Middle East Gay Journal

I'm Coming Back

2006-08-31T00:03:00.000+03:00

I will start updating this again, I promise!

I'm moving to Chicago, I've decided....going to get a job there, perhaps. See what life has in store.

I plan to start updating this site hard-core in one week.

Gay Jewish Porn Actor to Visit Israel

2006-08-19T20:20:00.000+03:00

PinkNews recently reported that Michael Lucas, a Jewish-American porn actor, will be visiting Israel to offer a live show to entertain the troops. A quote:

His claim to be entertaining the troops will not be sanctioned by the Israeli army. Instead he offers free entry to soldiers attending his ‘performance’ in a Tel-Aviv nightclub.

And another:

Lucas also hopes his trip will bring awareness to the plight of gay people caught up in the current conflict:

"People need to see the faces of war, and I plan to shed light on the world where gay Israel exists," he writes.

"I will expose the reality that the people of Israel face right now, especially that of gay Israelis who are targeted by the hate of Hezbollah."

I was infuriated when I read this, and I didn't know why. It's great that he's going there to entertain, and it's great that such a show is accepted in Israel. I am competely supportive of that.

But the last lines irritate me immensely; they are inappropriate and uneducated. Gay rights are an international issue, and should not be confused with nationalist, ethnic, or religious conflicts.

Hizbullah has not been attacking Israel because of Israel's comparative support of gay rights, and Israel has not been attacking Lebanon in some spectacular defense of gay rights.

Going to entertain the troops is one thing, but going to ally gay rights with a national cause is wrong on many levels.

Arrests at a Gay Wedding in KSA

2006-08-19T19:17:00.000+03:00

I know posts have been scarce recently; I've been traveling around Connecticut and New York with my sister. I've been trying to decide what to do. I don't think I'm going to return to Lebanon right now, I'll see what's in store for me here first. I think I'm going to go to Chicago; I have friends there. Then I'll go back to my old twice-per-day posting routine. I hve a lot to say, anyway.

In the past few days, there have been reports in the Western media about arrests of gay men in Saudi Arabia, starting with South Africa's Independent Online. It says it's from al-Watan, but I don't know if it's al-Watan from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, or even al-Watan al-Arabi, and I don't feel like searching for it to compare the English with the Arabic. A quote:

Saudi authorities arrested 20 young men after raiding a suspected gay wedding in the southern town of Jizan, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The detainees, who were among some 400 men attending "the wedding party of two men" on Tuesday, had been "emulating women," the Al-Watan paper said.

In all, some 250 people were detained in the police raid on the party but the rest were later released.

Police had "arrested the wanted people and released those who have nothing to do with the matter," the paper quoted a police commander as saying.

Some guests were also seen chewing qat, an illegal narcotic widely used in neighbouring Yemen, on a hill above the square where the party was being held, Al-Watan said.

This really isn't surprising. Gay people being arrested, and homosexuality being linked to socially unacceptable (at least on the surface) vices such as drug use and femininity. I mean, the guests were probably using qat as al-Watan states. But who doesn't? That's like reporting young men in Morocco for smoking kif or Egypt for shisha.

It's all demonization. People who themsleves have used qat will act outraged at the use of others, when really they're attacking something else - a commonly-used tactic. There's an extremely few people who will stand up for the rights of gay people in the Middle East to live unbothered, especially when they are portrayed as effeminate drug users.

I hope the media will cover what happens to these young men. If the fact that the story's barely been touched b Western media is any indicator, however, I don't expect to see too much more of this story, unless they're publicly hanged - doubtful after the Iran scandal.

One question - why isn't the gay media pouncing on this? Why did they pounce on Iran and not KSA? Saudi Arabia has an equally horrible gay rights record. I don't evern want to think about the discrepancy; my mind gets carried away with conspiracy, bias, and unscrupulous foreign policy.

Hizbullah Defeats "Gay" Israeli Army, WorldNetDaily Bogus?

2006-08-17T20:31:00.000+03:00

I've been M.I.A. for a few days, roaming the countryside with my sister, and this is what I come back to? WorldNetDaily yesterday reported that al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade leader Abu Oudai came out with a gay slur in his exaltation of Hizbullah's victory. The article, "Hezbollah defeated 'gay' Israeli soldiers" is long, but the gay quote only a few lines. Here it is, from the fourth paragraph:

"If we do [what Hezbollah accomplished], this Israeli army full of gay soldiers and full of corruption and with old-fashioned war methods can be defeated also in Palestine."

You would think Im angry, but I'm not...I'm nonplussed. Something is wrong here. I first became suspicious when the title of the article makes it seem like the article will be about gay issues, when they truly play a very minor role in the article. This made me wonder...was the title only there for shock value?

You have WorldNetDaily, a newssite that has ads for Ann Coulter and whose readers have repeatedly chosen the infinitely aggregious book The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades) as one of their favorite books.

Can you trust this news source?

Also, look up Abu Oudai on the web...the only people he's ever talked to are WorldNetDaily. So, essentially, a leader of a terrorist group in the West Bank decides to talk to the media and chooses a small, anti-Islamic news organization to pledge allegiance to? Unlikely.

Honestly, I don't think Abu Oudai exists...and I don't think that the articles in WorldNetDaily are legitimate. There's nothing in Arabic to back up Abu Oudai's existence. Abu Oudai conveniently says exactly what we think he'll say, and is often the only Palestinian source in WorldNetDaily's articles. I might understand using Abu Oudai to discuss Palestinian issues, but Hizbullah? Is WorldNetDaily unable to pick up a phone and call Lebanon? Faulty journalism.

I find it funny that the other news organizations that picked up the story, such as Ynetnews (which often takes from WorldNetDaily), PinkNews, and Gay.com didn't question the source. Were they just happy to see what they wanted to see?

In America

2006-08-09T23:08:00.000+03:00

I made it to America, and now I'm in Queens, NY with my sister. For a bit. I'll probably go somewhere else. I'm not really in the mood to post right now, but I'm getting back to it.

First, some interesting things:

At the customs in Newark International Airport, I was kept for a few hours, being questioned over and over again. One officer would ask me a few questions, go away, and be replaced by another who would start all over again. Painful. One word that was mentioned that seemed crazily inaccurate: Taliban. I'm coming from Lebanon, not Afghanistan. Granted, to some people, they may sound similar - they both have "an" in the second syllable. But, as far as I know, they're not the same country, and they're not in the same region. I could be wrong.

In Cyprus, I went to a gay bar on the Greek side one night. I took a taxi into town. When I got there, the driver asked me where I wanted to get out, implying that he would take me there. I told him the gay bar of Limassol, called Allelum. He pulled over immediately, asked for 3 pounds, and drove away. I knew I was near it, but I got lost - I'm no good at reading Greek. What I found is that Cypriots, when I met them, were so very nice to me. They asked where I was from, how I was doing, if I had a beautiful sister. Then I started asking directions to the gay bar. They told me, but shut down and were very cold. There was no conversation after that.

I spent a night two expatriates, one Iranian and one Irish. It was an interesting night, and I got a bit too drunk. We ended up on a pier, sitting on a bench. Just sitting. A car pulled up, and they stood up quickly - they were worried the police might cause trouble for us. An interesting thing about Cyprus: the laws may have been changed to be pro-gay in order to please the European Union, but no one has told the police. Cyprus is a very conservatice country, to put it lightly, and will be dragged kicking and screaming to the modern social policy of the E.U.

It's probably a good example of the situations in a lot of countries - the laws don't tell you much. Just because homosexuality is legal or illegal doesn't predict the situation for gay people in actual day-to-day life. Egypt, for example, has no laws against homosexuality. But it's not a gay haven. In Morocco, there are laws against homosexuality. But it's not nearly as bad.

Unfortunately, there's not a lot of coverage on normal gay life in many countries outside of Europe and North America. Many times, all that people have to reference are laws, treaties, and speeches of political and religious leaders. It's less than half the picture.

Gay Iranians Show Thanks for Protest

2006-08-09T22:43:00.000+03:00

I'm a bit behind because of the travel, but here's something interesting. MAHA, an e-mail-based magazine for gay people in Iran (not having a website means the government can't shut it down) sent out the following letter on August 6:

We note some differences of opinion in the international lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) movement about how to best support LGBT people in Iran. We would like to express our view, and we believe that a great number of our readers share our opinion. Iranian society has developed despite the oppression. The demand for democracy and human rights is growing in our country.

We believe that the human rights of Iranian women, students, workers and LGBT people are not western phenomenon but aspects of universal human rights and are important for human freedom, dignity and fulfilment in Iran – and everywhere.

Despite all our difficulties and dangers, the Iranian LGBT community is getting more and more informed and is expressing its demand for human rights. We identify as LGBT people and want the same freedoms that LGBT people worldwide want.

Let no one claim there is not homophobic oppression in Iran. Every LGBT Iranian is at potential risk of arrest, imprisonment, flogging and execution. Avoiding such a fate requires leading a double life and hiding one’s sexuality. Even though there are secret gay parties and magazines, we are all at risk. Great discretion is the only thing that keeps many of us from the jails of the authorities – and worse.

Any disagreement over the reason for the execution of Mahmoud and Ayaz in the city of Mashhad last July does not alter the fact that the execution of men and women indulging in same-sex relations is mandatory in the penal code of Iran.

For the record, we believe the two teenagers were hanged (left) because of their homosexuality. The authorities are well-known for pinning false charges on the victims they execute. We urge people to never take at face value the charges claimed by the courts and newspapers. They are not reliable. In late July 2006, for example, a BBC television programme in England exposed how the Iranian authorities made false allegations about Atefah Sahaaleh, who was executed in the city of Neka in 2004 for “crimes against chastity”. The Iranian courts even lied about her age, claiming she was 22 at the time of her execution. In fact, she was only 16 – a minor, like Mahmoud and
Ayaz.

We express our appreciation and admiration for the united efforts worldwide on July 19 in support of Iranian LGBT people, against homophobic oppression and all executions in Iran. These efforts gave us Iranian LGBTs hope and inspiration. It is good for our morale to know that people in other countries care about us and are pressing the Iranian authorities to halt their homophobic persecution.

Some prominent authorities here in Iran publicly condemned same-sex relationships and same-sex marriage, following last year’s international protests against the Mashhad hangings.

This shows that your protests are having an effect.

The authorities in Tehran are concerned about the bad publicity they are getting all over the world.

Please do not stop. International protests are effective and we urge all groups around the world to work together for the common good of LGBT Iranians.

There is growing activity by Iranian LGBTs, both inside and outside Iran, to enlighten people about sexual diversity and respect for individual sexual orientation. Our E-magazine is part of that process.

The Iranian LGBT community in exile plays an important role in the struggle for LGBT rights in Iran. We believe that unity and cooperation between all LGBT Iranian activists is vital and important and we advocate this unity.

LGBT rights are part of human rights and they will be achieved in Iran by a joint effort from all Iranians for a democratic and modern Iran. International support for the democracy struggle inside Iran, at every level, is laudable and helpful.

We express our strongest opposition to any military intervention or military action against our beloved county Iran. It will not help the democratic struggle here but only strengthen the position of the conservative religious hardliners. War would close down the opportunities for reform. The authorities would use the pretext of “national security” to suppress debate and dissent, including the work of LGBT Iranians

Within our country, LGBTs need to make alliances with other oppressed sectors of the population who share our commitment to democracy and human rights. It would be a mistake to see LGBT rights as separate from the broader humanitarian struggle in Iran. Isolating our movement would keep it weak and marginal. LGBT rights should be a part of the mainstream Iranian democratic agenda.

We believe that Iranian LGBTs need support at every level, both nationally and internationally – from the UN, EU and national governments, and from human rights, NGO and LGBT organisations worldwide. We value your solidarity.

International pressure on the Iranian authorities regarding human rights and LGBT rights is effective and we welcome it.

Portraying homosexual rights in Iran only as a socio-cultural issue is harmful for our unity and the success of our struggle. It is our view that LGBT rights are about social, cultural, economic, legal and political justice. One cannot fight for LGBT people but ignore discrimination in the law and the fact that the Iranian authorities have made sexual orientation a political issue by denouncing and outlawing same-sex relations, and by punishing LGBTs with imprisonment and violent abuse, including torture and
hanging.

We do not agree that the LGBT issue in Iran is purely a cultural matter. LGBT rights are a political issue too. Achieving LGBT rights in Iran demands hard work, both socio-cultural and political – changing laws and institutions, as well as changing people’s values and attitudes.

Iranian homosexuals are oppressed by the authorities. But in some other Muslim countries, like Lebanon and Turkey, LGBT people are able to form their own organisations, organise conferences and publish their information. This shows that greater liberalisation is possible in a Muslim country.

That is why, we strongly believe that in the current situation, the central obstacles against homosexual rights in Iran are the anti-homosexual laws. That is why the removal of discrimination against LGBT people in the country’s penal code is vital. It would pave the way for a significant improvement of LGBT people’s lives by changing the law and removing the threat of arrest and other abuses. We also need democratic, reform-minded people to lead the country and to secure changes in the education system and the media to combat homophobic prejudice and to promote understanding and acceptance of LGBT people.

Due to the current homophobic repression in Iran, we are unable to openly express our demand for LGBT human rights. That is why international LGBT pressure on the Iranian authorities, in solidarity with Iranian LGBT people, is most vital and welcome.

We thank you for your support -- MAHA

No disagreement here. I said something similar here. It's good to hear Iranians say it. It's impossible to find a perfect way for Westerners to address gay rights in other parts of the world - there's not enough information. Going on e-mails like this one at least let people know they're on the right track.

In most cases, a misguided attempt to help people is better than no attempt at all.

Wikipedia Argument Over Gay Palestinians

2006-08-05T10:39:00.000+03:00

I can't write much, as I'm paying an incredible amount of money to use the internet in Cyprus. But check this out:

Wikipedia, as you know, is a free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit. Over the last few weeks, it seems there has been a small battle in the entry "Gay Rights in Israel".

Check out the history page and compare older versions. One day, something that shows abuse of gay Palestinians by the Israeli Secret Service is added. The next day, it is deleted, replaced by something that documents abuse of gay people in the Palestinian Territories.

The pro-Israel writers don't seem to want anything that shows Israel in a bad light, despite the fact that it is true. I recognize that Israel is far ahead of any other country in the Middle East regardging gay rights. But to portray it as a gleaming tower on a hill is unfair and untrue, and serves Israeli political interests. It's important to note that Israel treats Israeli gay people very well, but Palestinian gay people are subject to a different standard.

Palestinian gay people are in one of the worst situations worldwide: they are seen as threats by both Palestinians and Israelis, and cannot live in peace on either side. On the Palestinian side, they are tortured and threatened. On the Israeli side, they are left with no income but prostitution and are recruited by the secret service. Only when this dichotomy is understood can their needs be addressed.

Hopefully, this Wikipedia debacle will calm down and turn out well.

A Conversation with a Jordanian Taxi Driver

2006-08-02T22:35:00.000+03:00

I've heard that a lot of Jordanian taxi drivers are spies of the government sent to keep watch on the Jordanian people. Someone told me 1 in 10. I don't know if it's true, but this conversation was definitely strange. I was taking a taxi across town, which took about a half an hour in the traffic, so we had a while to talk. For your information, the driver was around 40 years old, an avid smoker, and had a booming voice. We started talking about the war, how I'm going to America, and what Beirut is like to live in. Here is what it became, in loose translation:

Taxi Driver: Do you have a boyfriend of girlfriend in Beirut?

Me: I have a girlfriend.

TD: Really? What's her name?

Me: Amal. She's Shi'a.

TD: Is she pretty?

Me: She's okay. (Here I explain what my imaginary girlfriend looks like. For the record, I do not tell random taxi drivers I'm gay. It's not a good policy.)

TD: Do you like only girls?

Me: Yes. You?

TD: I like men only.

Me: (Laughing.) You say it so openly.

TD: What do I care what people think?

Me: Do you have a boyfriend?

TD: No. I had a boyfriend three years ago. He was American. Every been with a black?

Me: No.

TD: (Some things about black people I won't repeat.) He was great. He was here for 8 weeks. Every day for 56 days, I would go to his apartment after work and we'd...(Some gestures I won't explain.)

Me: (Laughing hard and trying to move on to another subject.) Really? Do you meet people often?

TD: Sometimes.

Me: How do you meet them? Is there a bar or something you go to? (I'm trying not to seem too interested, but I'm truly very curious.)

TD: I meet them in the taxi. (Of course!)

Me: Interesting. (We pull up to where I'm getting out.)

TD: If you ever need a taxi, here's my number. (He writes his number on a pack of cigarettes and gives it to me.) Call me any time.

I got out of the car quite quickly, but gave him a nice tip - I always tip gay people well. It was scary, but interesting, and not the only gay come-on I've gotten in Jordan. The conversation would be funnier if I included the parts cut out, but I cannot, in good taste, do that. I try to keep this site clean.

Mostly, I'm just amazed at how open he was, even after my pretending to be straight. Is he really that free with his words? Am I obviously gay? Or am I just too hot to resist? (Haha.)

I'm not going to call him, if you're wondering.

Lebanese Video Speech at Montreal's Outgames

2006-08-02T14:22:00.000+03:00

Well, I'm back from southern Jordan, in Amman for a bit before I fly to Cyprus and America. My visit to Sodom was interesting; I'll post on it when I can get my photos of it uploaded. But here's an interesting bit of news:

At the world's first Outgames in Montreal, which has been considerably more international than Chicago's Gay Games, a Lebanese activist from Helem, Rasha Moumneh, was supposed to give a speech during the opening ceremonies. The statement drew attention to the atrocities being committed in Lebanon by the Israeli military and Helem's support of the boycott of this year's World Pride in Jerusalem. It also highlighted the bind that Helem finds itself in: struggling against an oppressive government at home on the one hand and resisting the pull of neo-colonialist agendas that attempt to co-opt human rights causes to justify their ends on the other.

The speech was recieved with a standing ovation from many of the audience members, some of whom openly voiced support and solidarity with Helem and the people of Lebanon and Palestine. The video can be accessed here, but it is not working on this cheap internet cafe computer. Nevertheless, To Be, a Canadian magazine, had some quotes:

Nowhere was the solidarity of the conference attendees more felt than in the reaction to a video sent by the LGBT rights group Helem, which has branches in both Lebanon and Montreal. The delegates gave a standing ovation after a representative of the group explained why she could not attend. “The air, land and sea blockade imposed by the state of Israel have killed three hundred in Lebanon and by conservative estimates, 650,000 have been internally displaced,” she said. “As of July 12, when the hostilities started, all of Helem’s LGBT work stopped and Helem is donating its space and resources to humanitarian relief efforts.”

There was also a bit in another Canadian magazine, Capital Xtra:

"Today, we are fighting for human rights, more so for those in Lebanon," says Remy, from Helem, a Montreal-based organization that fights for the rights of Lebanese queers around the world.

For its part, Helem found tremendous support from athletes and participants as they gathered outside the stadium entrance.

"I was overwhelmed," Remy says in a quivering voice.

With Lebanon and Israel in conflict, Helem was approached by the Outgames to take part in the opening ceremony as a keeper of peace.

Members of the Israeli team shared in the call for peace. Gur Rosen and Dan Alogor from Team Israel had a talk with Helem members, something that would only have been possible at a meet like the Outgames.

A Sad State for Gay Palestinians

2006-08-01T22:16:00.000+03:00

A great article by Brian Whitaker just appeared in the Jewish Quarterly. It's well-documented, brings in other news sources, and is hard to dispute. It points out how Israel is generally a great place for gay people, but not for gay Palestinians. It documents how gay Palestinians are abused in Israel, and abused worse in Palestine. Here's a good bit:

For gay Palestinians who feel persecuted at home, the obvious escape route is to Israel, but because of the political conflict this can be fraught with difficulties. As far as most Palestinians are concerned, fleeing into Israel is a betrayal of their cause, while gay men who remain in the Palestinian territories also come under suspicion.

‘In the West Bank and Gaza, it is common knowledge that if you are homosexual you are necessarily a collaborator with Israel,’ said Shaul Gonen, of the Israeli Society for the Protection of Personal Rights (‘“Death Threat” to Palestinian Gays’, BBC, 3 March 2003). Bassim Eid, of the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group, explained:

In the Arab mindset, a person who has committed a moral offence is often assumed to be guilty of others, and it radiates out to the family and community. As homosexuality is seen as a crime against nature, it is not hard to link it to collaboration – a crime against nation (‘Palestinian Gay Runaways Survive on Israeli Streets’, Reuters, 17 September 2003).
Regarding gay men as politically treacherous is not unique to the Israeli-Palestinian situation. There are parallels here with Britain in the 1950s and 1960s, when gay men engaged in secret government work were treated as a particular security risk. In the popular imagination, this may well have been seen as an intrinsic part of their psychological make-up, although the fact that their sexual activities were illegal did expose them to the possibility of blackmail by Soviet agents.

Equating homosexuality with collaboration makes it extremely dangerous for Palestinians to return home after fleeing to Israel. One man told Halevi in the New Republic of a friend in the Palestinian police who ran away to Tel Aviv but later went back to Nablus, where he was arrested and accused of being a collaborator:

They put him in a pit. It was the fast of Ramadan, and they decided to make him fast the whole month but without any break at night. They denied him food and water until he died in that hole.
There is little doubt that some – though by no means all – gay Palestinians are forced by their precarious existence to work for Israeli intelligence in exchange for money or administrative favours such as the right of residence; both Eid and Gonen said they knew of several. Others, meanwhile, are coerced into undercover work for the Palestinian authorities; one 19-year-old runaway stated in an interview with Israeli television that he had been pressurized by the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade to become a suicide bomber in order to ‘purge his moral guilt’, though he had refused (‘Palestinian Gay Runaways’, Reuters, 17 September 2003).

Estimates of the number of gay Palestinians who have quietly – and usually illegally – taken refuge in Israel range from 300 to 600. Although Israel is a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and recognizes same-sex partnerships for immigration purposes, it does not welcome gay Palestinians – mainly because of security fears. This often leaves them trapped in an administrative no-man’s-land with little hope of finding a proper job and constantly at risk of being arrested and deported. Some try to disguise themselves by wearing fake military dog-tags and even Star of David medallions.

‘The Palestinians say if you are gay, you must be a collaborator, while the Israelis treat you as a security threat,’ Gonen told a news programme (‘Palestinian Gays Flee to Israel’, BBC, 22 October 2003). But even if they are neither collaborators nor a security threat, they can easily become targets for exploitation by Israeli men. ‘They work as prostitutes, selling their bodies unwillingly because they have to survive,’ Gonen said:

Sometimes the Israeli secret police try to recruit them, sometimes the Palestinian police try to recruit them. In the end they find themselves falling between all chairs. Nobody wants to help them, everybody wants to use them.

The quote is from the end, which is definitely better than the beginning, for in typical Whitaker style, the article jumps from topic to topic, often throwing in details that distract from the flow of his articles. This especially pertains to Britain. Whitaker can't resist mentioning Britain, even when it's not very germane. Is it a remnant of imperialism, national pride, or unrestrained blabbering? Who knows.

One thing I did notice: Whitaker mentions that the Israeli police try to recruit gay Palestinians, but didn't go into it. I would have liked to know more.

Al-Jazeera Points Out Helem's Good Deeds

2006-08-01T21:44:00.000+03:00

In a nicely-written article in al-Jazeera, there is this tidbit written about Helem:

In west Beirut an office for the gay NGO Helem has been turned into the coordinating centre for Samidoun.

Underneath the rainbow flag the activists work around the clock to make sure the refugees in their care are provided for.

"I don’t think the refugees really care about the fact that we are a gay rights NGO. They only care if the NGOs helping them are American," Helem activist Ghassan Makarem said.

I didn't see a similar version of that written in Arabic, but, whatever. This article was written by Christian Henderson, not an Arab name, so that could explain why it's written so positively. I don't mean to say that an Arab would not write positively about gay people, merely that al-Jazeera won't get as much flak if it's written by a white guy. Gay people can be happy there's positive coverage of them, and people who hate gay people can just tell themselves that it's Western projection of gay rights onto the Arab World. I estimate that angry letters to al-Jazeera over a positive depiction of gay people would be double if the article was written by an Arab. This way, everyone wins.

Gay.com Sorta Covers Lebanon, Almost

2006-07-31T17:43:00.000+03:00

Two articles on Lebanon recently appeared on Gay.com, one about Helem helping out in relief efforts, and one semi-interview with a Helem member about the war. The articles aren't very good, but here's the first one:

Remy is a member of the Montreal chapter of Helem, an Arabic acronym for "Lebanese Protection for Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transgender People." As Israel massed tanks and troops on the Lebanese border July 21 in readiness for a likely ground invasion, Remy shared with Gay.com some background on the crisis in Beirut, its impact on LGBT people, and his feelings about the upcoming observation of WorldPride in Jerusalem.

Helem is a Lebanese group, which started in Lebanon, so we are always in close contact with the chapter there. Helem has the one and only LGBT center in the Arab world. That center is now being offered by Helem as a relief center for refugees. Helem is offering its offices, computers, Internet access and volunteers to help with the crisis.

The thing Helem Beirut members miss the most (as gay people) is probably the fact that they can't be together right now. Everyone is with his or her family, and some are giving volunteer time in different places, so they are not meeting every week as they used to; they don't gather and do group activities. I suspect they are going back to a stage of isolation -- being gay, and having to stay within the mainstream community (which can be difficult for some who have had Helem as a support for a while now).

Gays and lesbians have always lived in Lebanon (and other Arab countries) a life of isolation and fear. The law is against us (article 534 of the Lebanese penal code). Society is against us; religion is against us. All we have is each other . . . and Helem (the Dream!). We are seeing an evolution in mentalities (younger people are more open-minded than older generations), but things are changing slowly.

Lebanon has always been known for its more modern way of living and thinking than other Arab countries. Gay clubs, gay shops, gay cafes and restaurants were starting to allow LGBT people to lead a kind of normal life. I say "kind of" because even though there seems to be more freedom for gays to meet and go clubbing and organize events, it is still a sense of freedom, an impression that we are free at last. But living as a gay man or woman is still a day-by-day situation: You never know when the government will decide Helem is not allowed to exist anymore, or when the government will start jailing LGBT people. But the situation was more or less improving.

I was personally in Lebanon for three weeks last spring, and I was very impressed by how far we have gone as LGBT community. Gays and lesbians are working as a community. They are supporting each other, doing business with each other, empowering each other, clubbing with each other. It could be seen as creating a ghetto, but that ghetto is doing wonders because LGBT people now rely on themselves and each other instead of relying on heterosexual society. [...]

WorldPride in Jerusalem -- a parade for love and acceptance in an occupied land, a land which knows no acceptance nor love? Helem supports the international boycott of Jerusalem WorldPride. Lebanese (and many other Arabs) have no right to enter Jerusalem. If our passports are stamped by Israel, we are considered to be fraternizing with the enemy or condemned for treason.

Right now, Helem Lebanon (as well as Helem Paris and Helem Montreal) is putting all its efforts toward the crisis in Lebanon in different ways: volunteering in Beirut, fundraising in Paris, marching for visibilty and fundraising in Montreal. Our main priority right now is to save Lebanon.

And here's the interview:

As Israel massed tanks and troops on the Lebanese border July 21 in readiness for a likely ground invasion, a Lebanese member of Helem, an Arabic acronym for "Lebanese Protection for Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transgender People," made time for a short interview with Gay.com about the current situation in Beirut and what it's like to be gay in wartime.

What's happening with gay people there now? Are gay clubs closing?

