Tag: saudi arabia gay rights

Saudi authorities seize rainbow toys in crackdown on homosexuality

Pencil cases, skirts and hats among items targeted for ‘contradicting Islamic faith and public morals’ Saudi officials have been seizing rainbow-coloured toys and clothing from shops in the capital as part of a crackdown on homosexuality, state media has reported. The kingdom opened to tourism in 2019 but, like other Gulf countries, it is frequently… Read more »

Saudi Arabia: Halt imminent execution of young man

Update: Mustafa al-Darwish was executed on 15 June 2021. By carrying out this execution the Saudi Arabian authorities have displayed a deplorable disregard for the right to life. He is the latest victim of Saudi Arabia’s deeply flawed justice system which regularly sees people sentenced to death after grossly unfair trials based on confessions extracted… Read more »

10 Months In Jail For Supporting LGBT+ Rights

A Saudi court has sentenced a Yemeni blogger to jail and then deportation to Yemen for a social media post supporting LGBT+ rights for all in Saudi Arabia. After a trial in which he was provided no counsel, Mohamad al-Bokari, a Yemeni living in Riyadh, was sentenced 10 months in prison and a fine of… Read more »

Gay Syrian recounts two-year long sexual abuse ordeal when he was 13

This article contains details of graphic sexual assault that some readers may find upsetting A gay Syrian man is hoping to inspire other survivors of domestic abuse by sharing the story of his ‘terrifying’ sexual abuse when he was 13 years old. Adnan Al Mouselli, now 25, was born in Damascus, Syria but moved to… Read more »

Saudi police arrest everyone involved in Mecca ‘gay wedding’ after video goes viral

Authorities in Saudi Arabia have reportedly arrested everyone involved in an alleged same-sex wedding. A video clip, which features two men in traditional Saudi dress in an apparent wedding ceremony, went viral in the country last week. ? Many in the Middle Eastern country have posted homophobic messages and hate speech since the video emerged,… Read more »

Police kill two people for wearing women’s clothes in Saudi Arabia

Two Pakistanis identified as cross-dressers have been tortured to death by police in Saudi Arabia, it has been reported. The victims were among 35 men arrested in the capital city of Riyadh for dressing as women, an offence which has its own branch of law enforcement in Saudi Arabia. According to The Express Tribune, a… Read more »

Transgender Saudi man speaks out publicly for first time to help others

“My name wasn’t Salman when I was born about 28 years ago. It was Salma.” London (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – As a transgender man from Saudi Arabia, where his identity could see him jailed and flogged, Salman Al-Dukheil waited decades before speaking out about who he is – or who he was. “My name wasn’t… Read more »

Everything you need to know about being gay in Muslim countries

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 persecuted When the US supreme court ruled in favour of same-sex marriage last year, the… Read more »

Top Saudi cleric: Homosexuals should not be punished

A prominent Saudi Muslim scholar has come out to disavow persecution of gay people. Homosexuality is illegal in Saudi Arabia, with harsh punishments ranging from floggings to the death penalty. But Dr Salman al-Ouda, a member of the International Union for Muslim Scholars and director of Islam Today, has called for an end to the… Read more »

‘A Sinner in Mecca’ documents gay Muslim pilgrimage

A new film made by a gay Muslim pilgram offers a different perspective to the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in a documentary that has attracted death threats. New York: The confession of a Pakistani murderer. Overzealous religious police. An Arab angered that his pregnant wife was molested in the holiest site known to Islam. A… Read more »

Saudi Arabia busts two gay parties

Several people arrested in swoops in Jeddah’s Harzat area Manama: Authorities in Saudi Arabia arrested several people in the Red Sea city of Jeddah following raids on two parties in which most participants were homosexuals. The raids were conducted simultaneously at dawn on Saturday in the Harzat area, known for its recreational facilities, local news… Read more »

Saudis Behead Four For Drug Possession & Persecute ‘Gay’ And Businesswoman

The Saudi Arabian “morality police” have been busy these past weeks handing out gruesome penalties for crimes that would be considered misdemeanors in the U.S. Sharia, of course, has different standards than we do and those standards are harsh and deadly. Sharia has no set code of laws that can be relied on to assure… Read more »

Jail, 450 lashes for Saudi man who used Twitter to befriend gay men

Saudi Arabia: A man has been sentenced to three years in prison and 450 lashes by a court in Saudi Arabia for using his Twitter account to meet with gay men. The 24-year-old unnamed was arrested after he posted several tweets calling for same-sex relations and expressing his readiness to meet gay men, according to… Read more »

LGBTQ Communities in the Arab World Face Unique Digital Threats

Across the Arab world, LGBTQ communities still struggle to gain social recognition, and individuals still face legal penalties for consensual activities. In Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Iraq, homosexuality is punishable by death. In 2001, 52 men were arrested for being gay in Cairo. And in Syria, Algeria, and the United Arab Emirates, being outed as… Read more »

Gay Saudi Arabia News & Reports 2006-10

Also see: Islam and Homosexuality Gay Middle East Web Site: Gay Middle East More information about Islam & Homosexuality can be found at: www.al-fatiha.org Other articles of interest can be found at: Al-Fatiha-News Queer Muslim magazine: Huriyah Gay Islam discussion groups: Muslim Gay Men      LGBT Muslim Queer Jihad Bi Muslims Trans Muslims        Lesbian… Read more »