GLBT Resources in the
Below are a few
books and websites which provide some general resources to students on life for
GLBT people in the
Books
Islamic Homosexualities: Culture, History,
and Literature. Stephen O. Murray and
Will Roscoe (Editors).
Price of Honor: Muslim Women Lift the Veil
of Silence on the Islamic World. Jan
Goodwin. Penguin
Sex Longing & Not Belonging: A Gay
Muslim's Quest for Love & Meaning.
Bedruddin Khan. Floating Lotus
Sexuality and Eroticism among Males in
Muslim Society. Schmitt, Arno and
Sofer, Jehoeda, eds. NY:
Sexuality in Islam. Abdulwahab Bouhdigba, Alan Sheridan (Translator).
1998
Websites
Al-Fatiha Foundation
Al-Fatiha
Foundation is dedicated to Muslims who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender,
intersex, questioning, those exploring their sexual orientation or gender
identity, and their allies, families and friends. Al-Fatiha promotes the progressive
Islamic notions of peace, equality and justice. We envision a world that is
free from prejudice, injustice and discrimination, where all people are fully
embraced and accepted into their faith, their families and their communities.
http://www.al-fatiha.net/index.html
The Gay Lesbian Arabic
Society
Established in 1988, this site “serves as a
networking organization for Gays and Lesbians of Arab descent or those living
in Arab countries. They aim to promote positive images of Gays and Lesbians in
Arab communities worldwide, in addition to combating negative portrayals of
Arabs within the Gay and Lesbian community. They also provide a support network
for our members while fighting for our human rights wherever they are
oppressed. They are part of the global Gay and Lesbian movement seeking an end
to injustice and discrimination based on sexual orientation.” http://www.glas.org/
The International
Lesbian and Gay Association
This
website has the most comprehensive data on laws effecting lesbian and gays
around the world. See their link off the main page for the ILGA World Legal Survey.
Egypt
There
has been a lot of press about arrests of gay men and imprisonment of Egyptian
gays. Below are a sampling of articles and websites on the latest information.
Buried Alive in
Gay Egypt in the Dock:
The Big Crackdown Might Reflect Cairo’s Own Insecurities, by Joshua Hammer. This
article appeared in Newsweek International and can be found at: http://www.sodomylaws.org/world/egypt/egnews80.htm
Gay Egypt
Leading
site on Egyptian gay issues, based in
Global Gayz…Gay Egypt
This
site has links to several countries in the
http://www.globalgayz.com/g-egypt.html
Homan
Homan
is a group established in 1991 in
Between
Lesbiot: Israeli Lesbians Talk about
Sexuality, Feminism, Judaism and Their Lives. Moore,
Information
on
http://www.gay.org.il/haifa/index-e.htm
The Jerusalem LGB Open
House (JOH)
has a good website, though it has not been updated since the summer of 2002.
Many links to other organizations around
http://www.gay.org.il/joh/eng/home_eng.htm
The Other 10% - GLBT student group at
Tel Aviv
“The Agudah”: the association of gay
men, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender in
Claf:
Community of Feminist Lesbians
Sodomy Laws:
This
website has a section of news from
In
speaking with those familiar with the
LEGAL - Lebanese
Equality for Gays and Lesbians Institute
A
bit outdated (last updated in August 2002), this website offers good links to
Arab and Lebanese gay sites. http://www.legal.20m.com. The aim of LEGAL
is to work for the legal, social, and cultural equality of the Lebanese GLBT
community while providing support and social interaction to the groups members.
Gay Lebanese
This
commercial site offers some information on gay life in
http://www.gaylebanese.com/main.html
Jordan
No
resources that we know of but there may be websites/others of which we are
unaware. There used to be a coffee shop hangout with an international/local
crowd but it has changed management and no longer serves this secondary
function. There used to be some gay travel websites that reported on things
like that but I don't know where to access them.
It
is safer (physically, socially, etc.) for gay/lesbian students not to share
their orientation with others in Jordan, especially other men. All students
applying for residency in
Practicing
homosexuality is forbidden by Islam. Legally, it can also be grounds for jail.
The culture remains strongly patriarchal with all of that that implies--the
importance of keeping male and female roles different/separate, the dominant
male ideal, etc. Despite the anecdotal stories re: more experimentation with
sex between young Arab men in some countries because women are off limits
before marriage, homosexuality is rarely openly admitted or discussed within
families or among friends; same for lesbians. This is true even when it may be
"obvious" or even known that a person has this orientation, it isn't
something addressed openly with non-gay circles.
There
are no known websites or printed publications that we found in English. Resident
directors who we contacted did not know of any available online resources. Students
are encouraged to speak with their programs should they have questions about
sexual orientation in this Muslim country.
LEGATO, named after the
Turkish acronym for Lezbiyen Gay Topluluğu, is a Lesbian and Gay
Association that aims to connect and bring together homosexual Turkish college
students.
http://www.e-legato.org/english.html
KAOS GL
KAOS
GL is a group founded in September 1994 with the purpose of bringing