mithli.

News (Germany): "German State To Require Muslims Take Test On Homosexuality" - 365Gay.com

2006-01-03T06:02:00.000-05:00

German State To Require Muslims Take Test On Homosexuality
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff

http://365gay.com/Newscon06/01/010206germany.htm

Posted: January 2, 2006 - 9:00 pm ET

(Berlin) Under a new law that went into effect this week the state of Baden-Württemberg is requiring that Muslims applying to become German citizens take a cultural test to determine if they "are suitable".

The test will seek their views on homosexuality and other issues such as bigamy and women's rights. The exam will be on top of a federal test which includes language proficiency skills and a general knowledge of the country.

Prospective citizens must have resided in Germany for at least eight years and have no criminal record.

State officials said that the test will gauge an applicants "loyalty to German values".

Those who pass the test and become German citizens could have it revoked if they are found guilty of homophobia or other crimes such as wife-beating.

Other German states have indicated they are looking at similar tests.

Critics say that the test is biased and discriminatory because it is applied only to Muslims. They say that if a test is to be given it should be administered to any applicant for citizenship.

Supporters of the test say that Muslims in general have shown hostility toward gays.

Both physical and verbal attacks against gays are a crime in Germany.

The Netherlands is considering a similar test. The proposal was made almost a year ago, but parliament has not yet acted.

The Dutch proposal would include questions such as "can two men marry?"

©365Gay.com 2006

News (UAE): "UAE GAY GROUP USE CYBERSPACE FOR NETWORKING" - Khaleej Times

2005-12-15T14:26:00.000-05:00

(NB: The following article appeared on the front page of the Khaleej Times of the UAE.)

UAE GAY GROUP USE CYBERSPACE FOR NETWORKING
BY V M SATHISH (Contributor)

11 December 2005

Clandestinely operated gay groups in the UAE have been extensively using the Internet and message boards to exchange information and secretly meet at predetermined locations. Homosexuality is illegal in the UAE.

Recently, police arrested 22 UAE men, one Indian, and three Arabs from neighbouring countries at a hotel in Ghantut in the emirate of Abu Dhabi.

A random search on the Net indicates that they use nicknames in message boards. Their meeting places – hotels, residential villas and other undisclosed locations – are not revealed on the message boards. These groups also network through chat rooms. While Etisalat has blocked many gay web sites, some of the paid message boards are easily accessible.

"If you know the 'right' people and the 'right' places in Dubai, there is plenty of gay life. One can even read about some of the gay spots in Dubai in the Spartacus Directory. However, you can't compare the gay life here in Dubai with that of Western Europe. Here, it's all 'underground' and there are risks involved," reveals one message.

They are also cautious of police officials who go to pubs and bars to track down homosexuals. "I remember a big party about two years ago that took place in one of the international hotels here in Dubai. There were drag queens there, something considered illegal here in Dubai," says the message.

"The hotel parties are really nice, with modern music no different than a party in Europe. There is a strict admission policy in these parties. You must certainly be on the list of people invited in order to enter one of these hotel parties. It's easiest to get in if you bring a girl with you. If, for example, five guys show up together, even if they are all on the list, it will be tough for them to enter the party," advises gay group boards.

"I am involved in a long-term relationship with one person, so I don't go to these places. I know most of this information from friends who go to parties, pubs, and other places where gays meet. I only get together in safe circumstances with people whom I know, and they introduce us to people that they know. This way we are all sure that none of the people we get together with are police undercover agents. In general, I must say that I think even as a gay man, life in Dubai is pretty good. Maybe I feel this way because I just don't allow myself to spend too much time thinking about the limitations and risks," says another message.

"I am an Asian expatriate male looking for fun. Send me mail for details," says a 38-year-old man in such a message. He has also displayed a nude picture of the upper part of his hairy body.

Following the crackdown and arrest of 26 gays at a party recently, some of the proposed meetings have been cancelled. One gay group has cancelled three meetings, which were earlier scheduled for the first and second week of December 2005.

"Most gay teens meets around the world happen on the third Sunday of every month," says one message board. These message boards are hired from international cyber groups, which charge them $25 per month or more depending on the space used. According to the message boards, gay couples' meet takes place on second Thursday of every month.

"German guy travelling to Dubai in February and looking for a nice, hot time," says a man claiming to be a German gay who gives his vital statistics and other physical features.

"I Prakhun from Thailand, wanna meet a friend, I will arrive Dubai on 03/12/05...waiting for u," adds another man, claiming to be from South East Asia.

The UAE gay groups can easily get hooked to people with similar interest in other cities. There are also UAE-based gay couples meet up groups on the net. The Dubai Gay Meet Group, one active cyber group with 14 members, announced through its board that the next meeting scheduled for December 8 has been cancelled.

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/Displayarticle.asp?section=theuae&xfile=data/theuae/2005/december/theuae_december315.xml

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/Displayarticle.asp?section=citytimes&xfile=data/citytimes/2005/december/citytimes_december178.xml

Images (Lebanon): Absolut 'Beirut' Ad

2005-12-12T04:13:00.000-05:00

News (Lebanon): "Homosexuals still facing discrimination" - Reuters, IRIN

2005-12-08T13:27:00.000-05:00

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=50548&SelectRegion=Middle_East

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/1da2b0223b3b59df27b0420cb33d800b.htm

LEBANON:

Homosexuals still facing discrimination
08 Dec 2005 10:58:01 GMT
Source: IRIN

BEIRUT, 7 December (IRIN) - With his hair band, groomed eyebrows and designer bag, Wisam nurtures a distinctively effeminate look. When the 30-year-old filmmaker crossed Sassine Square in East Beirut last April, four young men beat him up because they did not like his style.

Although dozens of people were sitting at the square's many café terraces, no one interfered. Wisam left the scene with a bruised face and bloody nose.

"I immediately filed charges, but the police only made fun of my shaved legs," he recounted. "They noted down everything, but never acted".

Despite this incident and others like it, however, Lebanese homosexuals note that 'gay-bashing' is relatively uncommon in Lebanon, compared to other Arab countries.

"Generally speaking, the Lebanese are quite tolerant," said Mounir, a member of the Beirut-based gay rights group Helem. "As long as you don't provoke them, they won't easily take offence."

"I've always been open about my sexuality," Mounir added. "My family and friends know I'm gay and I've never had any problems. The Lebanese gay community has a problem with political and religious leaders, not the people."

Group helps protect rights

Founded in 2001, Helem – an acronym in Arabic for the "Lebanese protection of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community" – boasts the distinction of being the first gay rights group in the Arab World.

The group is also involved in broader political issues. In 2003, Helem members participated in anti-Iraq war demonstrations in Beirut, during which a rainbow flag – the international symbol of homosexuality – was waved openly for the first time alongside the banners of religious, leftist and nationalist parties.

Along with launching awareness campaigns about homosexuality and related issues, such as HIV/AIDS, the non-profit organisation also publishes a quarterly publication called Barra, meaning "Out" in Arabic, of which Mounir is the editor.

Written in Arabic, French and English, the magazine covers a variety of subjects, varying from fashion columns to more serious reportage about people living with HIV/AIDS.

While Barra does not have an official license to publish, Mounir has little fear for the magazine's future.

"Every association in Lebanon has the right to issue and distribute publications," he pointed out. "It's a very moral, intellectual magazine. We don't run pornography," he said.

Like its flagship publication, Helem itself lacks official registration as an organisation.

"The Ministry of Interior has yet to give us a registration number," said Helem member George Azzi. "But according to current jurisprudence, the fact that we have paid and received a receipt of registration will be accepted in court as proof of state recognition."

Problems with the law

According to gay rights activists, the main obstacle faced by Lebanon's gay community is article 534 of the Lebanese penal code, which declares "penetrative sex against nature" to be a crime punishable by up to a year in jail.

"From the start, one of our main aims has been the removal of article 534," said Mounir, although "the article is seldom used these days".

However, "while the legal system may not implement the article today, it could tomorrow," he said.

Jail time aside, article 534 makes homosexuals vulnerable to abuse in other ways.

One such Lebanese man, for example, recounted a shake-down by police who threatened to arrest him if he did not pay them money and give him the names of other homosexuals.

"The problem in Lebanon isn't so much with society, although there's still a lot of ignorance," said Nadim who works as a photographer. "The problem is the state. If I get beaten up and go to the police, I could be jailed for being gay, not my attackers."

On 12 November, police raided the "Acid" nightclub in Beirut, widely known as a hangout for homosexuals, arresting eleven people. While most were released the same night, three of them remained in custody for three days before being released.

A week later, police raided another popular club among the ostracised community. While several club goers were checked for possession of drugs, however, no arrests were made.

Although a parliamentary subcommittee is reportedly considering the amendment of article 534, along with other laws relating to sexual offences, Mounir entertains little hope of real legislative change, at least in the short term.

