Articles about LGBT Arabs
A collection of articles about gay and lesbian Arabs, and their struggles. A list of generalarticles is followed by articles relating to individual countries.
General articles
Egypt's war on rainbow flags
al-bab, October-November2017
Everything you need to know about being gay in Muslim countries
The Guardian, 21 June 2016
The official fiction, Brian Whitaker explains, is that gay people don’t exist in the Middle East. They do – and for many of them, the attitudes of family and society are a much bigger problem than the fear of being prosecuted
The unholy alliance
Muslim countries join forces with America's religious right. al-bab, 22 May 2016
The US media’s damaging assumptions about LGBT issues in the Middle East
By Dominic Bocci. Muftah, 15 December 2014
Middle East moving backwards on gay rights?
Poll shows region lagging behind most of the world. al-bab, 14 June 2013
Sex and the Arab Spring
Can demands for freedom and dignity reach beyond politics? al-bab, 13 March 2013
The ongoing battle for gay rights in the Arab world
By Brian Whitaker, Foreign Policy, 12 March 2012
Slow Thaw for Gays in Arab World
There is more awareness now that gay Arabs do exist and that the challenges posed by sexual nonconformity won't go away. By Brian Whitaker, Haaretz, 2 March 2012
Gay rights and the Arab Spring
al-bab, 25 February 2012
Gay rights and human rights
al-bab, 18 December 2011
Arab winds of change
Who is driving real change in the Arab countries? Not politicians, but feminists, gay people and bloggers. By Brian Whitaker, The Guardian, 22 October 2009
What in the World?
Though things may seem peachy for gay people in the UK, what is the state of play in the rest of the world? Gay Times, April 2009
Pink Planet
Brian Whitaker reports on the new global upsurge in pink politics, from China and Iraq to South America. New Statesman, July 19, 2007
Distorting desire
Review of'Desiring Arabs' by Joseph Massad (University of Chicago Press, 2007).
Righting wrongs
The Yogyakarta Principles are a victory for gay rights. The question now is what the UN will do about the document. Comment Is Free, March 29, 2007
Coming out in Arabic: Islam, human rights, and gay rights
Talk given at the Centre on Human Rights and Conflict. University of East London, 21 March 2007
In Arabian nights
Review of the book, 'Sexuality in the Arab World'. New Statesman, November 20 2006
Government disorientation
Does government repression of homosexuality in the Middle East stem from outdated ideas about the role of the state? (Guardian Unlimited, 29 April 2003).
Distorting desire
'Desiring Arabs' by Joseph Massad (University of Chicago Press, 2007). Reviewed by Brian Whitaker
Arab sexualities
'Desiring Arabs' by Joseph Massad (University of Chicago Press, 2007). Reviewed by Peter Drucker.Alternative site.
Unspeakable love
Homosexuality in the Middle East and the gay Palestinians who have taken refuge in Israel. Jewish Quarterly 202, Summer 2006
Behind the veil: Lesbian lives in the Middle East
Lesbians in the Middle East lead a dangerous existence. (Alternative versionhere.) Diva magazine, July 2006
'People think it's a mental illness'
In the Middle East, coming out as a homosexual is often unthinkable. Brian Whitaker talks to young gay and lesbian Arabs about their secret private lives. Guardian, June 13, 2006
Sickness or sin? Attitudes towards homosexuality in the Middle East
Text of a talk by Brian Whitaker. Lebanese Psychological Association, Beirut, 26 May 2006
Sex crimes
The evolution of Middle Eastern homophobia. New Humanist magazine, May 2006
Brokeback desert
It is a pity Brokeback Mountain isn't showing in the Arab world, because it resembles current reality there. Comment Is Free, March 21 2006
Fundamental union
Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi is a controversial Islamic scholar who approves of wife-beating and believes in traditional family values. The Mormon church, having abandoned polygamy more than a century ago, believes in traditional families too. The Guardian, January 25 2005
Algeria
Gay & lesbian mobilization in Algeria: the emergence of a movement
By Sarah Jean-Jacques. Muftah, 15 December 2014
Bahrain
Homophobia and nationalism
'Too gay to represent Bahrain'. al-bab, 16 December 2014, via Muftah
Jail sentences over gay party
al-bab, 8 March 2011
Egypt
Somewhere over the rainbow there are police ready to pounce
Brian Whitaker, al-bab, 26 September 2017
On homosexuality: six Egyptian men reveal what it's like to be gay in Egypt
Maryam Raymone, Cairo Scene, 18 March 2016
Egyptian fury over Facebook rainbow
Actor Khaled Abol Naga pilloried on TV. al-bab, 9 July 2015
Remembering the Queen Boat, fourteen years after
By Scott Long, A Paper Bird, 12 May 2015
Meet this policeman. He is going to arrest you
By Scott Long, A Paper Bird, 24 September 2015
Entrapped! How to use a phone app to destroy a life
By Scott Long, A Paper Bird, 19 September 2015
Tweet for Egypt on IDAHOT: Why it’s important
By Scott Long, A Paper Bird, 17 May 2015
Deport me!
