Middle eastern gay men

It is also punishable by death in five of these 18 countries. Historical research shows that kings, commanders, judges, as well as ordinary individuals, displayed relative openness towards non-heterosexual desires. The first was considered a sin, while the latter was a sign of refined sensibility, the ability to appreciate human beauty.

A "khuntha" was somewhere between the genders. In a essayShireen Hamza, a researcher at Harvard University, describes these as "woman, masculine woman, khuntha, effeminate man or man. While attitudes and policies vary across countries, the overarching narrative is one of tension between traditional values and emerging calls for LGBTQ+ rights.

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The rights and freedoms of LGBTQ citizens are strongly. The medieval Arab world viewed sexual attraction in conflicting ways, Khaled el-Rouayheban historian at Harvard University, writes. They blame colonialism for spreading homophobia in the region. In a video of her TED talkBlair Imani, an African-American queer Muslim woman, criticizes the idea that Muslim societies have historically held rigid attitudes toward sexuality.

This article explores the historical, legal, and social dimensions of homosexuality in the. E xpressions of same-sex attraction were met with varying degrees of tolerance and intolerance, el-Rouayheb explains in his book, " Before Homosexuality. Their influence persisted long after they left their colonies.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people generally have limited or highly restrictive rights in most parts of West Asia, and are open to hostility in others. Nationalist projects adopted the colonial notion that regarded same-sex attraction as decadence or a form of mental illness.

The common belief in the Middle East is that only penetration counts as real sex. In Algeria for example, French colonial forces stipulated severe punishments for same-sex relationships, including imprisonment and forced labor.

Abu Nawas and many other classical Arab, Persian and Turkish poets explored same-sex desires centuries ago. Same-sex behavior is punishable by imprisonment in five of the 18 countries in the region. Hamza also writes about a judicial case where a Muslim judge in 16th-century Damascus permitted a transgender woman to marry a man who was in love with her.

Al-Tayeb repeatedly cal ls homosexuality a Western cultural import. For example, Islamic scholars distinguished between sexual intercourse between two men and the less physical expression of love for another man. France and Brit aineach controlling major parts of the Arab world, introduced the first penal codes against homosexuality in the region.

When two men have sex with each other, only the passive partner is generally seen as gay. Fouad finds inspiration in classical poems by the 8th-century poet Abu Nawas, who was renowned for his homoerotic verses. Records also indicate recognition of transgender individuals, with some medieval Arabic dictionaries and encyclopedias describing five or more categories of sexes.

Attitudes towards same-sex attraction radically changed in the contemporary Middle Eastwith Western colonialism thought to have played an important role. For instance, Muslim travelers visiting Europe in the midth century found it noteworthy that European men did not court young men.

Lesbianism is less visible in Middle Eastern societies, and lesbians aren’t blamed for their sexual preferences to the same extent as gay men. In return, European travelers visiting pre-colonial Arab communities were shocked to see men openly expressing their attraction for boys.

Homosexuality in the Middle East is a deeply complex and multifaceted issue, shaped by the region’s religious, cultural, and legal landscapes. Sexual orientation was not seen as central to an individual's identity in Muslim societies. But their legacy has been sidelined in the modern Middle East because homosexuality is a criminal offense in most countries in the region.

However, the history of same-sex romance in the Middle East is complex and nuanced. Fouad is from Lebanon, one of the few Arab countries where homosexuality is not explicitly illegal.