"There was a proposal to adjust the law, but it was withdrawn without reason," he said. "I suppose the issue of gay rights is still too sensitive for public figures to stand up for."

Lebanon more tolerant than other Arab nations

While the lives of Lebanese homosexuals are not made easier by the existence of article 534, a level of social acceptance, not to mention Beirut's lively gay club scene, suggests that Lebanon is considerably more tolerant of homosexuality than other Arab countries.

In April, for example, human rights watchdog Amnesty International reported the imprisonment of 35 men in Saudi Arabia, arrested because of their sexual orientation. Four of them were sentenced to 2,000 lashes and two years in prison, while the remainder received 200 lashes and up to a year of imprisonment each.

In the United Arab Emirates, 26 gay men of Asian and Arab origin were arrested in November. While foreign nationals involved were deported, police officer Najm al-Sayar told Reuters at the time that UAE citizens convicted of wrongdoing would "be given psychological, medical and sociological treatment," as well as "male hormones".

The situation for Egyptian homosexuals, too, has deteriorated since May 2001, when 52 men were arrested in a police raid in the now infamous Queen Boat nightclub. A Cairo court later convicted 21 of the defendants for "debauchery," sentencing each to three years in jail.

According to a March 2004 report by Human Rights Watch, hundreds of men continue to find themselves in Egyptian prisons because of their sexual preferences, with the authorities regularly arresting and mistreating men suspected of homosexual conduct.

Gay rights activists like Mounir, meanwhile, express surprise that homosexuality has become such a taboo in the Arab world, given a long history of relative tolerance.

"Homosexuality was never a big issue in Arab culture. We have lots of famous poets and singers who were gay," he said. "Abu Nawas openly wrote about love between men, and Tuwais, one of the most famous singers in Arab history, wasn't just gay, but almost a woman".

Press Release: "Iran: Two More Executions for Homosexual Conduct" - Human Rights Watch

2005-12-02T10:37:00.000-05:00

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/11/21/iran12072.htm

Iran: Two More Executions for Homosexual Conduct

(New York, November 22, 2005) – Iran’s execution of two men last week for homosexual conduct highlights a pattern of persecution of gay men that stands in stark violation of the rights to life and privacy, Human Rights Watch said today.

On Sunday, November 13, the semi-official Tehran daily Kayhan reported that the Iranian government publicly hung two men, Mokhtar N. (24 years old) and Ali A. (25 years old), in the Shahid Bahonar Square of the northern town of Gorgan.

The government reportedly executed the two men for the crime of "lavat." Iran’s shari`a-based penal code defines lavat as penetrative and non-penetrative sexual acts between men. Iranian law punishes all penetrative sexual acts between adult men with the death penalty. Non-penetrative sexual acts between men are punished with lashes until the fourth offense, when they are punished with death. Sexual acts between women, which are defined differently, are punished with lashes until the fourth offense, when they are also punished with death.

“The execution of two men for consensual sexual activity is an outrage,” said Jessica Stern, researcher with the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights Program at Human Rights Watch. “The Iranian government’s persecution of gay men flouts international human rights standards.”

In addition to the two executions last week, there have been other cases of persecution and execution of gay men in Iran in recent years.

Etemaad

“These abuses have created an atmosphere of terror for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people throughout Iran,” said Stern. “But arrest, torture and execution are not limited to gays and lesbians. Any group of people deemed ‘immoral’ becomes subject to state-sanctioned persecution and even murder.”

In Iran, executions and lashings are regular means of punishment for a broad range of crimes, not merely same-sex acts. Judges often accept coerced confessions, and security officials routinely deny defendants access to counsel. Late last year, the Iranian judiciary, which has been at the center of many reported human rights violations, formed the Special Protection Division, a new institution that empowers volunteers to police moral crimes in neighborhoods, mosques, offices and any place where people gather. The Special Protection Division is an intrusive mechanism of surveillance that promotes prosecution of citizens for behavior in their private domain.

Human Rights Watch called upon the Iranian government to decriminalize homosexuality and reminded Iran of its obligations under Toonen v. Australia (1994), the Human Rights Committee’s authoritative interpretation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is party. Toonen v. Australia extends recognition of the right to privacy and the right to freedom from discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation throughout human rights law.

Furthermore, Human Rights Watch urged Iran to reform its judiciary in accordance with principles for fair trials enshrined in both the Iranian constitution and international human rights law. Finally, Human Rights Watch called upon Iran to cease implementation of capital punishment in all circumstances because of its inherent cruelty, irreversibility, and potential for discriminatory application.

News (UAE): "UAE ministry denies reports of hormone treatments for 'gay wedding' suspects" - WAM

2005-12-02T10:36:00.000-05:00

http://search.gulfnews.com/nation/Government/10001542.html

UAE ministry denies reports of hormone treatments for 'gay wedding' suspects
11/30/2005 10:25 PM | WAM

Abu Dhabi: The Ministry of Interior has categorically denied reports appearing in a section of the media that 26 individuals who were held at an alleged gay wedding have been subjected to hormonal or any other treatments.

An official source at the ministry rejected the statement by the US State Department spokesman.

"They [the arrrested individuals] have not been treated with hormones or any other medicines," the spokesman said. "What has been reported in the local and international media is wholly inaccurate."

The source said any punishment or prescription of medicines is not the concern of the ministry.

?The judiciary is the sole competent authority that can act according to the laws and constitution of the country," he said. "Only the judiciary can issue appropriate rulings as per the UAE laws.

He added that the role of the ministry was to help the arrested individuals and its obligation ended there.

The source urged the media and other concerned parties to be accurate while disseminating news. Such information should be obtained through official channels, he said.

He also called on the media to refrain from exaggerating issues and publishing news without proof.

News (UAE): "Hormone plan for 'gay wedding' men" - Reuters

2005-11-30T18:26:00.000-05:00

http://www.news.com.au/story/print/0,10119,17413704,00.html
http://www.helem.net/uae.htm

Hormone plan for 'gay wedding' men
From correspondents in Dubai
30-11-2005
From: Reuters

MEN arrested at what a United Arab Emirates official said appeared to be a gay wedding were to be given hormone therapy, officials said.

The news brought condemnation from the US State Department, which urged the Muslim Gulf Arab state not to go ahead with such treatment.

The UAE Interior Ministry responded by saying the case was yet to be heard by courts.

Police raided a hotel earlier this month where 26 homosexuals of Asian, Arab and UAE origin were at a party.

At least 12 were dressed in women's clothes and wearing makeup at what an official said appeared to be a wedding celebration.

Police Colonel Najm al-Sayar said the foreigners were likely to be deported while the locals, who were being held in the capital Abu Dhabi, would undergo hormonal therapy – most likely testosterone.

"They will be given psychological, medical and sociological treatment. Some of them will be given male hormones because some actually took female hormones," Colonel Sayar said.

"This kind of behaviour is immoral in our society and so we must address the issue."

An unnamed UAE Interior Ministry official, quoted by the state news agency WAM, questioned the comments, saying the "ministry is not in a position to set the penalties or any treatment that may be imposed on those detained".

"Only the judiciary has the right under the constitution to hand down a ruling," the official said.

Homosexuality is forbidden by law in most Arab states.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack condemned the arrests, which it said were the latest in a string of detentions of homosexuals.

"We call on the Government of the United Arab Emirates to immediately stop any ordered hormone and psychological treatment and to comply with the standards of international law," he said.

News (UAE): "US condemns UAE gay men arrests" - Ahbab News

2005-11-30T05:41:00.000-05:00

Tuesday, November 29, 2005
US condemns UAE gay men arrests

The US has condemned the arrests of 26 gay men during a raid on a party at a hotel in the United Arab Emirates earlier this month.

Washington also warned the UAE that any attempt to administer hormone or psychological treatment would break international law.

Police launched on Tuesday disciplinary proceedings against an officer who published photos taken during the raid, but did not respond to the criticism.

Police arrested 22 UAE men, one Indian, and three Arabs from neighbouring states at a hotel in Ghantut in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, the Interior Ministry said on Saturday.

The authorities said 12 of the men had been dressed in women's clothes and make-up in preparation for a gay wedding.

A police spokesman said the foreigners were likely to be deported, while the Emirati men could be given hormone therapy if they consent.

The BBC's Gulf correspondent, Julia Wheeler, says there is a suggestion that agreeing to such treatment could be used as a bargaining tool for a reduction in an individual's sentence.

US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said his government condemned both the arrests and government-ordered hormone and psychological treatment.

"We call on the government of the United Arab Emirates to immediately stop any ordered hormone and psychological treatment and to comply with the standards of international law," he said.

In the UAE there have been a number of cases of arrests of homosexuals in recent years, and a nightclub in Dubai was closed down for allowing an openly gay night to be held on its premises. One religious scholar has now called on parents to be vigilant of what he called "deviant" behaviour in their children.