Almost all the clubs -- gay and nongay -- are closed since the Israeli aggression, so I suppose that means the gay clubs are closed.

How is the war affecting gay people in Lebanon?

The war is affecting gay people the same way it is affecting straight people for the moment. It is depressing for both gay and nongay people to see that all the effort Lebanese people have made for the past 15 years has been destroyed within five days.

Are gays able to support one another at this time?

Helem Lebanon joined a network of NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) working to provide aid for refugees coming to Beirut from south Lebanon and the city's southern suburb. We also suspended our normal activities and transformed our offices to a relief center. Somehow it is nice to see gay and heterosexual people working together to help the refugees.

That is all I can say for the moment -- but I will provide you with more information when possible.

Even though I'm glad Gay.com is covering the Arab World, the articles aren't very informative.

In the first article, why did Gay.com not consult anyone in Beirut to get information? Helem liss phone numbers on its webpage, can Gay.com not afford an international call? It seems like simple journalistic methodology to me.

In the second article, why is gay clubs the first thing they ask about? How superficial! Plus, who is this guy they're talking to? Is he someone who's word is important? Also, al-Fil told me that his friends are still going to gay clubs. Is he lying?

I'd like to find out more details on what Helem is doing in Beirut, not about World Pride, which is not so important now, or on the status of the clubbing scene. Nice try, Gay.com. Next time, do some legwork.

Google Does Care - We Heart Google

2006-07-31T15:38:00.000+03:00

As al-Fil is currently in the desert, I promised him I'd actually post stuff while he was away. Well, here's an update on the Google mini-scandal from mid-July which began with the finding of a derogatory translation of "gay" and an unsympathetic letter from Google, but is now A-OK:

In the MEGJournal e-mail, al-Fil received this from Google:

Dear Sir,

I have just seen your complaint re the translation tool offered by Google. First of all please accept Google's apology if this translation has offended you. As you may well be aware this tool is still in Beta phase and hence some bugs or incorrect translations will occur. During the Beta phase many of our users provide us feedback on issues such as this, so we can take corrective action. I thank you for bringing this to our attention and strongly encourage you to provide us with extensive feedback of any other mistranslations you might come across.

Also, allow me to take a few minutes of your time to explain the mechanics of how the translation engine works. Our solution is built around a statistical model that depends on previously translated material to statistically determine translations for new sentences. The system continuously learns to update and improve translations. As a starting point we have ingested a number of translated documents and use this to provide the service you now see. Unfortunately many sources on the web use the translation you have seen.

[Here is a link he put in the e-mail here, but is so long, it messes up our formatting, and I saw the complaints about our formatting before, thank you very much!]

As we continuously improve the service and add more documents such occurrences should decrease. In the meantime we are working on fixing this error in the very near future and hope you accept our apology and understand the nature of this service and how it provides translations based on parallel data and not through human intervention.

Once again please accept my thanks for highlighting this issue in our feedback and feel free to provide us with any feedback you feel might improve or enhance our translation service.

Best Regards

Sherif R. Iskander
Regional Business Manager
Middle East and North Africa

Is that sweet or what? Pink News also ran a story on the issue. It said:

Despite the abundance of more derogatory slang in Arabic, Ali Asali, administrator of GayEgypt.com, one of the Middle East’s leading pro-gay websites, agrees that the term [luti] is unsuitable, he said: “It's not the term used on the street for abuse, there are hundreds of these which vary from country to country and indeed from region to region within countries. You could argue that the terms “khawal” in Egypt, “pédé” in Algeria and “ajala” (meaning bicycle) in upper Egypt and I could list many more, are much more abusive. However the term looti is still inappropriate.”

The controversy over “luti” arose about a week ago when the administrator of a blog called The Middle East Gay Journal wrote an open letter to Google upon his discovery that the international company's translation tools translated the word "gay" derogatorily into Arabic. Upon receiving a perfunctory, perhaps automated, response, the administrator was irked and spread the word to numerous other blogs, which spawned more letters to Google.

From his office in Egypt, Sherif Iskander, Google’s business manager for the Middle East and North Africa, told PinkNews.co.uk that he would fix the problem. He said that he had been out of the country for a few days and had learned of the problem upon his return.

“The machine is learning,” he said, emphasising that Google’s translation tools were still in their early phases, and they often went into the system to re-teach it better translations. “Several examples like this have come to my attention,” he said, adding, "Issues like that should not stay in the system." He said that the problem should be fixed in a few days.

Nevertheless, Mr Iskander welcomed the input, "We totally depend on user feedback to fix issues," he said, adding that when problems with translation are reported to Google, it allows them to improve the system.

Google’s translation tools use an approach similar to the methods used to decipher the Egyptian hieroglyphs on the Rosetta Stone – they take identical bodies of work in two languages and compare them side by side.

In Google’s case, they use the immense corpa of the United Nations. Despite using documents that totalled over 200 billion words, however, there were still some terms unknown to the tools.

To solve this quandary, the Google tools access online dictionaries to search for translations. “This is where most of the problems arise,” said Mr Iskander, indicating that the dictionaries often offered inadequate or imprecise translations, without context. Sadly, many of these online dictionaries employ “luti.”

Mr Iskander reiterated that Google’s translation services are a “very powerful tool” that is “opening up the Middle East” to non-Arabic speakers.

He said that the translations are far from ideal, but are meant to give people an idea of what is being written in other languages, without having to actually learn to speak them, "It's like a five-year-old that knows two languages…it's better being stuck with a five-year-old than someone who speaks only one language," he explained.

On checking Google's translation page today, I remarked that when "gay" is put into the system, "مثلي الجنس" is now returned instead of "اللوطي". Thanks, Google!

I must say that Google did a great thing. I doubt, although I have no proof to back it up, other companies would be so quick to change such an error. Anyway, kudos.

Poetry, Religion, and Philadelphia

2006-07-29T22:25:00.000+03:00

This is my last night in Amman. I'm leaving tomorrow, going for a small journey before joining my sister in America. I plan to return to Lebanon after the war.

Before I leave Jordan, I'm going to visit the ancient lands of Sodom, the baneful inheritance of gay people worldwide, and the namesake of "لوطي" and "sodomite". I wonder if it will change me in some way, but I don't yet know the manner. Will the earth open like an awoken, bitter clam and swallow me? Will the lapping of the sea greet me like the friendly tongue of a lonely dog? My heart is swarming with quietly whispering bees.

I spent the night eating falafel and onions (quartered perfectly, with just a hint of brown skin to give texture), and I wrote this poem:

With the molten night still flowing slowly over the hillsides,
not yet hardened into its opaline shell,
the cafes crowd with starched white shirts
and immaculately pastel peasant skirts,
every eye turned to the burning hillside of Jebel Achrafieh.
The words "amber" and "ochre" and "cinnamon" quiver in the air,
clumsily weighted by their Germanic accents
and clattering like bits of copper on the tiles.

Every house on Jebel Achrafieh is the exact same color,
an indistinguishable sandstone that rises organically from the earth.
If you run quickly, civilization disappears in a whirling panorama:
smeared in the rushing drab of the dirt and the bright of the sky.

If I had a house on Jebel Achrafieh, I'd paint it blue
with chalk, just once a year, in a month without holidays,
like Shaban or Thu al-Kadah,
months that dim in the light of Ramadan and Thu al-Hijra.
On that day, the women washing clothes would shout
"Such beauty held in sapphire walls!"
The sun would stop high in the sky, resting and admiring,
and the blinded women would spill their buckets of frothing water.

Every day the lazy strollers on the steep avenues of Amman
absorb the muffled beauty of endlessly rolling ginger hills.
But for one sunset in the year, the glory of difference would shine,
and before the mullahs could run from their hilltops and shout their curses,
would be washed away in the swirling rivers of the washer-women,
left to nothing but azure streams by the cold morning light.

I've been thinking a lot about the wars in the Middle East, and all the burdens that come with it. What comes to mind are the intangible riches of the ancient world: the philosophy of Greece, the law of Rome, the magic of India, and the wisdom of Persia.

What did the lands of Arabia bring? Religion. The East boils in religion, heated by the boiling sands of the Arabian desert, while the West fidgets with cool, calculating legality. The U.S. and Europe fight over what is legal, what is agreed-upon, what is enforcable, while the East argues over right, wrong and God, infinitely more difficult conceptions. Arabs have never really put faith in the United Nations, and the Arab League is a porcelain vase that is endlessly dropeed and glued back together. Religion is both the glory and the curse of the Middle East: it brings it light and it brings it war.

I remember watching "The Neverending Story" on television as a child, with the hungry "Nothing". It gave me nightmares. More than any other figment that terrorized me - Chucky, the djinn, the man under the bed - the idea of the Nothing tortured me. Chucky would stab me, the djinn would eat me, and the man under the bed would do something horrible. But what would happen to me when the Nothing came?

The deserts of Arabia are expanding, eating away at the Arabian nations. I once heard an American compare the deserts to the American plains, an awful comparison. While they may be alike in stark beauty, the plains give life - corn, wheat, and cattle - the desert gives empty gifts wrapped in shimmering brown paper. I wonder if I'll start dreaming of the desert, as I used to of the Nothing.

I may not post for a while, because of my stay in Sodom, so I am going to leave with a good post: the review of Unspeakable Love that I promised to do a while ago. It'll be right under this one, when I finish it. I'll also leave with this excerpt of one of my favorite poems, "La colère de Samson". It's a fight of lovers, of men vs. women, but it means so much more than that:

Bientôt, se retirant dans un hideux royaume,
La Femme aura Gomorrhe et l'Homme aura Sodome,
Et, se jetant, de loin, un regard irrité,
Les deux sexes mourront chacun de son côté.

Book Review: "Unspeakable Love"

2006-07-29T21:52:00.000+03:00

I've been saying I'd review Brian Whitaker's Unspeakable Love: Gay and Lesbian Life in the Middle East forever, but I haven't done it. I'm tired, but I'm going to do it now. So here goes:

There's a lot I like and don't like about the book. Firstly, I love Whitaker's writing style. He's very eloquent, and sometimes this leads to strikingly persuasive paragraphs. Here's one I liked on the Universal Declaration of Human rights, from chapter 4, "Rights and Wrongs", page 110:

The essential principle here is equality, and there is no room for selectively excluding some human beings on the pretext of local circumstances or cultural norms. Either the equality principle is accepted in whole or it is not; there are no half measures. The equal rights established by the declaration include an equal right to life, equal freedom from arbitrary arrest, equal freedom from torture and ill-treatment, equal freedom from torture and ill-treatment, equal freedom of expression and association, and equality before the law.

Despite this, and despite ample evidence of abuses in various parts of the world, the United Nations has been slow to grapple, with what, for a large number of it members, is a highly sensitive issue...

I think that's beautifully stated.

Unspeakable Love has repeatedly been called "groundbreaking", and in many ways it is. Never before has such a comprehensive study of gay civil rights been published, or so widely available to the public. The fact that it was the number 1 seller for a huge period of time at the Virgin Megastore in Beirut attests to the fact that a book such as this is long overdue. Brian Whitaker organizes this book expertly - information is easily accessible, easily understandable, and meticulously footnoted.

My favorite chapter is by far chapter 3, "Images and Realities". In this chapter, Whitaker analyzes media coverage of gay people in the Middle East. One of my favorite paragraphs, from page 72:

News media about same-sex marriage and gay clergy in the West tend to be reported factually and straightforwardly by the Arab media, often with quotes from opposing sides. Besides the stories dealing specifically with these topics, there were many others during the American presidential campaign of 2004 that mentioned gay rights as an election issue. The relatively calm tone of these reports in comparison with the more hysterical stories about local homosexuality may be partly explained by their reliance on Western news agencies. As with the nineteenth-century writings of Richard Burton, however, they can be read in different ways by different readers. They can be interpreted either as confirming Arab perceptions of Western decadence or as familiarizing readers with alternative views of sexual behaviour. The problem, though, is that the dearth of coverage about Arab homosexuality encourages the idea that it is entirely a foreign phenomenon.

Fantastic. Whitaker outlines here a major issue facing gay people in the Middle East: the push to portray them as foreign, thus making them at least non-Arab and non-Muslim, at worst traitors. If gay people are not seen as a true facet of Arab culture, then their rights are not something that needs to be addressed in Arab society. Whitaker, by laying out numerous examples of terrible media portrayals of gay people by the Arab media unfolds the institutionalized prejudice like a Chinese fan.

But now let's get into some of the things I don't like about the book. In the introduction, Whitaker states on pages 9-10:

There are twenty-two countries in the Arab League (if we include) Palestine, and to try to give a country-by-country picture would be both impractical and repetitive. Instead, I wanted to highlight the issues that are faced throughout the region, to a greater or lesser degree, by Arabs whose sexuality does not fit the public concepts of 'normal'. Most of the face-to-face research was done in Egypt and Lebanon, two countries that provide interesting contrasts. This was supplemented by a variety of other sources including news reports, correspondence by email, articles in magazines and academic journals, discussions published on websites, plus a review of the way homosexuality is treated in the Arabic media, in novels and in films.

First, I'm not sure if I agree with lumping modern Arab societies into one whole. The modern states are so different, and there has been an orientalist history of blurring the Arab people into one united, faceless mass. I mean, would you write a book on gay rights in the Western World, jumping from France to Britain to the U.S. to Poland to Greece to Australia? Actually, you might. I'm not sure there's actually an ideal way to approach such a book, and I don't fault Whitaker here. I just wanted to mention a possible drawback. If someone wrote a book just discussing each country individually, without pointing out trends, that would pose difficulties, too.

The problem I see is that, in effect, Whitaker ended up doing exactly what he promised he wouldn't do. He gets so involved in the legal issues facing gay people in Middle Eastern countries that he gets stuck in a country-by-country discussion of legality, which reads tediously. In many chapters, especially 2 and 4, Whitaker hops from country to country, trying to explain their individual situations. He he can't avoid this - it's impossible to put the legal structures of the Arab World, which are extremely complex and often very dissimilar - into a general thesis. Lebanon has no equivalent of Egypt's "Queen Boat" incident, just as Saudi Arabia has no equivalent to Lebanon's sectarian government. Essentially, Whitaker writes himself into a corner here; he spends so much time explaining political issues that he can't easily go back and discuss the social ones, which are much more important in the Arab World in the ways they affect gay people.

This is where the Western point of view really comes through in the book. Gay rights won't go anywhere in the Middle East unless gay people are more socially accepted first, roughly the opposite of the West. In America, there was Stonewall then Will and Grace. In the Middle East, the reverse is needed. A Stonewall in Egypt or Saudi Arabia will amount to bloodshed, with no real political gain. Whitaker consistently compares the movement the Arab World with the West, namely Britain, creating false parallels. He doesn't seem to consider that the Middle East might need a different form of activism than the West.

There is a vast amount of social issues that are never addressed in Unspeakable Love that are immediatly apparent to anyone who's lived in the Middle East. What about the thousands of men who marry and have sex with men on the side? The gay prostitutes on the corniches of Beirut, Aqaba, Manama, and Alexandria? Gender separation and sexism? The adopting of gender roles in the gay community? Class issues? Racial and Sunni/Shia schisms? The book says it's about "Gay and Lesbian Life in the Middle East", when really it only deals with politics, the media, and some insights on religion. Except for a discussion of family life, the book hardly touches on everyday gay life, at least for the majority of the people in the Middle East. When you finish the book, a lot seems to be missing.

For the interviews that Whitaker cites as research, his selection of people seems like a skimming of fat from a bucket of milk. They are almost all male, almost all in their twenties, and seem to be from higher classes of society. When I went to the book opening at the Zico House in Beirut in March, it was clear that Whitaker did not speak very good Arabic. He seems to have done all the interviews himself, which explains this problem: young, gay, wealthy men are the easiest segment of gay society for someone like Whitaker to find. They are more likely to speak English, have more social freedom, and go to places where a Westerner can find them. Unfortunately, they are hardly representative, and thus give a skewed view of gay life in the Middle East, as does the fact that they are from the Levant and Egypt, which are very different from the Gulf. The Levant and Egypt, sadly, dominate the book, leaving everyday gay life in the Gulf shadowed in uncertainty.

I don't want to come off as too negative about the book; I feel that there is a lot to be gained from reading it, especially chapter 3, and especially for Westerners who are unfamiliar with Middle Eastern politics. This book definitely has an important purpose there. However, a Beiruti friend of mine said he really liked chapters 1-4, but found the rest of the book tiresome, explaining that the book, in general, was interesting, but didn't tell him anything new about what was going on in the Middle East. I'm inclined to agree with him on the last part. If you're a gay person living in the Middle East, the book won't open your eyes to anything groundbreaking, or great analysis on how to help the movement for gay civil rights progress. It will, however, provide an amazing encyclopedia of modern gay history in the Arab World.

I'll finish with another paragraph I liked, from chapter 7 "Paths to Reform", page 212:

The debate is often presented as a choice between cultural authenticity on the one hand and the adoption of all things Western on the other. In fact, neither is a realistic proposition. Exposure to foreign ideas and influences cannot be prevented, but nor are Arabs incapable of making critical judgments about them. Equally, Arab culture cannot be treated as a fossil; it is a culture in which real people lead real lives and it must be allowed to evolve to meet their needs. The issue, then, is not whether concepts such as 'gay' and 'sexual orientation' are foreign imports but whether they serve a useful purpose. For Arabs who grow up disturbed by an inexplicable attraction towards members of their own sex, they can provide a framework for understanding. For families - puzzled, troubled and uninformed by their own society - they offer a sensible alternative to regarding sons and daughters as sinful or mad.

One more thing: I love the copper eyeshadow on the two men on the front cover. It's artistic, subtle, and beautiful. While politically, it might not have been the best choice to put men in eyeshadow on a book about gay rights in the Middle East, it added a gorgeous softness to the men's complexions.

Under the Flames of War in Lebanon

2006-07-28T23:55:00.000+03:00

The ladies of Aswat, an organization for Palestinian lesbian women, sent out this e-mail today, entitled "Under the Flames of War in Lebanon":

To all our friends and colleagues,

Thank to all of you who have contacted ASWAT to ask about our safety as we are based in Haifa . It is much appreciated that you are thinking of us in these days. We want to thank you again for your support and the ongoing friendship.

We in ASWAT, our friends and families are safe and we will keep you posted if anything changes. Our reason to write you is to let you know that in these days our hearts and thoughts are in Lebanon , not forgetting Gaza and the West Bank in Palestine and Iraq .

We have a lot of pain and sadness, watching all the pictures as a result of the hits, seeing people killed, and hearing about all the refugees; it makes us stop and raise our voices in ASWAT and say out loud STOP THIS WAR on our sisters and brothers in Lebanon and start negotiating!!!

We have received some news from activists and friends from Helem, an LGBT center in Beirut . After the influx of refugees from the southern suburbs of Beirut as well as from the south of Lebanon , Helem center, together with other NGOs, has begun providing shelter, food, and supplies for the refugees.

More information can be found at http://www.helem.net

Helem also pointed out a few blogs so as to allow people to get first hand information from the civil society in Lebanon:
http://sanayehreliefcenter.blogspot.com/
http://lebanonupdates.blogspot.com/

Other important links:
http://arab-americans.blogspot.com/
http://www.aswatgroup.org/english/article.php?article=106&category=
http://www.aswatgroup.org/arabic/article.php?article=107&category=107

In solidarity,

ASWAT-Palestinian Gay Women
E-mail: aswat@aswatgroup.org
Website: http://www.aswatgroup.org/
Join Aswat's mailing list at: http://www.aswatgroup.org/english/newsletter.php

I'm glad they're safe, and the links are great. I have one issue though: their site is incredibly difficult to navigate, and when they post new articles, they seem to have no easy links to them. If you click on "activities", it only goes up to 2005. It's frustrating! Am I being trivial? Probably.

Turkish Government Seizes Gay Magazine

2006-07-28T18:56:00.000+03:00

According to a press release by KAOS GL, a gay-rights organization in Turkey, the most recent issue of its magazine, also called KAOS GL, has been seized by the government. The issue, which discusses pornography and gay culture, was found to be pornographic by the 12th district court in Ankara. All issues were ordered by Judge Tekman Savas Nemli to be confiscated, as some of the content and pictures in the issue were deemed to breach general morality. A quote:

In the decision of Ankara Chief Republican Prosecutor's Office Press Crimes Investigation Bureau, the _expression that some texts and pictures are against "protection of general morality". But this _expression does not state which pictures and texts should be banned on what ground.

And another:

It is the first time that our magazine is banned on the same day it was delivered from the printing house even before it is distributed to bookstores. Kaos GL, which started to be published in 1994, was recorded legally at the end of 1999 and the Republican Chief Prosecutor did not find it "pornographic or obscene." Two of its issues following its registeration by officials were distributed in closed envelopes because of the Prime Ministry Council for Protection of Juveniles from Obscene Publications. Other than this, Kaos GL has not faced any investigation

And one more:

Today presentation of views on women bodies with a sexist mentality makes no problem but scientific, cultural and artistic criticism of pornography via gay-lesbian sexuality is seen and banned as an attitude against 'general morality'.

In the magazine with contributions from writers Ahmet Tulgar, Fatih Özgüven, Güner Kuban, Hasan Bülent Kahraman, Mehmet Bilal Dede, Meltem Arıkan, painter Taner Ceylan and photography artistı Bikem Ekberzade', the relation of pornography with homosexuality is discussed.

The file with headline "Visuality of sexuality, sexuality of visuality: Pornography", the doors of the world of pornography that invades the globe are opened and we question how all the images that confuse our minds turn into pornographic elements.

Now with the demand of Ankara Chief Republican Prosecutor and decision of Ankara 12th Justice Court, examination and questioning of pornography by writers, artists, academics, feminists and gay-lesbian individuals have been banned.

Interestingly, the press release points out that the ruling coincided with Turkey's Press Festival on July 24. Irony?

I wonder how this will affect things. Turkey, even though its population is still overwhelmingly against gay rights, has seemed to adopt a policy of "laissez-faire" towards gay people in the past. Is this a sign of bad things to come?

How will the European Union, with its progressive stance on gay rights, view this? Turkey wants to become a member; will they care about this? This is probably the worst time for something like this to happen. The West is increasingly being seen as meddling too much in the affairs of the East, and criticizing one of the more moderate states might not be a good tactical move. I predict that Western nations will remain silent.

It also seems from the press release that only the one issue is banned, and that KAOS GL can continue to publish, which makes the ruling not only seem less extreme, but minimizes the chances that anyone in the West will speak out, but will rather hope that it blows over. Maybe it's prudish, maybe its cowardly - it depends on how the Turkish government act in the future.

It's a dangerous precedent, nonetheless.

Yacoubian Building a Hit in Tunisia

2006-07-28T18:04:00.000+03:00

In an article titled "The Film The Yacoubian Building Attracts Great Interest at a Carthage Festival in Tunisia", Radio Sawa shows how the Egyptian film is turning heads. A quote, translated by me:

The Egyptian film The Yacoubian Building by director Marwan Hamed attracted a great interest Saturday night during the 41st installment of the Carthage Film Festival and the critics pondered a while on its dimensions and content.

The film was presented in a Roman amphitheatre in Carthage in front of about 12 thousand viewers who did not leave during the entire three hours despite the repeated interruption of video and sound.

Raouf Ben Omar, the director of the Carthage festival, praised the interest in the film in a statement for Agence France-Presse and said that the Carthage festival always searches for high-quality, important performances that avoid stereotypes.

He added that it is not logical that the film and the novel, which were featured in a cultural event in France, would remain unknown in Tunisia. Tunisian journalist Saber Samih Bin Amer journalist Saber Samih Bin Amer praised the work of the young director Marwan Hamed, considering him to be bold in addressing social and political topics with great professionalism.

He added that although the film foreshadows Hamed's future works, it includes shots that are reminiscent of Hollywood films. Bin Amer confirmed that The Yacoubian Building allowed viewers to identify with the deep characters played by the Egyptian actors, especially with actor Khaled al-Sawi, who played the role of a young homosexual (Radio Sawa uses "sexual deviant" here). He called on Tunisian filmmakers to watch the film to gain the benefits of this rich experience.

In The Yacoubian Building, Director Marawan Hamed draws the image of life in a district in the center of Cairo through bold language that addresses the issues of the homosexuality (Radio Sawa uses a neutral term here), liberation, corruption, the caste system, and torture without bias.

All in all, it's a good sign. A movie deals with difficult issues, and people respond well. Plus, the media doesn't use "luti". Only one question remains: when am I going to be able to see the movie?

Also, I haven't read any updates anywhere on what's going on with the inquest of the Egyptian parliament into the film. Maybe it was lost in beaurocracy?

The Advocate Published My Letter

2006-07-26T16:54:00.000+03:00

The American magazine The Advocate just published my letter in regards to James Kirchick's inflammatory and factually-incorrect commentary piece, which I commented on before here. I have to admit one mistake, though. The original interview with Rauda Morcos spelled her name correctly. Kirchick then spelled it incorrectly, as Marcos, as if she were Spanish. I didn't notice this and misspelled her name, too. Oops! Anyway, here's my letter:

I take extreme issue with the commentary piece by James Kirchick published on you website on July 11 entitled "Palestine and gay rights". I feel that it is biased, one-sided, and gives a gravely inaccurate portrayal of the situation of gay people in the Palestinian Territories.

Primarily, I am concerned about Kirchick's treatment of Rauda Marcos from her interview with the Advocate on May 23. He's correct in his condemnation of "culturally relativistic posturing", but may be mis-analyzing her assertion. She is probably saying that Western countries are able to deal with gay issues as matters of higher priority because they are not facing occupation, high unemployment rates, lack of education, and other issues which, frankly, are more pressing. This can lead to a different "scale". It's clear from the interview that Marcos's English is far from perfect, and Kirchick affords her no leeway.

Secondly, I am horribly disappointed by Kirchick's blind bias towards Israel, painting it as a bastion of gay rights in the Middle East, which it certainly isn't. He fails to acknowledge many of Israel's major shortcomings, including anti-gay members of the Knesset, the stabbing at last year's Jerusalem Pride parade and threats of violence at this year's World Pride, the shunning of Dana International when she visited the Knesset, and many other factors. Worst of all, he fails to acknowledge the systematic abuse of gay Palestinian youth by Israeli intelligence.

Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper, published an article called 'Queen Hussein' which documented the workings of the Israeli government. It says: "The Israel Security Service (Shabak) cynically uses Palestinian homophobia and coerces gays to choose between recruitment in its ranks and forceful outing. Most Palestinian gays choose the first option in order to save their lives. As such, every gay is considered a potential collaborator."

There are numerous other articles which attest to the same situation, and I personally have friends in Palestine who have told me of similar experiences. Kirchick says, "Unfortunately, Marcos appears to be a woman so blinded by her ethnic nationalism that she is unable to appreciate the advantages of Israel's liberal society. " It seems the reverse may be true of Kirchick, who is too blinded by his love of Israel to write objectively. Throughout his short journalistic career, Kirchick has continually written pro-Israel pieces, and it seems his vision has become clouded. This is shown by his blatant implication that Marcos is anti-Semitic, which he has no real proof for, and his constant allusions to the Palestinian Authority murdering gay people, which is horribly inaccurate, and unfounded.

I am not writing this because I am anti-Israel, or because I believe the Palestinian Territories are better for gay rights than Israel. I recognize that Israel is far ahead of the Palestinian Authority in these respects. But slandering the few pro-gay activists in the Arab World and falsely portraying Israel as a shining haven for gay people not only severely clouds the truth, it supports the prejudice that Arabs are backward and barbaric.

