Anti-gay Iran, Iraq, Afganistan etc

[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/artic...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-S.../dp/0385514727

[dsdrane]

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

God, I love this man.

[BenL]

Originally Posted by dsdrane

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

God, I love this man.

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]

[BrentRichards]

[BrentRichards]

[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/sit...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/sit...cx&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!

[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:

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]

Originally Posted by Daniel

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...rom=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.