Images of the suspects taken by a policeman on his mobile phone appeared in local newspapers shortly after the arrests. Lt Col Najm Abdullah al-Sayar said the police had launched disciplinary proceedings against the policeman.

"The officer photographed the young men with his mobile phone while they were being arrested and distributed the pictures," he said.

"He has infringed on the privacy of the people involved in the case and this is something that goes against the proper conduct of the police force. He is under investigation and may ultimately be expelled from the force."

News (UAE): "State Department Involvement in Condemning UAE Anti-Gay Arrests a Welcome Step" - Human Rights Campaign

2005-11-30T05:37:00.000-05:00

For Immediate Release:
Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2005

STATE DEPARTMENT INVOLVEMENT IN CONDEMNING UAE ANTI-GAY ARRESTS A WELCOME STEP

‘The State Department’s condemnation of these arrests and threats is an important component of resolving this atrocious episode,’ said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese.

WASHINGTON — The Human Rights Campaign praised the State Department for releasing a written statement condemning the United Arab Emirates’ arrest of two dozen individuals at a purported gay wedding and threats of forced psychological and hormonal treatment, according to news reports.

“The State Department’s condemnation of these arrests and threats is an important component of resolving this atrocious episode,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese. “Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people are in every country in this world and should be afforded the same dignity and respect that every human being deserves. The United States should support a resolution in front of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights acknowledging that sexual orientation and gender identity protections are part of internationally recognized human rights standards. Unfortunately, our government has not yet supported such a move.”

The State Department statement, which was released Nov. 28, called on “the government of the United Arab Emirates to immediately stop any ordered hormone and psychological treatment and to comply with the standards of international law.” Read the statement.

The Human Rights Campaign is the largest national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender political organization with members throughout the country. It effectively lobbies Congress, provides campaign support and educates the public to ensure that LGBT Americans can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community.

http://www.hrc.org/Template.cfm?Section=Press_Room&CONTENTID=30073&TEMPLATE=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm

News (UAE): "Policeman arrested over gay pictures" - GulfNews.com

2005-11-29T18:15:00.000-05:00

http://search.gulfnews.com/nation/Society/10001280.html

Policeman arrested over gay pictures
From GulfNews.com - November 29, 2005
Staff Report

Abu Dhabi: A policeman suspected to have taken and distributed pictures of those arrested in connection with a gay wedding in Abu Dhabi has been taken into custody for questioning, an official said.

Lieutenant Colonel Najm Abdullah Al Hosani, Director of Community Police Department, said the General Directorate of Abu Dhabi Police has started interrogation of the suspect. "If found guilty, he would stand trial," Lt Col Al Hosni said.

More than 20 young men were arrested at the gay party in a chalet in Ghantout.

The Abu Dhabi General Directorate of Police said agents from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested 26 men, some of who were dressed as women.
Half of the men, including UAE nationals, Arabs and Asians were dressed as women, with make-up and hairstyles, and the others were dressed in Arab attire."
The group had similar parties at hotels and chalets, and those dressed as women earned money as prostitutes.

On Monday UAE scholars and social experts denounced the "homosexual wedding," and stressed that such people should be punished by law.

According to Islamic Sharia Laws, a man who has intercourse with another man "should be executed", said Abdul Salam Mohammad Darwish, an Islamic scholar and social and family counsellor.

Darwish said, "It is scandalous. It is not part of the Islamic religion or UAE culture".

"Surely it was not the first time they met. They must have held parties and met in similar unacceptable and abnormal celebrations. There had been reports of similar incidents in other emirates," he said.

He warned against the increase in such deviant behaviour. "Some of the males who live an extravagant life became decadent," he said.

The counsellor urged the authorities to place those "sick men" in an intensive psychological and educational rehabilitation programme.

Colonel Najm Al Howsani, Director of Social Support Centre at Ministry of Interior, where the 26 men who had been arrested were referred to, said the suspects would undergo a psychological and physical therapy after the court rules into their case.

News (Iran): "Euro MP slams Iranian gay hangings" - Gay.com

2005-11-29T18:13:00.000-05:00

http://uk.gay.com/headlines/9315

Euro MP slams Iranian gay hangings

GAY.COM

Tuesday 29 November, 2005

Pressure is growing on Iran, after reports of the hanging of more gay men.

MEP and gay activists Michael Cashman has written to Iran’s President to protest the killing of two men earlier this month.

Mokhtar N and Ali A were publicly hung for the “crime” of being gay, according to reports in the Iranian Daily Kayhan newspaper.

Their deaths follow the killing of two teenagers this summer, who were accused of having sex with each other.

Theses earlier hangings sparked international protests, with campaigners urging Iran to drop its anti-gay stance.

“It is hard to believe that in the 21st century, authorities can sanction the public murder of people for being gay. I totally and utterly condemn these terrible actions and I call upon President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to put a stop to these murderous practices,” Cashman said today.

The Labour MEP’s letter to President Ahmadinejad said the killings were “barbaric”.

“This inhumane and barbaric treatment of two consenting adults consists of a gross violation of their fundamental rights as recognised in International treaties,” Cashman wrote.

“Amongst many others these rights which have been violated include the right to life, the right to a private life, the right to a fair trial, and the right to non-discrimination.”

His comments were echoed by civil rights campaigners Human Rights Watch, which said the killing of gay men is an “outrage”.

“The Iranian government’s persecution of gay men flouts international human rights standards,” said Jessica Stern, researcher with the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights Program at HRW.

“These abuses have created an atmosphere of terror for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people throughout Iran,” said Stern. “But arrest, torture and execution are not limited to gays and lesbians.”

However, she warned that arrests and punishments were not limited to gay people.

“Any group of people deemed ‘immoral’ becomes subject to state-sanctioned persecution and even murder,” Stern said.

The public execution of two teenagers earlier this year caused widespread protests across the UK and Europe.

The case was given a high profile after photos of the hangings were circulated on the internet, sparking support for the campaign to rid Iran of its anti-gay laws from a range of celebrities and LGBT people.

Comments: Recent Events in the UAE

2005-11-29T03:14:00.000-05:00

The statement that the Interior Ministry of UAE is considering the use of "male hormone treatments" to "direct men away from homosexual behavior" highlights the way in which a medico-psychological discourse is playing a stronger role in discussions of homosexuality (and human rights concerns related to gay rights abuses) in the region.

The Human Rights Watch report ("In a Time of Torture" - Scott Long) on the "Queens Boat" case in Egypt released in March 2004, included a section entitled "Bodies and Evidence: The Motives, and Medicine of Torture." In discussing the decision to pursue "anal examination," Dr. Ayman Fouda, the deputy director of the Forensic Medical Authority, references the work of Dr. Tardieu (a nineteenth-century forensic doctor):

“Habitual pederasty” was a secretive, internal tendency. Yet its very skill at occluding its existence drove Tardieu to seek signs which would make it “recognizable”: the “knowledge of which will permit the forensic doctor, in the great majority of cases, to direct with sureness the pursuits which involve public morality to such a high degree.”

I think that when you consider the information from the recent UAE case and "Queen Boat" case together, an evolving medical discourse seems to be of increasing concern to human rights (gay rights) advocacy in the region. [Sidenote: Something else I find interesting in this quotation (that references "public morality"), Long's discussion of "pressure of proof" and the "policing of urban space" - that I bring up later on in this posting - is the issues of the visibility. I think the privileging and the sexual politics of visibility are an important factor in understanding gay life in the region. I intend to pursue this topic in my research on contemporary homosexuality in Beirut, Lebanon.]

I would highly recommend Afsaneh Najmabadi's recent research on trans-sexuality in modern Iran; she argues that a confluence of psycho-medicalized discourse with particular Islamic notions (relating to 'true sex'), starting in the 1940s, has gained national dominance and is directly affecting the acceptability of trans-sexuality. (This research is forthcoming in an article in Social Analysis, Summer 2005 and her project entitled "Sexing Gender, Transing Homos: Travails of SExuality in Contemprary Iran.")

Of interest is Bruce Dunne's research on transformations of sexuality in modern Egypt. Discussing the surpervision and reform of prostituion and homosexual practices in Egypt, Dunne notes that "The mordernizing, interventionist state which arose in the 19th century deployed new, often European-insprired disciplinary measures... [that] led to a gradual shift from fiscal to medical regulation and stricter policing of urban spaces and forms of popular expression" (Dunne, Bruce. "Sexuality and the 'Civilizing Process' in Modern Egypt." Unpublished. 352: Georgetown University, 1996.)

News (UAE): "Forced Medical Treatment of UAE Homosexuals" - U.S. Department of State

2005-11-29T03:00:00.000-05:00

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2005/57390.htm

Press Statement
Sean McCormack, Spokesman
Washington, DC
November 28, 2005

Forced Medical Treatment of UAE Homosexuals

The United States condemns the arrest of a dozen same-sex couples in the United Arab Emirates and a statement by the Interior Ministry spokesman that they will be subjected to government-ordered hormone and psychological treatment.

