 2/3 of the world lives!

I'm also increasingly annoyed with the idea of it being the "wrong time" for freedom for anyone, anywhere in the world! As Dr. King said, the time is always right to do the right thing.

Middle East issues are close to my heart, having spent several months in Egypt and Palestine some years ago, and having followed the region closely ever since. Radical terrorists do not define this wonderful group of people ... the Arabs, Phonoecians, Persians, and others of the region know hospitality, selflessness, and generosity in a way that puts us to shame. Lumping them all under the heading of anti-American radical Islamists is too easy ... it allows us to not care about their suffering, and is DISTINCTLY un-Christian.

Rant over. Mostly.

Below (and as my new avatar ... you got me started, Daniel) is a piece of Arabic calligraphy (the Arabic language is an art form ... art in writing, poetry in speech) which reads "Mithli, Mithlak." It literally means "Like me, like you." A better translation for meaning is "We are alike." It is a solid reminder to us that all people are people, with needs and rights, and dreams and desires, and hopes of being loved! Moreover, it is an equality slogan that has been adopted by a gay equality organization serving Lebanon and Lebanese expatriot communities abroad. The first word, "mithli" (and the feminine form "mithliya") has been adopted as the Arabic equivalent of the English word "gay." No positive word for a homosexual person existed in the Arabic language. Usually, the word used was "luti" ... derived from the name "Lot" and roughly equivalent to the English word "sodomite."

If you have any interest in these issues, be sure to see the film Jamie previously recommended, "Dangerous Living: Coming Out in the Developing World."

[Zerbie]

17 of the 87 people who were arrested are still detained. Amnesty International suspects they are suffering abuses and possibly torture. They have put out an action alert. You can find a sample letter to email or print and mail, on Amnesty's website.

http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?c=jhkpixpcioE&b=2590179&aid=8715&refid=64025068&tr=y&auid=2724088

[Daniel]

Hey Batgirl,

The link ain't working. But I think this one will. ;) This is an excellent response to your- and Nathan's- prodding of 'what can we do?'

http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/index.aspx?c=jhKPIXPCIoE&b=2590179&template=x.ascx&action=8715

~

Wow Brent! Thanks for posting the vids! Sobering.

I agree. We can't know too much about other countries, and the plight of your brothers and sisters there. I've always been curious about other places since I lived in Spain as a child- which was under the finger of Franco at the time. Taught me that we do not see ourselves (as Amercians) as others see us. Have never forgotten that.

And look what's happened there! We can get married. You would have thought this would happen in Catholic Spain? But after the repression they experienced, it makes perfect sense. The pendulum swings the other way....eventually. We must do all that we can to nuture this kind of change both here and abroad.

Cool avatar!

[dsdrane]

Very cool avatar, Brent!

:cool::cookie:

[BrentRichards]

Why thank you. I also have the one below on a t-shirt ... it says "Mithli, Mithlak, w Salaam, w Kaboul" ... loosely, "Equality, Peace, and Acceptance."

[Jamie McDaniel]

Pakistan: Transgender Husband and his Wife Separated and Imprisoned

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6697527.stm

From an IGLHRC action alert (http://www.iglhrc.org/site/iglhrc/section.php?id=5&detail=734):

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) has been closely monitoring the case of a female to male transgender man and his female born wife who were hiding from family violence, turned to the court for help, and ended up in prison. Thirty-one year old Shumail Raj who has been a transgender man for 16 years and 26-year old Shahzina Tariq were married according to Muslim law in September 2006. In May 2007, Shahzina's father testified in court that Shumail was not a man. The judge ordered a medical examination, which showed that Shumail had undergone gender reassignment surgery to remove his uterus and breasts. On May 22, the Lahore High Court found the couple guilty of perjury and fined each of them 10,000 rupees and sentenced them to 3 years in prison. The court's reasoning was that Shumail was a woman who lied about being a man, and the couple lied about the legality of their marriage since two women in Pakistan cannot marry. Shumail and Shahzina are now serving their sentence in two separate women's prisons in two different cities.

[BrentRichards]

This after getting gender reassignment surgery right there in Pakistan ... presumably the surgery was legal? In Iran, as referenced in the film above, the government even helps pay for the surgery (after which the persecution continues according to normal procedure ...).

Check the link in Jamie's post for a photo of the husband ... they sent him off to a WOMEN's prison. Brilliant. Sigh.

Truthfully, though, we're not much more enlightened on transgender issues here in the good old US of A ... had a radio talk show on earlier because they were discussing the Girl Scouts allowing Lesbian leaders ... a caller started a discussion about transgender people too, and one of the guests on the show sneered that he could "just claim to be a woman," for example, to get lower car insurance rates, and how fair would that be? Jerk. Tell you what, get the surgery and we'll talk premiums, ok?

[Daniel]

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/06/061407iraq.htm


Rice Pressed On Iraqi Treatment Of Gays
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff

Posted: June 14, 2007 - 11:00 am ET

(Washington) Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is being urged to investigate reports that LGBT Iraqis are being rounded up by militias on the streets of Baghdad and murdered.

