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Der
Spiegel: Allah’s Pink Sons; Persecution of Homosexuals in Islamic
Countries
7 September 2009
International
RELIGIONS – Allah's Pink Sons; Persecution of Homosexuals in Islamic
Countries
Juliane von Mittelstaedt / Daniel Steinvorth
Der Spiegel
112
In most Islamic countries, homosexuals are despised, persecuted and
sometimes even killed. Repressive regimes foment hatred against
"effeminized men."
Bearded men kidnapped him in the middle of Baghdad, threw him into a dark
hole, bound him with a chain, urinated on him and beat him with an iron
pipe. But the worst moment of all for Hisham, 40, came on the fourth day
when his abductors called his family. He became scared they would tell his
mother that he was homosexual and that this was the reason they had
abducted him. Then he would never see his family again. The shame would be
unbearable for them.
"Do what you want with me, but don't tell them!" he cried.
Rather than humiliate him in front of his family, the abductors demanded
50,000 dollars in ransom, a huge sum for an ordinary Iraqi family. The
parents had to borrow money and sell all of their son's possessions. A
short time later, the abductors threw Hisham out of a car in northern
Baghdad. They did not shoot him, they let him walk, but they yelled after
him: "This is your last chance. If we see you again, we'll kill you."
That was four months ago, and Hisham has gone to Lebanon. Helies to his
family, telling them he was fleeing violence and terror, and had found a
job in Beirut. He kept it to himself that, as a gay man, he could not
remain in Iraq because of the death squads that are hunting down
"effeminized" men.
At the beginning of the year in Baghdad, there began a new series of
murders of men suspected of homosexuality. They are often raped,their
genitals cut off, their anuses glued shut. Their corpses end up in trash
dumpsters or on the street. There is a "systematic campaign" with hundreds
ofmurder victims, according to Human Rights Watch, which has documented
this string of violence.
The trigger for the murders, rapes and kidnappings isconsidered to be the
video of a party in Baghdad in the summer of 2008, at which men danced
with one another. It was viewed thousands of times on handheld devices and
the Internet. Islamist preachers then began agitating against the
spreading danger of a "third sex," brought into the country by American
soldiers. Especially followers of radical Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr
have since then felt called to restore "religious morality." Their
black-clad militiamen patrol their bastion, the Sadr City district of
Baghdad, and lie inwait for everyone whose "unmasculine behavior" catches
their attention. Longhair, tight t-shirts and pants, or a strutting walk
often enough bring a death sentence.
Other groups, too, not only the Mahdi Army, are said to be involved in the
murders of gays: for instance, Sunni militia who are close to Al-Qaida,
but also Iraqi security forces.
The lives of homosexuals are particularly endangered in Iraq at the
moment, but they are ostracized virtually throughout the Islamic
world.More than 100,000 women and men are discriminated against or
threatened,according to gay groups. Thousands commit suicide, end up in
prison, or have fled.
More than 30 Islamic countries prohibit homosexuality bylaw. The
punishments range from flogging to life in prison. In Mauretania,
Bangladesh, Yemen, in parts of Nigeria and Sudan, in the United Arab
Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Iran, gays even face the death penalty.
But even in countries where homosexuality is not prohibited by law, gays
are persecuted, arrested, and sometimes murdered. Egypt is particularly
harsh, although the country was long known for its open gay scene.
Homosexuals are pursued by a morals police force that taps phones and
recruits informants. Then they are charged with "debauchery."
In Malaysia, homosexuality is even used as a political weapon: In the year
2000, the well-known politician Anwar Ibrahim was sentenced to nine years
in prison for "unnatural sexual intercourse" with his chauffeur and a
speechwriter, but then was exonerated on appeal in 2004. In the summer
of2008, the macabre drama was repeated. The charge was "homosexual sexual
intercourse," and the trial still continues.
Anwar was once the protégé of Mahathir Mohamad. He was supposed to succeed
him as prime minister, until Mahathir sacked him in 1998. Ten years later,
Anwar won back his seat in Parliament – but that is as far as his comeback
has made it so far.
Even in cosmopolitan Lebanon, homosexuals are threatened with one year in
jail. Still, Beirut is the home of the only gay and lesbian organization
in the Arab world, called "Helem" (meaning "dream"). At an office in the
middle of the city, posters about AIDS education and tips against
homophobia are on the walls. Helem is no more than tolerated, as the
Interior Ministry has yet to issue an official permit to the organization.
"And it is hardly conceivable that we will ever get it," says executive
director Georges Azzi.
In Istanbul, there is a free homosexual scene and a Christopher Street Day
festival, and even devoutly religious fans rave for transsexual pop diva
Bülent Ersoy or gay singer Zeki Müren. But away from the catwalk or the
stage, it is considered a disgrace, a disease, to be a "götveren"
(meaning"faggot"). In the army, homosexuality is grounds for discharge. To
unmask fakers, military doctors require photos or videos as evidence,
showing the recruit having sex with a man – in the "passive" role, of
course, because being active passes as masculine enough in Turkey.
It looks as though a wave of homophobia has gripped the Islamic world,
which was once known for its openness. Homoerotic literature was
widespread here, sex roles were less narrowly defined, and, like the
ancient Greeks, men let themselves be entertained by dancing youths.
But now the Islamists have assumed cultural hegemony. They include men
like popular Egyptian television preacher Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who demonizes
gays as perverse. Shiite Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani published a fatwa
four years ago, in which he called for the most brutal possible murder of
gays. These opinion leaders justify their aversion with the history of Lot
in the Qur'an: "You approach men in lust instead of women. You are
immoderate people." For these sins, the people of Lot are destroyed along
with their cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. In addition, there are a few
statements of Muhammad, in which he condemns the "act of the people of
Lot," once even calling for the death penalty.