The arrest of these individuals is part of a string of recent group arrests of homosexuals in the UAE. We call on the government of the United Arab Emirates to immediately stop any ordered hormone and psychological treatment and to comply with the standards of international law.

2005/1111
Released on November 28, 2005

Related Stories:

News (UAE): "26 men arrested at mass gay marriage in Dubai" - Ahbab News (11/28)

News (UAE): "Scholars seek punishment for gays" - Gulf News (11/27)

News (UAE): "Gay newlyweds face penalties in Emirates" - Seattle Post-Intelligencer (11/25)

News (UAE): "Officials Lambaste Capital's Gay Party Youth" - Khaleej Times (11/25)

News (UAE): "Gay wedding 26 held" - Gulf Daily News (11/25)
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=128447&Sn=WORL&IssueID=28253

News (UAE): "26 men arrested at mass gay marriage in Dubai" - Ahbab News

2005-11-29T00:40:00.000-05:00

http://ahbab.blogspot.com/2005/11/26-men-arrested-at-mass-gay-marriage.html

Monday, November 28, 2005
26 men arrested at mass gay marriage in Dubai

More than two dozen gay Arab men face strict punishment after being arrested at what police in the United Arab Emirates described as a mass homosexual wedding.

They could be lashed, forced to undergo hormone treatments and jailed for five years, an Interior Ministry official said as he announced the arrests on Saturday.

Interior Ministry spokesman Issam Azouri said police detained 26 men during a raid earlier in the month as the wedding ceremony was about to begin in a hotel chalet in Dubai.

The country, which lies along the Persian Gulf between Saudi Arabia and Oman, has banned openly homosexual behaviour.

Azouri said the men would probably be tried under Muslim law on charges related to prostitution and adultery, the Associated Press reported.

There have been a series of similar group arrests of homosexuals over the past few years in the United Arab Emirates.

The Interior Ministry said the latest detentions stemmed from a tip-off to police.

The arrested men were mostly from the Emirates but one came from India and three others were from neighbouring Arab countries, Azouri said.

posted by QArab at 5:38 PM

Related Stories:
News (UAE): "Scholars seek punishment for gays" - Gulf News (11/27)

News (UAE): "Gay newlyweds face penalties in Emirates" - Seattle Post-Intelligencer (11/25)

News (UAE): "Officials Lambaste Capital's Gay Party Youth" - Khaleej Times (11/25)

"Gay wedding 26 held" - Gulf Daily News (11/25)
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=128447&Sn=WORL&IssueID=28253

News (UAE): "Scholars seek punishment for gays" - Gulf News

2005-11-27T20:27:00.000-05:00

http://www.gulfnews.com/nation/Society/10000989.html

Scholars seek punishment for gays
By Bassam Za'za' and Shireena Al Nowais, Staff Reporters

Dubai, Abu Dhabi: UAE scholars and social experts denounced the recent attempt to hold what security authorities called "a mass homosexual wedding," and stressed that such people should be punished by law.

According to Islamic Sharia Laws, a man who has intercourse with another man "should be executed", said Abdul Salam Mohammad Darwish, an Islamic scholar and social and family counsellor.

Denouncing the alleged gay wedding party that took place in one of the hotels in Ghantout, Darwish said, "It is scandalous. It is not part of the Islamic religion or UAE culture".

"Surely it was not the first time they met. They must have held parties and met in similar unacceptable and abnormal celebrations. There had been reports of similar incidents in other emirates," he said.

He warned against the increase in such deviant behaviour. "Some of the males who live an extravagant life became decadent," he said.

The counsellor urged the authorities to place those "sick men" in an intensive psychological and educational rehabilitation programme.

Colonel Najm Al Howsani, Director of Social Support Centre at Ministry of Interior, where the 26 men who had been arrested were referred to, said the suspects would undergo a psychological and physical therapy after the court rules into their case.

He added: "According to the Islamic Sharia, the suspects won't be let go unpunished, if proven guilty, and society disapproves and resents such behaviour."

Dr Saif Bin Rashid Al Gaberi, the Director of Ifta'a and Researches Administration at the Dubai Department of Islamic affairs and Charitable Activities, said it is an immoral and "abnormal" behaviour.

"It is not a new phenomenon in many other religions and cultures. It rarely happens in Muslim societies. It happens particularly when religious and social education weakens and the individual's religious deterrent becomes non-existent," he said.

He said society was also responsible for the deviant behaviour of the men.

"The responsibility falls primarily on fathers for failing to bring up their children as God-fearing, and secondly on their mothers who saw their sons behave like a woman but failed to stop them," he said.

"This is what happens when schools and parents neglect children. The openness and technological advancements sometimes lead to such deplorable acts."

Nevertheless, he expected the trend to increase "due to the ill-mannered openness, lack of social restrictions and straying from path shown by God."

What the penal code says

- Anyone convicted of committing a lewd or indecent act in public would be sentenced to a six-month term in jail.

- Anyone convicted of shouting, singing or saying invectives in public, or anyone convicted of seducing others to commit adultery, would be sentenced to a jail term that would not exceed six months, and to be fined not more than Dh5,000 or both.

- Any person who makes advances to a male or female or attempts to seduce or commit any lewd acts would be sentenced to not less than a year and fined. If the victim is under the age of 18, the accused would be imprisoned for no less than two years and be fined.

- Any person convicted of setting up or running a prostitution den, or assisting anyone else in setting it up or running it, shall be imprisoned temporarily.

The prostitution den shall be closed down and shall not be opened except if the prostitution activity is changed and an approval is obtained from the Public Prosecution.

What happened

More than 20 young men were recently arrested at a gay party in a chalet in Ghantout. The Abu Dhabi General Directorate of Police said agents from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested 26 men, some of who were dressed as women.

Half of the men, including UAE nationals, Arabs and Asians were dressed as women, with make-up and hairstyles, and the others were dressed in Arab attire."

The group had similar parties at hotels and chalets, and those dressed as women earned money as prostitutes.

The police source said the party might have been a 'wedding' party. "To our knowledge, this is the first time that a gay wedding has been [attempted to be] held in the UAE."

A similar incident may have occurred a few months ago in one the northern emirates when more than five men were reported to have been arrested for attending a gay wedding ceremony. The news could not be independently confirmed.

News (Lebanon): "Acid and X-OM Police Raid Updates" - HeLeM

2005-11-26T19:56:00.000-05:00

http://www.helem.net/acid.htm

Acid and X-OM Police Raid Updates

On the night of November 12, 2005, 6 men were arrested in Acid nightclub, a known gay venue in Sin el Fil. No charges were pressed against them. The detainees were released after 3 days of detention. Although no physical abuse was reported, the police were verbally abusive towards the men.

A week later, another known gay club, X-OM, was raided. The police checked IDs and inquired about drug use in the venue. No arrests took place that night.

Acid and X-OM were probably targeted by the police for their openly gay clientele, although legally they had no pretext for any arrests. Article 534 of the Lebanese penal code explicitly states that �penetrative sex against nature� is punishable by law, and not homosexuality per se or the adoption of a gay identity. Laws against public indecency may be enforced if excessive displays of affection or other such behavior is witnessed, but this does not entail the same sort

These arrests and raids are not haphazard. The increasing political tensions in the country are being manifested in severely heightened security measures that include augmented activity by the Vice Squads of the Internal Security Forces across Lebanon. Helem is working closely with lawyers and NGOs concerned with civil rights and liberties to make sure that incidents such as the haphazard arrests that occurred will not be repeated.

News (UAE): "Gay newlyweds face penalties in Emirates" - Seattle Post-Intelligencer

2005-11-26T19:53:00.000-05:00

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1107AP_Emirates_Gay_Wedding.html

Saturday, November 26, 2005 · Last updated 9:56 a.m. PT

Gay newlyweds face penalties in Emirates

By JIM KRANE
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- More than two dozen gay Arab men - arrested at what police called a mass homosexual wedding - could face government-ordered hormone treatments, five years in jail and a lashing, authorities said Saturday.

The Interior Ministry said police raided a hotel chalet earlier this month and arrested 22 men from the Emirates as they celebrated the wedding ceremony, one of a string of recent group arrests of homosexuals here.

The men are likely to be tried under Muslim law on charges related to adultery and prostitution, said Interior Ministry spokesman Issam Azouri.

Outward homosexual behavior is banned in the United Arab Emirates, and the gay group wedding has alarmed leaders of this once-isolated Muslim country as it grapples with a sweeping influx of Western residents and culture.

The Arabian peninsula, nevertheless, has a long tradition of openly homosexual wedding singers and dancers.

"Lately people have been talking about (homosexuality), but it has been here for a long time," said Nadia Buhannad, a Dubai psychologist. "It becomes shocking only when it is your own son."