In a letter to Rice the two openly gay members of Congress - Rep Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) - cite a human rights report issued by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq that says from November 1 to December 31, 2006 there were open and violent campaigns against LGBT
Iraqis.

"According to news reports, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the chief spiritual leader of Iraqi Shia Muslims, issued a 'fatwa,' or religiously-inspired legal pronouncement, in October 2005 calling for death for all gays and lesbians in 'the most severe way possible,'" the letter says.

"While the fatwa was eventually removed from Sistani’s website last May, it was never revoked, and the decree has led to the deployment of anti-gay death squads by the military arm of the Supreme Council for the Islamic revolution in Iraq, the Badr Corps. As a result, violence against gay Iraqis surged in 2006," the letter goes on to say.

It also refers to a speech made by the leader of an exiled Iraqi LGBT rights group in London who said that hundreds of gay men and women have been murdered by the militias and the US-led coalition is doing little to stop the killings. (story)

Ali Hili said that the Badr and Sadr militias - the armed wings of the two main Shia parties that control the government of Iraq - are routinely rounding up men and women, primarily in Baghdad, suspected of being gay. The men and women are never heard from again, Hili said.

The letter from Frank and Baldwin tells Rice that the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq and one from the Institute for War and Peace "present a substantial body of evidence that LGBT Iraqis have been systematically targeted for violence by Islamic clerics and militias.

"Yet the 2006 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, released by the State Department this March, made no reference to any human rights violations in Iraq based on sexual orientation," the letter says.

The two Democrats are urging Rice to investigate the allegations and incorporate the findings in the annual human rights report.

"Furthermore, we urge you to utilize every diplomatic tool available to engage Prime Minister Al-Maliki and President Talabani and call on the Iraqi government to crack down on the systematic prosecution of Iraqi homosexuals," the letter says..

in January Iraq's government strongly criticized a U.N. report on human rights that put its civilian death toll in 2006 at 34,452, saying it is "superficial" because it included people such as homosexuals.

A State Department spokesperson decline to comment on the letter saying Rice had not yet received it.

©365Gay.com 2007

[BrentRichards]

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/06/061407iraq.htm

Sadly, this is likely to get lost in the blur of all the other death-squads, murders, insurgent attacks and ... Why do I have the feeling this won't be seen as "important enough" to deal with?

[Daniel]

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22532620-38201,00.html?from=public_rss


Men get 7000 lashes for sodomy
From correspondents in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
October 04, 2007 08:56pm
Article from: Agence France-Presse

TWO men in Saudi Arabia have been sentenced to 7000 lashes each after being convicted of sodomy and have received their first round of punishment in public, a newspaper said today.

The men, who were not identified, were meted out an unspecified number of lashes in public in the the southwestern city of Al-Bahah on Tuesday evening, the Al-Okaz daily reported.

They were then returned to prison where they are to be held until the full punishment is completed, the newspaper added, without saying how many sessions this would involve.

Homosexual acts are illegal in Saudi Arabia, which metes out strict punishment based on sharia, or Islamic law.

Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking can all carry the death penalty in the kingdom, with public beheading the common form of execution.

Such violence and hate.....it boggles the mind.

[Daniel]

We Feel Deserted By the International Gay Community” – Gay Iraqis

“Few People Seem to Care About Our Fate”

Three Iraq Safe Houses for Gays Forced To Close

LONDON and BAGHDAD, November 6, 2007 – Three out of the five gay safe houses for gay people in Iraq are being forced to close down, due to a lack of funds to pay their rent and utility bills, the London-based Iraqi LGBT revealed this afternoon.

The refuges were set up two years ago, to provide a place of safety for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Iraqis who have fled homophobic threats and attempts to kill them by religious fundamentalists and death squads.

“Iraqi LGBT has made a huge effort to keep all of its five safe houses running, to provide refuge for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Iraqis who have fled homophobic violence and threats to kill them,” said Ali Hili, founder and coordinator of the human rights group, Iraqi LGBT.

“Many of the people we helped have been targeted by the Iraqi police and by Shia militia and other fundamentalist factions.

“Because of a lack of funds, three safe houses have had to close their doors.

“This decision will break a lot of hearts, but we have no other choice. We don’t have the financial support to sustain these refuges.

“Over 30 gay residents who we cared for in these three safe houses now have to take their chances in a country where religious militia regularly seek out gays and execute them.

“Several months ago, two lesbians working with Iraqi LGBT were assassinated in the safe house they were running in Najaf, along with a young boy the women had rescued from the sex industry.

“We feel deserted by the international gay community. Few people seem to care about our fate,” Mr. Hili said.

“Many brave LGBT Iraqis assisted our efforts. We would like to acknowledge their exceptional commitment.

“Sabah, Gada, Sana and Mona are four lesbians who dedicated their time and energy to provide food, cleaning and support to people in the safe houses in their area.

“We’d also like to thank Hasan , Safa , Jawad, Laith , Gasaq and Rami,” said Mr Hilli.

Speaking from inside Iraq, Sabah, a 29 year old lesbian, who worked as a carer and ran a safe house in the south of Iraq, was distraught.

“The world has let us down so badly,” she said.

Safa is a gay man in the city of Ammara where he has been hiding for the last eight months from the police and Shia death squads

“Nowadays, we don’t dare be seen in the neighbourhoods where we used to live,” he said.