By Scott Long, A Paper Bird, 18 April 2015
New arrests of alleged trans and gay people in Cairo
By Scott Long, A Paper Bird, 1 March 2015
One of Mona Iraqi’s victims tries to burn himself to death
By Scott Long, A Paper Bird, 16 February 2015
After Mona Iraqi: Some Egyptian voices
By Scott Long, A Paper Bird, 21 January 2015
Why the crackdown in Egypt isn’t over, and what to do about it
By Scott Long, A Paper Bird, 19 January 2015
Egypt: 26 acquitted of homosexual conduct
Prosecutor should drop appeal. Human Rights Watch, 13 January 2015
Victory
By Scott Long, A Paper Bird, 12 January 2015
Film festival fires Mona Iraqi
By Scott Long, A Paper Bird, 23 December 2014
Day one of the trial: What Mona Iraqi accomplished
By Scott Long, A Paper Bird, 21 December 2014
homophobia
By Scott Long, A Paper Bird, 20 December 2014
What’s missing from the LGBT discussion in Egypt?
By Sandra Fernandez & Layla Aziz. Muftah, 15 December 2014
Activists condemn Mona Iraqi’s raid
By Scott Long, A Paper Bird, 13 December 2014
If homosexuality isn’t illegal, why is there a gay crackdown in Egypt?
A bath house raid instigated by complicit media looks like a bid to distract attention from bigger economic and political issues. By Brian Whitaker, The Guardian, 10 December 2014
Dozens arrested for “perversion” in a huge raid in Cairo
By Scott Long, A Paper Bird, 8 December 2014
Two trials, two travesties
By Scott Long, A Paper Bird, 1 November 2014
Egypt: 7 held for alleged homosexual conduct
Unlawful arrests undermine basic freedoms, rule of law. Human Rights Watch, 9 September 2014
Egypt's 'homosexuality' arrests
Gay websites spread confusion. al-bab, 21 October 2013
'Gay party' raided in Egypt
al-bab, 1 November 2012
Egypt blocks discussion of gay sexual health at World Health Organisation
Need to respect "religious, cultural, moral, and social values". al-bab, 1 June 2012
A gay day for Egypt?
al-bab, 17 November 2011
A gay ad for Coca-Cola in Egypt?
al-bab, 28 August 2010
Why Elton John is considered a danger to Egypt
A move to ban Elton's gig is about fear of social discord. Yet in other ways the Arab world fails to address 'the public good'. Comment Is Free, 4 May 2010
Elton John faces Egyptian ban
al-bab, 2 May 2010
A tale of two parties
While 69 revelling Filipinos face prison and flogging in Saudi Arabia, wealthy British expatriates are left to party in peace. Comment Is Free, 25 Jun 2009
A night out in Riyadh
More than 70 men have been arrested in the Saudi capital for being in an 'unnatural state' and wearing women's clothing. Comment Is Free, 22 Jun 2009
A glimpse behind the screen
A novel about a gay newspaper editor was a hit in Egypt - but its movie release has caused a stir. Comment Is Free, July 8, 2006
Call to censor 'immoral' Egyptian film
The Yacoubian Building has broken box office records but many oppose its portrayal of modern Egypt. The Guardian, July 6, 2006
In a time of torture
"The assault on justice in Egypt's crackdown on homosexual conduct." Report by Human Rights Watch, March 2004. Also inArabic.
