Prisoners of Sex: Gay Life in Egypt

[Daniel]

This article, which appears in the New York Times this morning is both frightening and disturbing. It details, among other things, how gay people in Egypt are being used as pawns in a clash of cultures as well as deserving of punishment.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/03/ma...rtner=homepage

“There is nothing clear about homosexuality in the Koran,” Hassan said. “It reads that the man who does it should be hurt. What does it mean ‘to be hurt’? In the Arabian peninsula they used a stick the size of this pencil (he raises my pencil) to punish men. It’s not like thievery or adultery. And anyway the Prophet was promised boys in heaven. Not girls.”

“I read that one should have their head cut off or be thrown from a mountain,” Mo continued.

Hassan disagreed: “There is no explicit punishment for gays in the Koran.”

Mo countered, “The problem is not the punishment, it is the scandal.”

Hassan, looking triumphant, told us that Pope Shenouda III, the head of Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church, had also spoken out against homosexuality. (Most famously, in 1990, he asked, “What rights are there for homosexuals?”) “It’s more complicated than you think,” Hassan said to Mo.

Countless interpretations of the story of the prophet Lot — the source of much of the commentary on homosexuality in Islam, as well as in Judaism and Christianity — have been offered. Ambiguities abound, and while there is no consensus on where Islam stands, popular and legalistic reinterpretations take liberties in selecting the bits that suit particular worldviews — whether they are liberal or intolerant. In October of last year, the Iraqi Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani issued a fatwa against homosexuals on the Arabic-language version of his Web site. It was inexplicably removed last May (some say international outrage swayed the image-conscious cleric). And while Al-Qaradawi did call homosexuals sexual perverts, he also noted “there is disagreement” over punishment.

[Zerbie]

Well Daniel you do already know that some countries operate under a Sharia law, which punishes gay people - I assume you know that.

Amnesty International speaks out against cruel and inhumane treatment of gay people as "prisoners of conscience." I get their action alerts from time to time. If you search on AI, you can sign up to get alerts so you can join the campaign against international human rights violations, and you can sign up with a specific interest in lesbian/gay concerns.

[Daniel]

Originally Posted by Zerbie

Well Daniel you do already know that some countries operate under a Sharia law, which punishes gay people - I assume you know that.

Yes. A hand here, a hanging there. Iran has been very violent towards gays this past year. I support Amnesty International.

The Times article suggests that reporting by western human rights organizations have put a stop to arrests for the time being. A good thing! However, it also notes that fundamentalism is on the rise in Egypt.