Police acting on a tip raided the hotel in Ghantout, a desert region on the Dubai-Abu Dhabi highway, and found a dozen men dressed as female brides and a dozen others in male Arab dress, apparently preparing for a ceremony that would join them as husbands and wives, Azouri said.

"It was a real party with balloons and champagne," he said.

The 26 men arrested include those from the Emirates as well as an Indian disc jockey and three men from neighboring Arab states. One of the arrested was to perform the wedding ceremony. Azouri said some of the group told police they worked as prostitutes. Others had been arrested before.

Last year, police made mass arrests at an apparent gay wedding in the conservative emirate of Sharjah and at the Khor Fakkan beach resort in Fujairah emirate, a police official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.

Two dozen men arrested in Sharjah were given symbolic lashings - meant to humiliate, not inflict pain - and then released from jail, said prominent Emirati lawyer Abdul Hamid al-Kumaiti.

"There are so many others like these guys," al-Kumaiti said. "The police and rulers need to do more than just lash them and let them go."

Azouri described the arrests in Ghantout as a "delicate" matter made public for the first time - more than a week after the event - because the country's tribal leadership wants to demonstrate it will not tolerate open homosexuality.

On Friday, as newspapers reported the arrests, the minister of justice and Islamic affairs, Mohammed bin Nukhaira Al Dhahiri, called on parents to be vigilant for "deviant" behavior in their children.

"There will be no room for homosexual ... acts in the UAE," Al Dhahiri was quoted as saying in the Dubai-based Khaleej Times newspaper.

The arrested men have been questioned by police and were undergoing psychological evaluations Saturday. Azouri said the Interior Ministry's department of social support would try to direct the men away from homosexual behavior - using methods including male hormone treatments, if the men are found to be deficient.

"Because they've put society at risk they will be given the necessary treatment, from male hormone injections to psychological therapies," he said. "It wasn't just a homosexual act. Now we're dealing with a kind of marriage. There was a ritual involved."

Foreigners arrested will be deported after serving any sentences imposed in court, he said.

Azouri said government psychologists were grappling to learn the causes behind an apparent increase in homosexual behavior in the Emirates. The booming economy has lured hundreds of thousands of Western residents and millions of tourists. Azouri said authorities want to be seen to be taking action at a time when complaints of gay behavior were emerging from the country's schools and myriad shopping malls.

Most cases of homosexual behavior are taboo and violate Emirati laws based on Islamic sharia. Azouri suggested that other countries with laws based on religion, including Christianity and Judaism, would also ban gay behavior and marriage.

"It's not about freedom of opinion, it's about respecting religion which forbids this type of behavior," he said.

News (UAE): "Officials Lambaste Capital's Gay Party Youth" - Khaleej Times

2005-11-25T17:32:00.000-05:00

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2005/November/theuae_November648.xml§ion=theuae

[Note from Al-Fatiha: The Khaleej Times is an English-language daily reaching the primarily Indian sub-continent workers living in the Gulf region. The following article appears to be a translation from an Arabic newspaper, although this is not clear. The terminologies "gay and queer" are most likely Arabic translations of deregotary words.]

Officials lambaste capital's gay party youth
By Adel Arafah

25 November 2005

ABU DHABI - Senior officials have condemned the queer acts practised by 26 youth at a gay party held in a hotel in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday night.

A group of 26 men, many of whom were dressed in female outfits and the rest in Arab attire, were arrested by the police on Wednesday following a tip-off that such a party was being held.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, experts, educationists and men of law have called on parents to play their role and give importance to the role of schools and national associations in inculcating the teachings of Islam and intrinsic social values in the minds of the youth to help them spend their leisure time purposefully.

Mohammed bin Nukhaira Al Dhahiri, Minister of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Auqaf (Endowments), advised parents to follow the teachings of Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) that you are all responsible for your subjects. (The man is responsible in his house, for his wife and children). Therefore, he said, parents should play a major role in upbringing their children according to the teachings and tenets of Islam, and Arab and Islamic traditions.

"Had parents ingrained these values and noble teachings and manners in the minds of their children, they would not have deviated and behaved in the strange ways that are rejected by mankind, and discarded by all human beings, irrespective of their religion or creed, race or nationality," he said. "The ministry spared no effort in preaching Islamic teachings, while calling upon youth to follow the virtuous and abandon vice," he said.

Preachers at Friday sermons and Muslim scholars at mosques always preach and guide citizens of the country to do what is good and avoid what is prohibited. The ministry, he said, would continue its efforts in safeguarding the present and the new generations from being spoilt by the enemies of humanity and religion who are spewing venom through their acts, which are abhorrent to God and unacceptable in all societies. Al Dhahiri urged the youth to spend their leisure time in purposeful activities.

"The path of corruption added to the loss of the soul destroys the present and future of the youth, for whom the government spares no effort in creating a bright future on the basis of the fact that they are the pillars of the future, and the nation has pinned high hopes on them," the minister said. "There will be no room for homosexual and queer acts in the UAE. Our society does not accept queer behaviour, either in word or in action," he angrily stated. "Our society, God willing, is safe from every evil, as the good earth always produces well," he added.

"The deviation of the youth who took on the role of women is a kind of blind aping and imitation of queer, abnormal groups, whose aim is to destroy all values and public manners and practice all kinds of vices," said Dr Mohammed Twheel, a professor at the UAE University. Those deviated people have disobeyed Allah the Almighty, he said, and described them as disciples of Satan as they do what the devil orders them to.

He said they did so because they are not God-fearing and find lust and enjoyment in disobeying God in the belief that they do something special and attract others to themselves. He called on society to protect the youth from blindly imitating Western values by letting fathers befriend their sons to find out what they are doing, thus saving them before they dive into sins. Universities, schools and social organisations should also play their role effectively by protecting the youngsters, and making them spend their leisure time purposefully.

Dr Twheel called for the interaction of all segments of society to focus greater attention on the issue of the homosexuality. "All resources should be mobilised to nip this evil in the bud," he said. "The minority who practices homosexuality should return to their senses before this danger aggravates and spreads among our youth," he warned.

Lieutenant Colonel Najm Abdullah Sayyar from the Social Support Department of the Abu Dhabi Police Directorate, said the Ministry of Interior was playing an important role in preventing such alien phenomenon from corrupting UAE society. He paid a tribute to Interior Minister Lieutenant General Shaikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan for attaching great attention to youth and importance to social problems. In achieving that objective, he said, he had issued instructions to set up a special social police department. "The department is designed to safeguard society from alien cultures, crimes and strange acts," he noted.

"Islam blasted by gay Muslim peer" - Black Information Link

2005-11-24T19:50:00.000-05:00

http://www.blink.org.uk/pdescription.asp?key=10106&grp=57&cat=258

Islam blasted by gay Muslim peer
Exclusive by Urmee Khan 24/11/2005

NEW LABOUR PEER Waheed Alli has attacked Islam claiming the Quran is riddled with contradictions and the religion dominated by rituals.

In remarks which will infuriate Muslim leaders the openly-gay Lord Alli accused clerics of being “intellectually lazy” and called for a “radical democratisation of Islam.”

One Muslim figure who witnessed Lord Alli’s speech reacted: “I’m angry, I think he’s got it wrong”.

The normally low profile peer waded into the religion in a lecture called ‘Islam the Third Way’ at the Canadian Embassy on Monday night.

Lord Alli – who has previously never spoken out on Islam - attacked “Muslim reluctance to tackle the contradictions in Islam.”

Referring to the community’s response to the London terror attacks, Lord Alli issued a stark warning. “Verbal condemnation is not enough. We can no longer be intellectually lazy”.

values

Lord Alli argued that Muslims must try and understand Islam better and Islam must be reconciled with the modern world, saying: “ritual has overtaken religion”, adding that 7th century values do not fit 20th century life.

“The problem lies in the Quran itself”, he said. “There are contradictions in Quran; we have to stop avoiding them. If you find the Hadith literally, you can kill and maim as many people you can.

"If you use Quran as literal text, you can stone a woman who has been raped and in Iran, two boys were hung up for being gay”.

Lord Alli, a friend of Euro trade commissioner Peter Mandleson, said that Sharia law could be a powerful defence in balancing the rights of individuals against the rights of the state.

lambasted

“In a Muslim country, I as a gay man, should be able to go to Sharia law for protection, Sharia law should be a source of protection not oppression”

He called Muslims to follow “the third way” which he said was the democratisation of Islam. “We have to take individual responsibility for action, collective responsibility for our religion.

“We are today at a crossroads – modern values in Islam against orthodox values in Islam, this century will be defined by this conflict – conflict of values”

Green Party MEP Jean Lambert found his speech a useful contribution and called for Alli to speak on campuses where many tensions lie. “I think he was good, and he should go and speak to the younger people at the universities”.