Highway to hell
There's no accounting for taste, but if you want to wear a black t-shirt and listen to heavy metal music, is it the government's business to stop you? If you get a piercing or a tattoo, or dance like Michael Jackson, is the fabric of society going to be ... The Guardian, June 2 2003
Government disorientation
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is probably the most important document ever issued by the United Nations. It spells out in clear and uncompromising language "the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family". The Guardian, April 29 2003
One Man's Tale
A gay activist in Egypt describes the nightmare of the government's crackdown on homosexuality. By Josh Hammer (Newsweek, 16 June, 2002).
Homosexuality on trial in Egypt
In 1800, a European traveller to Egypt wrote: "The inconceivable inclination which has dishonoured the Greeks and Persians of antiquity constitutes the delight, or, more properly speaking the infamy of the Egyptians ... the contagion has seized the poor as well as the rich." The Guardian, November 19 2001
Explaining Egypt's targeting of gays
By Hossam Bahgat (MERIP, 31 July, 2001)
Iraq
Iraq: Investigate ‘emo’ attacks
Official impunity enables violent intimidation campaign. Human Rights Watch, 16 March 2012
Pride and prejudice: The targeting of gay men in Iraq
Near East Quarterly, December 2010
Iraqi police raid gay 'safe house'
al-bab, 20 June 2010
Iraq's new surge: gay killings
Human Rights Watch, 9 September 2009
Anti-gay gangs terrorize Iraq
Militias are targeting gay men in a killing campaign, ignored by police and prosecutors, that belies promises of security. Human Rights Watch, 19 August 2009
"They Want Us Exterminated"
Murder, torture, sexual orientation and gender in Iraq. Human Rights Watch, 17 August 2009
Iraq: Are you man enough?
al-bab, 17 August 2009
Axis of Evil
Haider Jaber thought life as a gay man was harsh under Saddam Hussein. Then came the invasion. And the aftermath. (GT magazine, March 2007.)
Gays flee Iraq as Shia death squads find a new target
Observer, 6 August 2006
Iraqi police 'killed 14-year-old boy for being homosexual'
Independent, 5 May 2006
Gay Iraqis fear for their lives
BBC, 17 April 2006
Iraq: Stop killings for homosexual conduct
No protection by authorities from widening murder campaign. Human Rights Watch, 6 April 2005
Gay and Iraqi
A double life under Saddam Hussein (outuk.com, 2002)
Jordan
Mashrou' Leila: Jordan lifts ban on Lebanese band with gay singer
BBC, 29 April 2016
Fury in Amman after unconformist Mashrou' Leila banned
Albawaba, 27 April 2016
Mashrou' Leila: Jordan bans Lebanese rock band with gay singer
BBC, 27 April 2016
Kuwait
Kuwait deports 76 gay men in crackdown
Gulf News, 7 August 2017
22 parlours sealed, 76 gays deported in nationwide raids
Arab Times, 6 August 2017
Being transgender in Kuwait: “My biggest fear is a flat tyre”
Human Rights Watch, 15 July 2013
“They Hunt Us Down for Fun”
Discrimination and police violence against transgender women in Kuwait. Human Rights Watch, 15 January 2012
Kuwait: End police abuses against transgender women
Law against ‘imitating the opposite sex’ leads to torture, arbitrary arrests. Human Rights Watch, 15 January 2012
Boys will be boys - or else
Kuwaitis who defy very narrowly defined gender stereotypes now face prison or a hefty fine. Comment Is Free, January 23, 2008
Kuwait: Repressive dress-code law encourages police abuse
Arrests target transgender people. Human Rights Watch, 16 January 2008
Lebanon
Mashrou' Leila: Jordan lifts ban on Lebanese band with gay singer
BBC, 29 April 2016
Fury in Amman after unconformist Mashrou' Leila banned
Albawaba, 27 April 2016
Mashrou' Leila: Jordan bans Lebanese rock band with gay singer
BBC, 27 April 2016
Sex and the Lebanese
Survey finds contradictory attitudes. al-bab, 10 January 2016
The fight goes on for Lebanon's LGBT community
By Sophie Chamas. Al-Monitor, 15 June 2015
Lebanon just did a whole lot more than legalize being gay
By Erin Kilbride. Muftah, 15 December 2014