“It is too dangerous for anyone known to be gay or to have had a homosexual past,” he added.

Safa fled his hometown of Najaf because he was known to be gay and feared assassination.

“Iraqi LGBT is doing amazing, heroic work,” said Peter Tatchell of the UK-based gay human rights organisation, OutRage!

“It’s members inside Iraq are taking huge personal risks to protect the victims of homophobic persecution,” he pointed out.

“Their efforts are truly inspirational.

“I urge the international LGBT community to rally round and raise the funds needed to sustain the remaining two safe houses. Please give generously,” he urged.

Meanwhile, Iraqi LGBT blames the Western invasion and occupation of their country for unleashing religious fanaticism and causing the current homophobic killing spree:

“Much of the world failed to oppose the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and to prevent what has turned out to be the worst western intervention catastrophe in modern history,” added Mr Hili.

“The Iraqi gay community feels badly let down in our moment of need.

“Are gay people in the United States, Britain and Australia aware of what their governments have done to our country?

“Their armies invaded and occupied our land, destroyed the infrastructure of government, and created the chaos and lawlessness that has allowed religious fundamentalism to flourish and to terrorise woman and gay people.

“Violence against gays has intensified sharply since late 2005, when Iraq’s leading Shiite Muslim cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, issued a fatwa, or religious decree, which declared that gays and lesbians should be ‘killed in the worst, most severe way possible’.

“Since then, LGBT people have been specifically targeted by the Madhi Army, the militia of fundamentalist Shia cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, as well as by the Badr organisation and other Shia death squads. Badr is the military arm of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, which is one of the leading political forces in Baghdad's western-backed ruling coalition,” said Mr Hili.

Can you make a donation to help Iraqi lgbt sustain its magnificent efforts? YOU CAN MAKE AN ONLINE SECURE DONATION BY PAYPAL

OutRage! is working with Iraqi LGBT to support its work. Iraqi LGBT is coordinated by Ali Hili from the safety of London UK.

The group does not have its own bank account. Operating an Iraqi LGBT bank account in Baghdad would be suicide. For this reason, it has to operate its finances from London.

All the group’s members in London are Iraqi refugees seeking asylum. Their lack of proper legal status makes it impossible for them to open a bank account in the UK.

This is why Iraqi LGBT is asking that cheques be made payable to “OutRage!”, with a cover note marked “For Iraqi LGBT”, and sent to OutRage!, PO Box 17816, London SW14 8WT, England, UK.

OutRage! then forwards the donations received to Ali Hili and Iraqi LGBT for wire transfer to activists in Baghdad.

http://www.ukgaynews.org.uk/Archive/07/Nov/0602.htm

[Zerbie]

I am just trembling. These poor people are living out the most horrible nightmare.

I would gladly donate (but it would be a drop in the bucket amount,) if I knew where/how to make a small contribution in US dollars to their safe houses.

[Daniel]

I would gladly donate (but it would be a drop in the bucket amount,) if I knew where/how to make a small contribution in US dollars to their safe houses.


http://iraqilgbtuk.blogspot.com/

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr

[Daniel]

http://www.towleroad.com/2007/11/iranian-leader-.html


Notes from an Inter-Parliamentary Union meeting between British and Iranian leaders in May were recently released. The IPU is a peace body and part of the meeting concerned questions from the British PMs regarding the hangings of underage youths for the crime of homosexuality particularly the public executions of Mahmoud Asqari and Ayad Marhouni in 2005. Photographs of the disturbing execution were distributed widely across the internet.

The Times Online reports: "When the Britons raised the hangings of Asqari and Marhouni, the leader of the Iranian delegation, Mr Yahyavi, a member of his parliament’s energy committee, was unflinching. He 'explained that according to Islam gays and lesbianism were not permitted', the record states. 'He said that if homosexual activity is in private there is no problem, but those in overt activity should be executed [he initially said tortured but changed it to executed]. He argued that homosexuality is against human nature and that humans are here to reproduce. Homosexuals do not reproduce.'"

Yesterday, when the notes were released to the public, the British delegation head Labour MP Ann Clwyd said: "It is of great concern that these attitudes persist and we made it clear what we felt."

I'm glad the British spoke up about this issue. However, it seems that the response leaves a lot to be desired.

[paul]

Daniel,

What do you know of this and how confident are you of it's legitimacy? I too would be interested in donating to this if I could determine that. I trust you and your understanding of what goes on...what do you think? Are you endorsing this or just passing it on?
paul

[Daniel]

Daniel,

What do you know of this and how confident are you of it's legitimacy? I too would be interested in donating to this if I could determine that. I trust you and your understanding of what goes on...what do you think? Are you endorsing this or just passing it on?
paul

Good question.

My sense is that the organization is legitimate, having read of them before in related news, but I don't know for certain. Amnesty International may have some info on Iraqilgbtuk.

[Zerbie]

Oh, thanks for asking Paul - I meant to, and got distracted. The website looked rather like an individual's blog, so I didn't donate because I suspected it might not be genuine.

Can anyone find out if donations to the cause can be made via a known, reputable human rights organization?

