Gay Life – and Death – in the Arab World
Persecution of homosexuals increases in the Middle
East
Utne
Reader, February 5, 2002
By Kate Garsombke,
Gays and lesbians living in the Arab world are struggling
against an alarming wave of government persecution, according to human rights
groups. But a growing network of progressive-minded Muslims is beginning to
fight back.
As Penny Dale of One World Africa reports, eight Egyptian
men were arrested for the “practice of debauchery” on January 19, and gay
rights groups fear the men may be tortured while in jail.
It’s a “steadily growing pattern of persecution,”
claims the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), a
U.S.-based group that has decried the persecution of gays and people with HIV
and AIDS worldwide.
Last year in Cairo, for example, 23 of 52 men convicted
of “obscene behavior” were sentenced to five years of hard labor. Then, in
December, two Egyptian university students who had responded to an undercover
agent’s request for gay contacts in an Internet chat room were sentenced
under the same law.
And Saudi Arabia punishes convicted homosexuals with the
death penalty— most recently on January 1, when three Saudi Arabian men were
executed. The trial proceedings remain secret, according to the IGLHRC, and
Amnesty International claims the executions may be part of the government’s
“determination to continue its appalling yearly rate of executions.”
“The pattern is the same,” says IGLHRC Program
Director Scott Long. “People suspected of homosexuality are picked up and
accused of prostitution. Police use informers and the Internet to entrap
victims.”
Homosexuality is not explicitly prohibited under Egyptian
law, but statutes are based on Sharia, or Islamic law—which condemn it as an
immoral act. According to the Al-Fatiha Foundation, an international group for
gay Muslims, homosexuality is seen as sinful and perverted in most Islamic
countries based on verses in the Qu’ran.
But although mainstream Islam condemns homosexuality, the
Al-Fatiha Foundation site claims “there is a growing movement of
progressive-minded Muslims who see Islam as an evolving religion that must
adapt to modern-day society.”
Groups like the Al-Fatiha Foundation and the Gay and
Lesbian Arab Society lead the way with others, like the IGLHRC and Amnesty
International in opposing the persecution of homosexuals in Arab countries.
The IGLHRC publishes online action alerts urging people to send letters to
governments in which persecution of gays exists.
Related Links:
International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission:
The IGLHRC is a non-governmental organization that responds to human rights
violations of GLBT people and anyone living with HIV or AIDS. (http://www.iglhrc.org)
Al-Fatiha Foundation: An international foundation based
in Washington, D.C., the Al Fatiha Foundation is dedicated to Muslim GLBT
issues by providing news, discussion groups, and background information on
Islam’s view of homosexuality on their Web site. (http://www.al-fatiha.net)
Ahbab, the Gay and Lesbian Arab Society: Claiming to be
the “first gay Arab radio station,” the New York-based Ahbab features
news, articles, and essays about gay Arabs. (http://glas.org/ahbab)
Bint el Nas: In Arabic, the phrase “Bint el Nas”
literally means “daughter of the people,” and is used to describe a woman
or girl of good standing. The Bint el Nas Web site and its e-zine is designed
for gay, bisexual, and transgender women who identify themselves ethnically or
culturally with the Arab world, regardless of where they live. (http://www.bintelnas.org)
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