LGBTQ rights in Lebanon: an interview with Georges Azzi
By Dominic Bocci. Muftah, 15 December 2014
Sexualizing & villainizing male Syrian refugees in Lebanon
By Adriana Qubaia & Mathew Gagné. Muftah, 15 December 2014
Lebanese gay rights organization Helem marks 10 years with a mixed legacy
By Chloé Benoist, Al-Akhbar, 30 September 2014
Lebanon: Call for action against 'gay test' doctor
Accusations of professional misconduct. al-bab, 17 July 2014
LGBT milestone in Lebanon
Psychiatrists say homosexuality is not an illness. al-bab, 12 July 2013
Arrested in Lebanon
"He made me take off all my clothes and told me I’m a faggot". al-bab, 27 June 2013
Lebanon: Police torturing vulnerable people
Need effective redress, oversight, complaints mechanism. Human Rights Watch, 26 June 2013
Gay marriage, Lebanese style
al-bab, 20 January 2013
Lebanon: Stop ‘tests of shame’
Authorities order anal examinations on men charged with homosexuality. Human Rights Watch, 10 August 2012
Resisting homophobia in Lebanon
al-bab, 11 May 2010
Randa's story
al-bab, 4 April 2010
Homosexuality a disease, say doctors
al-bab, 18 February 2010
The Gay Electronic Intifada of Lebanon
by Rita El-Haddad. Monthly Review, 27 August 2009
Beirut breakthrough
A report on Helem, the Lebanese LGBT organisation. Gay Times, December 2008
Group lobbies for basic rights
Article about the campaigning organisation Hurriyat Khassa ("Private freedoms"). By May Farah (Daily Star, 12 June 2004)
Highway to hell
There's no accounting for taste, but if you want to wear a black t-shirt and listen to heavy metal music, is it the government's business to stop you? If you get a piercing or a tattoo, or dance like Michael Jackson, is the fabric of society going to be ... The Guardian, June 2 2003
GayLebanon.com: a miscarriage of justice?
A human rights activist and an internet portal owner were found guilty of insulting the vice squad, yet no evidence was produced. By Warren Singh-Bartlett (Daily Star, 16 March, 2001)
Libya
Libya: release of 'gay partygoers' delayed
al-bab, 29 November 2012
Libya 'gay partygoers not to be killed'
al-bab, 28 November 2012
Morocco
Morocco: Victims of attack jailed for “homosexual acts”
Attackers who filmed home invasion also charged. Human Rights Watch, 8 April 2016
Morocco: Homophobic response to mob attack
Justice minister implies victim shares blame. Human Rights Watch, 15 July 2015
Morocco: Two sentenced on homosexuality charge
Prosecuted despite constitutional right to private life. Human Rights Watch, 4 March 2015
Morocco: Homosexuality convictions upheld
Appeals court applies law criminalising same-sex activities. Human Rights Watch, 8 July 2014
New call to ban Elton John
al-bab, 12 May 2010
First Moroccan gay magazine
al-bab, 21 April 2010
Interview with Abdellah Taia
The Moroccan writer talks about his book, Salvation Army. al-bab, 15 April 2009
Morocco bound
Two sides of gay life in Morocco. Gay Times, March 2008
Party time
Revellers at a get-together in Morocco have ended up in jail after a wave of moral panic and accusations of staging a gay wedding. Comment Is Free, December 14, 2007
Highway to hell
There's no accounting for taste, but if you want to wear a black t-shirt and listen to heavy metal music, is it the government's business to stop you? If you get a piercing or a tattoo, or dance like Michael Jackson, is the fabric of society going to be ... The Guardian, June 2 2003
Palestine/Israel
Pinkwashing Gaza
Gay magazine links airstrikes to LGBT rights. al-bab, 11 July 2014
Israel and homo-nationalism
al-bab, 28 July 2010
Zionist 'gay workshop' cancelled
al-bab, 26 June 2010
Pinkwashing Israel
al-bab, 17 June 2010
Coming out in Arabic
Brian Whitaker reports on a lesbian group's struggle for acceptance in the Middle East. Guardian Unlimited, October 2 2006
Unspeakable love
Homosexuality in the Middle East and the gay Palestinians who have taken refuge in Israel. By Brian Whitaker (Jewish Quarterly 202, Summer 2006).
Refugee status
Gay Palestinians who dream of a better life in Israel.