Al-Fil
Beirut

Thanks, Mike Davis, for suggesting I write them! I feel better now!

What is Going on in Morocco?

2006-07-26T16:26:00.000+03:00

This article from The Sunday Times in the UK makes me cringe - what is going on? A quote (most of the article, actually):

Locals are up in arms over a wall that Bernard-Henri Lévy, the writer and philosopher, and Arielle Dombasle, his actress wife, have erected around their sumptuous clifftop villa in Tangiers. It partially blocks the view of the bay from the terrace of a famous cafe next door.

The view of the Straits of Gibraltar and Bay of Tangiers was said to have inspired writers such as Jean Genet and Tennessee Williams, once regulars at the Hafa cafe. Rachid Taferssiti, a Tangiers writer, referred to Lévy’s wall of of breeze blocks as an example of the “ransacking of the countryside”.

Sensitive to local concerns, Lévy is said to have put up his wall to shelter the shapely Dombasle from public gaze as she suns herself by the swimming pool of the villa. The spectacle of women sunbathing topless plays into the hands of a growing Islamist movement striving to turn Morocco, one of the more liberal countries in the Muslim world, into a strict theocracy.

At first it was only super-rich foreigners who came to live in Morocco, among them Yves Saint Laurent, the French couturier, and the late magazine magnate Malcolm Forbes, who flew in 800 friends from all over the world, including Elizabeth Taylor, for his 70th birthday party at his palace in Tangiers in 1989.

Since then, having tired of the south of France, the Who’s Who? of French society has taken up residence in Morocco, from sportsmen and politicians to captains of industry. Morocco has also been attracting more ordinary tourists, becoming a haven for westerners in search of exotic thrills just a few hours by air from London or Paris.

The bombings in Casablanca in 2003, in which 45 people were killed, do not appear to have harmed that traffic. Yet the rise of the Party for Justice and Development, as the Islamist organisation is known, could cast a shadow on the horizon if, as some predict, it becomes the dominant force in parliament after elections next May.

After it first gained seats in parliament, the party was associated with a campaign against the Miss Morocco contest, which it regarded as “pornographic”. All of those involved were denounced as “un-Islamic” and the competition had to be held in secret.

The group favours sharia, which would enforce a widely ignored prohibition on the sale of alcohol and oblige all women to wear the veil. It has won a big following among a Muslim population depressed by the spectacle of young men and women — and sometimes even children — prostituting themselves to foreign “sex tourists”.

An Islamist newspaper warned recently that the tsunami that devastated parts of Thailand and Indonesia was God’s punishment for immoral behaviour and that Morocco risked a similar disaster unless it mended its ways. Partly in response to such pressure the government of Mohamed VI, the modernising monarch, recently launched a crackdown on vice.

Dozens of women have been rounded up in raids on bars in Marrakesh and other Moroccan cities this month on suspicion of prostitution. Several bar owners have been thrown into jail.

At the same time, the authorities decided to make an example of Jack-Henri Soumère, a well-known French opera director who has been visiting Morocco for three decades.

He was given a four-month suspended prison sentence and fined £500 for homosexuality — which is illegal in Morocco — and possession of cannabis.

Aniko Boehler, the co-ordinator of Hands Off My Child, the organisation that brought the case against him, said many foreign visitors to Morocco seemed to think they were in Marbella. Their “neo-colonial attitudes”, she added, were disrespectful to local customs.

Yet it was not just the immoral behaviour of foreigners that was fuelling the indignation of conservatives and the ranks of Islamist supporters.

“The children of the Moroccan elite are just as bad,” she said. “For them, Marrakesh is just as much of a playground. They go there to use and abuse.”

I'm sorry, but is the country going insane? At least this article points out the roots of the Islamicist backlash - idiotic, careless, spoiled Westerners with no regard for how their actions will affect society. I mean, seriously, why would you go to a Muslim country and sunbathe topless?

Morocco does have a serious problem with the sex trade. And Westerners who shamelessly take advantage of it should not be surprised of such a backlash. Islamicism may be be destructive, restrictive, and - dare I say it - unmodern, but sometimes people in the Arab World see no other way to protect themselves from Western decadence. The Western media likes to say that the Orient is afraid of McDonald's and Hollywood, but it's more than that. It's the disrespect that comparitively rich - and therefore powerful - visitors to Islamic countries show the residents' culture there that poses the greatest hazard.

The far majority of the tourists in Beirut are benign - they check out the clubs, the restaurants, and the museums. They buy hookahs and rugs and go home. But there is the tiny percent that tries to buy and sell the local population that causes an extreme amount of damage. You can see the same, to a greater extent, in Morocco, and to an infamous extent, in Thailand.

When there is a backlash, it hurts much more than just the Westerners who tour Islamic countries. It hurts all aspects of liberalism - gay rights, womens' rights, economic freedom, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, etc. Westerners who cause the problems can then just stay home or go somewhere else, leavng the residents to deal with the consequences.

A Beautiful Article on Arab Coverage in Haaretz

2006-07-25T19:21:00.000+03:00

An article in Haaretz titled "Nasrallah and Me" about broadcaster Zvi Yehezkeli really warmed my heart. It's realistic, beautiful, and culturally open-minded. It's funny, sometimes - some media outlets in Israel, the country with the most strife with the Arab World, often portrays the Arab World much better than American media, which only focuses on Arab "radical Islamic terrorists" and how America will be affected, i.e. the rising price of oil. (Not that some of the Arab stations are very good in their coverage of Israel and the U.S.) A quote:

On the show, "London and Kirschenbaum" [Zvi Yehezkeli] has a daily spot that is also broadcast during these days of fighting and covers the Arab world from diverse angles. "From the gyms in Dubai to the ringtones in mosques in Damascus and single women in Saudi Arabia," he says and quickly explains: "It's just as important to show the faces behind Assad or Mubarak. I say, 'these are people just like you. Let's take a look at them.' We have prompted a revolution in this regard."

That's how it should be. After reading the article, I wanted to give Yehezkeli a big hug and some kisses on the cheek. More journalists, in all countries, should be like him. Another quote:

During his three years on the job he managed to sneak into the Jericho prison to interview the murderers of Rehavam Ze'evi. He had exclusive interviews with the wanted man Zakaria Zubeidi and with Abu Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas] and Arafat.

Of course, presenting the residents of Arab countries, including those that are hostile to Israel, with all their human diversity, is an ideological matter. Yehezkeli shows how similar they are to the audience here ("how much we're like them," he corrects himself)

Yehezkeli did not vote in the last elections. "I didn't find any party that would represent me. All of them are short-sighted when it comes to Arab affairs," he says. "The political division between left and right is stupid. I also want to pull the rug out from under that."

There's also a bit of the gay in the article, so it's quite germane to this site:

"I explain the Arabs differently," he says. "They are always treated as political entities. For me, there are more colors, scents and sounds. Two days before the attack in Beirut I spoke about a play showing there, 'Women's Dialogue,' a sort of Lebanese version of 'The Vagina Monologues.' We did a report on a cell of wanted terrorists in the West Bank. How they have shirts with logos. Someone who has a Nike logo, that says something about him, doesn't it?" Another report he did covered sex change operations in Iran. "They do seven times more of them in Iran than anywhere else in the Western world," he says. "Khomeini once said 'if you have an obstacle in life, find a way around it.' That is how they cope with homosexuality. Obviously I'll also include the most recent dispute among the different sects in Iraq. I'll always deal with politics. But I have no sources in Military Intelligence. I don't need them to tell me what Arabs are thinking. I live there."

It's an interesting way to put the Islamic view on how to deal homosexuality. It's not perfect, but it's close.

Folktales, the War, and Philadelphia

2006-07-25T00:56:00.000+03:00

Not much has been happening these last few days in Amman. It's very quiet here. If the newspaper didn't report that there was a war going on, you probably wouldn't know it. Sure, thousands of Jordanians from the Muslim Brotherhood took to the streets on Friday to show solidarity with Hizbullah, but the police stood in their way because of lack of permits. If you weren't in the vicinity of the protests, you wouldn't even know it was there. And, just as the Lebanese Political Journal reports as happened in Syria, it was full of Hizbullah flags, not Lebanese ones.

I've been spending a lot of time online, reading the news, commenting on blogs, talking to friends in Lebanon, and writing this blog. There's no real gay life in old Philly, just some cafes and bars which gay people sort-of frequent, but they kind of blend in. I'm not really in the mood to meet new people anyways. It's weird - in one of the few Arab countries where being gay is not illegal, there's no real scene. Even Egypt's scene is more cohesive. But Jordan is a traditional country, so there are plenty of reasons for it.

I've also been spending a lot of time sleeping and thinking, recounting old folktales in my head. It's strange...I think of old Greek epic poems and mythology. There were always two main themes - finding love and being far from home. Like the story of Persephone - Hades finds love, and Persephone is dragged from her home.

Throughout the years, it appears that the West and East have divided up these old stories as they have attempted to divide up the world, each taking their own part.

In the West, folktales have seem to have come to favor the plot of being without, then finding, love - Cinderella, the Frog Prince, the Little Mermaid. Sure, there are exceptions, like Hansel and Gretel, but the majority of the famous ones, at least the ones I'm familiar with, follow the same theme.

In the East, there's Sindbad, Juha, and Lubayna. Love is there, but the predominate theme is loss of and distance from home, family, and familiarity. It's echoed in songs. In how many Arabic songs has the singer found love, but is painfully separated from it? I'm kind of feeling that now.

In Amman, all the houses look the same, bland sandstone-colored structures that seem to rise organically from the sprawling brown hills. It's easy to get lost - every stairway is similar, and miles of walking will give you nothing but bloody feet. If New York is the city that never sleeps, then Amman is the city that always sleeps.

The food makes me feel sad. Restaurants with the Lebanese flag are a common sight on many corners, and at any time of day, delivery cars (there are no motorbikes here) whiz by for establishments like "Lebanon Snack". But the food isn't as good, and I don't eat at those places. I want nothing more than a chouarma from Barbar.

Anyway, there's one story that my mother used to tell me that's been sticking in my head, about when Juha went to sell his donkey:

In one day of many days, Juha decided to take his donkey into town and sell it. It was a strong, sturdy donkey, and Juha thought he could get a nice price for it. Besides, he needed the money. So he put his young son on the donkey and started the long journey into town, with Juha walking alongside the donkey.

On the way into town, they passed a shepard, who scolded the young boy. "How can you sit there so comfortably while your poor old father has to walk the whole way behind you? You are young and have strong legs, it should be you who is walking! Have you no respect for your father?" So the boy got down and Juha climbed on the back of the donkey, and they contined on their way.

A little while later, they passed some women hanging clothes to dry. "Shame one you," they called to Juha, "making your poor little boy walk next to you. He is so young!" So Juha picked the boy up, placing him in front of him, and they continued on together.

The donkey was sturdy and strong, but not strong enough to carry two people easily, and the donkey began to sweat, showing his strain. As they continued on their journey, they passed another traveller. "You know, you shouldn't both be on the back of such a poor creature. How is such a poor animal supposed to carry two people? A donkey is Allah's creation as well; have some pity!" Juha thought the man was right, so he and his son got off the donkey.

"What shall we do?" Juha asked his son. "When you were on the donkey, we were scolded because I am too old to walk. When I was on the donkey, we were scolded because you are too young to walk. When we both were on the donkey, we were scolded because the donkey is too weak. What is there to do?"

Juha thought for a while, then came up with a solution. He and his son picked up the donkey, and carried it all the way into town. The people of the town had never seen such a thing, and many an eye stared at Juha as though he were crazy.

The moral of the story? No matter how you try to fix things, someone is going to complain. I think it applies to a lot of things, such as Hizbullah, Israel, gay rights, religion, and what to eat for dinner. In a way, it's funny. In another way, it's depressing.

Egos and the Gay Division Over How to Treat Iran

2006-07-23T20:21:00.000+03:00

I found this excellent article on the July 19 protests against Iran in the Gay City News. It says a lot, and made me realize that I still have a lot to say about the issue. The quotes are long, but I think it's worth reading, and I put time into the commentary. A quote:

A year later, as dozens of cities worldwide, including New York, held vigils July 19 to mark the anniversary of the executions, HRW has hardened in its insistence that there is no support for the charge that the Mashad men were killed because of their sexuality. The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) offers a more agnostic assessment, saying that Iran must clear the air but also warning against inflammatory actions by LGBT activists that could worsen conditions for gays there.

Despite a skeptical stance that has persisted, IGLHRC initially stepped up to organize New York’s July 19 vigil, but in the wake of a scathing memo last week from HRW’s gay rights specialist Scott Long criticizing the accuracy, rhetoric, and motivations of anti-Iran activists, IGLHRC abruptly dropped its sponsorship.

Instead, IGLHRC joined HRW and other groups including the Al-Fatiha Foundation, a group for gay Muslims, in hosting a competing forum at New York’s LGBT Community Center, scheduled at the same time as the vigil in front of the Iranian Mission to the United Nations.

And another:

Early reports on the Mashad executions last July quickly caught the attention of Peter Tatchell, the head of the militant LGBT rights group Outrage! in London, and was picked up by conservative blogger Andrew Sullivan as well as by Ireland, who posted his first story on his Web site prior to covering the story for Gay City News. Tatchell and Sullivan—but not Ireland—used the term “Islamo-fascist” in describing the Iranian regime, a hawkish formulation that raised red flags among human rights activists unwilling to align themselves with right-wing Western critiques of the Muslim world and Bush foreign policy adventuring (though on that score Tatchell was an unlikely bedfellow).

And another:

Those who disagree with Long question whether it is he who has been uncritical—in accepting official Iranian accounts of the executions. When the story broke, he sent an unsolicited e-mail to Gay City News saying, “It is reasonably certain they were executed for sexual assault on a 13-year-old” and told Ireland that HRW was “90 percent sure” rape had taken place. Yet, Hadi Ghaemi, the group’s Iran expert, said that certainty was based on one source, a story in the newspaper Qud, controlled by regime supporters. Months later, according to Ireland, Long e-mailed him that the group had additional sources for its view.

Another point Long made in his memorandum last week is that those who believe the Mashad executions were based in homophobia are “imputing a Westernized ‘gay’ identity on these youths,” the suggestion being that a level of cultural insensitivity and naiveté is involved. That perspective was echoed by a number of panelists at the IGLHRC forum Wednesday evening, most passionately by Iranian-American filmmaker Kouross Esmaeli, who voiced harsh criticism of Gay City News reporting about his homeland.

Yet in at least four stories Ireland has written since last September, based on interviews with Iranians still in their homeland or in exile—Amir, a 22-year-old gay exile in Turkey (gaycitynews.com/gcn_438/nexttimeyoullbe.html), Sam, a 28-year-old gay exile in Pakistan (gaycitynews.com/gcn_502/anothergayiraniantorture.html), Mekabiz, a self-described “transsexual man” still living in Mashad (gaycitynews.com/gcn_506/transsexualansstuck.html), and Mani, a 24-year-old gay man living in an Iranian city he was afraid to disclose (gaycitynews.com/gcn_527/gayandunderground.html)—he has demonstrated there are young people there who talk about their sexual and gender identity in ways many Americans would understand. It is, in part, this increasingly Westernized identity that Iranian authorities use torture and worse to stamp out. This is the reporting Long acknowledged was “authentic and compelling.”

Based on this reporting and other sources who told him so directly, Ireland wrote that Ahmadinejad had stepped up repression of gays when he assumed the presidency last year. The assault on gay Iranians amounts to a pogrom, Ireland concluded. Borrowing the term used to describe the episodic ouster and genocide aimed at Jews throughout European history was bound to stir controversy and clearly some believe more detailed documentation is required.

Long explained his discomfort with the characterization. “Crying wolf is a bad strategy for achieving change,” he wrote last week. “Because if human rights advocates don’t deal in facts instead of speculation, they lose all credibility in future crises… These misrepresentations actually work against the interests of Iranian asylum-seekers… and could play into the hands of the Iranian government if these claims are proven wrong.”

One more:

Asked to explain her group’s abrupt bailout from leadership of the New York July 19 vigil, [IGLHRC Executive Director Paula] Ettelbrick voiced concern that the protests worldwide might have an “inflammatory” impact on the Iran situation, creating a link between gay life there and a Western agenda in the regime’s eyes.

“I wanted to make sure that our participation was consistent with our approach,” she explained. “What can we do to be effective? The name of Peter’s group is Outrage! The name of our group is the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission.”

How do I begin? This article truly is excellent - it expertly outlines the divide in gay activist between bullish revolutionaries and tiptoed precautionaries.

I have said before that I think Tatchell and Sullivan hold extreme views, and their irresponsible use of "Islamo-fascist" reaffirms that. I've also said that the protests might make not make things better for gay people in Iran, but I don't think it'll make it worse. I really don't think Iran's regime would confuse the West's opposition to it getting nuclear technology with gay rights organizatiosn protesting the hanging of gay teenagers - the may equivalate the two publicly, but that's propaganda, and they would do that anyway, regardless of the protests.

It was wrong for IGLHRC, HRW, and the Al-Fatiha Foundation to hold a competing event. If you disagree with another gay group's actions, it's fine to say so. It's also fine to abstain from supporting them, or distribute materials which contradict their stances. These groups, however went beyond that. The groups in the vigil, a lot of which had Iranian support, were there for a good cause. It's one thing to say they're overreacting, but another to vehemently oppose them.

IGLHRC acted like a cowardly dog, shying away in fear rather than barking at danger. It's overtly clear that they acted out of pressure from Long, rather than of their own accord. Sure, they don't want to overreact (evidenced by Ettelbrick's inane comparison of organization names), but if this is not a time for action what is? Are two young lives not enough? Many similar cases have been reported. Would 50 be enough? 100? How many does she need? I, personally, side with the groups supporting the protests, for I've seen numerous Iranian sources that side with them, but none that oppose them (Al-Fatiha doesn't really count).

It's also clear that the entire debate overstepped the boundaries of being about Iran. Many of the participants in the dialogue, especially Long, seem to have gotten their egos mixed up in their politics. All the name-calling and verbal attacks are dispicable. Throughout the article, it becomes increasingly clear that the players are less concerned with learning the truth than they are about being right, which is absolutely shameful. Long, for example, seems to have less facts than the rest of them, but is more adament than they are - how does that work?

Long does make one semi-germane point, though. It's true about what he says about crying wolf. If the sources are proven wrong, it would be detrimental to the human rights movement, gay people in Iran, asylum seekers, etc. But proving the claims wrong is as about as likely as solving the Bermuda Triangle mysteries. It's extremely doubtful that all these Iranian sources are in a huge conspiracy to fraud the human rights movement, or that they are wrong. Even if it's not a "pogrom", it's still horrifying.

I guess it all boils down to the word "pogrom". Are the killings in Iran really worse than the killings in Saudi Arabia? Or the torture in Egypt? Probably not. "Pogrom" just makes them seem worse than the others, because it envisions the Jewish holocaust. So, in effect, gay activists went from arguing about the extremity of gay persecution in Iran to its validity, as if disproving a "pogrom" would invalidate everything.

As a final note, I hate what Long says about "imputing a Westernized ‘gay’ identity on these youths", which is a steaming pile of donkey-#$%@. Islamists are putting a gay identity on people in the Middle East just as much as the West is. Gay people in the Middle East didn't experience the current level of persecution until the 1990s, when the gay movement began to gain momentum in the West. Why? It's simple - Islamists want to distance the East from the West. By showing how gay the West is, and how gay the East isn't, they accomplish their goal. Why do you think there has been so much coverage of gay marriage in Western nations? Gay people are a group that evokes relatively little sympathy in the Middle East, and are an easy target for the Islamists. The current crackdowns targeting gay people are merely an extension of the Islamist vs. Western Imperialism battle that has been raging for decades. Islamists superimpose the term "gay" just as much as Westerners, and it's uninformed - and a bit ethnocentric - to say otherwise. (This is going to have to be another post; I have loads to say about this.)

Mithliyoun or Mithliyeen?

2006-07-23T19:58:00.000+03:00

Someone sent me an e-mail today, asking why I say "mithliyoun junsiya" (مثليون جنسيا) is an Arabic term for "gay" when Helem lists "mithliyeen junsiya" (مثليين جنسيا). The answer is simple: they are equivalent.

In Arabic, simple masculine plurals take the "-oun" (ون-) or "-een" (ين-) endings. Both mean the same, but are added depending on where they occur in the sentence.

"-oun" is for subjects.

If I want to say, "Gay people are beautiful", I would say "مثليون جنسيا جميلون".

"-een" is for objects.

If I want to say, "I love gay people", I would say "أحبّ مثليين جنسيا".

That's why Helem stands for "Hemaya Lubnaneeya lil-Mithliyeen". It's just grammar. I hope that makes sense.

Religion and Evil

2006-07-23T15:18:00.000+03:00

In a comment to my last post, a reader of this blog told me she liked it in a very flattering comment. I blushed. But she said something which didn't really sit right with me: "Overall, the common theme is that religion is the source of all evil."

I'm not sure whether she was referencing the current Israeli-Hizbullah war, or posts in my blog. I hope it's not the latter.

I don't agree that religion is the source of all evil, however, and I desperately hope that my postings in this blog don't indicate that I do. I am a very religious person, and believe strongly in the good of God. I think it's the misuse of God that is a great source of evil, for many people project their own prejudices onto God and then use God as justification for their evil deeds.

I am against misuse of religion, not religion itself.

In respect to gay people, for centuries, religious texts has been mistranslated, misinterpreted, fabricated, and deleted to support anti-gay rhetoric. It's like painting a white horse black - no matter how much paint you put on horse, it is still pure underneath.

I believe in the white horse and I believe in salvation, redemption, and the power of God against evil. That's why I'm al-Fil (it's from the Qur'an, sura 105 - maybe I'll explain my name someday, I'm sure it might be misinterpreted as well).

Anti-Gay Turkish Advice Columnist Dies

2006-07-22T20:38:00.000+03:00

This war is taking its toll on me. I spent the day in a cafe, and around me were young, rich Beirutis carrying on. I heard the words "A.U.B." about a hundred times. I don't tend to like rich people. I'm not really enjoying Amman.

This blog is keeping my mind off the bad things, and the fact that the United States is sending Israel an express shipment of bombs for continued attacks. The whole world seems to want the war to end, except for Israel, the U.S., Syria, Iran, and Hizbullah. Hmmmmm.....

Anyway, about the dead woman:

The Turkish Daily News reported yesterday the death of Fatma Güzin Sayar, 84, the woman behind the famed Güzin Abla, which gave advice to thousands of Turkish people about their lives. A quote:

Men are from Mars:
Coming from an elite Istanbul family, Güzin Sayar began her journalism career in 1952. In the 1960s, she began an advice column, “Sorun Söyleyelim” (Ask and We Shall Tell) in Son Havadis newspaper. The brand name “Güzin Abla” began as the column title in the 1970s, as she continued answering letters from the readers.

She married a commander when she was 16, despite the reactions from her family. Her marriage ended with a daughter and a cheating husband. When her second marriage also ended with her husband cheating on her once more, she channeled her frustration to her column, cautioning thousands of young women towards marriages and men in general.

At one point, she was among the 30 most powerful women in Turkey. Güzin Abla, naturally, appealed to the more conservative and the uneducated. Although she was strictly against women losing their virginity before marriage, she also sent the message that women who were not virgins should not be socially excluded. Homosexuality, for Güzin Abla, was a deviation, a disease that needed to be cured. It was treated as a disease with very low chances of being cured, next to cancer and AIDS.

While she advised women to be more passive in relationships, asking them to be patient when heart-broken, she asked men to be more assertive, to talk to women when there was a problem.
Careful readers would notice how emotional she could get about adultery, as a woman with two broken marriages for the same reason. She was very harsh on affairs with married men, something definitely to stay away from. Most of her answers treated women as “victims,” who were forced to get married or who were stuck in unwanted relationships. And as far as Güzin Abla was concerned, men could hardly be trusted.

A secure platform:

Some of the readers' letters acted as cautionary tales. Güzin Abla deliberately published some of the letters trying to give lessons about premarital sex, homosexuality and adultery. She always became an important barometer of sexual relationships and took pride in acting as a power figure and an expert, despite her lack of education on psychology, sociology or gender. She didn't have any problems with recommending doctors and gynecologists to her readers, another one of her eye-brow raising quirks.

When we look back at Güzin Abla's role as the advisor to millions of Turkish people for almost four decades, we see how little has changed since her first columns in the 1960s. Young women are still scared to death of premarital sexual relationships, men are still cheating on their wives, afraid of becoming gay and not satisfied with their penis sizes. And women are still left for younger women.

It's not really fair only to look at what Güzin Abla advised millions of readers throughout the decades, as she went through cycles of her own. But it's important to see how she managed to create a secure platform for decades for all the cries of help coming from unhappy and confused people throughout Turkey.

I think the article says a lot. First, it seems to me that the author, Emrah Güler, doesn't agree with Güzin Abla's advice: she makes extra effort to point out the reasons behind her advice about marriage, and is extra cautios about making sure Alba's views on homosexuality are seen as only belonging to Abla. To me, it seems that Güler likes Abla, not because she gave good advice, but because she was a strong woman who sttod up for what she believed in. That I can respect.

I really like the article. I can't say I'm not happy that this woman is no longer writing anti-gay advice, but this article inspired me in ways I can't explain. May God watch over her soul.

World Pride Parade Cancelled

2006-07-22T15:09:00.000+03:00

For the second year in a row, World Pride has been affected by Israeli politics. Last year, the entire event was postponed due to Israel's unilateral pullout from Gaza. This year, only the parade is cancelled due to the war with Hizbullah, but the other events will go on.

The cancellation of the parade was announced last night, but no press release has appeared in on the Jerusalem Open House website, yet. Jerusalem Open House is the lgbt-rights organization responsible for organizing World Pride this year. Pink News has an article. A quote:

The Jerusalem WorldPride parade has been postponed until "after the war."

The organisers of the event, Jerusalem Open House (JOH), announced last night that the rally will no longer take place due to the demands it would be making on security which is currently caught up in escalating tension in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.

A JOH statement said: “This is not the time for celebrations.

“The parade, which requires extensive security, will not take place due to the situation.”

A JOH spokesman told PinkNews.co.uk: "The week of events will go ahead, from 6-12 August, but will be toned down to suit the situation in Israel.

"All the conferences and congresses will go ahead as usual and there will also be some form of demonstration in favour of pluralism in Jerusalem."

JOH Director Hagai Elad told Israeli news website, Ynetnews.com, “We are determined to fight for our right to march in Jerusalem this year.

"We will not succumb to the violent incitement against our community and against all the proponents of democracy in Jerusalem.”

The situation may appease some sections of Israel's Orthodox Jewish community and politicians who have protested against the march and in some cases offered rewards for killing a gay person.

Over 2000 leaflets were distributed in Jerusalem, reading; "During this parade, 300,000 corrupt animals are anticipated to march through the holy city of Jerusalem, waiting avidly for the chance to put themselves on display before our children and our sacred Torah. They will try as hard as they can to defile as many of our innocent children as they can."

Well, that pretty much says it all. I still support World Pride, by the way. If you are still planning on going, however, may I recommend a hotel/hostel in the Arab quarter? The discrepancy between Jewish and Arab economic situation in Jerusalem is incredible, and a lot of it is due to the fact that Arabs have a difficult time finding work in the Israeli state, especially with the new influx of Russian immigrants. As Russian immigrants flood into Israel, they are takig jobs on kibbutzim with have been held by Arab Israelis and Palestinians.