[Daniel]

http://www.towleroad.com/2007/11/execution-of-ir.html


Execution of Iranian Gay Man Stayed Due to International Pressure

At the end of October, I posted about a report on the imminent execution of another gay man in Iran. Here's some good news. There are reports that because of international pressure from human rights groups and gay activists, an Iranian Chief Justice halted the execution.

"According to Human Rights Watch, three men complained to police in Sep 2006 that Makvan Mouloodzadeh had raped them seven years earlier. Mouloodzadeh was arrested and in May 2007, he was sentenced to death on charges of raping three boys when he was 13-years-old. He claims he was physically assaulted in prison, and forced to confess a crime he says he never committed. Iran's Chief Justice says the death sentence was in violation of Islamic teachings and the law, according to the ILGHRC."

Said Paula Ettelbrick, executive director of the New York-based International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission: "This is a stunning victory for human rights and a reminder of the power of global protest."

Earlier this week, a news report came out of Britain saying that Iranian leaders were still committed to hanging individuals for homosexual crimes.

[Daniel]

http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2007/11/27/42200.html


Hundreds protest turning Morocco into a "brothel"

Moroccan "bride" jailed for gay wedding

A wedding for a well-known gay man in Morocco ended with the colorful 'bride' behind bars, along with five other wedding guests, and sparked riots and calls for authorities to clamp down on gays in Moroccan society.

The Court of First Instance in the northern city of Al-Qasr Al-Kabir, where the wedding took place, handed down jail sentences to six people who participated in the lavish wedding ceremony, including the 'bride', Fouad, a well-known gay man who sells alcohol for a living.

The identity of the groom is still unknown, press reports said Monday, but a full investigation is underway.

The wedding, attended by scores of gays and lesbians, lasted two days and had many elements of a traditional Moroccan wedding.

The 'bride,' adorned with jewelry and full facial makeup, wore a green gown with a golden belt. His head was covered with a white scarf. For the second day's celebrations, which featured a musical performance, he changed into a yellow cloak.

A black bull – one of the gifts to the newlyweds – was slain to the celebratory sounds of cheers and ululations. Afterwards, the 'bride' knelt, filled his glass with the bull's blood, and drank it, one of the guests reported.

But the 'bride' turned himself into police after he was caught and beaten by protestors, the Moroccan newspaper Al-Tajdeed reported.



Indignation

More than 600 men and women took to the streets, chanting slogans condemning the city's leniency towards homosexuals and criticizing the couple's audacity to hold a gay wedding in the open.

An MP for the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD), Saeed Khairoun, said the wedding signaled the disintegration of Muslim values and was a flagrant violation of the society's traditions.

He called on the government to "combat those want to turn Morocco to a brothel."

Moroccan gays were recently allowed to found their own organization, which demands equal rights for homosexuals and aims to combat all forms of discrimination.

According to article 489 of the Moroccan Penal Code, homosexuality is illegal and is punishable by six months to three years in jail and a fine of 120 to 1,200 dirhams (15 to 155 dollars).

But the law is rarely enforced, and the sight of gay couples has become fairly common, especially in cities with large European expatriate communities like Tangiers, Marrakech, and Agadir.


(Translated from Arabic by Sonia Farid).

[Daniel]

http://www.towleroad.com/2007/11/execution-of-ir.html

The lastest news here....

http://www.towleroad.com/2007/12/iranian-man-exe.html


Iranian Man Executed Today Without Notice for Alleged Sex Crime

The execution of a 21-year-old Iranian man that was reportedly stayed due to international pressure in mid-November has happened.

"Mr. Makvan Mouloodzadeh was executed in Kermanshah Central Prison at 5 a.m. this morning, Iranian time." the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission reports:

"Mr. Mouloodzadeh was a 21-year-old Iranian citizen who was accused of committing anal rape (ighab) with other young boys when he was 13 years old. However, at Mr. Mouloodzadeh's trial, all the witnesses retracted their pre-trial testimonies, claiming to have lied to the authorities under duress. Makvan also told the court that his confession was made under coercion and pleaded not guilty. On June 7, 2007, the Seventh District Criminal Court of Kermanshah in Western Iran found him guilty and sentenced him to death. Despite his lawyer's appeal, the Supreme Court upheld his death sentence on August 1, 2007. The case caused an international uproar, and prompted a letter writing campaign by IGLHRC and similar actions by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Outrage! and Everyone Group. In response to mounting public pressure, and following a detailed petition submitted to the Iranian Chief Justice by Mr. Mouloodzadeh's lawyer, the Iranian Chief Justice, Ayatollah Seyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi, nullified the impending death sentence of Mr. Mouloodzadeh. In his November 10, 2007 opinion (1/86/8607), the Iranian Chief Justice described the death sentence to be in violation of Islamic teachings, the religious decrees of high-ranking Shiite clerics, and the law of the land. In accordance with Iranian legal procedure, Mr. Mouloodzadeh's case was sent to the Special Supervision Bureau of the Iranian Justice Department, a designated group of judges who are responsible for reviewing and ordering retrials of flawed cases flagged by the Iranian Chief Justice. However, in defiance of the Chief Justice, the judges decided to ratify the original court's ruling and ordered the local authorities to carry out the execution."

According to their report, "Neither Mr. Mouloodzadeh's family or his lawyer were told about the execution until after it occurred."

Said Paula Ettelbrick, IGLHRC's executive director: "This is a shameful and outrageous travesty of justice and international human rights law. How many more young Iranians have to die before the international community takes action?"

[NathanATX]

Those judges should all be put in prison for life.

[ladyinred]

Folks this is all the more reason why we don't want a theocracy here in the US. Most Iranians believe it or not want a democratic govt, they are digusted with the corruption of the now current govt and it's hardliners. They want a democracy but most do not want the US to stick their nose in their affairs or intervene. The economy in Iran is suffering and many Iranians are poor. Theocracy is characteristic of the govt there now.

[Daniel]

I am just trembling. These poor people are living out the most horrible nightmare.

I would gladly donate (but it would be a drop in the bucket amount,) if I knew where/how to make a small contribution in US dollars to their safe houses.

Zerbie- there is an article in today's NYTimes about this story. It would seem that the safe house is a real deal, as well as the website set up to obtain funds to run it and others.

God! This story makes me weep.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/18/world/middleeast/18baghdad.html?
_r=1&oref=slogin

http://iraqilgbtuk.blogspot.com/

Gays Living in Shadows of New Iraq


BAGHDAD — In a city and country where outsiders are viewed with deep suspicion and attracting attention can imperil one’s life, Mohammed could never blend in, even if he wanted to.

Mohammed, 37, has been openly gay for much of his adult life. For him, this has meant growing his hair long and taking estrogen. In the past, he said, that held little danger. As is true throughout the Middle East, men have always been publicly affectionate here.

But, at least until recently, Mohammed and many of his gay friends went one step further, slipping into lovers’ houses late at night. And, until the American invasion, they said, Iraqi society had quietly accepted them.

But being openly gay is not an option in the new Iraq, where the rise of religious extremism has left Mohammed and his gay friends feeling especially vilified.

In January, a United Nations report described the increased persecution, torture and extrajudicial killing of Iraqi lesbians and gay men. In 2005, Iraq’s most revered Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, issued a fatwa, or religious decree, calling for gay men and lesbians to be killed in the “worst, most severe way.”

He lifted it a year later, but neither that nor the recent ebb in violence has made Mohammed or his friends feel safe. They yearn to leave Iraq, but do not have the money or visas. They agreed to be interviewed on the condition that their last names not be used.

They described an underground existence, eked out behind drawn curtains in a dingy safe house in southwestern Baghdad. Five people share the apartment — four gay men and one woman, who says she is bisexual. They have moved six times in the last three years, just ahead, they say, of neighborhood raids by Shiite and Sunni death squads. Even seemingly benign neighborhood gossip can scare them enough to move.

“We seem suspicious because we look like a cell of terrorists,” said Mohammed, nervously fingering the lapel of his shirt. “But we can’t tell people what we really are. A cell, yes, but of gays.”

His hand drifted to his newly shorn hair. He had lopped it off days earlier. There had been reports of extremists stopping long-haired men, shearing their hair and forcing them to eat it.

It is impossible to say how many gay men and women face persecution in Iraq. According to an Iraqi gay rights group, run by a former disc jockey in Baghdad named Ali Hili who now lives in London, 400 people have been killed in Iraq since 2003 for being gay.

Set against the many thousands of civilians and soldiers killed in the war, the number is small. But for Mr. Hili, and Mohammed and his friends, it is a painful barometer of just how far Iraq has shifted from its secular past.

For a brief, exhilarating time, from the mid-1980s until the early 1990s, they say, gay night life flourished in Iraq. Whereas neighboring Iran turned inward after its Islamic revolution in 1979, Baghdad allowed a measure of liberation after the end of the Iran-Iraq war.

Abu Nawas Boulevard, which hugs the Tigris River opposite what is now the Green Zone, became a promenade known for cruising. Discos opened in the city’s best hotels, the Ishtar Sheraton, the Palestine and Saddam Hussein’s prized Al-Rasheed Hotel, becoming magnets for gay men. Young men with rouged cheeks and glossed lips paraded the streets of Mansour, an affluent neighborhood in Baghdad.

“There were so many guys, from Kuwait, from Saudi Arabia, guys in the street with makeup,” said Mr. Hili, who left Iraq in 2000. “Up until 1991, there was sexual freedom. It was a revolutionary time.”

Then came the Persian Gulf war, and afterward Saddam Hussein put an end to nightclubs. Iraq staggered under the yoke of economic sanctions. While antigay laws were increasingly enforced, Mohammed and Mr. Hili said they still felt safe. Homosexuality seemed accepted, as long as it was practiced in private. And even when it was not tolerated, prison time could be evaded with a well-placed bribe.

The American invasion was expected to usher in better times.

“We thought that with the presence of Americans, life would become paradise, that Iraq would be Westernized,” Mohammed said. “But unfortunately the way things were before was so much better than where we are now.”

One night shortly after Saddam Hussein fell, American soldiers burst into the apartment that Mohammed shared with his two brothers. They were looking for insurgents, but took one look at Mohammed, with his long hair and shapely body wrapped in a robe, and teased him, he said.