Yossi Klein Halevi (New Republic, 19 August, 2002)
Queer in the Land of Sodom
The development of gay rights in Israel. By Lee Walzer (The Gully, February 2002)
Gay Israel: No Pride In Occupation
By Hagai El-Ad (The Gully, February 2002)
Qatar
What it’s like to be gay and Qatari
Doha News, 5 August 2016
Royal charity fights homosexuality in Qatar
al-bab, 24 June 2011
Fundamental union
Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi is a controversial Islamic scholar who approves of wife-beating and believes in traditional family values. The Mormon church, having abandoned polygamy more than a century ago, believes in traditional families too. The Guardian, January 25 2005
Saudi Arabia
Transgender Saudi man speaks out publicly for first time to help others
by Ellen Wulfhorst, Thomson Reuters Foundation, 1 December 2016
Saudi Arabia tackles rainbow peril
Alarm over "emblems" of homosexuality. al-bab, 20 July 2015
'Obscene party' raided in Saudi Arabia
al-bab, 18 November 2011
Asylum and the 'gay Saudi'
al-bab, 15 September 2010
Saudi Arabia's juggling act on homosexuality
As a gay diplomat seeks US asylum, Saudi Arabia seems torn between wanting a civilised image and appeasing traditionalists. Comment Is Free, 13 Sep 2010
Saudi jailed and flogged for gay video
al-bab, 11 March 2010
The Kingdom in the Closet
ByNadya Labi
Sodomy is punishable by death in Saudi Arabia, but gay life flourishes there. Why it is “easier to be gay than straight” in a society where everyone, homosexual and otherwise, lives in the closet. (Atlantic Monthly, May 2007)
Saudi Arabia: Men ‘behaving like women’ face flogging
Sentences imposed for alleged homosexual conduct violate basic rights. Human Rights Watch, 6 April 2005
Somalia
Gay Somalis in London launch community website
News report. (UK Gay News, 17 November 2007)
Syria
This gay bar in Damascus shows us the Syria that Western media outlets ignore
By Brad Hoff, The Canary, 16 November 2016
We Don’t Have Rights, But We Are Alive
A gay soldier in Assad’s army
By James Harkin, Harper's Magazine, February 2016
Sexualizing & villainizing male Syrian refugees in Lebanon
By Adriana Qubaia & Mathew Gagné. Muftah, 15 December 2014
The real world of gay girls in Damascus
By Daniel Nassar, The Guardian, 15 June 2011
Gay Girl in Damascus was an arrogant fantasy
Tom MacMaster's hoax blog undermines, rather than illuminates, awareness of the realities of being gay in the Middle East. Comment Is Free, 13 Jun 2011
'Gay Girl' unmasked as a hoax
al-bab, 13 June 2011
Syria and the Gay Girl mystery
al-bab, 11 June 2011
Gay life in Syria
al-bab, 24 June 2010
Tunisia
Despite threats and attacks, Tunisian activists are still fighting for greater LGBT rights
By Erin Kilbride, Think Progress, 24 May 2016
Tunisia: UN panel condemns forced anal exams
Government should ban abusive “homosexuality” tests. Human Rights Watch, 23 May 2016
Tunisia: Men prosecuted for homosexuality
Abuses in detention, prison. Human Rights Watch, 29 March 2016
Dispatches: LGBT rights five years after the Tunisian uprising
Human Rights Watch, 8 February 2016
Tunisia: LGBT group suspended
Dangerous precedent for freedom of association. Human Rights Watch, 16 January 2016
Tunisia: 3-year sentence for homosexuality
6 students subjected to anal examinations. Human Rights Watch, 16 December 2015
Tunisia: One-year sentence for homosexuality
Suspect subjected to forced anal examination. Human Rights Watch, 28 September 2015
United Arab Emirates
Lesbianism shocks the Emirates
al-bab, 15 February 2010
Ousted by a gay sheikh
An author whose book touched on the sexual hangups of the local establishment has been disinvited from a Dubai literary festival. Comment Is Free, 16 Feb 2009
'Gay party' guests face hormone treatment
More than two dozen men arrested at an allegedly gay party could face compulsory hormone treatment, officials in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, said yesterday. The Guardian, November 30 2005
Yemen
'Gay' killings in Yemen
How big is the problem? al-bab, 22 July 2013
Message from a gay Yemeni
'No word describes how devastating it is to hold this secret forever'. al-bab, 21 June 2013
Coming out in Yemen
Revolution activist goes public about his sexuality. al-bab, 9 June 2013