However, the Lot story and other Qur'anic verses were not clearly applied
to homosexual sex until the 20th century, says New York
professor Everett Rowson. He says this redefinition originated in the
West, of all places – due to the prudery of European colonial masters, who
spread their sexual morality in the newly conquered world.
In fact, half the prohibitions of homosexuality that still exist worldwide
go back to a single law promulgated by the British in India in1860. "Many
attitudes toward sexual morality, that are said to be identical with
Islam, owe more to Queen Victoria than to the Qur'an," Rowson declares.
Modern persecution of gays was brought on, above all, by the
politicization of Islam, because since then sexual morality has been no
longer private, but rather is regulated and instrumentalized by the state.
"The most repressive are secular regimes like Egypt, Morocco and Turkey,
which are under pressure from Islamists and therefore try to outdo them
when it comes to morality," says Scott Long of Human Rights Watch. "In
addition, the persecution of homosexuals shows that a regime has control
over the private lives of citizens – that is a sign of power and
authority." Thus for the last few years there has been a deliberately
fomented "moral panic" in many countries.
For instance, in Iran. Since the Islamic Revolution,homosexuals have been
persecuted, sometimes more, sometimes less – and rather more since
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took office, who never tires of stressing
that there are no homosexuals in his country at all.
Even the suspicion of "unnatural" acts is enough to earn a whipping.
Anyone who is caught multiple times faces the death penalty. So far148
gays have been executed according to official figures, but presumably the
number is far higher. The most recent case to draw attention was that of
21-year-old Makwan Moloudzadeh, who was hanged in December 2007. He is
alleged to have raped three boys years before. Homosexuals are almost
always charged with other crimes in addition,like rape, fraud, or theft,
in order to justify the execution.
Thousands of gays and lesbians have fled Iran for this reason, and for
most the first stop is Turkey. "There was no alternative for me but to
flee," says Ali, a 32-year-old doctor. "If I had stayed, they would have
killed me."
Ali had been careful. He only rarely went to parties, used several
different Internet cafés for chatting, and he did not even tell his family
his secret. That went well, until his boyfriend's father caught the two of
them kissing. Two days later, Ali lost his job at the hospital, then he
washit by a car, apparently not by accident, and a short time later he
received a call: "We want to see you hang."
What he had not known before was that his boyfriend's father was a
high-ranking member of the Revolutionary Guard.
Ali withdrew his savings from his account and took a train to Turkey,
where he applied for asylum. Since then, he has been living in a tiny
apartment in Kayseri in Central Anatolia – one of 35 gay Iranian exiles
living in this city.
Arsham Parsi, 29, fled too from Shiraz four years ago. This graceful man
with downy cheeks and glasses is one of Iran's "most wanted" men,because
he founded the country's first gay network in 2001. They only communicated
by e-mail, few people knew his real name, yet he was still found out.
Parsi managed to escape the morals police at the last second. He received
a visa for Canada, where he founded the "Iranian Queer Organization,"
which now has 6000 members in Iran. They include many transsexuals – or
people who consider themselves such. After all, Parsi estimates: "Nearly
half of all sex changes are undergone by gays."
Gay persecution has led to a boom in sex changes, so that more operations
are performed in the Islamic Republic of Iran, of all places,than anywhere
else in the world except Thailand. They were permitted in 1983 by
Ayatollah Khomeini himself, who defined transsexuality as a disease that
could be cured with an operation. Since then, thousands have sought the
treatment,with a portion of the costs borne by the state.
"Relatives and doctors push gays to undergo operations to normalize their
improper sexual orientation," says Parsi. This is also how a high-ranking
Shiite religious scholar was able to finance a female body for his
secretary and then marry him afterwards.
The ultra-conservative Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the only Arab country
where Shari'ah law is applied exclusively – homosexuals are whipped or
executed. "Nonetheless, gays are much freer here than in Iran," says
Afdhere Jama, who traveled through the Islamic world for seven years
researching his book "Illegal Citizens."
The Kingdom leaves gays an astonishing amount of freedom in everyday life.
Newspapers report on lesbian sex in school bathrooms. Certain shopping
centers, restaurants and bars in Jeddah and Riyadh are considered gay
meeting places, which is an open secret.
"There are many Saudi Arabs who take boys as love objects,because they are
single or because their wives happen to be pregnant," says Jama.
Homosexual sex is often the only option to have sex at all – extramarital
affairs with women are virtually impossible. "Here in the West, a man
would be considered gay in that case, but in countries like Saudi Arabia,
it is harder to make that classification," says Jama. Most Muslims hardly
know what to make of the Western conception of a "gay identity" – there is
no gay lifestyle or movement here.
Daayiee Abdullah, 55, is an imam, he wears a prayer cap and a beard – and
he is gay. That makes him one of only two imams in the world who openly
declare their homosexuality. He voluntarily chose Islam, having grown up a
Baptist in Detroit. During his studies in Beijing, he came to know Chinese
Muslims and converted to Islam. "They told me it was no problem to be gay
and a good Muslim."
The imam – and not only he – interprets the history of Lot differently:
The people whom God condemned were not homosexuals, but rapists and
robbers. It is not homosexuality, but rape, that the Qur'an detests. "The
rejection of gays is based on culture and politics," he says. "Just like
honor killings and arranged marriages – those things are not in the
Qur'an, either."
Abdullah lives in the US capital of Washington, and says prayer at
funerals of homosexuals, especially when they died of AIDS, since no other
imam is willing to do it. He performs same-sex marriages and has counseled
pious gays for eleven years through his "Muslim Gay Men" Internet forum.
He receives death threats over and over, but at this point he laughs about
it, saying: "How can two loving gays shake the foundations of God?"
JULIANE VON MITTELSTAEDT, DANIEL STEINVORTH |
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