“What are you, a lady man?” he remembered them barking. “A boy? Or a girl?” They turned to one of Mohammed’s brothers, “Who is this?” they asked, “Your girlfriend?”

The news raced through Mohammed’s building. “All my neighbors came to know that I was gay,” he said. “My brother said, ‘Mohammed, leave the house; you can’t live here anymore.’”

He rented another apartment, and was soon joined by some gay friends. They moved nine months later, after suspicious neighbors began to talk. Nine months after that, they moved again. They came to rely on remittances sent by Mr. Hili, who raises money for them in London.

Mr. Hili taps a network of acquaintances in Baghdad to ferret out safe houses, and pays extra for landlords to alert him to possible trouble. He says he supports about 32 people.

Few work, though one of Mohammed’s roommates, Amjad, who is 33 and has manicured eyebrows and feathered hair, said he sometimes sleeps with an older man for money. “He loves me, but I hate him,” Amjad said. “He is jealous and ugly.”

One of Mohammed’s friends, a 25-year-old law student named Rafi, said he was especially desperate to get out of Iraq. It is a sentiment shared by millions of Iraqis, but Rafi believes his future here is especially bleak. The influence from Iran is growing, he said. And in Iran, homosexuality is often punishable by death.

“I want to get out, but not just out of Iraq, out of the Middle East,” Rafi said, “to a country that has respect for human rights. And for us.”

He paused, casting his eyes downward. “It will never be possible here.”

[antonyh]

I thought I would share this youtube:

uB7TcPGXlHY

[Daniel]

I read the following articles this morning via towleroad- and I have to say- it put the Presidential debates we watched last night into perspective.

http://www.towleroad.com/2008/09/coordinator-of.html


Coordinator of 'LGBT in Iraq' Group Assassinated in Baghdad
Yesterday, British gay activist Peter Tatchell of Outrage! wrote up an article about death squads who hunt down gay Iraqis and execute them, before releasing the following terribly sad statement:

"This morning, I received news from Iraq that the coordinator of Iraqi LGBT in Baghdad, Bashar, aged 27, a university student, has been assassinated in a barber shop. Militias burst in and sprayed his body with bullets at point blank range. He was the organiser of the safe houses for gays and lesbians in Baghdad. His efforts saved the lives of dozens of people. Bashar was a kind, generous and extremely brave young man – a true hero who put his life on the line to save the lives of others. My thoughts go out to his loved ones and to the other members of Iraqi LGBT. Their courage is an inspiration to all people everywhere fighting against injustice."


Tatchell's article in the Guardian is below. For the original with important links see:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/sep/25/iraq.humanrights


Sexual cleansing in Iraq

Islamist deaths squads are hunting down gay Iraqis and summarily executing them.

The "improved" security situation in Iraq is not benefiting all Iraqis, especially not those who are gay. Islamist death squads are engaged in a homophobic killing spree with the active encouragement of leading Muslim clerics, such as Moqtada al-Sadr, as Newsweek recently revealed.

One of these clerics, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, issued a fatwa urging the killing of lesbians and gays in the "most severe way possible".

The short film, Queer Fear – Gay Life, Gay Death in Iraq, produced by David Grey for Village Film, documents the tragic fates of a several individual gay Iraqis. You can view it here. Watch and weep. It is a truly poignant and moving documentary about the terrorisation and murder of Iraqi lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

Since this film was made, the killings have continued and, many say, got worse. For gay Iraqis there is little evidence of the transition to democracy. They don't experience any newfound respect for human rights. Life for them is even worse than under the tyrant Saddam Hussein.

It is a death sentence in today's "liberated" Iraq to love a person of the same sex, or for a woman to have sex outside of marriage, or for a Muslim to give up his or her faith or embrace another religion.

The reality on the ground is that theocracy is taking hold of the country, including in Basra, which was abandoned by the British military. In place of foreign occupation, the city's inhabitants now endure the terror of fundamentalist militias and death squads.

Those who are deemed insufficiently devout and pure are liable to be assassinated.

The death squads of the Badr organisation and the Mahdi army are targeting gays and lesbians, according to UN reports, in a systematic campaign of sexual cleansing. They proudly boast of their success, claiming that they have already exterminated all "perverts and sodomites" in many of the major cities.

You can view photos of a few of the LGBT victims of these summary executions
here and here.

My friends in Iraq have relayed to me the tragic story of five gay activists, who belonged to the underground gay rights movement, Iraqi LGBT.

Eye-witnesses confirm that they saw the men being led out of a house at gunpoint by officers in police uniform. Yes, Iraqi police! Nothing has been heard of the five victims since then. In all probability, they have been executed by the police – or by Islamist death squads who have infiltrated the Iraqi police and who are using their uniforms to carry out so-called honour killings of gay people, unchaste women and many others.

The arrested and disappeared men were Amjad 27, Rafid 29, Hassan 24, Ayman 19 and Ali 21. As members of Iraq's covert gay rights movement, for the previous few months they had been documenting the killing of lesbians and gays, relaying details of the murders to the outside world, and providing safe houses and support to other gay people fleeing the death squads.