However there was some scepticism from the Muslims in the audience. A young hijab-wearing student lambasted Alli for misreading the Quran and argued that Islam guaranteed rights for women.

A Labour politician said privately before the event, “I have great respect for his work in every other area, but I don’t understand why he has chosen to get involved in this debate”.

Voted the most powerful Asian in the media in 2005, Lord Alli first came to prominence in the media through his TV production company Planet 24.

Lord Alli, was given a life peerage at the age of 34 in 1998, became the youngest and first openly gay peer in Parliament. He has been very close to new Labour and was an outspoken critic on Section 28, the legislation that bans local authorities from promoting homosexuality.

Press Release: Al-Fatiha Calls on European Governments and Canada to Seek Further Details from Iran on Newly Reported Executions

2005-11-22T12:56:00.000-05:00

****************************
PRESS RELEASE

AL-FATIHA FOUNDATION

Media Contact:

Suha Fatima
Chair - Human Rights Committee

Tel. 202-452-5534
Email: gaymuslims@yahoo.com

****************************
Al-Fatiha Calls on European Allies and Canada to Seek Further Details from Iran on Newly Reported Executions

November 14, 2005 - The Human Rights Committee of Al-Fatiha, a US-based organization dedicated to Muslim sexual and gender minorities called on European governments who have political contact with Iran to seek further details from the Iranian government on reports of the recent execution of three young men who may have been killed because of their sexual orientation and consensual sexual acts.

If the reports are accurate, the hanging of one man in early November and two men in mid-November would bring to total five young men including two teenagers (under 18 years of age) who have been executed by the government of Iran in less than four months.

According to Iran Focus, a non-profit news service provider that focuses on events in Iran, the latest executions were of one man in the Iranian twon of Sari (convicted of rape) and two young men who were hanged in a public square in the northern city of Gorgan after being found guilty of lavat, or homosexual relationship. The reports came from semi-official daily newspapers in Iran on November 8 and November 13 respectively.

Canada recently introduced a United Nations resolution expressing concerns over the violation of human rights in Iran. Al-Fatiha supports the Canadian resolution and called on European governments in the General Assembly to support the actions of the Canadian government.

Al-Fatiha will be sending letters to Candian and European government officials at the United Nations to support the human rights resolution.

Individuals and organizations in the United States are asked to not contact the Iranian government directly or to hold protests to condemn the Iranian government. Given the hostile relationship between the United States and Iran such actions may have a negative backlash against marginalized communities in Iran.

Al-Fatiha encouraged American counterparts to contact European governments and the Canadian foreign ministry to express grave concern on the sudden increase of executions against individuals who may have been executed due to their sexual orientation or because of consensual sex with the same gender.

Al-Fatiha is also working with human rights organizations in the United States including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, to strategize on possible actions by US-based individuals and organizations to hold Iran accountable to its human rights abuses. Plans may include writing a letter to Secretary of State Condalezza Rice and to hold meetings with human rights officials in the US State Department and European and Canadian government officials at the United Nations.

Reports indicate that Iran's new hardline government has thus far executed 92 individuals for various crimes deemed punishable by dealth, since the new hard-line government was elected less than six months ago.

Arrests of young people, women and political opponents have also increased since the election. Additionally the new government has appointed members of the Revolutionary Guard into key government positions.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Articles on Iran's Latest Executions and Iranian Government's Purging of Moderates - Al-Fatiha News

2005-11-21T23:38:00.000-05:00

Articles on Iran's Latest Executions and Iranian Government's Purging of Moderates - Al-Fatiha News
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/al-fatiha-news/message/1086

Iran Reportedly Executes Two More Gay Men - November 13, 2005
http://www.365gay.com/newscon05/11/111405iran.htm

Iran Hangs Two Young Homosexuals - November 13, 2005
http://www.iranfocus.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4404

Iran Executions - 92 people in four and a half months
http://ncr-iran.org/content/view/538/69/

Iran - Purge of Moderates Extends to Governors and Banks
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level.php?cat=Politics&loid=8.0.227843672&par=0

Canada pushes for adoption of UN resolution on human rights in Iran
http://www.iranfocus.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4351

Iran Publicly Hangs Young Man in North of Country
http://www.iranfocus.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4345

"Iran: Two More Executions for Homosexual Conduct" - Human Rights Watch

2005-11-21T20:54:00.000-05:00

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/11/21/iran12072.htm

From Human Rights Watch:
Iran: Two More Executions for Homosexual Conduct

Etemaad

References to Iranian Homosexuality

2005-11-21T18:11:00.001-05:00

Afary:

"In the latter part of the twentieth century, as a result of greater contact with Western culture and sexual practices, a new discourse developed in Iran and many other Middle Eastern countries. The West was branded as "immoral" for ostensibly two reasons: female nudity and open adult male homosexuality. In part, this new discourse was the result of an expansion of the tourist industry and increased exposure to western media. Parts of North Africa - Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, and the Muslim Coast of Kenya - bcame favorite tourist spots for European men and women. Such overt conduct by western homosexuals made the task of local gay and human rights activitists more difficult in the traditional Middle East. Homosexuality and pederasty remain significant cultural practices, but members of Middle Eastern communities would not dare declare themselves gay. There are homosexual men in high positions - ministers, deputies, Islamist leaders - who remain married, have families, and maintain same-sex relations outside the home. The community ostracizes those who stop camouflaging their homosexuality.

There is a lso a long tradition in nationalist movements of consolidating power through narratives that affirm patriarchy and compulsory heterosexuality, attributing sexual abnormality and immorality to a corrupt ruling elite that is about to be overthrown and/or is complicit with foreign imperialism (Hayes 2000, 16). Not all the accusations leveled against the Pahlavi family and their wealthy supporters stemmed from political and economic grievances. A significant portion of the public anger was aimed at their "immoral" lifestyle. There were rumors that a gay lifestyle was rampant at the court. Prime Minister Amir Abbas Hoveyda was said to have been a homosexual. The satirical press routinely lampooned him for his meticulous attire, the purple orchid in his lapel, and his supposed marriage of convenience. The shah himself was rumored to be bisexual. There were reports that a close male friend of the shah from Switzerland, a man who knew him from their student days in the country, routinely visited him. But the greatest public outrage was aimed at two young, elite men with ties to the court who held a mock wedding ceremony. Especially to the highly religious, this was public confirmation that the Pahlavi house was corrupted with the worst kinds of sexual transgressions, that the shah was no longer master of his own house. These rumors contributed to public anger, to a sense of shame and outrage and ultimately were used by the Islamists in their calls for a revolution. Soon after coming to power in 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini established the death penalty for homosexuality. In February and March 1979 there were sixteen executions for crimes related to sexual violations. At the same time, in the new, sex-segregated Islamic Republic, the greates transgression became dating and sexual relations between unmarried or unrelated men and women. To this day, hundreds of such "criminals" are arrested, flogged, tormented, forced to pay a penalty, and sometimes held in prison each year. In a culture where kissing, hugging, and holding hands between men and between women are perfectly acceptable social customs, traditional cover homosexuality has continued to exist and is even protected by sex-segregated institutions and public spaces." 161 - 162

from

Afary, Janet, Kevin Anderson, and Michel Foucault. Foucault and the Iranian Revolution: Gender and the Seductions of Islamism. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005.

Hayes, Jarrod. Queer Nations: Marginal Sexualities in the Maghreb. Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago Press, 2000.

Najmabadi:

"The figure of Westoxicated woman as the focus of a cultural critique of prerevolutionary Iran was itself a figure of double displacement. It was a displacement of the figure of European woman onto an Iranian figure, but it was also a displacement of the "sex troubles" of Iranian modernity; woman had come to act as a masquerade for amrad( numa). A number of twentieth-century transformations, central among them the compulsory unveiling campaign of 1936 - 41, made the over-Europeanized woman the privileged excess. Yet the figure of the fukuli was never far away. Recall that Amir 'Abbas Huvayda, Iran's prime minister in the last decades of Muhammad Riza Shah's reign, was rumored to be a Baha'i and a homosexual. Whether or not he was, the two designations were figures of Iranian modernity's alterity and excess. He was thought to be not only politically impotent and passive but also a passive homosexual. His marriage was considered a ruse, and jokes about his sexual life were but a barely concealed topic of satire and social gossip. He was always meticulously shaved and immaculately tidy. He wore an orchid on his coat pocket. All these details linked him with the figure of fukuli, a mimic man, always already under suspicion of being an amradnuma.

Our post-1979 concentration on a critique of cultural construction of gender for the formation of Iranian modernity and the price that many women have paid for this project have continued the screening work of "remembering woman to forget the amrad." For example, from the initial months of the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979, a great deal of popular energy was directed against what were perceived as cultural markers of the old regime. As part of this "cultural purification," as it was called, women's veils and men's beards became the recommended (for the beard) and the compulsory (for the veil) visible markers of state-sponsored masculinity and femininity. Men were also highly pressured into not wearing a tie. Often considered simply a symbol of Europeanization, the necktie has its own chain of association, through the bow tie, with the figure of the fukuli. Though much has been written about women's veil, little has been said on men's beard and tie.

