Underground and in the Closet

The state of the gay Middle East.

BY DAVID KENNER | JUNE 15, 2011

Enough with Amina, already. The sock-puppet blogger "Gay Girl in Damascus," who turned out to be a straight guy in Scotland has captured the world's attention -- but the real gay communities in the Middle East face legal and societal discrimination every day. In most Middle Eastern countries, homosexuality is a criminal offense, though laws are enforced to varying degrees. And the Arab Spring, which many gay-rights organizations hoped would bring greater acceptance, has proved to be an ambivalent blessing. The real gay men and women in Damascus -- and Dubai, Cairo, and Amman -- are facing more serious problems than confused Internet identities.

DUBAI

The law: The Constitution of the United Arab Emirates, which Dubai is a part of, criminalizes homosexuality, in part because it's a violation of sharia law.

The reality: Dubai, which enjoys a reputation as the most liberal emirate in the UAE, has long sustained an underground gay community. "Dubai is the best place in the Muslim world for gays!" said one young Emirati at a gay club in the city. The authorities' tolerance for its gay community, however, has always been fragile. A club was shuttered in 2001 for hosting a gay night that featured a transvestite DJ, while in 2008 police arrested 17 foreign men for allegedly being homosexual and cross-dressing.

A new police crackdown has raised gay activists' fears that the situation will get worse before it gets better. On May 31, Dubai's police launched a campaign against boyat, the rough equivalent of tomboys. In this Gulf subculture, rebellious girls sport "short pixie-style hair, wear more masculine clothing, sunglasses and watches."

Dan Littauer, the executive director of GayMiddleEast.com, a website that publishes news on LGBT issues across the region, saw the campaign as implicitly targeting Dubai's lesbians -- and as a reaction to the Arab Spring. "The Gulf is also reacting to the Arab Spring, and not only politically," he said. Gulf states "want to have a moral attempt to define Arabness and democracy."

MUSTAFA OZER/AFP/Getty Images

 

David Kenner is an associate editor at Foreign Policy.

DKMAPME

7:35 PM ET

June 15, 2011

Great article

This story was thorough, helpful and well written. Thank for providing good information, although somewhat sad, still high quality.

Thanks

 

SOMEGUY

3:55 AM ET

June 16, 2011

More lies

More lies, half-truths and arbitrary ethical distinctions. Why is incest illegal here? Because of the high degree of genetic defects it causes. Whether that's right or wrong is open to debate (should it be illegal if the couple doesn't plan on having children?), but this discussion is about homosexuality, not whatever other topic you want to divert it to (also kind of funny that you chose this example since cousin-to-cousin incest is common in the Arab world).
There's almost too much nonsense in the rest of your post to bother responding to, but I'll try.

"It spreads AIDS"
The region of the world most severely affected by AIDS is Africa, and there it is mostly transmitted by heterosexuals. I guess we should start persecute them too.

"you recruit straight disillusioned males to 'try it'"
Old homophobic scare tactic. That you honestly think the real persecution of homosexuals can be justified by these bizarre fictions speaks a lot about you as a person.

"you touch little boys"
That's pedophiles, moron. Try and conflate them if you want, but no one with a working brain will take you seriously.

"it leads to effeminate men"
Oh no! Social norms might be challenged! We certainly have to have have people killed for that. No doubt. We certainly couldn't let people be free to live their own lives and act however the hell they want to act. Certainly not. Imprisoning and killing people is certainly the more civilized solution.
By the way, there are plenty of macho gay men too. Should they be persecuted as well, or only the effeminate ones?

"health issues"
These are exaggerated beyond their importance and apply to heterosexual activities as well. If a person isn't practicing safe sex, that's a problem for that individual, but that's no reason to make the wide-spectrum of gay sexual interactions illegal.

"immigration to make up for their low birthrate"
And this has nothing to do with homosexuals. Lowering birthrates go hand and hand with economic and social progress. Research it.

 

PINKWATCHER

9:51 AM ET

June 16, 2011

on Gay Middle East

How is it possible that the only source quoted for an article on Arab LGBTs is an Israeli organization? GayMiddleEast.com is an Israeli run and operated outfit. There are more than enough Arab LGBT organizations and online groups for you to source. Enough white men talking on our behalf please.

 

GEOF

3:09 PM ET

June 16, 2011

Gay Oasis

"White men?" stupid, stupid, American notion of race. Jews have more in common genetically with Syrians then we do with white Americans. And we're more ethnically diverse than any other nationality in the ME. And I know its painful to admit that in yet another area, Israel is the most free, most tolerant, most progressive society in the ME, yet it remains true. True supporters of LGBT rights need to stop identifying with their oppressors and accept that Israel is the model for what ME societies should look like.

 

ELLE JAY

9:54 AM ET

June 16, 2011

A Jihad for Love

Thank you for the interesting summary; however, once again FP excludes the rest of North Africa from its roundup. Morocco's laws (and its well-known gay tourism industry) ought to have been included.

More notably, there is a quite good 2007 documentary, "A Jihad for Love," on the experiences of Muslim men and women from the Middle East, (including Iran--don't tell Ahmadi Nejad,) that I highly recommend. It addresses a number of issues, both the very real discrimination in their home countries that you touch upon, and the problems they encounter as openly gay Muslims living in the West.

 

JIBRAN_PCC

2:29 AM ET

June 18, 2011

These are exaggerated beyond

These are exaggerated beyond their importance and apply to heterosexual activities as well. If a person isn'tpontevedrarealestate practicing safe sex, that's a problem for that individual, but that's no reason to make the wide-spectrum of gay sexual interactions illegal.

 

MARTINCDL

10:31 AM ET

July 13, 2011

The region of the world most

The region of the world most cdl severely affected by AIDS is Africa, and there it is mostly transmitted by heterosexuals. I guess we should start persecute them too.

 

MEDA169

1:08 PM ET

July 15, 2011

Underground and in the Closet

The state of the gay Middle East. How is it possible that the only source quoted for an article on Arab LGBTs is an Israeli organization? GayMiddleEast.com is an Israeli run and operated outfit. There are more than enough Arab LGBT organizations and online groups for you to source. Enough white men talking on our behalf please. lawyer Thank you for the interesting summary; however, once again FP excludes the rest of North Africa from its roundup. Morocco's laws (and its well-known gay tourism industry) ought to have been included. More notably, there is a quite good 2007 documentary, "A Jihad for Love," on the experiences of Muslim men and women from the Middle East, (including Iran--don't tell Ahmadi Nejad,) that I highly reco.

 

PATRICIAMOORE

1:22 AM ET

July 16, 2011

coming clean

Either the purpose of these posts through the kid from Gaithersburg would be to state that only Progressives lie/manipulate stories to create a point -OR- to express that only Progressives wish to offer the Arab Spring.

The very first point isn't worth an answer. Concerning the Arab Spring, isn't this precisely what George Bush said happens after establishing a democracy, "Iraq," within the learn about the center East. I believe that it's probably baloney to link both, however i believed that people about the Right would a minimum of prefer to declare that there is the best purpose for home solar power has a large number of Americans that died in the united states. Actually, is post stating that Progressives are wrong since the Middle East should only become democratic when being attacked by Republican presidents?

Truly, what's the point here? Could it be simply this guy lied; lying isn't good; this person is really a Progressive; ergo, Progressives can be harmful? How can you spell logical fallacy?