Their abduction is just one of many outrages by anti-gay death squads. lslamist killers burst into the home of two lesbian women in the city of Najaf. They shot them dead, slashed their throats, and also murdered a young child who the women had rescued from the sex trade. The two women, both in their mid-30s, were members of Iraqi LGBT. They were providing a safe house for gay men on the run from death squads. By sheer luck, none of the men who were being given shelter in the house were at home when the assassins struck. They have since fled to Baghdad, and are hiding in an Iraqi LGBT safe house there.

Large parts of Iraq are now under the de facto control of the militias and their death squad units. They enforce a harsh interpretation of sharia law, summarily executing people for what they denounce as "crimes against Islam". These "crimes" include listening to western pop music, wearing shorts or jeans, drinking alcohol, selling videos, working in a barber's shop, homosexuality, dancing, having a Sunni name, adultery and, in the case of women, not being veiled or walking in the street unaccompanied by a male relative.

Two militias are doing most of the killing. They are the armed wings of major parties in the Bush and Brown-backed Iraqi government. The Mahdi army is the militia of Moqtada al-Sadr, and the Badr organisation is the militia of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), which is the leading political force in Baghdad's governing coalition. Both militias want to establish an Iranian-style religious dictatorship. The allied occupation of Iraq is bad enough. But if the Mahdi or Badr militias gain in influence and strength, as seems likely in the long-term, it could result in a reign of religious terror many times worse.

Saddam Hussein was a bloody tyrant. I campaigned against his blood-stained misrule for nearly 30 years. But while Saddam was president, there was certainly no danger of gay people being assassinated in their homes and in the street by religious fanatics.

Since his overthrow, the violent persecution of lesbians and gays is much worse. Even children suspected of being gay are abducted and later found shot in the head.

Lesbian and gay Iraqis cannot seek the protection of the police, since the police are heavily infiltrated by fundamentalists, especially the Badr militia. The death squads can kill with impunity. Pro-fundamentalist ministers in the Iraqi government are turning a blind eye to the killings, and helping to protect the killers. Some "liberation".

Iraqi LGBT is appealing for funds to help the work of their members in Iraq. Since they don't yet have a bank account, they request that cheques should be made payable to "OutRage!", with a cover note marked "For Iraqi LGBT", and sent to OutRage!, PO Box 17816, London SW14 8WT.

[Daniel]

http://www.towleroad.com/2009/04/report-iraqi-militia-killing-gay-men-with-painful-form-of-anal-torture.html

[keltic63]

that's just not what I needed to know this morning. how sad, how painful, and troubling to know that there are those in this country who would think that this is what we deserve.

[Zerbie]

Someone please tell me Amnesty is hearing about this and will do something? Otherwise, what can be done from over here?

The only thing new about this news is the technique - the torture and murder is not new, nor does it surprise me. But what can stop this?

[Daniel]

http://wockner.blogspot.com/2009/04/polis-iraqi-glbt-executions-have-begun.html

Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Polis: Iraqi GLBT executions have begun

Of the five or six members of Iraqi LGBT who reportedly have been sentenced to death in Baghdad for belonging to a supposedly banned organization, one has escaped custody and one has been executed, says U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo.

According to Polis, the "egregious human rights violations" are "being carried out by Iraqi government officials from the Ministry of the Interior."

"While I do not know if these executions are being sanctioned at the highest levels of the Iraqi government, it is nonetheless disturbing that government officials and state-funded security forces are involved in the torturing and execution of LGBT Iraqis," Polis wrote to Patricia Butenis, the chargé d'affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Iraq.

Polis said the U.S. government "appears to be largely unaware that the executions of gay and transgender Iraqis have been able to occur in Iraq" and has expressed an "unwillingness to seriously consider these allegations and examine the evidence (from) international human rights watchdog organizations."

Reports of the pending executions were first brought to light by Iraqi LGBT founder Ali Hili, who launched the group in London after escaping Iraq.

In a recent phone interview, Hili said he isn't sure what statute might make belonging to a banned organization a capital offense.

"That's what they have been told by a judge in a brief court hearing," he said. "I don't think this is in the Iraqi constitution as a death penalty (crime). The court is ... kangaroo-style. It was brief and people weren't able to present legal representation or defend themselves in that kind of court. Our information is that these five members have been convicted to death for running activities of a forbidden organization on Iraqi soil."

Scott Long, director of Human Rights Watch's LGBT Rights Division, said: "We are trying urgently to determine who they (the condemned men) are and what has happened. ... Together with other groups, members of Congress and concerned activists, we're doing everything we can to investigate and determine who's jailed and what their fates may be. The Iraqi government and the U.S. government must both investigate these charges immediately."

At press time, Long was in Iraq attempting to learn more.

In addition to the uncertainty over what death-penalty crime the condemned men could have been charged with, it also is unclear if gay sex is illegal in Iraq. Some news reports have said it isn't, some have said the punishment is up to seven years in prison, and some have said engaging in gay sex is a capital crime. A lengthy Wikipedia entry on the question reflects the confusion.

The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association's quasi-definitive report "State-Sponsored Homophobia - A world survey of laws prohibiting same sex activity between consenting adults" says: "Iraq reinstated the Penal Code of 1969 after the American invasion in 2003. The Penal Code does not prohibit sexual activities between consenting adults of the same sex. However, as the country is under war, and law enforcement is not functioning properly, death squads operate in the country, killing homosexuals."

[Daniel]

So- it is their religious duty to kill gay men.


Alleged Executioner of Gay Men in Iraq Speaks of Killings

English language newspaper The National, based in Abu Dhabi, reports on the recent executions of gay men in Iraq.

Sadrcity They interview a man they call Abu Muslim, who claims to be involved in the actual killings:

“We see this [homosexuality] as a serious illness in the community that has been spreading rapidly among the youth after it was brought in from the outside by American soldiers. These are not the habits of Iraq or our community and we must eliminate them...We had approval from the main Iraqi tribes here to liquidate those [men] copying the ways of women. Our aim is not to destabilise the security situation. Our aim is to help stabilise society...Although the Mahdi Army is today limited and in fact stalled, we cannot sit by with our arms crossed while these homosexuals flout the rules and ethics that must be followed under the Islamic religion. These homosexuals think that Iraq is changing and becoming a non-Muslim, liberal society but our tribal and religious customs allow us to punish them in the most severe way."

They also speak with Hayder al Mousawi, an imam at the Hussein mosque in the Karada neighbourhood of Baghdad: “The truth is that the homosexual brings shame on them so how can God be angry with them for killing the homosexual? On the contrary, in killing the homosexual they are carrying out God’s will.”

Park And a doctor at Al Shaab hospital, Taher Mustafa, tells the paper that he knows of at least three men brought in recently that he thinks were killed because they were gay: “We had bodies in, they were of men between 17 and 25 years old and they’d either been shot or burnt to death. It’s good that people are beginning to get freedoms they’ve been deprived of for a long time, but the youth here have to understand that they are living in a society that is governed by traditions and religious customs, and that still has militias to enforce them. It is unacceptable that people are murdered in the streets for any reason, or for these gangs to behave as if they are the law,. As the national security system gets stronger, this will stop.”

They also speak with a 23-year-old gay Iraqi national who says he has received anonymous phone calls with threats to kill him: “It is our right to live as we see fit and it is the responsibility of the Iraqi government to protect us and that right, as citizens. Just because we are not practising Muslims does not mean that we can be treated as if we are not human beings. We all know homosexuals are killed here. They get murdered by firing squads, but only after they’ve been tortured. There’s a large waste dump in al Shaab and that’s where the bodies are left.”

[Daniel]

I really do.

This is what American forces are defending in Iraq? The ability of militias to kill gay and effeminate looking men?

I boggles the mind. It really does.

http://www.towleroad.com/2009/07/paper-executions-of-gays-a-sign-of-power-for-iraqi-militias.html

Paper: Executions of Gays a Sign of Power for Iraqi Militias

USA Today has posted a frightening piece about the ongoing executions of gays in Iraq by militias hungry to show signs that they are still powerful despite U.S. and Iraqi efforts to banish them. Says Mithal al-Alusi, a secular, liberal Sunni legislator: "Why did Hitler start with gays? They are weak. They have no political cover. They have no legal cover."

An excerpt:

Sadrcity"The militias usually send out warnings before they attack. Posters go up in Sadr City listing the offenders — gay and flashy straight men — by name and neighborhood. 'If you don't give up what you are doing,' said a recent one seen by a USA TODAY reporter, 'death will be your fate. And this warning will come true, and the punishment will be worse and worse.' The poster referred to the offenders as 'puppies,' the fundamentalist epithet for gays here. 'In Arabic culture, if you want to insult someone you call them a dog,' human rights activist Yanar Mohammed says. 'If you're a small dog, you can just be crushed.' Among those listed was a young man named Allawi Hawar, a local soccer star who incurred the wrath of the militias by wearing his hair long and partying with his friends in Sadr City cafes. Hawar was playing pool one day last month when two masked men drove up on a motor scooter. One climbed off and made his way inside the cafe, clutching a pistol. 'We have something to deal with,' he announced to startled patrons, according to witness Emad Saad, 25. The gunman grabbed Hawar and dragged him outside. Then he shot the young athlete in the leg. After Hawar crumpled to the ground, bleeding, the gunman shot him again and killed him, Saad says. The militiamen pick their targets by entering cafes and looking for men who appear feminine or too showy, Saad says. Then they ask around to get the offenders' names, and later put them on the death lists distributed around town."

[Gennee]

Kimmyd, as a veteran myself I do see your point. However we need to remember that the vast majority of people in these countries are not terrorists. Did you know that there are Christians in these countries who are brutalized, tortured and murdered? It's not written about much but it is happening.

I'm against anyone who seeks to murder, maim and kill no matter where they come from. I actually welcome your opinion. I would like to discuss it further.

Gennee

:love:

[RedneckDyke]

I wasn't here in 07 so I missed the first time this was talked about. I think people could have handled it a little better in regards to the mother of the soldiers. Maybe something like this, "You got it right that there are terrorists over there. The religous zealots who are attacking us and want Sharia law are the same ones who oppress gays. They also oppress women and even stone them for looking at men."