The issue of women's veil and unveil, compulsory or consensual, in Islamicate societies and communities has taken center stage in discussions of "the status of women" in these societies on an international scale. The veil, in its hypervisibility, has come to serve as a sign for more than gender; it has come to be read for "the state of modernity." This hypervisibility has compounded the erasure of that other excess figure of Iranian modernity by continuing the prior work of making woman stand as a privileged mark of modernity.

It is now vital for these connections to be made if Iranian feminism is to retain its critical edge, especially as current Iranian culture wars have become explicitly articulated around a concept of cultural imperialism and the West that is focused on "moral corruption, sexual excess, and homosexuality."

from:

Najmabadi, Afsaneh. Women with Mustaches and Men Without Beards : Gender and Sexual Anxieties of Iranian Modernity.
Ewing, NJ, USA: University of California Press, 2005. p 243.

Girl Power - Financial Times

2005-11-21T17:48:00.000-05:00

Financial Times (ft.com)

Girl power
By Noha Mellor
Published: November 11 2005 13:10 | Last updated: November 11 2005 13:10

Nancy, a young and attractive Arab woman with long flowing hair, blue eyes and fluttering eyelashes, is serving the drinks in a cafe where all the customers are young men. She flits among the tables, smiling and wearing a skimpy dress. Then she looks into the camera and sings: “Yes, I might be angry with you. But no, I won’t leave you.”

Music videos featuring young, feisty women might be common elsewhere. But in the Arab world, videos - or “video clips”, as they are known locally - of female singers dancing and flirting in an apparently liberated way are indicators of a social and artistic revolution at the heart of society. And Nancy Ajram, the Lebanese performer in this particular video, is just one of a growing number of a new kind of Arab female star.

Open Letter (In Response: Palestine and Gays)

2005-11-19T18:03:00.000-05:00

Hey James -

I just read a recent article of yours "Palestinian anti-gay atrocities need attention" (http://www.innewsweekly.com/innews/?class_code=Op&article_code=783) in InNewsweekly and its off-spring "Gay Rights Before Palestinian Statehood" (http://www.indegayforum.org/authors/kirchick/kirchick6.html). However, I'm concerned about your reporting and the argument you're advancing.

One early claim made in the article is that "[i]n the disputed territories run by the Palestinian Authority, gays are routinely harassed, tortured and murdered." Unfortunately, there is insufficient accountable information to make this claim. The reports you use and quote throughout the article are the few that exist (and their authenticity has not been corroborated). I routinely research reports and have been looking into accounts/research on homosexuality in the region for a while. I could appreciate an attempt to such a claim for Egypt or Saudi Arabia - however, there is no reliable evidence for us to make such a claim about Palestine. (I would like to note, however, that there are other reports you could have cited. The majority of the "literature" you can find about gay Palestinians is in the press and is based on the testimony of gay Palestinians in Israel. Palestinian abuse of homosexuals is usually mentioned in conjunction and with equal emphasis to how these homosexuals are now facing persecution for being Palestinian in Israel. I, therefore, dispute your claim that "Tel Aviv, Israel's flourishing gay hub, has become for Palestinian gays what Miami is for Cubans." Many Jewish gay-rights activists are actually trying to highlight this double persecution of gay Palestinians.)

The first article you cite is one written in The New Republic by Yossi Klein Halevi. The article has been used in reports by Israeli-based gay-rights organizations. I, unfortunately, have not been able to get the article. (If you happen to have it, I would really appreciate it if you could possibly send it to me - I'll owe you one.) I cannot verify or dispute the claims made by Halevi's article. I do think that more research and information about homosexuality in Palestine is needed.

You go on to cite "Hamas' man in Gaza... Mahmoud Zahar" comments "on the question of gay rights." You use a quotation made by Zahar in the Times of London. However, in Times of London Zahar was responding specifically to the question of gay marriage, not gay rights more generally. I hardly think it is fair to characterize the entire discussion on gay rights only with reference to responses to gay marriage. Furthermore, I believe the translation of Zahar's words is problematic. Zahar supposedly discusses "homosexuals and... lesbians, a minority of perverts" - Arabic words that distinguish between homosexuals and lesbians are very recent and rarely employed by anyone outside of gay Arab community. The most common Arabic words for homosexuals could be translated as "perverts." (I'm not trying to make the argument that Zahar was trying to same something particularly nice about gays, but I don't think we get very far by responding to comments when we don't really know what he said or why he said it.)

In a subsequent paragraph you decide to address Yasser Arafat's death. Again, there is insufficient evidence to make the claim you are making. And I realize that you are not the first one to advance this argument but the claim remains speculation at best, even if it is based on others' speculation. No report has been able to cite reliable evidence concerning Arafat's possible sexual activities or an HIV-related death. I have written the following in response to recent questions about these speculations about Arafat:

"The best I can characterize these allusions and references to AIDS and homosexuality is as rumors. They surfaced around the time of Arafat's death. I read the articles that initiated the dialogue - mostly in the Israeli press - and they provide no actual evidence and rely on visual symptoms that are interpreted by "medical professionals". I highly doubt there is any evidence to actually be uncovered. (Although I did pay attention to the fact that Arafat's cause of death remains inconclusive.)

"I think that the more worthwhile question is why these references came up at all. (Janet Afary and Afsaneh Najmabadi have argued that in Iran public narratives of homosexuality were deliberately used as political tools leading up to the 1979 Revolution.)"

I would be happy to provide a more detailed rebuttal to your assessment that Arafat "most certainly was" a homosexual, if you would like to discuss it further - although I don't feel particularly inclined to discuss a dead man's sexual activities.

Having discussed the majority of the evidence and references to Palestinian homosexuality, I would like to address your major argument: Advocating that human rights, and specifically gay rights, be conditional upon the creation of a Palestinian state is one step gay groups can take. Although I do not necessarily agree with many of the arguments being advanced that gay-rights are Western impositions (and I really hope we can move beyond such Western vs. non-Western arguments), I nonetheless think it would be irresponsible for us to ignore the how arguments against homosexuality are framed by many Arab states and officials. You could look back specifically at the news reports that surfaced around the time of the Queen Boat case in Egypt, or more generally across numerous articles and reports from the Middle East and find links made between homosexuality in the Arab world and Western imperialism, Western decadence or moral corruption, as well as Israeli spies. Using US political and diplomatic force to push gay-rights legislation is indisputably problematic. There are already more than enough arguments being made by religious and political leaders to insure that such moves will be greeted with serious resistance. And, more importantly, at a time when the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been seeing significant advancement I think it is particularly dangerous to jeopardize a possible resolution and the creation of the state of Palestine for a mere written agreement to protect homosexuals. (Even if you were to get the Palestinians to be forced into an agreement where they recognize gay rights in order to get a state, there are no possible enforcement mechanisms through which this could be verified. The majority of human rights initiatives, and especially those concerning gay-rights, have been moot in the Middle East - even with countries that have a well-established relationship with the US.)

I hope that you found some of this material useful - and I hope you continue engaging the question of gay-rights in the Middle East and the Arab world.

Good luck tomorrow,
Pascal

"Arrests in Beirut Gay Club"

2005-11-18T18:14:00.000-05:00

The following story from HELEM, the Lebanese LGBT organization, was received and posted by Ahbab News on November 14.

Last night (12-11-05), 11 people were arrested at Acid nightclub. We don't know if there were any women among those taken in. They were charged with article 534 and are now in Hbeich. An emergency meeting was held in Helem on Sunday and a preliminary plan of action was put together following contact with our lawyers and a gathering of testimonies from people at Acid that night and a relative of one of the men arrested. Tomorrow, the parliamentary committee is holding its meeting with the Arab Human Rights Network and we have contacted parliamentarian Elias Attallah who will present our case at the meeting.

Our prime concern at the moment is to get the arrested people out as quickly as possible. Legally speaking, the arrests fall outside the scope of 534, which states explicitly that "moujama3a" (ie penetration) against nature is punishable by law, since the arrests happened on the presumption of homosexuality and not on any evidence of penetrative sex. This is the argument our lawyers are going to be using to push our case and get the people released.

Helem is going to issue an official press release on the arrests to be sent out to NGOs, the media, and other concerned bodies, as well as a list of ministers, parliamentarians, and other key actors that might be of help. We are not going to mobilize any international body at this time.

This is the first time such a raid on acid has resulted in mass arrests specifically for 534.

We will keep you updated if we find out more information.