Arabs in Jerusalem depend somewhat on tourism, and are unfortunately overlooked by many tourists. The Arab quarter of the city is definitely safe, and much more friendly and lively than other sections of the city. Give it a try.

Update later on June 22:

I found this post on News Fit to Post. It's amazing!

Helem is Silent

2006-07-22T11:00:00.000+03:00

Right now, Helem is observing a 10-minute moment of silence at Martyrs' Square in Beirut to recognize all of the dead who have fallen in the recent Israeli aggression. Pamphlets bearing the names of dead children will be distributed and held.

Helem is part of "Lil-Hayat", a group of progressive civil society organizations in Lebanon, which is organizing the moment of silence. All of the participating groups can be found here.

In other Helem news, the Helem center at Zico House is taking on refugees, offering them shelter, food, and supplies. It's not only humane and generous, it's great political strategy. It's very difficult to say, "Gay people gave me food, shelter, and safety, but I don't think they deserve equal rights."

If you are in Lebanon and would like to help out or donate needed items, please go to the Helem center on Spears Street in Senayeh or call Georges (03-031428), Rasha (03-35664), or Sara (70-917001). Helem especially needs people with cars to transport medication and supplies and to survey refugee needs in the schools.

Helem is amazing.

Google Doesn't Care If It's Homophobic

2006-07-22T02:19:00.000+03:00

I just received this e-mail from Google in response to my letter asking them to change their offensively anti-gay Arabic translation tool:

Hi Al-Fil,

Thank you for your note. Although our translations are produced automatically by state of the art technology, unfortunately even today's sophisticated software doesn't approach the fluency of a native speaker. We recognize that the results may be less nuanced than what a human editor might provide, and we're continually working to improve the quality of our automatic translation. In the interim, we hope the service we provide is useful for most purposes.

Thanks for taking the time to write.

Regards,The Google Team

Why do I feel like I've seen that before? All they did was copy and paste from their help section. It looks like a complete brush-off to me: the message shows no intention of fixing the problem. Now I'm angry! Write to them (I posted how in the last post)!

Also, I wrote Google this follow-up e-mail:

Dear Google Help,

I find it troubling that your e-mail shows no intention to solve the problem, but merely restates what is posted in your help section online. I feel that it shows great insensitivity and a lack of foresight. I want you to know that I've informed everyone I know, posted on numerous gay blogs, and written to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and the International Gay and Lesbian Association. I will continue to work to spread the word until the situation is fixed.

-Al-Fil

An Open Letter to Google

2006-07-21T14:01:00.000+03:00

I sent a letter to Google today, after I found that their Language Tools translate "gay" as "اللوطي", a highly-offensive term. In Google's help section, they have this entry:

Do you know that your translation tool sometimes suggests inaccurate translations?

Although our translations are produced automatically by state of the art technology, unfortunately even today's sophisticated software doesn't approach the fluency of a native speaker. We recognize that the results may be less nuanced than what a human editor might provide, and we're continually working to improve the quality of our automatic translation. In the interim, we hope the service we provide is useful for most purposes.

Well, I don't know what kind of state-of-the-art technology used such arcane vocabulary. Here's the letter I wrote, and I encourage other people to do the same:

Dear Google,

I recently discovered your Language Tools for translation have included Arabic, and I was quite pleased. As someone in the Middle East, I think it's important that foreigners have an ability to read the Arab media, which often lists news stories not covered in the West. My happiness was short-lived, however.

When I put in the word "gay", I received "اللوطي" (al-luti) as a response. As you may know, "luti" is a religious and extremely derogatory term for gay people, equivalent to the English word "sodomite". Furthermore, it is more slang than standard Arabic. I have used Google for a long time, and find this discriminatory translation to be troubling and atypical of Google.
Even Arabic media has been shying away from using "luti". Al-Arabiya, which is certainly not pro-gay in any way, uses "شاذة جنسيا" (shatha junsiya), an equivalent of "sexual deviant". This term, though not great, is still less offensive than "luti".

I was further distressed to see that gay-positive terminology adopted by the gay movement in the Arab World, such as "مثليون جنسيا" (mithliyoun junsiya), the semantic equivalent of "homosexuals", returns garbage in your translation tool.

I don't know where you got your Arabic dictionary from, but it seems antiquated. I sincerely hope you rectify the situation, or you may lose me as a customer. Gay people in the Middle East have been fighting hard for recognition and equality, and continuing the usage of derogatory terminology only makes the struggle more difficult. How can one fight for equality using the word "sodomite"? I would expect better from an enlightened company such as Google, which has strived to reach out to cultures across the globe.

-Al-Fil, Beirut, Lebanon

You can reach Google at:

Google Inc.
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043
phone: (650) 253-0000
fax: (650) 253-0001

It's very hard to find somewhere to send an online complaint. But you can do it here or here.

Yesterday's Protests Against Iranian Treatment of Gay People

2006-07-21T13:14:00.000+03:00

Because all of the protests were in Western countries, and I didn't want to spend my night online (time zones work like that), I'm writing about this a day late. But it'll be worth it! (wink, wink)

All in all, the protests seemed mildly successful. I don't really think the Iranian government cares about the protests, and due to the crises in the world, they never really made it out of gay media. I couldn't find one mention of the protests in Arab media (I don't read Farsi). Still, almost ant showing of gay solidarity is a good thing, and even the smallest amount of progress still makes the road to freedom shorter.

There are tons of article and posts about the protests, but I'm going to quote IRINNews, an offshoot of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. IRINNews always has great, unbiased pieces, and this one especially focuses on the perpective of Iranian gay people, rather than just the protesters in foregin countries. A quote:

Arsham Parsi, secretary of human rights affairs for the Persian Gay and Lesbian Organization (PGLO), said the situation left gay men with no option but to hide.

"There is no room for rights as their mere life is threatened by law," he said from Canada.

"They can not report the abuse because they will have to state that they're gay, and that calls for harsh punishments and death."

In a letter to the United Nations, PGLO said that under Islamic law the penalty for sexual relations between two men was death, with a judge deciding the method of execution. The options included stoning, hanging, hurling from a height or death by sword.

"This brutality occurs within the Islamic regime of Iran, while the agreement of social and political rights of the world organisation [the UN] has banned torture and execution punishments for consensual relations between adults," the letter read.

It added that under Islamic law there was no boundary between "sexual abuse" and "homosexual relations", warning: "What we are highly concerned with and urgently ask from you is that a ban be placed on the execution of homosexuals and legal protection be provided to them in Iran." ...

Homan, a non-profit support organisation for the Los Angeles Iranian lesbian, gay, and bisexual community, believes that up to 4,000 lesbians and gay men may have been executed since the Iranian revolution in 1979.

According to various right[s] groups, an estimated 100,000 Iranians have been put to death during the past 27 years of clerical rule including women who had sex outside of marriage and political opponents of the government.

There are scores of good posts on the protests in many blogs, and I'm just going to list them. I'm working hard on my next post, which is important to me (not that Iran isn't). Besides, I've said almost all I can say about the events in Iran here, here, here, here, here, and here, among other. I like the post on the protests on Towleroad.

Appalling Acts of Murder and Gay Bribery in Kurdistan

2006-07-20T16:55:00.000+03:00

I found this article on al-Arabiya. The newspaper claims it's from Agence France-Presse, but I can find nothing to back that claim up. Titled "They Confessed to Cutting Off Heads in the North of Iraq for Training: A Kurdish Group Practices Sodomy and Drinking Wine to Establish Islamic Intelligence", the article documents the slaughtering of a number of civilians in Irbil, Iraq, and the use of forced homosexual acts on videotapes as bribes for loyalty. I am shocked, dismayed, and disgusted.

The picture posted is a member of "Supporters of Islam" with inset pictures of murdered victims.

The majority of the article, translated by me:

The television channel "Kurdistan", owned by the Democratic Party of Kurdistan under the leadership of Massoud Barzani, aired yesterday evening, Tuesday July 12, 205, the confessions of four people accused of belonging to a group called "Supporters of Islam". In their confessions, they admitted having carried out dismemberment and explosions in the cities of Irbil and Dahouk in the north of Iraq.

It was said that the leader of the group is a sheikh called "Layla al-Sheikh Abdul Karim al-Borzanji", [Sheikh Zana], (35 years old) from the city of Irbil (350 km
north of Baghdad) and a graduate of the Faculty of Engineering in the mechanics department. He said, "We have carried out the killing of a number of citizens after drawing them to houses in the center of Irbil, with the goal of training the group that has been working with me to slaughter citizens, then cutting them up and placing them in bags which are dumped in remote locations."

During the confessions, the Kurdish satellite channel broadcast scenes of the slaughter of young men after it hid the victims' faces, in addition to sexual exercises that were carried out among them or with girls.
The satellite channel warned citizens that the scenes should not be seen by people under 18 years of age. It was admitted that Sheikh Zana trained his group using sodomy [i.e. gay sex] and sex with girls, drinking wine, and gambling so that the security services do not doubt them.

The television channel presented shots from the house that was used for the commission such acts. Sheikh Zana spoke about his commitment to the Kurdish group Ansar al-Islam. The Kurdish television channel presented footage of the highly-explosive materials, muffled guns, and other materials used in their operations.

To explain his side, Dlir Haidar said in his confessions, "To me, Sheikh Zana said we need Islamic intelligence, and to achieve this, all of the practices, ncluding sodomy and sex with girls, drinking wine, gambling, and mixing with all kinds of people is necessary."

He continued, "At first I was not convinced, but it was insisted on, and I was given narcotic pills, then we engaged in sex and it was recorded on videotape." Dlir explained that the leader of the group, Sheikh Zana, informed him that "the tapes would be used against any member that tries to commit treason against the group or that does not carry out his duty properly."

He added, "Two of the men refused to have sex, and the sheikh ordered their killing. We killed them using a silenced gun and then cut them up and put them in nylon bags to be thrown in remote areas." The Kurdish satellite channel broadcast the confessions of four people and promised to air more confessions in the next few days .
Neither security sources nor other press releases offered more information about this group or their affiliation with "Supporters of Islam."

Firstly, I don't know if this is true. I don't trust al-Arabiya. But the same article was also printed on al-Watan (but that doesn't give it that much more credibility). Is this anti-Kurdish propaganda? It's not unheard of to tie disliked groups to homosexuality to disgrace them, and al-Arabiya has shown that it really doesn't like gay people or Kurds.

Secondly, I hope it's not true. It is disgusting, deplorable, and every bad word I can think of. But deep down, I believe it's true. I think al-Arabiya would make up a lot of facts, but I don't think it would create a television broadcast of another station that never really existed. I don't know Kurdish, so I can't really check. My heart hurts.

Helem Helping Refugees

2006-07-20T15:41:00.000+03:00

Helem, the first lgbt-rights organization in the Arab World, is now accepting donations in its efforts to help Lebanese refugees from the war.

Donations can be sentto the following temporary bank accounts:

Credit Libanais S.A.L Beyrouth
Agence Sassine
SWIFT CODE: CLIBLBBX
Client Name: Al Azzi Georges
Account number: 043.001.180.0006817.35.6

or

SGBL Hamra Branch
SWIFT CODE: SGLILBBX
Client Name: CHIT Bassem
Account number: 007.004.367.092.875.014

or

donate through PayPal through their donations page.

Their hotline, +961 (0) 1 745 092, is also coordinating help for refugees as well as addressing gay issues.

It just shows that the gay community is always ready to lend a hand.

Breaking News: World Pride 2006 Caused the Bombing of Beirut and Haifa

2006-07-20T14:32:00.000+03:00

It had to happen eventually. Why talk real politics when you can just blame everything on gay people and God's wrath? According to WorldNetDaily, some rabbis in Israel are blaming the current war between Israel and Hizbullah on World Pride 2006 in Jerusalem. To be honest, I expected someone to blame gay people eventually, but I wasn't sure whether rabbis in Israel or clerics in Lebanon would be the first. Both countries have been increasingly tolerant of gay people, and both have been experiencing radical backlash. Anyway, a quote:

Are Israel's troubles in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon and the Hezbollah rockets slamming daily into major Israeli population centers here a result of the Jewish state's tacit support for a homosexual parade slated for next month in Jerusalem?

Some rabbis seem to think so, and they are attempting to block the event from taking place in Judaism's holiest city.

"Why does this war break out this week, all of sudden with little warning? Because this is the exact week the Jewish people are trying to decide whether the gay pride parade should take place in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv," Pinchas Winston, a noted author, rabbi and lecturer based in Jerusalem told WND...

"This [parade] is an attack against God himself," Winston said. "God has told the Jewish people, 'If you are not going to fight for my honor, you will be forced to fight for your own honor.'"

Winston points to the clashes that broke out after Hezbollah staged a raid last week in which two Israeli soldiers were kidnapped and eight more soldiers were killed. Israel has been retaliating inside Lebanon while the Lebanese terror group has fired hundreds of deadly Katyusha rockets at northern Israeli population centers, killing 18 civilians and wounding hundreds, some seriously.

And another quote:

Lazer Brody, an author and dean of the Breslov Rabbinical College in Ashdod, Israel, concurred with Winston.
"When God’s presence is in the camp, nothing can happen to the Jewish people," Brody stated. "But If the Jewish people bring impurity into the camp of Israel, this chases away God's presence."
Brody contends the "removal of God's presence" led to the recent violence here, but he said he still feels the Jewish state is being protected.
"Over 1,000 Katyusha rockets have been fired thus far, and the damage has been equivalent to scratches," Brody said.

One more:

The Rabbinical Congress for Peace, a worldwide coalition of over 1200 rabbinic leaders and pulpit rabbis released a statement this week asking Israelis to "increase the holiness" of the country while it was at war by praying and among other thing cancelling the World Pride event.

And one last one:

Meanwhile, Yehuda Levin, a member of the Rabbinical Alliance of America, has come to Israel specifically to prevent the homosexual celebration from taking place. He said a homosexual parade is akin to a parade of "prostitutes promoting prostitution, or adulterers encouraging others to try adultery at least once in their life."
"Israel is the Holy Land, not the homo-land," Levin told WND.

I can't help but laugh. What else an we blame gay people for? Does gay sex cause global warming? Do gay beaches cause tsunamis in Indonesia? How about gay dance music causing earthquakes in Iran? How can people take these arguments seriously?

Mr. Gay Lebanon and Other Non-War News

2006-07-19T22:36:00.000+03:00

Well, some good stuff I found to take my mind off the war:

The Mr. Gay Competition, set for October, is hosting three contestants from the Middle East, representing Iraq, Israel and Lebanon. The competition is neither big nor important - the contestants seem to nominate themselves - but it brightened my day.

Funniest yet, the contestant from Lebanon, Elie Ballan, is a server from Club Social in Gemmayzeh, one of the bars that tries to pretend it's not a gay bar. He's not my cup of tea (I like Mr. Gay Venezuela), but I wish him luck.

In other news, Barra is having a logo competition to replace its boring red box. I was going to post on this about a month ago, but I forgot. The deadline is August 1, so hurry!

Worker's World Confuses Protests with Imperialism

2006-07-19T22:26:00.000+03:00

In another terrible article, Leslie Feinberg of Workers World again denies the anti-gay pogrom in Iran, as she did less than a month ago. Now, I'm not necessarily pro-protest, but Feinberg's article is obnoxious, ridiculous propaganda. Here's what she says to justify that there's no anti-gay pogrom:

It turned out that OutRage! had based its charge that the two young men were executed for consensual sex on a mistranslation of a July 19 Iranian Students News Agency article and a report from the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) ...

Human Rights Watch revealed that the rape charge had been mistranslated from Farsi. Scott Long, the group’s LGBT Rights Project director, stated, “There is no evidence that this was a consensual act. ... A whole tissue of speculation has been woven around mistranslations and omissions and this has been solidified into a narrative that this is a gay rights case.” (Kim)

Many other sources, none of them “soft” on Tehran, also reported that the two young men were executed for taking part with at least three others in abducting and gang-raping a 13-year-old boy at knife point. These included the New York Times, Associated Press, Fox News Channel and Times of London and Radio Free Europe.

She then takes the charges for face value. She hurries over the fact that the gay news sources admitted their mistake, twisting it to make it seem like they admitted they weren't executed because they were gay, which has become increasingly certain, especially with the new evidence.

What is most troubling is that she turns the reporting of the execution of the two boys into a Western campaign for the destruction of Iran. Her claim hinges on quotes by Peter Tatchell of London's OutRage! and American blogger Andrew Sullivan, both of whom are hardly good examples of the mainstream gay community in this case. In fact, I would say that they are both rather extremist, especially Sullivan, who has been berated for consistently spewing out absurdly pundit-like propaganda.

She continues to follow in the errors that I outlined before, but with an even worse flaw: she omits that it's an Iranian organization which is a large party behind the protests. In an effort to make it seem completely imperialist, Feinberg omits the Persian Gay and Lesbian Organization (PGLO). If she mentioned that it was Persians behind the protests, that would show her entire arguments to be the trash that they are.

A quote from Arsham Parsi, secretary of the Human Rights Commission of the PGLO:

“We urge cities all over the world to show solidarity with our freedom struggle. Your solidarity is tremendously important and effective.

"We feel great pain when we see human rights advocates ignoring the evidence and failing to speak out against the torture and execution of gay people in our country.

"We know first-hand, from the violent abuse of our members and supporters, that the jailing, flogging and hanging of gay people is official state law and policy.

Furthermore, the PGLO does not call for the sanctions and regime change that Feinberg chastises Tatchell for, but merely an and to the arrests and executions, a halt of the deportation of gay asylum-seekers back to Iran, and support for Iranians struggling for democracy, social justice and human rights.

Feinberg's article is horrifyingly bad journalism. A list of all she does wrong:

1) She takes old news and presents it as new news, ignoring the actual new news - i.e. focusing on the mistranslation a year ago and not the newest findings.

2) She takes quotes from one end of the political spectrum and uses them to represent the whole - i.e. Tatchell and Sullivan.

3) She omits data that doesn't fit her thesis - the PGLO.

4) She confuses Iran's support for transgendered people with support for gay people.

5) She connects non-govermental organizations to the United States government with no evidence that they are related. This is the worst one. She creates huge comspiracy theories and presents them as facts.

It can be all summed up in one quote from Feinberg's article:

The year-long charges of a systematic state pogrom in Iran against gays have
coincided with U.S.-led attempts to stop the sovereign country from developing
nuclear technology.

That is true. But because they happen at the same time does not mean they're connected. I shouldn't need to explain this. Fenberg's reasoning is simplistic and incredibly faulty.

It's Quiet in Amman

2006-07-18T20:59:00.000+03:00

I'm in Amman now, and full of sorrow. I promised myself I would never discuss non-gay politics in detail on this blog, and I broke that promise today. But I fixed it...I decided that this blog is not the place. I'm saving my rants for the Lebanese Bloggers Forum.

Amman is quiet and peaceful, sleepy brown hills which roll up their sidewalks soon after dark. On a normal day I'd be eating at Roadster Diner with friends or goofing around with the ladies at the Taverne Suisse in Hamra. Now I'm just writing in an internet cafe, and reading news.

Je sais pas quoi dire...je me sens perdu. Two songs are in my head:

Je suis malade, complètement malade, comme quand ma mère sortait le soir,
et qu'elle me laissait seule avec mon désespoir...

بابوري رايح رايح، بابوري جاي، بابوري محمّل سُكّر وشاي

Help Lebanon

2006-07-17T10:49:00.000+03:00

Iranian Hanging Controversies Exposed

2006-07-17T10:46:00.000+03:00

The UK Gay News just printed an article exposing new contradictions in the Iranian governement's case against the two boys that were hanged in Mashhad last year. I'm in a rush, so I'm not going to comment right now, but read it.

Sfeir Discusses War, Same-Sex Marriage

2006-07-16T18:31:00.001+03:00

I never thought I'd see this. In an article in the Boston Globe detailing Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros (they Anglicized his name into Peter) Sfeir's visit in the United States, he found time to diverge from discussing the uimpending destruction of Lebanon to discuss same-sex marriage. What he said about the war:

"It seems to me that the chief religions are not responsible for that, because
the politicians are responsible," Patriarch Nasrallah Peter Cardinal Sfeir told
reporters at St. Anthony Maronite Catholic Church. "But we are condemning any
attacks, from whatever side it comes from."

What he said about gay marriage:

With the Catholic Church prominently opposed to same-sex marriage, Sfeir did not
dissent: "We have to return back to the beginning of creation. God created man
and woman, and this is making a family. Without that, there is no family. And
[gay marriage] is against the nature of the human being."

I have bigger fish to fry than this pointless article. But I can't believe that his is what he's talking about now. It's like in Bowling for Columbine when they show US President Bush reading a chidlren's book during September 11. Do they have any idea what's going on? Sfeir's statements could help change the future through his influence on Maronites and Catholics everywhere. I love the ending to the article, though:

Despite his confidence that America's talent for blurring ethnic distinctions won't erase Maronite traditions, Sfeir seemed to have picked up an American politician's talent for sidestepping tricky questions. Threading the needle of Middle Eastern politics, he disapproved of Hezbollah's kidnapping of Israeli soldiers while noting the group's claim that it acted in retaliation for Israel's holding of Arab prisoners.

A Lebanese broadcaster asked him, "If Hezbollah kidnaps Israeli soldiers to release Arab prisoners from Israel, should Lebanese kidnap Syrian solders to release Lebanese prisoners from Syria?"

Syria long kept troops in Lebanon and has been implicated in the 2005 assassination of its former prime minister, and the question drew applause from parishioners listening to the press conference.

Sfeir laughed and offered, "It is another question."

First, I love that he pointed out the downside of the melting pot. Not only does it erase ethnic distinctions within the country, but also outside it, too. Americans see Arabs as one big, unified block, and don't know Lebanon from Kuwait from Oman from Algeria. And I bet they think Iran is Arab, too. There would probably be more sympathy for Lebanon if people in America realized that Lebanon does not equal Hizbullah.

Nevertheless, the question is fantastic, and I can't believe I hadn't thought of it before. It shows how anti-Israeli forces in Lebanon compare to anti-Syrian ones. No matter how angry the anti-Syrian forces in Lebanon get, they would never attack their Arab neighbor - they don't want to see LEbanon involved in war. They're not even armed, and couldn't attack if they wanted to. Anti-Israeli forces don't even see Israel as a neighbor, and don't afford it any respect, even that of an adversary. They hate Israel so much that they are willing to destroy themselves because of this hatred. Unfortunately, they also don't care if they destroy everyone else. Hizbullah's like the ghost girl from The Ring - it never forgives, it never sleeps, and it destroys indescriminately.

Gone...

2006-07-16T01:54:00.000+03:00

So long, Beirut.

Leaving for Istanbul, Amman, or Paris...

Not gonna die.

(Photo from the Lebanese Blogger Forum.)

Gay Palestinian Prostitutes on the Corniche

2006-07-15T14:06:00.000+03:00

In an article in this month's Pink News insert in 3Sixty Magazine, Matthew Streib writes about boys who are prostituting themselves in Beirut to earn a living. The photos seem off (I've never heard of that parking lot/cruising spot), but the article is very interesting. A quote:

“I started sleeping with men about a year ago, when I was hanging out with friends on the Corniche. They left and I was here alone. A man came up to me and asked me if I wanted to…” [a prostitute named Tarek] said, rubbing his index fingers together to insinuate sex. “I asked how much and he said 'sixty dollars.' And that was that.”

Tarek comes to the Corniche once or twice a week, where he sits alone most of the night. He lives with his parents, and says they don't know. “I don't come with my friends any more; I don't think they know. I don't want them to know. If I see someone here I know, I move.” His secrecy is helped by the fact that his parents don't ask him where he goes at night, “They see I have money and they don't have to give it to me.”

Tarek chose to engage in prostitution because it was the easiest way to make money in a country where Palestinians are pushed to the outskirts of society.

The article then goes on to talk about the terrible situation of Palestinians in Lebanon, which are denied jobs, civil rights, and good living conditions. Another quote:

I asked him if he knew any of the other young men on the Corniche. “I know a few,” he answered, adding that he didn't tend to talk with them. He pointed out areas where he knew people hung out. “The ones down there do it because they like it; they think they're women,” he said, indicating a spot near a wall. When I questioned if that was a bad thing, he just asked,“Is it?” and poked me in the ribs.
Tarek says he doesn't like sex with men, and keeps his eyes closed. “I'm never the woman,” he states, indicating that he never played the passive role.

“Do you not like gays?” I asked, and he pointed to himself and the Corniche.“Look at me, look what I have to do.What do I care what other people do? Lebanon hates me, Lebanon hates gays, everyone hates Israel; it's all the same. It's worthless. I hate hate,” he said.“But me, I'm not gay,” he reiterated.

Streib finishes the article by talking about AIDS in Lebanon, warning that an outbreak is possible:

When asked whether he thought cases of HIV could greatly increase in number in the future,Yusef said,“I'll tell you one thing: Usually people who suspect that they have AIDS hide it and go to a place where they take the test at their own expense. Most of the cases are detected when they get symptoms. Unfortunately, most of them come at the final stages of AIDS”.

Dr Yusef argues that people affected by HIV and AIDS do not visit UNRWA because they are afraid of stigmatisation by society. The camps are small, introspective communities, and everything anyone does is bound to be seen by someone else. There's a fear that if someone visits UNRWA, they will be discovered by the rest of the community and will be shamed. It's only at the last stages of the disease, when they feel they have nothing left to lose, that they come forward.

It's a pretty groundbreaking article; I've never seen anything like it before. I've seen a lot on straight prostitution and the abuse of illegal immigrants, but not on gay prostitution. It's sad the way Lebanon treats the Palestinians, no matter what reasons they have (and there are a lot, but I'm not getting into sectarian/civil war politics).

Acid Still Hopping

2006-07-15T14:01:00.000+03:00

Despite the war, Acid was still free, and still hopping last night. Nothing stops gay people from a good party.

Finland Urged to Push for Gay Rights in Middle East

2006-07-14T19:54:00.000+03:00

According to the Pink News, the International Gay and Lesbian Association (IGLA) has pushed Finland, which currently holds the European Union presidency, to push for gay right in new member states, including Turkey, and the Middle East in general. A quote:

[The IGLA's list of demands] calls on the EU to protect “fundamental rights
and equality” and to ensure new and potential member states such as Bulgaria,
Turkey, Romania, Croatia and Macedonia protect the lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender community as well as Third World and Middle Eastern countries.

Amen. If Turkey wants to join the EU, it should abide by EU standards for human rights.

Protests Planned Against Iran

2006-07-14T11:45:00.000+03:00

There's been a lot of news about the July 19 protests planned against Iran due to its treatment of gay people, and I'm not sure how I feel about them. The protests, organized by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), commemorate the anniversary of the 2005 execution of two teenage Iranian boys, Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni, in the city of Mashad. The IGLHRC recently pulled its support from World Pride in Jerusalem, a more that I disagree with.

First, there is Doug Ireland's most recent article in the Gay City News documenting more horrible stories of the brutal mistreatment of gay people in Iran, with a plug for the protests in New York.

Then , there is an article in the UK Gay News about how Poland is in a quandary because it is one of Iran's few friends, and protests could mar their treaties. (Poland, by the way, has recently come under fire for its extremely anti-gay policies spearheaded by its right-wing government.)

Finally, there's an article in the Washington Blade about the protests in general.

I worry that the protests might be a little idealistic, and might actually hurt the situation for gay people in Iran. Note the cities participating:

Mexico City, Mexico
Warsaw, Poland
Paris, France
London, UK
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Brussels, Belgium
New York City, USA
Sioux Falls, USA
Washington, USA
San Francisco, USA
San Diego, USA
Sacramento, USA
Provincetown, USA

They're all pretty Western, which is admittedly inevitable. You won't see protests against Iranian treatment of gay people anywhere in the Middle East, even in Beirut.

But the fact that it is so Western causes extreme difficulties, in that it highlights the East-West dichotomy. Right now, things are more East-West than that have been in a while, with Iran's nuclear plans and Iran-backed Hizbullah's abduction of Israeli soldiers. The West, mainly the United States, has been pushing Iran for change, which has been met with skepticism (to be euphemistic).

Do we want to bring gay issues further into the East-West dichtomy? Many in the MIddle East already see homosexuality as a "Western disease" or a "Western invention to corrupt Muslim youth". Protests at this time might backfire, feeding those ignorant beliefs, and leading to further crackdowns.

Of course, if you don't protest, things will never get better.

I wonder if Ahmadinejad will care about people protesting in Sioux Falls, North Dakota.

(I know this isn't a very good post. Will all that's going on now, I have bigger things on my mind.)

Israel Proves To Be Increasingly Dangerous for Gays

2006-07-13T18:00:00.000+03:00

I'm honestly a bit pissed at Israel for bombing the Beirut airport, so when I found an article pointing out how dangerous Israel is for gays, after this week's article putting Israel on a pedestal, I was bittersweetly happy. Hitting back at Hizbullah is one thing, but destroying the livelihood of the thousands of Lebanese who depend on tourism is another. Hizbullah is not directly related to the Lebanese government, and, in confrontations, attacks on soldiers should not be retaliated with attacks on civilians. But I digress.

On the gay front, according to Arutz Sheva, a flier in Jerusalem is offering 20,000 shekels to anyone who kills participants in World Pride 2006. Notice that there is also a banner at the top for "Preventing, Treating Homosexuality". Enough said.

The Advocate Turns Pro-Israel

2006-07-12T11:36:00.000+03:00

An article by James Kirchick in The Advocate yesterday talks about human rights abuses against gay people in Palestine. First, I felt that it was fantastic, for the topic needs more coverage, and The Advocate rarely cares about anything that's not American or doesn't involve Melissa Ethridge or a shirtless coverboy. But then reality set in, and the artilce is gravely flawed. A quote:

In her Advocate interview Morcos recalls her response to a woman who said that Palestinians are “backward” when it comes to gay rights. Morcos replied, “What is backward? Backward to whom? Are we comparing the Middle East, the Arab community, to the Western world? This is not a fair comparison.”
Why is the comparison not a fair one, she says? “Because you’re comparing our scale to your scale without really taking into consideration if we have our own scale.” This sort of culturally relativistic posturing—talk of “our own scale” in regards to basic human rights that all people deserve, regardless of where they live—is a tool used by individuals like Marcos to take advantage of the guilt complexes of Western liberals. The argument allows her to escape the otherwise obvious point that Israel is light-years ahead of the Palestinians when it comes to gay rights.

That is a great point. But the article takes a huge turn for the worse from there. It point out tragic anti-gay persecution in Palestine, making Israel seem like Eden incarnate. I'm sorry, but Israel is anything but that.

The article never points out the Israeli army's abuse of Palestinian gay people for its intelligence missions, as documented in Queen Hussein or many other places. It never talks about the stabbings at last year's Pride parade. It never discusses that orthodox members of the Knesset hid their faces when Dana International was honored for winning Eurovision. Somehow, all of that flew under the radar.

I agree that Israel is far better than Palestine when it comes to gay rights. But is not the haven that Kirchick protrays. The mere fact that he portrays it as a haven points to obvious pro-Israel bias. I mean, the whole section talking about Israel granting freedom to its minorities made Kirchik look like his nose was irreparably Kosher and brown.

I also agree with many of the statements in the article, including that it is shameful of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission to boycott World Pride. But there is something terribly wrong with Kirchick's article, which stems more from what he deosn't mention than what he does. Due to blind pro-Israel bias, I give the article a C minus.

R.I.P. UV 2006-2006

2006-07-08T19:36:00.000+03:00

I heard rumors last night that after not even two months of its grand re-opening, UV is closing for good. Apparently, the owner of the property doesn't want to keep the lease going. (There are rumors that that's what happened when UV closed last time, but there were also stories that it was the police.)

I am very sad about that. UV is a fantastic, accepting, cool, beautiful place. Now Fridays are probably going to be spent as Acid, which is pretentious, trashy, and ugly, with rhythmless, g-stringed ladies dancing on the podiums and terribly aggressive bouncers who look like they could sprout horns at any moment. Acid, by the way, has been letting people in for free before midnight the last few weeks to drum up business for its lagging Friday nights. That means free booze on Acid's dime. At least the music is good.

UK Doctor Spreads Gay Misinformation in Qatar

2006-07-07T13:33:00.000+03:00

According to the Qatari newspaper al-Raya, Dr. Mamoun Mubayyad, a professor from Queens University in Belfast, denied that homosexuality was genetic and criticized society for causing it. Al-Raya has been covering homosexuality a lot recently (for an Arabic newspaper), and not in a great light. It put a report on the August's gay event in Morocco in the "crimes" section. This article is no different.

I am not saying homosexuality is genetic - I have no idea and I don't care. But Mubayyad's lecture was not purely scientific, for he had a clear anti-gay agenda. A quote, translated by me:

Dr. Mamoun Mubayyed, a psychiatry lecturer at Queen's University, Belfast, United Kingdom, said that homosexuality is a social disease, and denied the dominant belief promoted by some in the media that homosexuality is hereditary or genetic, saying it is rather but is a disease from acquied behavior.

He said that the society is primarily responsible for this phenomenon, in that the community either gives the green light to homosexual practice or that the root of the behaviour lies in ignoring it and covering it up, which is what is happening in our Arab societies.

In the beginning, he said that the homosexual phenomenon exists in societies without exception, and may spread in specific certain societies, and that homosexuality exists in Arab communities, but not with the same frequency as in Western societies, despite his acknowledgment of the absence of statistics in the Arab countries due to the lack of studies on this phenomenon. He said communities still feel embarrassed to talk about such problems.

He then went on to say that 35 percent of homosexuality is caused by sexual abuse as a child, with other factors including faulty father-son or mother-daughter relations, or lack of religious education. Other causes may include emtional wounds, crowded quarters, and a large number of siblings. He said that his aim is to find signs of homosexuality in the young, such as aversion to violent games, feminine behavior, and sympathizing with gays regarding their victimization. He feels that prevention is the best method, and that most of the errors which cause homosexuality are from parental mistreatment.

Another quote:

Concerning treatment, he said he must be certain a young man wanted to remedy his sexual orientation, and that there are effective ways to go about it, whether it's though cognitive , behavioural or psychoanalyitic treatment. He said that studies have proven that in 60 percent of cases, men responded to treatment, with 70 percent for women, and asserted that such a percentage increases in Islamic countries because of the intervention of religious restraint.

And he confirmed that a young man is a victim when he suffers from this problem and we should not issue moral judgement on him because the family and society are responsible for this behavior.

He then goes on to talk about how educating families is the solution to homosexuality, and that the problem must be acknowledged, even though it is not widespread. He also said that this should not cause a panic, and that relationships between schoolgirls or students and teachers may be innocent.

A final quote:

The reason behind the appearance of homosexualily is undoubtedly the weakness of religious restraint, with another main factor being the absence of proper upbringing and care from the family.
He said solutions must include the facilitation of marriage, the education of parents and teachers and the establishment of specialized courses.

Speaking about the role of mosques in this awareness, he said he prefers that discussion of such matters not be held in public places such as mosques, which bring together various levels and age groups. The issue must be developed in workshops or special courses for parents, and mode of discourse must vary according to age group and the target audience.

I don't know where Mubayyad gets his information, but he certainly relies a lot on stereotype and very little on fact. Notice that he cites no credible studies and does not say where he gets his percentages from. There are hundreds of studies out there with hundreds of different findings, both pro- and anti-gay.

Not enough is really known to say what causes homosexuality, and it's obvious that Mubayyad is using faulty science to arrive at his conclusions. He is starting off seeing homosexuality as a disease, and then working backward to find its causes. It's like the old days - people thought the Earth was flat, and looked for explanations to prove them right. But what if homosexuality is not a disease? What if, in the future, scientists find that homosexuality is just as normal as a rund Earth? They've already shown that it's extremely common in nature.

Mubayyad is simply throwing the same old anti-gay rhetoric we've heard for years, but is trying to bring a "scientific" anti-gay argument to the Arab World t accompany the religious ones, which dominate discussion. I doubt that anything Mubayyad professes would hold up under sound scrutiny.

Anyway, this topic is too big to be discussed in one post. I just wanted to get the al-Raya article out there.

Egyptian MPs Want to De-Gay Yacoubian Building

2006-07-05T21:40:00.000+03:00

Al-Jazeera reported on the movie The Yacoubian Building twice today, once in English and once in Arabic. The Arabic version is much better, for it gives better details on the emerging governmental drama.

Egyptian member of parliament and editor-in chief of the newspaper al-Osboa Mustafa Bakri has called for the deletion of "profane" (i.e. gay) scenes from the movie, following a petition signed by 112 members. Parliament will now be forming a committee to review the movie.

A quote from the Arabic version, translated by me:

The author of the screenplay, Wahid Hamed, the film's hero, artist Adel Imam, and Chairman of the Central Censorship Department Ali Abu Shadi rejected these accusations, asserting that the film discusses the general state of political, economic and social corruption, and that these scenes fall within the context of dramatic expression of this situation of corruption.

Producer Dawoud Abdel-Sayed said the statement signed by one quarter of the members of the parliament represents a case of suppressing the film which deals with corruption so they can divert attention away from discussing corruption, which has no ethical justification, saying, "the scenes that they objected to reflect the rape suffered by the country and its state of disability".

For her part, the critic Ola Al Shafie [a journalist for al-Ahram al-Arabi] expressed amazement at how this call comes from a senior journalist who calls for freedom and at the same time take the initiative to organize a strong suppression of creativity, in reference to the journalist and MP Mustafa Bakri, considering that freedom is inalienable.

A quote from the English version:

Al-Aswany, the author, said he regretted parliament's action against
the film.

"Why aren't Italy, France or the United States defamed by movies dealing with homosexuality," he said.

"Novels and movies are not made to promote tourism, but to deal with real issues of life."

I think the quotes pretty much say it all. Egyptian members of parliament seem to spend most of their time fighting over who's really protecting the morality of Egypt, the National Democratic Party or the Muslim Brotherhood. I'm actually a little surprised that this movement to censor The Yacoubian Building is not coming from one of their parties, but from an independent. Maybe it shows the "morality" fever is spreading.

Al-Bawaba Needs a New Photo Editor

2006-07-05T16:59:00.000+03:00

Al-Bawaba finally covered the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO), which happened a month an a half ago. Their tardiness is not my complaint. I have two issues:

Frist, their photos. Judging by the title of the first photo in the article, "israel-gay", it's pretty obvious that it wasn't taken in Beirut. Neither was the second one. It seems that al-Bawaba scoured the net, or their stock, to find the most ludicrous depictions of gay people. News flash: IDAHO was not Mardi Gras! It's incredibly evident why a news source would choose such photos. By making gay people look like endlessly-partying miscreants, they are pushed away from general society. Why should gay people get rights if they all have orange hair and wear floral skirts?

All in all, though, I don't know what to say about the al-Bawaba article. It wasn't that bad; in fact, the writing seemed gay-positive. Maybe they just didn't have access to better photos. Here I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt.

There is one more problem, however: their facts. The article says:

Lebanese authorities had three months prior to the event to deny official
registration of Helem, and did not do so, a move seen by many as tacit support
of the government.

Well, that's almost right. The government had three months after Helem's submission for approval last year to deny its registration. That was not about IDAHO.

Arab MK Says Gays Don't Exist in Arab Society

2006-07-04T20:46:00.000+03:00

A fellow blogger Samawel of Falsaf sent this article from Ynetnews to me. Ynetnews has had scores of articles about World Pride in Jerusalem, but if I were to mention all of them, this would turn from a blog about gay people in the Middle East to one about the struggle of World Pride. This article, however, pointed out such a ludicrous statement by an Arab politician, that I couldn't resist. A quote:

A ripple of laughter went through the meeting when MK Ibrahim Sarsur (United Arab List-Ta’al) said, “I have never had to participate in such a discussion, because in Muslim society we don’t have this problem.”

Sarsur told participants, including members of the gay community, “I respect all those present here, despite significant disagreements. As Muslims, we are obligated to religious law and it (homosexuality) is an unacceptable and condemned phenomenon, which should not be given any opportunities. Every person has the right to do as he wishes as long as he does it in his own home.”

There are two aspects of anti-gay rhetoric here: gay people don't exist, and being open about being gay equals rampant perversity in the streets.

At least people were smart enough to laugh when he said there were no gay people in Muslim societies. I mean, there are more gay members of Arab royalty than there are Maktabi stores in Beirut. (And there are a thousand...who buys so many carpets?)

As for the second, this is the oldest trick in the book. Feign acceptance by saying it should just be kept quiet. Well, I agree, to some extent. No one should have sex in the street. If I want to have sex with men, it should be in my bedroom, not in Senayah Park. But that does not mean that I should have to hide the fact that I'm gay in public. Straight people don't hide the fact that they're straight. Haifa doesn't hide the fact that she's a ho. I will have sex in my own home, but I want my rights in public. Sarsur wants to pain the picture that everything about being gay is about sex...there's no love, there's no discrimination, and there's no depth. It's all sex, as if gay people live in some immense underground bathhouse and only come up for air and groceries.

I like what a parade representative said:

“Jerusalem is not yours. I will do anything I want in my house. We didn’t come to have sex in the streets or run around the streets of Jerusalem in pink underwear. We are having the march so people know we have equal rights,” a representative of the parade said.

Read the article; it makes good points about why gay people need to march. And if anyone cares, I wrote about Sarsur previously, when he launched a veiled threat at gay people.

Hormonlu Domates Awarded in Turkey

2006-07-04T10:38:00.000+03:00

Well, these are the winners for the Hormonlu Domates Awards, presented last weekend during Turkey's week-long Gay Pride celebration to the most deserving homophobic institutions in Turkey, as determined by vote on Lambdatistanbul's website. I don't speak Turkish, so I only could figure out who they were presented to. If someone would like to tell me why these groups earned the award, I would be much obliged.

For the press, it was Betül Aşık.

For institutions, it was the mayors of Ankara, Istanbul and Bursa.

For movie/television: Alişan.

And for politics: Ayhan Zeynep Tekin Börü.

For whatever reasons they earned the awards, I'm sure they deserved it.

Turkish Transgender Association Founded

2006-07-04T10:02:00.000+03:00

In a tiny article in Bağımsız İletişim Ağı, it has been reported that Turkey's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transvestite and Transsexual Solidarity Association has formally founded a support association called "Pink Life" in Ankara, due to a growing number of attacks and discrimination targeting the country's transgendered community. A quote:

"We will struggle for social, economic, cultural rights but most important
of all, the right to life" a statement by the Association said, noting that
their purpose was to support the participation of alternative genders in social
peace, calamity and prosperity with their social and cultural life as well as
behaviour.

The statement particularly referred to violent attacks on transgender
individuals in recent times in İstanbul, Bursa and several district of Ankara
saying "we don't want to watch this violence".

Pink Life's statement said "sex work", for which transsexuals and
transvestites are regularly blamed by the mainstream media, "is not a fate" and
that the Association wants to draw attention to the fact that no one cares for
the problems of people with an alternative gender being forced to work in the
sex industry.

I think what they're saying rings true for many countries in the Middle East. I always hear rumors connecting transgendered people with prostitution, and I know enough transgendered people to say that they're often false. When it's true, it's often because it's extremely difficult for them to find employment elsewhere, due to intense discrimination.

Is Yemen Ready for This?

2006-07-03T11:59:00.000+03:00

According to The Independent, cross-dressing, quazi-sexual, hyper-annoying Eddie Izzard is planning a trip to Yemen next year. A quote:

Eddie Izzard is planning one of the most hazardous assignments in the history of
showbusiness. During his next tour, loosely scheduled for 2007, the
cross-dressing comedian hopes to perform in Yemen. It would be a bold move: the
Arabic state has no tradition of stand-up, scant regard for free speech, and
takes a dim view of western mores. And, as if that wasn't enough, Izzard also
intends to address the local audiences in their native tongue. "Eddie was born
in Yemen," says a spokesman. "He's been learning Arabic; it's a long-term
ambition, but we're thinking about it for the next tour." The comic is also
learning German and Russian, with a view to appearing in those countries.
"Russia has been left out of Europe, and it's important to integrate the former
Eastern Bloc, so I'm doing my bit," he says.

A quote from the Seattle Post Intelligencer (sounds like Seattle Post More Smarter to me):

Stand-up is his forte, however, allowing him to present himself as a
sensible guy reacting to the crazed actions of others. If his version of
sensible comes in hot pants and high heels, he takes it for granted that he's
entitled, living as he is in the third millennium.

"The word transvestite is so second millennium," he says. "By the end of
the third millennium, men in makeup will be everywhere, and you'll be
dead."

He accepts the word transvestite but prefers male lesbian, because he
fancies women. He'll bandy terms about, but that's as far as he'll get into his
personal life. On stage you won't hear what his dad is like, how he felt about
his mother's early death or what his girlfriend thinks of his girl gear. The
topic of boarding school occasionally creeps in, especially as an explanation of
why as a teen he hid his desire to don gay attire: "I'd have been killed."

If his jokes don't translate well into Arabic, that might be prophetic.

Okay, Al-Arabiya, We Get It

2006-07-01T17:39:00.000+03:00

Al-Arabiya's favorite topic these days seems to be gay people. In an article published on June 20, al-Arabiya discussed how people in Tetouan, Morocco, feel "apprehensive" (متخوفون) about a gay gathering in their city in August.

Even though the gathering is called The Special Conference of Gay Moroccans (المؤتمر الخاص بالمثليين الجنسيين المغاربة), al-Arabiya still uses "sexual deviants" (الشواذ جنسيا) to refer to gay people elsewhere in the article. It's clear what al-Arabiya thinks of gay people, but it's not clear what happened to al-Arabiya's long-lost objectivity.

The conference is supposed to bring gay people from all over Morocco, including the cities of Agadir, Marrakech, Rabat, Casablanca and Tangier. Al-Arabiya says that residents of Tetouan are concerned about why Tetouan was chosen for this conference, and the legal legitimacy of such an assembly. A quote from the article, translated by me:

The citizens display great fear that homosexuals will "arrive in large numbers" in their city, especially since the timing of the conference coincides with the summer holiday season and the revival of tourism in the city through both Moroccan and foreign families on summer vacation, during what a newspaper (Al-Sharia al-Tetouani) called the Moroccan "renewal" .

When they hear news of this conference, which was announced by the organization in connection with external sources, the citizens remember a "similar" conference in July 2004, where homosexuals gathered in a local hall (an inference of sexual activity). Local authorities intervened after many complaints, arresting 43 people, including 33 men and 10 women. Authorities later released them under pressure from national and international organizations.

The article then goes on to discuss Moroccan punishment for homoseual acts and the prevalence of the internet as a tool for gay people to connect (which I cannot dispute).

I don't trust al-Arabiya (they've lied before), so I don't know whether the fear of the people of Tetouan is real or fabricated. I find al-Arabiya's fascination with gay people. I also severely question the insistence of Western influence on gay gatherings in the Middle East. They always pull the West card to discredit the Eastern-ness of gay people in the East. I'm not in Morocco, and I can't find the Tetouan newspaper online, so I can't attest to the article's validity.

It's Not My Fault I'm Gay; I Have Lots of Brothers

2006-07-01T15:49:00.000+03:00

I wasn't orignally going to post on an article in the Scientific American which presents the hypothesis that men are more likely to be gay when they have older brothers due to prenatal mechanisms in the womb. Then I saw this post on Bakkouz, where he dislikes the article, especially in the context that Arab families tend to be large. Later, in the comments, he says:

in my openion being gay is a mental condition that can change depending on the circumnstances and the variables involved.

to which a user called Amino says:

If that was the case, believe me gay people would be the first to try to change that, since they suffer a lot in such a homophobic world. I think humans need an explanation for everything, and won’t live their lifes without labels. It’s like okay.. you’re gonna prove being gay is genetic or not, anddd?
Then what?Burn all gay people? Accept them? Look them in the eye and say “AHA! We were right.”
I don’t know about you but I think a person should be capable of living his life without any labels, it’s pretty much easier that way.

Amino sums up well exaclty how I feel about the whole nature versus nurture debate. Who cares? How is it going ot make society better if we find out? If it's nature, will you start having genetic therapy (or, worse, abortions), to get rid of gay people? If it's nature, will we start having more sociologists who claim to "fix" us, when all they do is causing us harm?

I'm gay and that's anough for me. I'm happy being gay, and I don't care if you're happy with me being gay, all I care is that you let me be happy being gay.

Update July 9:

Bakkouz responded here.

The Middle East Gay Journal in Battle

2006-06-30T11:58:00.000+03:00

Somehow, I went into battle with Rasheed Eldin of Eye on Gay Muslims, an anti-gay site, over my posting about Cleric Yousef al-Qaradawi. He points out a mistranlation of MEMRI which read:

There is disagreement. […] The important thing is to treat this act as a crime.

With the ellipsis leaving out critical bits, which he translates as:

And some of them — differences [of opinion, so] it is possible for
us to choose from them in our era what is most appropriate, and what is
lightest, recognising how widespread the tribulation is: because
tribulations and sins being widespread is something in Islamic legal
theory that causes things to be lightened. The important thing is to
consider/treat this act as a crime.

This is a huge difference, I admit, which I should have noticed.

Eldin wants me to apologize for my "laying into" Qaradawi, which I refuse to do. Even if he weren't calling for the murder of gay people this time, he's done it before. Plus, it's still anti-gay. I believe that gay people shouldn't be punished at all.

What's worse is that Eldin wants to monopolize Islamic thought. He says that Qaradawi is voicing the Islamic perspective, when he is truly voicing an Islamic persective. He criticizes me for not being open-minded about anti-gay Islamic views, but then dismisses pro-gay views as un-Islamic. In fact, he calls pro-gay people "Islam-haters" It's a vicious double standard.

Ana Sultan al-Sheikh

2006-06-29T18:47:00.000+03:00

Last night, Some friends and I visited the newest gay hammam in Beirut, al-Sheikh, the one which has recently been airing radio commercials. (Acid has also been airing commercials which feature its ladies' night. Yeah, right...like that's how Acid makes its money.)

As soon as I entered, I was overcome by the smell. It was like a mix of urinal cakes and spearmint chewing gum, and was more than a little off-putting. But the decor was nice, very Oriental, yet somehow making me feel like I was in Polynesia.

Al-Sheikh was definitely obviously more gay-friendly than the other gay hammams. No one seemed to hide the fact that they were gay, and I saw more than one could being affectionate. (I mean mildly affectionate!)

I wasn't horribly enchanted by the amenities, however. The hot tub was lukewarm, the steam room was tiny, and the stairs precarious. The staff, however, was extremely friendly and there was a nice cold pool which was dark and cavernous.

One thing immediately struck my eye: there were no condoms! Shame! We're living in the 21st century, and such an omission is tragically careless. AIDS is currently not a huge problem in Lebanon, but it can easily become one.

Secondly, I noticed that most of the masseurs, who were rather goodlooking, were foreign. When I was leaving, I spoke to two, one from Iraq and one from Syria. I don't know if they were gay, doing it for the money, or both. I didn't buy a massage, so I don't know how they are or how much they cost. But I feel that says something important about the situation in Lebanon, but I don't want to delve too far into ethnic politics.

Anyway, I will definitely go back. Well, probably. I don't have 15,000 LL to throw around whenever I feel like it.

Time to Pitch a Tent!

2006-06-29T17:15:00.000+03:00

It looks like its time for gay camping!

On July 6-8, there wil be a lovely Lebanese Gay Camp in Dhour Shweir up in the gorgeous mountainous pine woods. I don't know too much about this camping trip. I find out about it on an out-of-the-way site called the Gay New News Magazine. And the e-mail I sent an inquiry to, GNNgroup@hotmail.com, never got back to me.

This is supposed to be the first gay camp ever, but what about all those camping trips that have occurred annually for the last few years? Do they not count?

I imagine that it'll be a blast, if enough people here about it, which is a big IF. Why isn't it on more websites? مشكلة!

It's only $25 and includes a barbeque and a trip to Paradise Beach. I don't know if I can handle three days alone with gay men, though. I might go nuts. Or an animal might eat me (I'm rather defenseless).

Update July 6:

I was just told that the excursion has been canceled.

Denial of Anti-Gay Pogrom in Iran

2006-06-29T15:34:00.000+03:00

In a terribly-researched article, Leslie Feinberg wrote that there's no anti-gay pogrom in Iran, which was published in Workers World. In the article, she quotes a few sources, all from 2005, which state that the famously-executed gay teenagers in Iran, which I wrote about here, were executed for rape. This may be true, but my previous posts explains that a lot of the charges that gay men are habitually executed under are most likely fabricated. They attribute horribly gruesome crimes to gay men to make it seem like homosexuality begets bloodlust.

If Feinberg had bothered to use updated sources in her hypothesis, she probably would have come to a different conclusion. Her last paragraph, explaining the repercussions of a the realization of the lack of a pogrom:

This more nuanced view of the situation facing the LGBT community in Iran
doesn’t fit in with U.S. finance capital’s propaganda war, which is demanding
“regime change” in order to re-conquer the oil wealth, land and labor of 70
million Iranian people. In such a bellicose climate, progressives must be
vigilant against any reports—real, manufactured or exaggerated—that seem to
support the imperialist re-enslavement of Iran.

She's saying that the United States is using fabricated anti-gay persecution as a means of covertly taking over Iran as it did overtly with Iraq. This is a conspiracy theory if I ever heard one. And a flimsy one at that. The theory would make sense if:

1) The American populace actually cared about gay rights.

2) The American mainstream media willingly covered the persecution of gay people in Iran, which it didn't. All coverage originally came from gay media, which obviously reaches a limited audience.

3) Sanctions based on human rights, especially those of gay people, were ever truly enforced. As it stands now, Iran has very little to lose if the world finds out about its persecution of gay people.

4) The US were willing to stick up for gay rights at the UN. The US supperted Iran in February in keeping lgbt non-governmental organizations from receiving UN recognition.

5) Anti-gay militarism were not being exported from Iran into Iraq.

Furthermore, the fact that Iran is accepting of transgendered surgery is not equivalent to being accepting of gay men. Transgendered people are the way they are because they feel they've been born in the wrong body. Thus, in an enlightened person's eye, a male-to-female transgendered person is not a confused man, but an actual woman. This is what the leaders of Iran see. When they see gay men, however, they see men acting in ways that society tells them are sinful, forbidden, and unlawful. Thus, they persecute to protect their image of what a "real man" is. It's apples and oranges.

In reality, Feinberg just wants to trot out the endless liberal "America is a drooling devil that does everything for oil" line. Granted, the US has done a lot of really horrible things in the Middle East, a large amount of which are based on oil. But fabricating an anti-gay pogrom? That's far-fetched and simplistic thinking.

I understand people who want to speak out about the atrocity that is US foreign policy. But don't diminish the struggle that gay people in the Middle East undergo to do it.

Bank Robbers Arrested in Gay Raid in Morocco

2006-06-28T11:16:00.000+03:00

This is too ridiculous to believe. Mirror.co.uk reported today that two suspected gang leaders were arrested in Morocco because neighbors thought they were gay. Quote:

THE suspected gang leaders of Britain's biggest cash robbery were arrested after neighbours tipped off police ??" [sic] thinking they were gay.

Lee Murray, Paul Allen and two friends rented a luxury villa in the poshest part of Moroccan capital Rabat, where diplomats and royalty live.

But neighbours were suspicious that there were no women and feared they could even be paedophiles.

A police source said: "In Moroccan society four men can't live together without people thinking they are gay."

Murray and Allen, from London, are suspected over the £53million Securitas raid in Tonb ridge [sic], Kent, in February.

Part of this is hilarious. Two robbers go to Morocco, thinking they're safe to hide, but because they don't know the norms of society, they're subject to a gay raid. I imagine in my head a Moroccan version of the last scene of Plata Quemada, except in the movie it was a gay couple no outsider thought was gay.

Another part is tragic. Apparently, the men had done nothing to arouse suspicion except live together. Due to only this, the police raided their villa. This is an incredible intrusion of privacy that no one should be subjected to. Granted, homosexuality is illegal in Morocco, but so should unreasonable searches.

It's awful enough to say that gay people should stay out of society, but it's infinitely worse to prohibit them to be gay in private.

Plus, I hate the tired "homosexual equals pedophile" dialogue. It's annoying, untrue, and unnecessary. It just shows that those who fear homosexualty don't know what exactly they're talking about.

If Europeans thought to be gay are subjected to raids, imagine what happens to Moroccans thought to be gay.

Bahraini Fighting to Be Recognized as a Man

2006-06-28T10:57:00.000+03:00

A 30-year-old intersex person (someone who is born being neither totally man nor female) is fighting in Bahrain to be legally recognized as a man, as reported in the Gulf Daily News this month. A quote:

But [Fowzia Mohammed Janahi, the plaintiff's lawyer] says the Quran permits the operation in the right circumstances.

"The case is very difficult in the Gulf," she said.

"In Kuwait there have been nine cases and all were rejected.

"They also have cases in Saudi Arabia and Dubai, but the law does not agree with it.

"Maybe outside (Bahrain) it is easier to change, but we are Muslim people.

"The family feels shame to change the sex, if they have a daughter they feel she should be a daughter and want her to stay that way.

"Bahrain is a very small country and everybody knows each other.

"It is very difficult for this kind of case, but we have a reason for this one and all the reports agree that there needs to be a change."

It's important to note that this person is not transgendered. Transgendered means you are born with a fully-functioning body of one sex, but feel you are another. This person is intersex, shown by the fact that genetically she is a man. I hope the court finds in his favor; this is a disease that can be proven, and should therefore be ruled on favorably. You never know, though.

I wonder if the cases referenced in other countries in the article were similar. Being intersex is extremely rare, 1 in 13,000 for this instance, so nine cases in Kuwait seems unlikely.

I have no idea what the repercussions of a positive ruling could be. It could pave the way for transgendered people. Or, they could be seen as too different of a case, and therefore receive no benefit. Who knows?

A New Blog!

2006-06-27T15:32:00.000+03:00

There's a new gay blog in Beirut, and I love love love it. It's called Valley of the Twenty-Something Guys. It was only started last week, so there's not much on it yet, but it's so cute!

Each post follows the author through the trials and tribulations of a relationship with a different boy in Beirut, and is replete with all the anger and emotional baggage that makes for a good read. He also throws in a backdrop of Sex and the City, to add to the humor.

I'm definitely going to be checking this blog every day.

Finally, a quote:

Just when I thought that that was the sanest "break-up" ever, stories and
rumours about me and him started surfacing and I began hearing various different
stories from different people. But most of the stories had one thing in common.
That I was a user. I used him for sex and when I got what I needed from his body
I let him go. Stories about me promising him stuff and then ditching him after
we had sex. Ofcourse that was all untrue. Only Mr. SportNutRacer didn't know
that I was as insane as he was and would go on to create a blog about all those
insane people I've been with.

Don't Expect a Bedsheet to Be Hung Out the Window

2006-06-27T15:02:00.000+03:00

Beliefnet just posted an article from the Religion News Service on gay and lesbian Muslims in teh United States who get married to preserve their family's honor, protect themselves physically, and get nagging mothers off their backs. It's a fantastic article, with both pro-gay and anti-gay sides well-portrayed and neither one vilified. It's also extremely germane to Muslims everywhere, as not a few of my friends in Lebanon have spoken of doing the same thing. A quote from the article:

Though gay Muslims in America don't have such fears, they still seek out marriages of convenience as a way of staying in the closet. Many of them worry about being ostracized from their families if their secret is revealed. A marriage of convenience is the perfect solution, Mansoor said.

"It's a great option," he said. "I get married to a lesbian, we sleep in different rooms and remain friends. Meanwhile I can have a boyfriend."

It's a great solution. A gay man marries a lesbian, their families leave them alone, and, if they want, they can have kids without going through messy adoption procedures. (For those of you who are thinking "they won't have sex", don't forget the turkey baster.) Everyone's happy.

But there is a dark side to gay people getting married to please their families and protect themselves: gay people who marry straight people. It's a huge phenomenon that is almost never discussed when dealing with gay people and marriage, but it is sadly extremely common and makes everyone involved unhappy.

First, if a gay man marries a straight woman, many horrible things can happen:

1) He cheats on her. Imagine how she, or their children, would feel if she found out?

2) He stops having gay relationships and is emotionally vacant.

3) She is left sexually frustrated and in a marriage where she is rarely touched.

The list goes on and on. Worst of all, there are no real ways out for the woman. It's easier for a woman to skip backwards around the world than get a divorce in the Middle East. Plus, it puts shame on everyone involved.

The situation is similar, but reversed, if a lesbian marries a straight man, expect that it also includes the fact that the man may end up forcing himself on his uninterested wife.

I had a conversation a month ago with a friend of mine, who is very queeny and quite out of the closet, who said that he plans to go back in the closet and get married to a straight woman so he can have a family. He admitted that he will probably end up being abstinent most of his life. Can you imagine? Who will be happy in such a situation? He won't, his wife won't, and I imagine that their unhappiness will reflect on their children.

There are so many people out there who say that gay people should just conform to society and get married. But would you want your daughter to marry a gay man? It's not just the gay people who have to suffer because they deny who they are. Their families suffer, too.

A Right-Wing Christian Attacks Gays In KSA

2006-06-26T17:20:00.000+03:00

Yesterday, the fourth installment of "A Dialogue with a Saudi Muslim" was published on the American Thinker. James Arlandson, a frequent contributor to the site, has been engaged in a written intellectual debate with a Saudi religious authority, Soliman al-Buthe. I normally hate the American Thinker - it's full of anti-gay, anti-Islam, and blindly pro-Israel propaganda, but this article is different. Despite the tone of the article (the majority of it is Arlandson choking on the venom he's trying desperately not to spit at al-Buthe), this article gives a lot of insight the way hard-core conservative Americans perceive the Islamic World.

Furthermore, it's good to read in how it touches on homosexuality in Saudi Arabia, even though Arlandson is anti-gay and only uses references to homosexuality in Saudi Arabia to point the finger of immorality. Parts 2 and 4 touch on homosexuality in particular.

Here's what Arlandson's diatribe in Part 2 says about homosexuality (Mind you, he's only using the brutal punishments in the persecution of gays as a way to demonstrate supposed Western superiority):

Does Islam deal effectively with sexual sinners?

Next, you [al-Buthe] quote Dr. Albert Mohler, who laments a lack of church discipline and the aggressive homosexual agenda in America.

In reply, though I do not know Dr. Mohler, I have heard him on the radio. He is allowed to preach righteousness to society and influence public policy, especially church policy. But I can guarantee you that he would not advocate executing homosexuals. But the Prophet of Islam did this.

First, the Sunan Abu Dawud says that Ibn Abbas reports the following about early Islam and Muhammad’s punishment of homosexuals:

. . . “If you find anyone doing as Lot’s people did, kill the one who does it, and the one to whom it is done” (no. 4447).

The next one below no. 4447 says that an unmarried man who commits sodomy should be stoned to death:

“Ibn Abbas said: if a man who is not married is seized committing sodomy, he will be stoned to death” (no. 4448).

Third and finally, in the hadith collection Mishkhat al-Masabih, a compendium that brings together other hadith collections, your Prophet prescribes the punishments of being burned to death and having heavy objects thrown on guilty homosexuals:

Ibn Abbas and Abu Huraira reported God’s messenger as saying, “Accursed is he who does what Lot’s people did.” In a version . . . on the authority of Ibn Abbas it says that Ali had two people burned and that Abu Bakr had a wall thrown down on them. (Trans. James Robson, Prescribed Punishments, vol. 1, p. 765)

For more information on Islam’s and Christianity’s policies on homosexuality, go to this article. I do not deny that the West has not reached moral perfection. The West indeed has its share of problems. However, you seem to believe that without the Enlightenment of any kind and with Islam’s guidance in a society, problems vanish away. However, this webpage has further links to homosexual activity in Saudi Arabia, the land of the two Holy Mosques (in Mecca and Medina).

To cite only one example from that webpage, on April 7, 2005, it was reported that Saudi Arabia sentenced more than 100 men to prison or flogging for “gay conduct.”
On or about March 26, a Jeddah court, meeting in a closed session in which defense attorneys were excluded, sentenced 31 of the men to prison for six months to one ear, and to 200 lashes each, for unreported offenses. Four other men received two years’ imprisonment and 2,000 lashes. Police released more than 70 of the men not long after their initial arrest; reports in the Saudi press suggested that personal contacts with the government had intervened on their behalf. However, on April 3, police summoned the 70 men back to a local police station and informed them that they had been sentenced to one year’s imprisonment.

Is whipping and imprisoning and executing sinners in order to force and impose external righteousness the best policy? “If only we could catch and punish more sinners, then we could teach them a lesson! Then the others will straighten up! We could eliminate the problem! In fact, let’s kill them after a judge orders their execution!” This seems to be the yearning of many Muslims whose ideas I read online or in print media. However, people need to change from the inside out. Forcing holiness on to people does not work in the long run and for everybody.

And Arlandson's diatribe in Part 4:

You report that the reason for prohibiting women from driving cars is to separate the sexes because they may commit sexual sin and be severely punished. In Part Two I have already noted that homosexuality takes place in Saudi Arabia, so how does one fix that problem? By forbidding men from driving? I am not being facetious. It seems that the reason offered by the religious scholars for prohibiting women does not work entirely. It is a sad fact that humans will commit sexual sin, no matter how much they are smothered by rules and religious police.

Bradbury reports in his book (cited above) that the separation of the sexes creates the (unintended) backlash of men seeking comfort and sexual gratification from other men, and women from other women.

So malls in Jeddah, as well as in Riyadh and Dammam, have predictably become the preferred haunts of another group: male seeking sex with other males. Unlike the boys and girls seeking to mix, they do not have to hide their intentions. Indeed, they stroll certain of the malls and supermarkets openly making passes at each other. They are dressed in variations on Western fashion that would, in America, be considered outrageously queer, but in Saudi Arabia raise eyebrows only among those who insist on “Islamic”—that is, Bedouin—dress at all times. These young men openly cruise, often exchanging comments in loud voices with their friends when a desirable object comes into view. (p. 154)

Additionally, Bradbury reports that gay websites have exploded in Saudi Arabia:

The number of gay-themed Saudi websites especially has exploded in recent years. Some of these sites are blocked by those responsible for censoring the Internet, but software to avoid the blocks is easily purchased in local markets. Most sites exist for one reason only: to facilitate meet-ups. Even gay pornography is freely available to anyone who has a satellite dish in their bedroom, which is to say all middle-class Saudi boys. (p. 155).

He goes on to report that lesbians also seek their own encounters and can easily do so because of the segregation of the sexes (pp. 162-65).

Note that a lot of Arlandson's comments have no responses by al-Buthe, thus letting the radical Christian side dominate the article. (Not that al-Buthe is that great; the "the West didn't let women vote for centuries before they reformed, so we can, too" argument is feeble and exhausted.) If anything, this article makes Wahabism look like paradise compared to close-minded right-wing American Christianity, which will say almost anything to prove its superiority. Just listening to people like Arlandson makes my mind hurt.

I also hate how radical religious people point to commentary by their comrades to show they're right. There's a reason that conservative schools in America are seen as second-rate to liberal ones: socially, they reverse the scientific method by finding evidence to fit their beliefs and throwing the rest in the bin.

Finally, there's something extremely slimy about picking on a persecuted minority for political-religious gain. Arlandson refers to gay people as "sinners", hence he is probably not on the bandwagon for gay rights. He's only pointing out their hideous oppression because it makes Saudi Arabia look bad. I don't know if that's hypocritical or just perverse.

I Think He's Talking About Me!

2006-06-26T00:36:00.000+03:00

Lebanonwire recently published an article by Wissam al-Saliby in which he briefly summarizes the upsurge in media coverage of gay rights in Lebanon. The article cites a lot of sources, but never really says anything new about them. Furthermore, the conclusion that he draws at the end, that Lebanon remains a multi-societal country, is trite and bland. How can it be an article if it really doesn't contain any news?

Anyway he also does say this:

Needless to say that the internet and blog sites (some of which are exclusively
LGBT focused) are an impressive medium of communication and contact making.

Could he mean this site? I can't think of many other blogs that are only lgbt-oriented. Just this one and Gay Lebanon Undernet, and this one definitely gets more hits. Who knows?

Interview with Tariq Ramadan

2006-06-25T23:47:00.000+03:00

I haven't been able to post much this weekend (I've been clubbing), but I wanted to point out this interview with Tariq Ramadan, a European quasi-assimilationist, which I've recently added to the "Favorite Articles" section on the right. Published in Prospect's July issue, the article gives a great insight into the cultural rifts that Muslim populations face in Europe.

Quotes:

Q In terms of representation you are calling for a recognition of the separation of religion and politics—something which most Muslims, perhaps even in Europe, see as fused together.

A I'm just saying that we must follow the rules in the countries in which we live. We should not confuse everything and Islamise social problems. Social problems are social problems and we have to deal with them as citizens claiming our rights, not
as Muslims defending their religion. It is true that there are some special problems that Muslims face, certain kinds of discrimination or prejudice based on faith, that we call Islamophobia. But most problems that Muslims face are faced by other citizens too.

Q But realistically, how far can you go in a non-literalist interpretation of the Koran? Let's take the issue of whether someone can be both gay and Muslim. In Christianity you'll get a variety of answers. Broadly speaking, in Catholicism homosexuality is a sin. But like all other sins in Catholicism, a little bit of penance can get you out of it before judgement day. In some versions of evangelical Protestantism, homosexuality is a complete sin because evangelicals tend to be literalists. But in the Church of England there are a large number of openly gay Anglican clergy. The argument being that the Old Testament has to be contextualised. Is it possible to have a similar reading of the Koran? Or is it that homosexuality is simply wrong. Could you imagine there ever being a homosexual imam in the same way that the Anglican church in the US has just consecrated a homosexual bishop? Would that be possible?

A It could happen if such an imam did not declare that he was homosexual. You
cannot expect to see homosexuality being promoted within the Islamic tradition. Homosexuality is not perceived by Islam as the divine project for men and women. It is regarded as bad and wrong. Now, the way we have to deal with a homosexual is to say: "I don't agree with what you are doing, but I respect who you are. You can be a Muslim. You are a Muslim. Being a Muslim is between you and God." I am not going to promote homosexuality but I will respect the person, even if I don't agree with what they are doing.

Q Why do you want this moratorium [on the death penalty in Arab countries]? Why not simply say that stoning to death is just plain wrong?

A I have said that I am against the implementation of stoning, death penalties and corporal punishments. In Islamic-majority countries, this is a minority position. What we cannot deny is that these punishments are in the texts. What I am saying to Muslim scholars is that today's conditions are different, so in this context you cannot implement these punishments. So we have to stop. This is the moratorium. Let Muslim scholars come together and we'll have three main questions that need clear answers: what is in the texts, what conditions should apply to these punishments and what about the context in which these would be implemented.

Tariq Ramadan is a very smart man. While I don't agree with everything he says, I adore his main points: that in a truly modern society, be it in the East or the West, everything should be able to be criticized and everyone should be treated with respect (i.e. criticism does not equal disrespect); Islamic law should be discussed to see if it regulates modern society as well as it regulated societies of the past; and dictatorships inherently trample the rights of the people.

Violence at World Pride?

2006-06-23T12:43:00.000+03:00

The media has abounded recently with articles about vehement opposition to World Pride 2006 in Jerusalem, scheduled for August 6-12. I previously wrote about gay Palestinian groups' advocating a boycott and an orthodox anti-gay march here. There's so much information, however, I have to write about it again.

I am becoming increasingly worried that something very bad could happen at World Pride this year, for the words of those opposed to the march are rarely sophisticated, but are rather simplistic, hateful, and incendiary. Someone could easily take what they say to an extreme.

Israel's Ynetnews just published an article detailing a conference organized by American rabbi Yehuda Levin to protest World Pride. A quote:

During the conference [Arab-Israeli Member of the Knesset Ibrahim] Sarsur said “if they (gays) will dare to approach the Temple Mount during the parade – they will do so over our dead bodies,” adding that “the Gay Pride Parade is an attack on Jerusalem that aims to damage the Islamic identity of young Arabs in the city.”

“This attack is more venomous than the Zionist attack to make Jerusalem Jewish,” he said.

That's a strong statement. Sarsur would rather Jerusalem be turned completely Jewish than let gay people have a celebration.

Rabbi Fromen tried to explain the Muslim view of World Pride:

“This is the root of the deep hatred Muslims have for Israel,” he said. “The Muslims are horrified by the public gay displays that emanate from the US. The last intifida is named after Jerusalem – 'al-Aqsa'. The feeling is that Jews disgrace Jerusalem's holiness with the government's encouragement. In their eyes the parade is part of a whole chapter where Israel brings the defilement of the United States and the West into the holy land and Jerusalem. And they react to it with bloodshed.

"If left-wingers say that we have to make difficult compromises for peace," he added, "than the parade should be cancelled."

So, according to Fromen, Muslims don't see the fight in Jerusalem as a battle between two religions, they see it as a battle between one religion, Islam, and an atheistic, defiling force, Judaism. I find that a bit hard to swallow. For, as much as Palestinians in Jerusalem may hate Judaism, I'm sure they see it as a religion, just a treacherous one whose followers are in gruesome, violent opposition to theirs. To think that they defile Jerusalem is one thing. To think that they institutionally defile Jerusalem on purpose is another. The whole idea smacks of anti-Muslim rhetoric, portraying them as ignorant savages, fighting fire with inferno.

I also like how gay people, which aren't completely accepted in the United States, supposedly allow themselves to be used as pawns for the Western scheme. Or maybe they aren't gay at all, but just undercover Western agents pretending to be gay to corrupt the Muslims. Fromen never thought of that.

Finally, Gay.com published an article yesterday about a movement to block gay youth from being able to visit the Knesset, out of fear that it would turn into Sodom and Gomorrah. Another Knesset member had a good response:

"These are children who could be mine or yours, Ronit Tirosh told Israeli Radio.

"I am absolutely stunned. Who are we talking about here - we're talking about human beings. If they want to visit me in the Knesset they are more than welcome," she said

"The parliament must act as a model of tolerance. There are no legal or humane grounds with which to ban them," Tirosh said.

Al-Arabiya Deviously Insults Gays and Lebanon

2006-06-21T23:52:00.000+03:00

Last weekend, al-Arabiya published an article describing Fatfat's denial of the Lebanese government's authorization of Helem, the Arab World's first gay-rights organization. And, it's a remarkably good step for al-Arabiya, for it's much less homophobic than normal.

The article is has a main headline and a minor one, respectively "They Demand Their Right to the Nude Beaches" and "The Lebanese Minister of the Interior Denies Licensing a Homosexual Organization"

The article never really accuses gay people of advocating nude beaches; it mentions the beaches in the headline and never goes into it in the story. The gay-nude equivalent is meant to be understood. That's an underhanded way of undermining gay people. But the article is certainly better than the article by al-Arabiya last month on the International Day Against Homophobia, which accuses Helem of showing porn. Or the article a month ago which called Mary Cheney a sexual deviant.

The article, translated by me:

The Lebanese Minister of the Interior Ahmed Fatfat denied on Saturday June 16, 2006, in response to a newspaper article and Muslim clerics, that licenses were issued for the establishment of a Lebanese organization defending homosexual rights and naked beaches in tourist regions with Christian majorities.

A statement [by Fatfat] from the media office in the Ministry of the Interior said,
"Contrary to what a newspaper (the man of letters) mentioned and some clerics pointed to, neither license nor acknowledgement was issued to my knowledge
regarding the named society (Helem) and any licences for nude beaches in (my city) Jbail and Juniyah" to the north of Beirut.

The statement added that "this is generally false news". Helem has gained the support of homosexual organizations in France and Canada and possesses an electronic website, but Lebanese religious groups attack them since they launched a campaign a year ago for the removal of the six-month to one-year sentence of imprisonment for what Lebanese law considers "contrary to nature".

Georges Azzi, a member of Helem, said to Agence France-Presse, "We are targeted by some of the groups since we launched a campaign a year ago for the removal of the punishment on the basis of respect." He added, "We feel that a portion of civil society supports our battle and desires more reconciliation, which we observed through the decreasing violence of judges and the police force and the attitude the free press has towards us."

Some committee members supported the reconsideration of the penal code
regarding the removal of homosexuals from punishment, but the council refused to look into a complaint that member Saad Wazan presented in Beirut municipal council about a student taking civil action with the help of Helem. The discriminatory lawyer had answered the judge that the complaint was dubitable due "to the non-availability of the elements of guilt".

Three weeks ago, the organization celebrated in one of Beirut's hotels the World Day for Homosexuality without being bothered by authorities.

One thing that stands out is the prominance of the Lebanese flag on the article's webpage and the direct mentioning of Christianity in the article. It seems that instead of calling gay people "faggots", which al-Arabiya has done many times, it is using more subversive methods to demean them, i.e. gay equals Christian equals Western equals American. More frankly, al-Arabiya is trying to say that Lebanon is bringing shame on the Arab World by not controlling its Christians and its gay people and is simply a puppet for the West.

Of course, after the article were scores of anti-gay comments, with a smattering of pro-gay ones. My favorite comment, number 73:

wakup lebanese people we don,t need sanfransisco american. shame .........we don,t need america fake demacraty brought it by14 march,,,shame... what ever support them they are sick [sic]

Saudi Women Searching for a Y Chromosome

2006-06-20T18:00:00.000+03:00

This month, al-Bawaba posted an article on women in Saudi Arabia who are getting sex changes in order to gain the rights that are denied to them as women. A quote:

By becoming men, the women beleive [sic], they would have the opportunity to enjoy those privileges denied them as Saudi females but allowed to Saudi males,
including rights taken for granted in other societies, such as driving a car or even going to public places unaccompanied by a male relative.

A new black market for such operations is reportedly flourishing, and those interested in undergoing a sex-change operation are transported to another country (usually India) where the operation is preformed [sic].

The entire process, including departure from Saudi Arabia, the operation in a foreign land, and return to the Kingdom under an assumed identity, reportedly takes all but two weeks.

Something doesn't seem completely right. I understand the cause for women's rights, but I find it hard to believe that women are willing to change their sex simply to obtain their rights. That mkaes the operation seem much more minor than it is, like having an appendix removed or giving blood. We're talking about replacing Little Miss Hasna with Hassan Jr. here!

I think something was left out, or purposefully unexplored. If the surgery was indeed minor, and didn't affect the women's lives negatively in any way, wouldn't thousands of women be having them? I mean, it's just your gender. I think the real issue here is that the women were transgendered. The author just left that part out to highlight the inequality between the genders.

People don't just wake up their morning and say, "Hey, I'm bored. Why don't I change my sex today?" It comes from a deep-seeded feeling that you were born in the wrong body. Often, coming to terms with your own transgenderism is a long, arduous process, especially in societies that are extremely close-minded to transgendered people, which is almost every society in the world. For every trial and tribulation that gay people go through, and there are thousands, transgendered people go through about five.

I am confident that these people are transgendered, and I think that the article is therefore rather bogus. Was the author purposefully leaving out this almost-certain possibility, or was he/she just too blind or ignorant to see it? I can't tell if there is prejudice here.

Furthermore, the author doesn't have anything in the article but hearsay. There are no interviews with people who have undergone surgery, and we only know why they did it because some unknown source made an assumption. That is not good journalism.

Finally, the issue is so much deeper. I have heard of many rumors of men from Saudi Arabia who come to Lebanon for sex changes. They certainly aren't doing it because they desire to lose their rights by becoming women. We need an article on that.

Gay Arab Athletes Choose Canada Over US

2006-06-20T12:00:00.000+03:00

According to an article on the American website 365gay.com, the Outgames in Montréal, which will take place July 29-August 5, will host athletes from Algeria, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates.

I wonder if the athletes still live in those countries, or are expatriates. I imagine that if you live in the UAE, for example, it might be hard to return home after participating in a gay athletic event in a Western country. Something bad might happen to you.

The article also pointed out that Montréal's Outgames is much more international than Chicago's Gay Games, which will take place July 15-22. A quote:

[Chicago Games, Inc. Co-Vice Chair Tracy] Baim said it's not surprising the
Montreal games will be more international. "There's a lot of anti-American
sentiment and I don't blame the Europeans for that sentiment," she said. "There
are certain people that will never come to the United States while we have
George Bush in power."

That's understandable.

Qaradawi: So Many Ways to Kill Gays, I Have to Choose Just One?

2006-06-19T11:54:00.000+03:00

In an interview with Al-Jazeera this month, which I found translated on MEMRI TV, Cleric Yousef al-Qaradawi rails against gay people. Quotes:

Kerry, who ran against Bush, was supported by homosexuals and nudists. But it was Bush who won [the elections], because he is Christian, right-wing, tenacious, and unyielding. In other words, the religious overcame the perverted. So we cannot blame all Americans and Westerners.

[A homosexual should be given] the same punishment as any sexual pervert - the same as the fornicator...The schools of thought disagree about the punishment. Some say they should be punished like fornicators, and then we distinguish between married and unmarried men, and between married and unmarried women. Some say both should be punished the same way. Some say we should throw them from a high place, like God did with the people of Sodom. Some say we should burn them, and so on. There is disagreement...The important thing is to treat this act as a crime.

[The Islamic position on public displays of homosexuality is that it] is the calamity
of societies. When sin and abomination are concealed, they don't cause much harm...But the calamity becomes widespread, when it stops being a secret and vecomes public...We are not hostile towards these people. On the contrary, we pity them. But we do not want to give them an opportunity, like the Westerners, who consider this a normal phenomenon, and it has become widespread, I'm sad to say.

Hmm...pity equals stoning? Let's not forget that al-Qaradawi has previously advocated the assassination of leaders in other Arab countries; he's not a completely ethical guy.

In the interview, he couldn't differentiate between a tendency for homosexuality and the act of having homosexual sex, a rather simple difference. Also, for al-Qaradawi, lesbians aren't homosexuals (someone should tell them that). Is that inherent sexism? Is he saying that lesbianism is not as bad as male homosexuality because what women do has always been less important?

In many instances, it seemed he did not understand the interviewer, or simply wanted to bulldoze his diatribes over him. Some say al-Qaradawi is moderate, some say radical. I say senile. I mean, look at his picture - can't you just picture him screaming at a toaster or talking about how the Ottomans will win World War One? I think his grip on reality might be loose.

Update June 30:

Look here.

Fatfat Denies Lebanese Government Approval of Helem

2006-06-19T00:00:00.000+03:00

Today, The Daily Star carried an article, mostly written by Agence France-Presse (AFP), detailing how Acting Interior Minister Ahmed Fatfat denied charges by conservative Muslim clerics that the government had approved the establishment of Helem, an gay-rights group in Lebanon. The AFP article can be found on Naharnet, (The Daily Star likes to charge people for slightly old articles, thus the link I posted might not be working soon.) A quote:

A petition seeking prosecution of the gay rights group filed by a Beirut city
attorney earlier this year was rejected by the attorney general's office, which
ruled that the group's operation of an office and a Web site did not constitute
an offense.

According to the law, the govenment has three months to voice an objection to any organization's registration. It never did that. That implies approval.

Fatfat can say all he want about the government not approving Helem. But it pretty much did. If it really cared, it would have done something. Fatfat just wants to distance himself from accountability and backbone, typical for a politician. And his pandering is rather pathetic.

I Ain't a Ho!

2006-06-17T21:28:00.000+03:00

Last night, I dressed up in a hot outfit for a night at UV, my favorite gay venue in Beirut - tight jeans, a tight t-shirt, and cool shoes. It was cool, yet casual, just how I like it.

Well, I was walking down the street in Verdun when a beat-up Volvo pulled up next to me. It was a man in late middle age, with no hair on his head, plenty on his arms, and a belly that was getting squished by the steering wheel. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"What?" I responded.

"Where are you going? I'll give you a ride. Are you going to Hamra?" I said no. "Well, come on," he continued, "Where are you going? I'll give you a ride. No charge. Get in." He was waving me in, with an offputting grin on his face. I said no and continued walking. A security guard and some guys standing in front of Verdun 732 were laughing at our conversation.

Fifteen minutes later, I was almost at the Senayah Park, when the car pulled up again. "How much?" he barked at me. I looked at him. "How much?" he repeated. I gave him a blank stare. He waved at me in angry dismissal and drove on.

Now, I admit I may have looked gay, but gay does not equal prostitute! I don't know whether to feel insulted that he thought I'd have sex for money, or flattered that he wanted to have sex with me.

Judging by the way he looked, though, I'm willing to bet he'd have sex with just about anyone.

Movie with Gay Themes in Egypt Stirs Controversy

2006-06-16T21:00:00.000+03:00

I want to see this! According to the Christian Science Monitor, which is actually a quite objective news source despite its name, an Egyptian film, The Yacoubian Building, is causing quite a stir, partly because of gay themes in it. A quote:

While the film covers many taboo subjects, what's perhaps most surprising,
film critics say, is that it passed Egypt's censorship unscathed. But Egypt's
President of Censorship Ali Abou Shadi says he really liked the movie. "It's an
important film," says Mr. Shadi. "It's critical of the government, extremism,
homosexuality. We don't want to cover our eyes about this."

Nevertheless, in its uncensored state, Shadi and the film's creators agree,
"The Yacoubian Building" may well offend and anger Egypt's government and public
alike. Religious fundamentalists might complain about its portrayal of Islam,
they say. Others might argue that it shows a bad image of Egypt. Some may be
scandalized by the film's homosexuality.

Shadi says "critical of...homosexuality", but I'm willing to bet in a movie that's causing such a stir, he means critical of discrimination against homosexuality. The aricle doesn't say what exactly happens in the film, just what subjects it touches on. I'm intrigued...I hope it comes here to Lebanon. Actually, I hope it goes everywhere in the Arab World.

Egypt and Syria Drop the Ball on HIV Prevention

2006-06-16T20:40:00.000+03:00

IRINnews, an offshoot of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, published an article this week criticizing Egypt and Syria for being lackadaisical in their approach to HIV/AIDS prevention and reporting. Quotes:

“Up until now, despite the existence of awareness campaigns and support
from religious leaders, many continue to believe that Egypt is not actually at
risk,” Aon said. “That was the mistake initially made in Africa, where it was
once believed that HIV/AIDS was a white man’s disease. Now it has become an
African disease.”

From when the first HIV/AIDS case was discovered in Syria in 1987 until the
end of 2005, only 377 out of 4 million people who undertook blood tests have
tested HIV positive, according to the first-ever official statistics published
by the health ministry in February. NGO activists, however, say this figure is
too low, estimating that there are at least 1,500 cases of people with HIV/AIDS
countrywide.

Egypt and Syria, which are both under repressive regimes, are denying that they have problems? This is news! (Italics = sarcasm) I really don't think I need to comment on the rose-colored glasses of the two governments. Just Google them and you'll see.

But it's important to note that ignoring AIDS helps to spread it. And even if they want to ignore it in their own countries, shame on the Egyptian and Syrian delegations for trying to keep discussion of AIDS out of the UN! Egypt also tried to keep lgbt-rights organizations from being granted consultative status to the UN Economic and Social Committee in January in an unprecedented procedural move, as reported by Pink News. Unprecedented? That means no one has ever done something like that before. Sheesh!

Note: Even though HIV is not predominately a problem in the gay community in the Middle East, but rather in the heterosexual communittee, it has still plague many gay communities worldwide. And it could become a problem in the Middle East. Easily. So I write about it.

A Moving Speech by a Persian Gay-Rights Leader

2006-06-15T21:25:00.000+03:00

Two days ago, Arsham Parsi, the human rights secretary for Persian Gay and Lesbian Organization, was the featured speaker at a gala in Toronto held by Égale Canada and ARC International. His speech can be found on the PGLO website. According to Doug Ireland, he has just left Turkey for Canada, where he has been granted asylum due to the death sentence imposed on him by Iran for being a gay activist. A quote:

I mentioned that I am the spokesperson of this organization, but let me add that I see and value this job far beyond what a regular employee might assume its organizational position to be and work for it. It is the most important thing in my life to be the spokesperson. It is a strong love and devotion that I have within me. There is a Music of Freedom that is in my heart. It is bursting inside me. I want everybody to hear this music, this music of freedom that my brothers and sisters in Iran cannot hear or are not allowed to hear. I became the spokesperson voluntarily because a voice was needed to be heard above the shrill cries of gay condemnation of the Islamic government. When my transsexual friend committed suicide under the pressure of her society and her family, and I saw her withered body and cold contracted hands on her breast I became the spokesperson. When my friend, Nima, a young gay man took his life due to police brutality and under the pressure of his family by eating arsenic, and I saw his lifeless body that slept like a beautiful angel I heavily cried and I became the spokesperson. When I saw my friends in the hallways of the central court of Shiraz, and heard their cries of pain from the lashes that had tortured them I cried too. But this also made me stronger in my desire to speak out. I learned about a gay couple who had celebrated with a private function their new lives together. The security forces discovered this celebration and started to trace this couple. Fortunately, this couple were able to escape detention, and one of them could escape to Turkey. But we surely know that not many other gay people in Iran have been that much successful in getting through their cases and saving their lives. When the Islamic government forbade the access of transsexuals to the public buildings in the big cities of Iran, when a gay man was severely beaten in a park in the central Tehran, when another gay was sentenced to the lash in Esfahan, when a group of my friends were detected in chat rooms and entrapped by the police, when another transsexual was severely beaten to the point where she lost 50 percent of her hearing in one ear, when gays were verbally and sexually abused in a police station in some cities of Iran, and in many other outrageous instances there was no one to speak for them and to reveal to the world what Iranian LGBTs suffer. We have a critical situation in Iran that must be resolved. Thus, I became the spokesperson of the PGLO to air the grievances and to show the world the true situation of persecutions that we suffer. I call upon all noble-minded people to stop, listen, and make an effort to help us.

If that's not inspiring, what is?

Gays vs. Muslims in Europe: A True Battle?

2006-06-11T20:10:00.000+03:00

Two events happened in Europe last week which signal emerging tension between gay groups and Islamic ones.

First, an article in the Brussels Journal expressed the Dutch fear that the release of Somali-born asylum seeker Ayaan Hirsi Ali's new movie Submission 2 might create a Muslim backlash which would hurt Holland. Submission 2 documents the struggle of gay people in Muslim society. A quote:

The NCTb writes that "Submission 2" has already attracted attention in the Arab
world and in Iran. The Dutch authorities are working on a plan about what to do
if the movie does, indeed, stir up international Muslim indignation.
“Controversial debates or artistic quotes about Islam in the Netherlands can be
abused by radical Muslims abroad to agitate against the Netherlands,” the NCTb
report says. It states that the Danish cartoon affair shows how minor local
incidents can rapidly escalate into violent tensions between Muslims and
non-Muslims. “Not only political interests but also economic interests as well
as the safety of embassies and Dutch troops abroad can be in jeopardy.”

I find this to be unlikely. While the Danish cartoon incident was clearly an example of a poor reaction of the Muslim community (You're calling us violent? We're not! And we're burn your embassy to prove it!), it is an outlier. There are hundreds more examples of Western criticisms of Islam that do not garner such a reaction. Even in regards to the gay issue, for even Brian Whitaker's colonialist Unspeakable Love: Gay and Lesbian Life in the Middle East did not muster even the blink of an eye, and the British embassies are still in tact. (I'll write a review on the book and why I like and dislike it soon.)

Another quote:

The way in which the Dutch threw Hirsi Ali out in an attempt to appease Muslim
fanatics has attracted worldwide attention. The famous Peruvian author Mario
Vargas Llosa criticized the Netherlands this week in an op-ed piece in the Lima newspaper El Comercio. He wrote that he had “applauded the Netherlands in the past when it was a pioneer in allowing euthanasia, legalising drugs and institutionalising gay marriage. Now I am disillusioned by the disgraceful surrendering of a government and the public opinion of a democratic country to the blackmail of terrorist fanaticism.”

The second quote shows the danger that can be promulgated by gay society in Europe in regards to the Muslim community - if the gay community creates a false dichotomy, i.e. either you support gay rights or Islam, the gay rights movement will be severely damaged. Such a dichotomy forces people to choose between the two sides, creating the illusion that moderate stances are impossible. If Muslims are torn between their religion and tolerance of gay people, which do you think they will choose? This danger of dichotomy is echoed in the next event in Europe:

The British blog Islamophobia Watch last week posted a rebuttal to an article posted on the blog Harry's Place by British gay-rights group OUTRage!

Last month, I posted about homophobic comments from the leader of Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), Sir Iqbal Sacranie, and Brett Lock OUTRage's righteous reponse to them. The comments on Harry's Place, also by Brett Lock, do not follow the same vein. I understand what Lock is saying: intelligent policing is not the same as random police attacks, and Islamic extremists have proven to be a real threat in this century. But he goes a little over the line in his attacks on Muhammad Abdul Bari, the new leader of the MCB, appointed this month. Take a look at Lock's response to Bari's statement, "Trust could be an issue. Trust could break down if things are not clarified. Angry people can do anything, angry people can even feel that they should take the law into their own hands so anger has to be directed into positive action.":

Angry people can do anything? That sounds like a threat. It presents the spectre
of more angry, resentful and militant Muslims driven to taking even more extreme
actions. It’s saying “The situation is making us angry... and you know what we
do when we’re angry!”

Lock is hinting that Bari is calling for more militant extremism in the Muslim community, which he surely isn't. In fact, the idea that an angry populace treated badly by the government is a tried-and-true argument for minorites, and gay people have said that many times. Why, when said by a Muslim, should it equal terrorism?

It's no wonder Lock's post receives such an emotional response from Islamophobia Watch - it's somewhat unjustified, especially when the blog found these remarks made by Bari last Monday:

Islam doesn't accept homosexuality.... But that doesn't mean that Muslims have
to homophobic. There is no room for discrimination and hatred in our
society.

If gay people are going to win tolerance from the greater Muslim community, they need to work with the Muslim community in positive, constructive manners. Attacking or creating the illusion of constantly being attacked will not help. Gay people need to find Muslims who support them and nurture relationships with them. Those gay-supporting-Muslims have friends, and their friends have friends, and so on... That is the method of true change.

American Military Finally Recognizes Killing of Gay Iraqis

2006-06-08T15:11:00.000+03:00

Let me see...how long has the murderous persecution of gay people due to Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani's fatwa been publicly known? Over two months. And, when the scandal became public, persecuted gay Iraqis complained about seeking help from the Americans and being rebuffed. Quotes from the Gay City News:

"We desperately need protection!" pleaded Tahseen. "But, when we go to the
Americans, they laugh at us and don't do anything. The Americans are the
problem!"

"These assaults and murders have been reported to the Green
Zone, but the Americans don't want to upset the religious authorities, and so
they do nothing or treat gay Iraqis with contempt or as an object of humor,"
Hili explained, adding that the reports to the U.S. authorities were made by
undergound gay activists.

Only now it seems, however, that the American military is acknowledging the crisis, according to the Washington Blade. U.S. Army Major Joseph Todd Breasseale, chief of the Media Relations Division of the Multinational Corps in Iraq, said this in response to questions about the repercussions of the fatwa was this:

"It doesn't make a whole lot of sense, when we're in a fledgling time like this,
to go in and say, 'Here's these issues that are going to repel 80 percent of the
population and this is what we want to inflict on you,'" he said. "We're trying
not to get into too many values judgment type issues and just do the right
thing."

His quote, actually, seems to make sense. I can understand not wanting to approach rival Islamic factions and say, "Hey, it's gay marriage time!" That might make the American's hold on Iraqi stability even more tenuous. But to say "Come on, don't murder these people?" I think he's copping out.

Notice his choice of words, also. He says "inflict". When American leaders talk about bringing democracy to the Middle East, they don't say "inflict". They say "spread" or "bring" - words that sound positive, because they see democracy as a positive thing. If Breasseale really saw protecting gay people as a worthwhile cause, I don't think he'd use "inflict", which sounds horrible.

Furthermore, if the American armed forces, which consistently discharges competent gay men and women, actually cared about what is happening to gay people in Iraq, would it take them so long to address it. I mean, it's been going on for more than eight months.

Finally, the Washington Blade printed a picture of three gay Iraqis murdered because of their sexuality. This gruesome pic will give me nightmares:

The Trials and Tribulations of Gay Palestine

2006-06-08T12:36:00.000+03:00

Israeli write and sex worker Liad Kantorowicz recently wrote this article for Ha-Aretz, which was then translated for MRZine. It's an amazing piece of work, especially because it addresses the difference in gay identity between East and West.

Sexual behavior in the Arab world is not connected to a person's identity. The notion of "sexual identity," which is widespread in Western thought, is an unknown concept in the Arabic Islamic world. In their world, people are supposed to be straight and lead a straight lifestyle, and there is no connection between their straightness and their sexual desires. Thus, most men and women who desire to sleep with their own sex can do so discretely and continue to lead otherwise normal lives. Their concealed desires do not constitute a fault line in their lives. Tahar (a pseudonym), a friend of Hussein, exemplifies this: he is a man, who is attracted to men and finds it difficult to admit this; he will most likely marry a woman. He calls himself "straight" because it is easier to present himself as such.

This article says so much about gay life in Palestine, especially in regards to the dfference between treatment of gays in Palestine and Israel. It's more complicated than "Israel likes gay people and Palestine doesn't". Israeli gays may like gay Palestinian gays, but Israelis don't. Also, Israel uses its comparatively pro-gay stance against Palestinians:

If Palestinian gays did not have enough troubles of their own, an additional security danger is the Israeli Occupation. The Israel Security Service (Shabak) cynically uses Palestinian homophobia and coerces gays to choose between recruitment in its ranks and forceful outing. Most Palestinian gays choose the first option in order to save their lives. As such, every gay is considered a potential collaborator. Hussein and Samar have yet to be recruited and it also seems that it will happen soon, given the high status of their families. But two years ago Hussein was kidnapped from his home, most likely by Fatah men, who wanted to "shake" him up and check whether he is a collaborator. "They kidnapped me because I had long hair," he relates. "They took me to a large empty area, where they beat me up and dragged me on the ground. They interrogated me with regard to sex with men. I told them that I was not gay. Had I admitted to them that I was gay, it would have meant that I am a collaborator. They beat me with sticks and stones. Every time I said 'no' they hit me. I said that I love Palestine and I would never in my life work for Israel. Finally at 12:30 after midnight they put me in a car and dropped me off near the house." The Palestinian security service has also not overlooked Hussein and Samar and invites them for "visits." Hussein says, "They write down all that I say, but they have no proof; they have not caught me. Sometimes I think that they would like to catch me."

I wish could find one of the secret parties mentioned in the article. I think it would be a real eye-opener.

"The Biological Equivalent of Apple Pie"

2006-06-07T11:59:00.000+03:00

Seed, an American science journal, published an article on the prevalence of homosexual relationships in nature, and how Darwin's theory is evolution is flawed because it doesn't accomodate them, merely seeing them as outliers in the race for procreation.

It's a fantastic article, and gives plenty of examples of gay animals. One warning, though: the article is very explicit - think carefully before showing it to your mother.

I want to print a copy and have it available at a moment's notice, to show to all those people who constantly say homosexuality is "against nature" as a way to justify discrimination against gay people. But what nature are they talking about? Obviously not the one on Planet Earth.

25 Year of AIDS; Lebanon Learning Lessons from Progressive Iran

2006-06-05T11:54:00.000+03:00

Today officially marks the 25th anniversary of the first report of AIDS. On June 5, 1981, the American Centers for Disease Control announced that five young gay men were suffering from a strangely concurrent pneumonia. The then-unknown disease was called Gay-Related Immune Defeciency for over a year, until it was realized that homosexuality does not cause the disease, and it was renamed Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome.

Since its outbreak, AIDS has already killed more than the bubonic plague and is approaching the World War II death toll of 62,000,000. It will probably surpass it within the next ten years.

Because gay people had the first-known cases of AIDS, and the gay community has suffered immensely from the disease, homosexuality has often been blamed for causing AIDS. which is ludicrous. Thus, in addition to having to fight an epidemic within our community, which is already last on the list of most governments' priorities, gay people are actually politically attacked for having the disease. How many times have I heard that AIDS is a punishment from God?

When I hear that AIDS is a divine judgment because God hates gay people for being gay, I always ask, "Does God hate impoverished Africans for being African?", "If a woman is raped and get AIDS, does God give it to her as punishment?", "If a baby is born with AIDS, could it be called preemptive punishment?". The answer to all of these questions has got to be no. People say God hates gay people because they hate gay people. They are looking for real-world events to justify their prejudices. But there is nothing to show that AIDS has been divinely inspired.

Anyway, I digress. I'd rather not talk about the horrors that AIDS has caused in the world, but rather the hope for the eradication of the disease in the future. Much of that hope in the Middle East is being spread by our Persian neighbors to the East, in Iran. In April, the Kansas City Star published an article about AIDS work in Iran. Quotes:

It still doles out floggings to Iranians caught with alcohol, but it gives clean
syringes and methadone treatment to heroin addicts. Health workers pass out
condoms to prostitutes. Government clinics in every region offer free HIV
testing, counseling and treatment. A state-backed magazine just began a monthly
column that profiles HIV-positive Iranians, and last year the postal service
unveiled an AIDS awareness stamp.

One of Iran’s most acclaimed advances comes from its prisons, where hundreds of
drug-addicted inmates sometimes share the same makeshift syringe to inject
heroin smuggled in. In a startling acknowledgment of sex and drugs even in its
most closely guarded quarters, the Tehran administration has made condoms and
needles available in detention centers across the country.

Amazing. Just amazing. And it's not what most people would expect from Iran. But, in a way, it makes sense. In non-democratic regimes, where the populace has little room to question the actions of its goverment, change can be amore expedient. If Fidel Castro decided that every Cuban would be required to dress like Carmen Miranda, within a week Chiquita would be a Fortune 500 country. The leaders of Iran simply decided, quite rationally, that AIDS was not going to go away through ignorance and/or punishment, but by intervening to prevent the factors that tribute to infection, i.e. drug use and unprotected sex.

This progressive stance on AIDS is now being exported to Lebanon, which is much more liberal than Iran, but far behind it. So far, due to social sexual taboos, HIV/AIDS has barely been discussed in Lebanon, which, pessimistically, could lead to an outbreak. In an article by the Norwegian Red Cross, it is mentioned that in 2003, the Lebanese government officially reported 745 cases of HIV in Lebanon. The UN, however, claimed that there were really about 2,800 cases, with a range from 700-4,100. The article points out the good work that the Lebanese Red Cross Youth are doing to curb the spread of HIV. Sadly, almost all the work to fight AIDS in Lebanon is done by non-govermental organizations (including Helem), and not by the government, which doesn't really want to acknowledge the problem. Not to say that the Lebanese Ministry of Health's AIDS Program is usless; but it would be nice if they were a bit more proactive and had some future events planned.

Unfortunately, in Lebanon, unlike in Iran, a main factor for HIV transmission may end up being gay sex, according to the International AIDS Alliance's report "Rapid situation analysis of men who have sex with men in the Maghreb and Lebanon". Among the factors that could indicate a spread of the epidemic in the region:

The social and religious taboos linked to the condemnation of sex between men
and the risk of discrimination against MSM lead them to conceal their sexual
orientation and/or practices, particularly from health professionals. This makes
the screening and treatment of HIV and other STIs difficult. Because of this,
there are few prevention and care programmes in the region specifically for MSM.

What was ACT-UP's slogan? Oh, yes: "Silence = Death". It always proves to be true. The report goes on to say that "concentrating prevention efforts on people whose sexual practices can involve a considerable risk of HIV transmission – such as MSM (men who have sex with men) enables not only these people to be protected but also the spread of the epidemic to be controlled at national level." It seems so easy.

The report is extremely worth the read. Not only does it give amazing ideas on how to combat AIDS, it gives rather corny "categories" of gay men, and can be quite humorous at times - it calls religious zealots "beardies". It talks a lot about whether or not to come out of the closet, never completely endorsing either. The message at the end is clear, however - if you hate yourself for being gay, you won't take care of yourself.

A very good article on the stigmatism that affects people afflicted with AIDS in Lebanon was published by IRINNews, an offshoot of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affars. It outlines Lebanese society's rejection of HIV+ people, HIV+ people's self-rejection, whe widespread belief that HIV is a punishment from God, and how the medical system is unequipped and unwlilling to deal with the disease.

There has to be hope. We have to work harder. In today's time, there is no excuse for having sex without a condom. And the ties between gay discrimination, gay self-esteem, and the spread of HIV are so obvious. Protecting gay men from HIV protects everyone. 25 years is enough. If Iran can do it, so can we.

CNN Explores the Plight of Gays in the Middle East

2006-06-04T23:15:00.000+03:00

In a recent article, Hala Gorani of CNN explored the difficulties gay people face in the Middle East, mainly belittlement, discrimination, incarceration and threats to their personal security.

The article is short, and often vague, but highlighted some important things. First, the absence of non-pejorative terms for homosexuality in the Middle East. A quote:

I then asked our Arabic speakers at CNN what word they thought was the best
translation for "gay" in Arabic. Heads were scratched. "Luti," one
suggested. "Shaz," another offered in an e-mail. Those terms are widely
understood, but essentially translate as "pervert" or "deviant" in Arabic.

Gorani then points out that "mithliyun junsiya" has recently been coined. I think it's important to mention, however, that gay people themselves do not use "luti", "shaz", or any other pejorative term to describe themselves. Neither do they use the sterile "mithliyun". In order to speak about themselves neutrally, gay people tend to use Western words, such as "gay".

My favorite quote from the article is this:

According to Scott Long, of Human Rights Watch, when governments crack down on
homosexual gathering places, they do it for political rather than purely moral
reasons. "They are saying to their people that they are defending what is
authentic, what is Islamic," he told us from his New York office.

I couldn't have said it any better myself. I can think of a hundred examples of leaders from every country in the world, from George W. Bush of the USA to Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria to Mahmoud Amhadinejad of Iran, using anti-gay rhetoric to show their people that they are "defenders of the faith". But this act of "defending the faith" often falls apart on other levels. In effect, leaders are targeting gay people in order to divert attention from their shortcomings as leaders and bolster domestic support.

There are two main things lacking in Gorani's article, however. First, while she does a great job pointing out the bad situations for gay people in the Middle East, she doesn't mention any of the good things in the Middle East. She mentions Helem, but doesn't show what a landmark it was for gay people in Lebanon. She doesn't mention gay bars or clubs in Lebanon, or the recent IDAHO celebration. She doesn't point out the blossoming of the gay Arab community online or the new books that have been published on homosexuality in the Middle East. She makes the situation seem very dire, which it is, but fails to show the light at the end of the tunnel.

Also, she says, "Recently, Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani lifted a fatwa calling on the killing of gays in Iraq." That is not true at all. He removed it from his website. It's still in effect.

All in all, it was a good article, but it's very clear that Gorani did not have a lot of experience with gay issues before writing it. She writes like an outsider, and her knowledge appears limited.

Update June 5:

I was informed by a comment on this post that the article was meant to be a teaser for "Inside the Middle East", hosted by Gorani. Reportedly, the issues I bring up are more profoundly addressed. Hopefully, I will be able to see the show, but I don't currently get CNN.

A Gay Hammam Goes Public

2006-06-04T22:25:00.000+03:00

Lebanon's newest gay hammam, al-Sheikh in Wata al-Mosaytbeh, is now advertising with radio announcements.

The advertisement highlighted the standard hammam fare - health, cleanliness, and relaxation. The end, however, featured one man saying to another, "You're cute," followed by flirtatious laughter.

I'm not sure how aware people who aren't gay would have to be to pick up on the gay undertones. I think they're pretty obvious.

It's great that Lebanese gay venues are starting to advertise. It shows that gay people in Lebanon are becoming more proud of who they are, and that Lebanese society is becoming more tolerant.

I foresee great things coming in the future...

Why TimeOut Beirut Doesn't Have a Gay Page

2006-06-02T12:38:00.000+03:00

TimeOut Beirut is one of the few magazines in the TimeOut Franchise that does not have a gay page. I recently called a managing editor at TimeOut to ask why (because I was interested in writing a gay page), and she told me that TimeOut Beirut does not have a gay page in order to protect gay people. She said that if gay venues were published in the magazine, then it might lead to increased persecution by the community. She said that TimeOut Beirut was trying to keep gay topics covered in its pages, through [saccharine] book reviews of Unspeakable Love and the like. (I keep her identity secret because I didn't know I'd be posting this at the time, and she wasn't informed.)

I find her reasoning faulty, at best. Here's why:

First, gay venues are already publicized. They're listed by Helem, #Gaylebanon Undernet, countless news articles, Lonely Planet, this blog, and billboards. How much more publicity do you need?

Secondly, the people readng TimeOut Beirut are going to be the more liberal of Beirutis. They have to speak Enlgish, for one. Plus, a conservative Muslim from the suburbs is unlikely to pick up a magazine that is titled "SEX" and displays underwear at the knees.

I figured there was something up, and I discussed it with an acquaintance of mine who works there. He said the real reason TimeOut Beirut did not have a gay page is because it was worried about losing its publication license. It's not to protect gay people, it's to protect itself. It's worried that the government will dislike its pro-gay stance and inflict negative repercussions. I understand that. I just wish the magazine were honest about it.

One last thing: I hate that TimeOut Beirut lists Club Acid as the only gay-friendly venue in Beirut. It makes Beirut seem less gay-friendly than it is, and it's simply untrue. Of all the gay-friendly venues (Acid, Walimat Wardeh, Wolf, UV, X-OM, etc.), Acid is one of the least gay-friendly.

Not a Pride March!

2006-06-01T11:46:00.000+03:00

Both the Lebanese Political Journal and Beirut Spring erroneously reported that the celebration of the International Day of Homophobia last month was a Gay Pride march. It was not such thing! I assume they thought it was because they saw this photo in a BBC article:

The picture is of Helem supporters at the 2005 Beirut Marathon, and not a Pride celebration. While I wish the marathon had been a Gay Pride celebration, it clearly wasn't, as Helem's participation in the Marathon Village was cancelled by the organizing committee, even after Helem had signed a contract and paid all the relevant fees. Its water stand, which won "Most Creative Refreshment Stand" was offered as a consolation.

Beirut has never had a Gay Pride, although I severely wish it would. The Lebanese Political Journal and Beirut Spring just got my hopes up.

Muslim Africans Most Sex-Obsessed on Google, Moroccans Most Gay in Africa

2006-05-31T12:03:00.000+03:00

Haha!!! Check out this article in Afrol News! Apparently, in Africa, citizens of Muslim African nations are using the internet to vent their sexual frustrations. Quotes:

When it comes to using the Internet to look for sex, North Africans in
particular seem to have found a new outlet for societal taboos. The sex search
on Google is topped by Pakistan, but closely followed by Egypt. Moroccans even
reach the top-ten list both in English (6th on "sex") and in French (2nd on
"sexe"). Algerians top the search for "sexe", showing twice as much interest as
the French and Tunisians. A quick look inside the booming cybercafés in North
Africa confirms this obsession.

Even homosexuality, which is illegal in most Muslim and African countries,
spurs much interest in Muslim Africa. While the search word "gay" is dominated
by Latin Americans, it is mainly Filipinos and Saudi Arabians looking for "gay
sex". The African "gay sex" list is topped by Kenyans, Tanzanians, Namibians,
Zimbabweans and South Africans. In the francophone world, however, Algerians and Moroccans by far top the world's search for "la homosexualité". Algerians also
by distance top the search for the "sexe gay", with the French and the Moroccans
being somewhat more timid on the issue.

It just shows that we are everywhere, and gaining ground. What a good article! I knew there was more to the gay scene in Morocco than just its king! And Saudi Arabia! Haha!

Sadly, it also shows that AIDS doesn't make the top-ten list in any African nation except South Africa:

Also when it comes to meet the AIDS treat, South Africans are the most aware in
Africa, Google searches indicate. There is a significant search for condoms in
South Africa, but the interest for this AIDS preventing object is by far much
bigger in India. South African however top the world's search list of
anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs). The lack of other African countries on the ARV
top-ten search list again indicates that the public awareness of these drugs is
as low as their availability in other African states.

Beirut Counselor Blasts Homosexuality

2006-05-31T11:36:00.000+03:00

Yesterday, Adnkronos International (AKI), an Italian-Arab news organization, reported that counselor Saad al-Din al-Wazzani of Beirut publicly called fo the closure and banning of all gay organizations. A quote:

"This was a provocation and I am amazed that no other political leader has
publically condemned it. What realy worries me is the wish of associations [like
Helem] to spread their activities and distribute their publications even in
schools," al-Wazzani said.

"We have to oppose this, and I ask that at the next cabinet meeting the
government approve a decree which will revoke permission for the associations to
operate," al-Wazzani told AKI.

I'm not horribly surprised he said such a thing, but rather that he thought his call will actually be heeded. With all that is going on with the roundtable discussions, Israeli bombing, Lebanese-Syrian tension, and the enormous debt, Lebanon does not need the bad press that will be associated with a crackdown on gay people. I doubt the government will respond to al-Wazzani.

Also interesting is the article's bad fact-checking. First, notably, the picture in the article has the caption "Some bars in Beirut cater for a gay clientele". The picture, however, is not of a gay-centric place, but rather just some random store in Solidere. Second, the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) somehow just became "Against Homophobia", which doesn't make sense. And third, Barra has had three issues, not two. Apparently AKI is not the most assiduous news source.

A better-informed, although also more puffy and saccharine, article on IDAHO was published by the BBC. It makes laws against homosexuality in Lebanon seem like a benign nuisance, rather than a threat.

Also, a terrible article by Al-Arabiya, which said that Mary Cheney was a confessed sexual deviant, claims that Helem was showing porn. To discount the gay civil rights movement, opponents often protray gay people as being sex-obsessed, almost as if all we want is to have sex in the streets. It's simply a way of avoiding the real issues at hand, i.e. discrimination, family-building, marriage, legal protection, military service, etc. It's also childish.

Don't Boycott World Pride!

2006-05-30T11:35:00.000+03:00

A pro-Palestinian coalition is calling for the boycott of the second World Pride, to be held August 6-12 in Jerusalem. (The second World Pride was originally scheduled for last year, but was cancelled because it coincided with the Ariel Sharon-led pullout from Gaza.)

On its website, the coalition states in an open letter:

As you know, many groups have joined the movement to boycott Israeli goods and to divest from Israel in protest of the ongoing occupation of Palestinian lands, the construction of the apartheid wall in the West Bank, and the destruction of Palestinian olive trees, homes, and villages. We believe that the goal of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) liberation is best served by supporting local community organizing while also supporting the liberation struggles of all oppressed peoples.

We support the work of Jerusalem Open House (the local sponsor of World Pride in Jerusalem) in fighting queer oppression, and we understand and respect that LGBTIQ people and organizations within Israel and Palestine will decide for themselves how to relate to World Pride. However, we ask LGBTIQ people from other countries to boycott travel to Israel and not to attend World Pride 2006 in Jerusalem.

I agree with the intent behind the coalition's statement, but I believe the idea of boycotting World Pride is ridiculous, half-baked, and hyprocritical.

First off, boycotting World Pride will only hurt the gay movement, and will not help the Palestinian one. Two wrongs don't make a right, and weakening two movements doesn't make them stronger. I understand why Palestinian groups want to boycott Israeli goods and discourage tourism to Israel: by divesting in Israel, you take away from its economic, and political, power. But divestment only works when it targets the people in charge - rich businessmen, lawmakers, celebrities, etc. In no country in the world does the gay community hold any significant power.

Gay people in Israel, as in every country, are fighting for their human rights, and supporting gay Israelis does not mean supporting Israel. By boycotting World Pride, it merely makes the movement seem smaller and more inconsequential. Lawmakers might not notice 100 gay people marching in the streets, but they will definitely notice 100,000.

Furthermore, because gay people do not hold power, and are not supported by the government, boycotting World Pride will not help the Palestinians. In fact, the boycott might make the lawmakers of Israel happy, which is the opposite of the boycott's intent.

Movements are strongest when they're symbiotic - I'll help you if you help me. The idea behing the boycott - I'll help you in places only that help me - is not a positive step, for it stratifies the movements in importance, really meaning "I'll help you, but only as an afterthought."

If the coalition truly believes in "fighting queer oppression" and supports Palestinian liberation, then it should encourage Palestinian activists to attend World Pride. In turn, the gay movement should encourage its members to attend Palestinian rallies. That is symbiosis, leading to two stronger movements which are more likely to reach their goals.

Secondly, the boycott is hypocritical. Many of the supporters of the boycott are American Palestinian groups, including the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in San Francisco (ADCSF) and Queers for Peace and Justice. This month, the ADCSF marched in San Francisco to protest for immigration rights. Queers for Peace and Justice marched in New York in 2003 to protest Israeli occupation.

The boycott does not want people going to a gay march in Israel because Israel hurts Palestinians. By this logic, since the United States does not endorse gay rights, boycott-supporting groups should not be participating in marches in the US. But they do. And that, my friend, is hypocrisy.

I'm going to do my best to go to World Pride and support gay people in the Middle East and around the world. And I will support the Palestinian cause. I rather support both than neither.

(On a related note, I liked this article in the World Net Daily. I love articles that try to appear non-homophobic, but obviously are. They make me laugh.)

Update June 17:

According to Pink News, an orthodox rabbi is arranging a "modesty parade" to counteract World Pride. It will take place on August 9, two days before the Pride parade, and is organized by Shofar, an orthodox group advocating a "return to religion". A quote:

[The anti-gay parade] will celebrate 20 years of the group, the website states, "Two days before the date on which the vile souls are planning their World 'March of Abomination,' thousands of Jews whose souls have been saved and have chosen God's path will hold a 'Modest march' or incredible proportions.

"It's very occurrence will denunciate the abomination and defilement, will vomit out its participants from among us, and will set fire to their infection. Thousands of Jews from Israel and the world, to whom the purity and sanctity of Jerusalem is important, will demonstrate the extraordinariness of the was of the Torah chosen by thousands."

It's virulent, but a bit poetic, don't you think?

The article also mentions that a counselor for the National Religious Party filed a petition with Israel's High Court of Justice to have World Pride cancelled because it "harms the city's unique Jewish character."

The Wolf on the Prowl

2006-05-25T19:44:00.000+03:00

The newest gay bar in Beirut, Wolf, has gotten a billboard in Hamra. Check it out:

The man under the moon is one of the owners. I'm glad to see an advertisement for a gay bar (even if it doesn't say it's gay), alhough I've been hearing more and more bad things about Wolf.

First, I know a few people who worked there and quit because the owner was apparently very sketchy. I've heard lots of other bad things, but I can't prove them, so I won't print them. But I don't go to Wolf anymore, that's for sure.

A funny thing: if you Google the words "wolf", "gay", and "Beirut", my article pops up before Wolf's site. Ha!

A Note on Helem

2006-05-24T12:07:00.000+03:00

I'm a bit frustrated with Helem's promotional notices.

I didn't go to all of IDAHO last week, some of which was due to the fact I had to work. Much of it was the fact that I didn't know about all of the events. IDAHO events started May 17. Helem posted the listing of IDAHO events here. Notice that the date posted was May 16 at 13:59 GMT. That's only 24 hours notice! Good work, Helem.

It's also important to mention that when Al Hal Bi Idak ran a segment on gay people in Lebanon featuring active members of Helem as guests, Helem did not advertise the show at all.

This Friday, the Lebanese Psychological Association is hosting a lecture by Brian Whitaker, author of the book Unspeakable Love: Gay and Lesbian Lives in the Middle East. At least Helem gave about a week's notice on that one.

Sadness, Woe, and IDAHO

2006-05-20T20:22:00.000+03:00

On Tuesday evening, I spent the night with someone else in my bed for the first time in months. For me, spending the night with someone is something very special; I am a fiend for space, and to sleep next to someone on my tiny bed requires a great deal of compromise on my part. But on Tuesday, I made an exception out of need.

That night, I met a guy in the Gay Lebanon room on mIRC. We'll call him Rami. Rami and I started chatting, and I learned part of the tragic saga he was undergoing, and how he was going to spend the night on the street unless he found someone to take him in. Following my conscience and subduing my better judgment, I offered to let him spend the night at my house.

I met him in front of a café. Rami was 24, but his height made him look much, much younger. He must have been around 165cm tall, with no weight on his bones. He was a hairdresser, which was hardly the only stereotypically gay thing about him: his hair was carefully spiked, he wore earrings and bracelets, and his posture was impeccable. During the walk to my apartment, he proceeded to tell me his story:

On Monday night, he was robbed. A service taxi picked him up, and he sat in the front seat, as he always does, in order to avoid being trapped in the middle of the backseat, which could be dangerous for him. The taxi driver then proceeded to pick up two other men, who sat in the back seat. Rami noticed that the taxi was not taking him where he wanted to go. The man sitting behind him reached forward and held a knife to Rami's side, until they reached a remote location, where Rami was instructed to get out of the call. The men took everything Rami had, including his money, his phone and his jewelry, then proceeded to beat him up. Rami was left with bruises on his back and scratches on his face where his robbers had playfully ran the knife across it.

Somehow, Rami made it home, where he told his mother the whols story. Instead of comforting him, Rami's mother told him that he deserved it, and they should have killed him. In tears, Rami packed up a few of his possessions in a shopping bag and left the house.

Monday night, he stayed at a friend's house, but he couldn't stay there any longer than that. He made enough money as a hairdresser to get his own place, but he was in debt and wouldn't be able to do that for a few weeks. So, he planned to sleep on the street in Solidere, near policemen so he would be safe.

To make a long story short, this guy was living in a state of constant danger. First, the street was unsafe - he already had a history of being robbed, beaten, and raped by people in the street, and this was not likely to change, even in a place as saccharine as Solidere. Second, at home he was in danger. His family obviously cared very little about him because of his sexuality, and might be capable of anything. Third, he was reaching out to strangers on mIRC, who could easily take advantage of his frailty.

I tried to convine him to seek help - to reach out to Helem, Lebanon's gay-rights group, for example. At least, I told him, find a friend with whom you can stay longer than a day.

On Wednesday night, I went to the second annual International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) celebration at the Monroe Hotel downtown. The event, which was attended by around 300 people, included informational booths, guest speakers, and four small films documenting gay life in Lebanon, which were the highlight of the event.

The fourth film was by far the best. It chronicled the life of a young transgendered person (male to female) who was working as a maid. Rejected by her real family, she now considers the family she works for to be her own.

The protagonist's life was similar to Rami's - marked by rejection and sadness. She spoke with fondness of movie stars she adored, including Nabila Obeid and Sabah, the memories of her first movies, and the woman she'd like to be. But what shone through was always the daily rejection and strife she experienced as a transgendered person in a country as unwelcoming as Lebanon. She worried about catcalls and violence in the street, and was in constant danger of rejection and threats to her security.

One part in particular stood out. The interviewer asked her if she thought she was beautiful. "That's not for me to decide," she said. "Society doesn't accept the man that I am." She said that she has always felt that, on the inside, she was a woman, and waited for the day when she could physically become one. "When I wear my makeup, I feel beautiful."

According to the movie, her favorite motto is "To want is to be able".

There is a point to all of this. Both Rami and the woman from the movie lead very difficult lives, exacerbated by a society which rejects them. Yet they persevere, fighting to be who they are. This underscores one main point - being gay or transegendered is not a choice. Who would choose to be rejected by family in friends, to risk living on the streets, to be ostracized by the community?

Opponents to gay civil rights always say that gay people want to "advocate homosexuality," i.e. convert people to be like us. This isn't true. All gay people really want is a society where we don't feel threatened, where we can live without threats, danger, and sadness.

Homophobia is breaking up families. What we teach our children in turn may hurt their children. It's easy to preach homophobia when you don't know any gay people, because you don't see who you hurt. But people do get hurt, and people die.

I'm getting emotional...I'll have to come back and edit this later.

Update May 24:

I think Rami's living on the street. I saw him two days ago and he said he had gone back home. But I keep seeing him out late at night, sitting in random places in Hamra. (Don't ask me why I'm out late at night.)

Genocide and Strawberry Soft Serve

2006-05-19T08:46:00.000+03:00

Yesterday I had a bad day....my allergies have been acting up, my boss keeps asking me to do more work for no more pay, and my water heater is dripping this gross orange liquid all over my bathroom.

So what do I do to keep my spirits up and relieve stress? Do I run along the Corniche? Do I watch MBC until my eyes fall out? Do I listen to the Scissor Sisters on repeat (I can't get enough of them)?

No. Ever since I was a kid, nothing has made me happier than food, especially sugar. So, whenever I feel down, I put on my ugliest, most comfortable clothes, and head down to Juicy Barbar in Hamra for a big Hitler. Something about that heavenly mix of pineapple wedges and strawberry purée topped with pistacio bits and a swirl of vanilla and strawberry soft serve makes me feel like I'm 23 again. But I wonder: is it morally acceptable for me to enjoy the drink named after a man who would have murdered me without hesitation?

If I had been in Germany in the 1940s, Hitler's regime would have tortured me, starved me, and performed radical surgeries on my brain. Somehow, it seems wrong to savor frosty goodness in his namesake, even though I'm sure Hitler's family is not receiving royalties from Barbar.

Does gorging myself on strawberry soft serve implicitly endorse the actions of the Nazis?Also, when did Hitler go from topical to tropical? I don't remember reading anything about a forest of pineapple trees in the Rhineland.

I keep imagining Adolf dressed up like Carmen Miranda. It's unsettling.

Sistani Removes Death Sentences for Gays

2006-05-16T12:14:00.000+03:00

When I saw the headline of this article in the Pink News, stating that Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani decided to remove his fatwa calling for killing gay people in the "worst, most severe way possible", I almost regretted my criticism of him here.

My elation was shortlived, however. Check out this quote from the article:

Initially, the office had demanded that Iraqi LGBT-UK delete their
criticisms of Mr Sistani from their website and apologise to the Grand Ayatollah
for questioning his religious authority.

Iraqi LGBT-UK refused. It issued a counter-demand that Mr Sistani remove
his 'death to gays' fatwa from his website. After two weeks negotiations, Mr
Sistani's representatives in London and Najaf agreed to drop the homophobic
fatwa from his website, except for the section calling for the punishment of
lesbianism.

The article never really delves into this, but it can be surmised: Sistani never decided that maybe gay people shouldn't be brutally massacred as in Iraq, but only removed the print version of the fatwa in order to save face. He couldn't stand that there was accessible information which questioned his religious authority.

That is egotism at its best.

Worse still, that means that the fatwa is still technically in place, and Sistani advocates murder.

For the record: I question Sistani's authority as a religious leader.

Gay Arabs Face Twice the Amount of Prejudice in Detroit

2006-05-16T11:12:00.000+03:00

The Detroit Metro Times published an article about gay Arabs in the US.

In the article, one gay man gives his view:

He says being openly gay is one of the "hardest things you can do as an Arab. It's extremely hard because of your culture, your parents. It's the biggest taboo. It's basically considered filth. Arabs don't understand that it's not a choice; they say, 'America made you that way.'"

"The Arabic community in Dearborn does not respect gay life," says Andy, 25, who was born in Lebanon and moved to the United States with his family when he was 5.

"They think you're a sick person, that you're not supposed to live. They think it's
against God's rules.

"But God will always love me," he says. "I was born like this and it's nothing to be ashamed of."

The story's pretty good - it's not too in-depth, but it gives some good stories. Definitely worth a read.

Abracadabra! UV's Open Again!

2006-05-13T21:33:00.000+03:00

Glory of glories, Monot's best gay hangout, UV, is open again.

The bar/club officially opened last night and, of course, I went. The night was clear, the music was great, and the boys were cute.

I love UV - it attracts a more mature, less club-kid crowd than Acid or X-OM. Plus, the space is beautiful, with nice lighting, a stone courtyard, and a staff that puts the bouncers as Club Acid to shame.

A funny thing happened there, though:

Two days ago, I was running very late and took a taxi from Unesco to Gemmayzeh instead fo the normal service-bouncing game. The driver drove me down by the Corniche - the long route to Gemmayze - which frustrated me plenty. But, we ended up talking.

The driver, who was probably around 27, very thin, and of average attractiveness, asked normal small talk questions, including if I had a girlfriend. I said no. He said, "I don't think you like girls."

Now, I don't tell strangers I'm gay, especially random taxi drivers, for personal safety purposes and because I always end up having my ear talked off, whether the person I tell be pro- or anti-gay. So I professed my love for girls, saying I just hadn't found the right one.

The taxi driver loved girls, too. He told me all about them, especially how much they cost. "You shouldn't wait to get a girl; you can get one now! Every girl has a price. You see that girl?" he said, pointing to a young woman in a sleeveless shirt about to cross the street. "I could get her for $100." She crossed the street, and the driver noticed her untoned rear end. "Ehh, $80-$90."

He told me all about the girls who used his cabs: Muslim girls in the hijab from Shiah who hid the hijab in their purse to party downtown; girls who prostituted themselves at the finest hotels for $400 a pop; girls who did it in Hamra hotels for much much less; foreign girls who love Arab men; old ladies who proposition him during drives - everything.

He said some days, he would work from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m., earn about 80,000 lira, and go find a girl. "I pay 50,000 for a hotel, 100,000 for a girl, and get whatever I want," he said proudly.

I said I'd look into finding a girl.

You know what? Last night I saw him dancing with a guy on the dance floor at UV. The lengths people go to in order to hide their sexuality.

Al-Arabiya Publicizes Book of Confessed "Sexual Deviant"

2006-05-11T00:04:00.000+03:00

The title of a May 6 article on the website of Al-Arabiya television channel reads, "The Daughter of American Vice President Admits that She Is a 'Sexual Deviant'. (Note: "sexual deviant" = شاذة جنسيا)

Mary Cheney has a new book which came out yesterday, Now It's My Turn: A Daughter's Chronicle of Political Life, which documents her life as the lesbian daughter of American Vice President Dick Cheney. It's a huge turn-around for Mary Cheney, considering that just a few years ago, she was lambasted for not speaking out against the Bush Administration's anti-gay policies. (Check out dearmary.com, which exhibits the famous lost-child milk carton.) Her past reluctance to speak out can also be seen as a turn-around, considering that before she worked for her father's campaign, she was an lgbt public relations manager for Coors Brewing Company.

The Queer Arabs Blog has a bit good insight into the article, especially when it points out that a lot of American money goes into Al-Arabiya, and the Cheney family might not be too happy. President George Bush might be happy, though, for he is apparently lambasted in Mary Cheney's book.

The article itself, other than the title, is rather benign; I have seen much worse in the American media about this book. Al-Arabiya chooses strong quotes from Mary Cheney, and they dominate the piece. Interestingly, it even includes a quote stating that she still supports Bush as the best leader for America.

The best part about the article is the feedback section in which readers respond to the article. At the time of this post, there were almost 400 responses, among which were quite a few jewels. My personal favorite is number 163, written by a woman who calls herself "Egyptiana". She says, "Such trends are the beginning of the end for America; may Allah make it soon."

Ha! Why can no one who disagrees with homosexuality discuss the matter without resorting to religion? Not everyone has the same religion, and even when people do have the same religion, everyone has his own interpretation. I believe God loves gay people. My religion is no less valid than yours; you'll have to think of a better argument than your morality to make me shut up.

Turks Can Spot Gays on Sight

2006-05-10T11:54:00.000+03:00

In a convoluted article, Bağımsız İletişim Ağı (BIA) recently reported that a gay "conscientous objector" to military service is being forced to serve because he refuses to undergo medical examinations to prove his homosexuality, which would exempt him.

Mehmet Tarhan, 27, first voiced his objection to compulsory military service in October 2001, stating that he refused "to be transformed into a murder machine by taking a course in dying and killing". He was then detained twice and jailed in April, 2005 (before his trial), during which he was attacked, blackmailed, and locked in solitary confinement, causing him to undergo self-mutilation and hunger strikes in protest. After a trail lasting more than four months, a military court ruled last August* that he should serve four years in prison. Reports BIA:

"Last November, the Appeals Court [The Court of Cassation] overturned Tarhan's
prison sentence on grounds that it was disproportionately high and therefore
unfair, but its final written recommendation was that his homosexuality should
be identified by 'proper physical examination procedures'. "

It is unclear where Tarhan's homosexuality became a factor in this case. Ostensibly, he was refusing to serve in the Turkish army because of his morality, not because he was gay. Somewhere along the line, however, his homosexuality came into play. Refusingtokill.net says that it began in an offer by the army:

"His release is a victory first of all for his determination to refuse the
army’s 'offer' of avoiding the draft by allowing himself to be classified as
'ill' because he is gay. He refused to submit to an anal examination, the
equivalent of the notorious 'virginity test', used for decades by the Turkish
police and army as a pretext to perpetrate rape and other sexual violence
against women, Kurdish and also Turkish."

The Court of Cassation subsquently ruled that forced physical examination is a violation of human rights and the integrity of the person, a huge victory for women in Turkey, who have been struggling to eliminate such "virginity checks". Because the court ruled that Tarhan had been punished enough, and because he refuses to undergo a medical examination to prove his homosexuality, Tarhan must now serve in the army.

Okay, let's get this straight: The court says that homosexuality is an "advanced psychological disorder", even though the Union of Turkish Physicians (TTB) and the Turkish Psychiatry Association do not agree. (According to the article, a representative of the TTB even stated that 15 percent of people are gay, which is the largest percentage I've ever heard.) Furthermore, the court believes that doctors can examine a man and tell if he's gay.

Insane. Men do not have the equivalent of the female hymen. Without going into unnecessary detail, you cannot look at two men and tell if one of them has had anal sex in his lifetime. In addition, not all gay men have anal sex, and of those who do, not all are on the receiving end. Scientifically, it simply does not make sense, and it is ridiculous that the Turkish courts should count on such examinations as evidence.

Why doesn't the court take Tarhan's contention that he is gay at face value? In a country as conservative as Turkey, where gay people are severely stigmatized by society, it is unlikely that Tarhan would invent such an identity for himself. Publicly avowing his homosexuality might get him out of military service, but it certainly would not serve his interests in the long run.

*Note: In the article, BIA mentions once that the trial ended in August, 2004. This, however, must be a typo. Every other reference to the trial in the BIA article, and in many other articles online, corroborates that the trial ended in August, 2005.

14-Year-Old Gay Iraqi Executed by Police

2006-05-06T16:42:00.000+03:00

According to Britain's Gay.com, a 14-year-old gay Iraqi was dragged from his home and shot point-blank in the face by the police. Quotes:

"The neighbour saw the police drag Ahmed out of the house and shoot him at
point-blank range, pumping two bullets into his head and several more bullets
into the rest of his body."

"It is believed Ahmed slept with men for
money to support his poverty-stricken family. They have since fled the area. "

The attack, like most other recent attacks against gay men in Iraq, has been blamed on the Badr Corps, the militant wing of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq. The attacks have been steadily increasing since Iranian Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani released a gay fatwa calling on gay people to be murdered, which I explore further in this post.

Last week, blogger Abu Kais discussed Al-Sistani in his blog, From Beirut to the Beltway. He states that Sistani is "a very knowledgeable Faqih who is against literal interpretations of the Tradition and the Qur’an. He is all for putting the reported sayings of the prophets in their political and historical contexts, and to study the biographies of the narrators, as well as compare the different versions of the texts. He has no problem consulting modern science, or even modern western law texts, on subjects he says the Qur’an does not mention...He also believes in revising and renewing Fiqh rules to go with the times, which is more than many Shia and Sunni scholars are willing to do"

Why, however, does Sistani not use this approach in his stances on homosexuality? I do not expect that he embrace the view of many liberal Muslims that Qu'ranic verses on Sodom and Gomorrah refer to punishment due to excess enjoyment of worldly pleasures, and not necessarily homosexuality alone. Or, if they indeed refer only to homosexuality, that they reflect a different, more intolerant time in the world, and are anachronistic today. I also do not expect that he differentiate between homosexual lust and homosexual love.

I understand why Sistani cannot logistically put homosexuality in the Qu'ran into historical context; many of his followers hearts are hardened and cannot accept such an interpretation.

I do, however, expect that he at least adopt a more tolerant outlook than calling for all gay men to be murdered.

Take into account this quote from Sura 15 of the Qur'an, known as The Women:

"If any of your women are guilty of lewdness, Take the evidence of four
(reliable) witnesses from amongst you against them; and if they testify, confine
them to houses until death do claim them, or Allah ordain for them some (other)
way. If two men among you are guilty of lewdness, punish them both. If they
repent and amend, Leave them alone; for Allah is Oft-returning, Most Merciful."
(4:15-16)

These verses certainly do not support Sistani's view that gay people should be "killed in the worst, most severe way of killing".

Sistani is an amazing man: so modern in many respects, but so backward in this one, which causes so many deaths.