In solidarity,

***

After reading the above article, I contacted a number of people in Lebanon. I have not heard back from Helem, yet. (I'm trying to give them time.) However, the story has been corroborated by a number of people. People have described that the men singled out were those that were either kissing or who were dressed effiminately. Acid nightclub remains shut down. At least one of the people arrested - a student at AUB's CAMES department - has been released. (AUB was involved in his case.) There have been suggestions that the wasta that has allowed Acid to prosper in the last few years had connections to Syria - and hence Acid has become prone to such a raid.

Generally speaking the effect on the gay community has been minimal. Social activity, including Internet activity, has not subsized. The case remains open and significant since Article 534 (punishing acts of homosexuality by up to one year in prison) has rarely been invoked. In the past individuals have been charged, and most charges have been dismissed promptly - no group arrests such as this have taken place in Beirut.

That's all I know at this point. I mean Helem has a relationship with Acid and they've worked together and had disucssions. Helem has handled cases like this, mass arrests based on Article 534, in Tripoli in the last couple of years - although many of those cases still remain open with people in custody, particularly because Helem is quite weak outside of Beirut. Not sure if they will decide to mobilize any international body - I'm pretty sure they'll try to avoid it. (They have not made a major press release and have not included these events in recent updates of their website.) The Egyptian Queen Boat case is still fresh in the institutional memory of Helem - they were founded the same year.

(If you're unfamiliar with the scene in Beirut: Acid is the oldest and largest 'gay nightclub', a title the club has only recentlly accepted. Many new travel guides have started listing Acid as the gay club to visit while in Beirut. Numerous other gay clubs have emerged since 2001 as a result of a large increase of gay Arab tourists. In the past few months, the press has been making reference to Beirut as the "gay capital of the Arab world." )

Best,
Pascal

Notes on August (2005) Iranian Case

2005-11-18T18:09:00.000-05:00

> From: "Philipp Braun" <PhilippB@t-online.de>
> Date: August 12, 2005 2:02:57 AM EDT
> To: <chr@list.arc-international.net>
> Subject: [chr] Doug Ireland: Iranian Sources Question Rape Charges in
> Teen Executions
>
>
> http://www.gaycitynews.com/gcn_432/iraniansourcesquestion.html
>

> From: Al-Fatiha - LGBTIQ Muslims <gaymuslims@yahoo.com>
> Reply-To: al-fatiha-news-owner@yahoogroups.com
> To: al-fatiha-news@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [al-fatiha-news] News: Protests Continue Against Iranian
> Executions; Rights Group Claims Two More Gays to be Hanged
> Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2005 11:38:03 -0700 (PDT)
>
>
> http://washblade.com/2005/8-19/news/worldnews/ iran.cfm
>
> From the Washington Blade - August 19, 2005
>

> From: Paula Ettelbrick <pettelbrick@iglhrc.org>
> Date: September 21, 2005 5:54:08 PM EDT
> To: CHR List <chr@list.arc-international.net>
> Subject: [chr] Fwd: IGLHRC Op-ED on Holding Iran Accountable for
> Violating Human Rights
>
>
>
>>
>> I want to share with you an IGLHRC op-ed IGLHRC related to recent
>> executions of two young men in Iran.
>>
>> IGLHRC's approach to this barbarous situation has been to seek
>> clarity about the facts (which may never actually occur) and to
>> pursue avenues for reaching out to and working with human rights
>> defenders in Iran and elsewhere. It is the standard way that IGLHRC
>> pursues it's human rights advocacy agenda: reaching out to our human
>> rights colleagues and advocates in the country at issue, taking care
>> that our work does not leave people in the country more vulnerable to
>> attacks and other human rights violations, and lending whatever
>> support we can to individuals and groups in that country as they take
>> on opposition to their government's policies and human rights
>> violation. As we all know, sexual rights advocacy is a dangerous
>> pursuit in Iran. Advocates risk exposure to arrest, criminal
>> convictions for "immoral" acts, and even death. In such dangerous
>> settings, as we have done many, many times in the past, we have
>> chosen a strategy that is consistent with our values of working
>> closely with human rights defenders throughout the world to build and
>> support strategies that work for THEM within their cultural,
>> political, religious, and social contexts. Often we are asked to
>> release action alerts and to campaign publicly to put pressure on the
>> government to change. Often we are specifically asked not to do so
>> for fear of putting them at further risk or complicating the
>> political situation presented by public pressure from external
>> sources, in particular the West. Despite that, however, IGLHRC's
>> developing work with international human rights monitors has opened
>> doors for us to report abuses directly to them - and to demand
>> accountability from Iran's President through channels other than
>> massive letter writing campaigns from outside of Iran. Our strategic
>> choices in combatting human rights violations vary tremendously
>> depending upon the context, as they must.
>>
>> Others, such as OUTRAGE! in the UK, have chosen a full fledged public
>> campaign to draw attention to the dangerous situation for LGBT people
>> in Iran. I met last week while in London with Peter Tatchell from
>> OUTRAGE! to talk about our different strategies for pursuing change
>> in Iran, and elsewhere where execution of LGBT people is prevalent.
>> The end result: we simply use different strategies and operate from
>> different philosophies about how best to promote human rights.
>>
>> Especially because this has been a widely circulated discussion, I
>> would welcome any feedback, thoughts, ideas, or connections that
>> anyone of you have that can help IGLHRC and our community move a
>> government like Iran's to refraining from such egregious violations
>> of human rights related to sexuality - whether consensual or not.
>>
>> Paula
>>

Holding Iran Accountable for Violating Human Rights
by
Paula Ettlebrick
The president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, joined the largest gathering ever of world leaders last week at the United Nations without one question being asked about his country’s continued violations of international human rights law. Iran has signed both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Both forbid the execution of any person under the age of 18 for any crime. Yet there has been a rash of public executions in Iran that have involved youth or were related to sexuality and gender identity.
We know from Iranian lesbian and gay people among us in many parts of the world, that treatment of homosexuality/gay/lesbian identity in Iran is horrific. For years, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission has collected information about the conditions faced by LGBT people and people with HIV in 144 countries around the world. Among our findings in Iran are:
• November 12, 1995: Mehdi Barazandeh is condemned to death by the Supreme Court of Iran for acts of adultery and the “obscene act of sodomy.” The court’s decree is carried out by stoning.
• January 24, 2002: Le Monde reported that: “Between March 2001 and December 2001, twelve men, aged between 14 and 57, have also been stoned for homosexuality and sodomy…. Sixteen men were killed by stoning between March 2000 and March 2001, and ten between March 1999 and March 2000.”
• May 13, 2003: Agence France Press quoted a judiciary official as stating: “An Iranian was beheaded in public and eight others hanged for offences ranging from rape and murder to kidnapping women and girls, homosexual acts, sodomy and fornication.”
A well-accepted principle of international law is that sodomy, even where criminalized, is not a crime appropriate for the death penalty. But the fear of punishment or death for gay men in Iran is so great that at least two Iranians who claimed to be gay and were denied asylum in the UK killed themselves:
• April 20, 2005: The Daily Telegraph reported on the death in London of Iranian Hussein Nasseri: “A homosexual asylum seeker shot himself in the head at a children’s play center after his appeal to remain in the UK was rejected, an inquest heard yesterday.”
• August 21, 2005: The Observer in London, reported that: “In September 2003, Israfil Shiri, a destitute Iranian asylum seeker, died six days after pouring petrol over his body and setting himself alight in the offices of a refugee charity in Manchester. He had fled Iran after the authorities obtained documented evidence of his sexuality.”

Under the Islamic Penal Code adopted in Iran, lesbians fare no better than gay men. Though documentation of punishments has not been as specific, the law provides that, “Punishment for lesbianism (Mosahqeh) is one hundred lashes for each party….If the act of lesbianism is repeated three times and punishment is enforced each time, [a] death sentence will be issued the fourth time…If two women not related by consanguinity stand naked under one cover without necessity, they will be punished to less than one hundred lashes.”
Stories, laws and practices in Iran point to some of the most egregious human rights violations based on sexuality. What is it that the LGBT community can do to bring these violations to light, to move our governments to respond? The US government has successfully whipped up so much anti-Muslim, anti-Arab hostility to justify the war on Iraq, that many Americans find it hard to distinguish among people from the Middle East. They think of all of them as enemies, just at a time when the most important thing we can do is to engage with Iranians who are committed to human rights—both LGBT and non-LGBT.
We must reach out to and work with our Iranian colleagues, both in the country and outside, and help move opinion leaders and international human rights experts to demand of Iran that it honor its commitments under international law to suspend use of the death penalty.
We need to engage world leaders to speak out against imposing the death penalty everywhere in the world in cases involving sexuality– whether consensual or not, since in either case, the punishment is certainly disproportionate to the crime.
President Ahmadinejad should have been among the first to receive this message last week at the UN. He did not. World leaders did agree last week, however, to create a new UN Human Rights Council. IGLHRC is calling for governments of the world to use this space so that a country like Iran can be called to account for its pattern of human rights violations.

Paula L. Ettelbrick is Executive Director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission