ΟΙ ΟΜΟΦΥΛΟΦΙΛΟΙ ΣΤΗ ΣΑΟΥΔΙΚΗ ΑΡΑΒΙΑ

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Δύο άνδρες θα μαστιγωθούν 7.000 φορές για "ομοφυλοφιλικές πράξεις"
(ΑΠΕ, 4/10/2007) Δύο Σαουδάραβες θα μαστιγωθούν 7.000 φορές ο καθένας για την διάπραξη "ομοφυλοφιλικών πράξεων", γράφει η εφημερίδα Saudi Okaz. Oι αρχές της Σαουδικής Αραβίας άρχισαν την Τρίτη να εκτελούν την δικαστική απόφαση που προβλέπεται να γίνει σε δύο ξεχωριστές φάσεις, αναφέρει η εφημερίδα.

Ενας άλλος Σαουδάραβας θα μαστιγωθεί 470 φορές, ξεχωριστά,για την παρασκευή ναρκωτικών και αντίσταση στις δυνάμεις ασφαλείας.

Το δικαστικό σύστημα στην Σαουδική Αραβία στηρίζεται στις αρχές του ισλαμικού νόμου(σαρία).

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Homosexuality on rise in Saudi Arabia
By Kimberly West (associatedcontent.com)
According to an article The Kingdom in the Closet in the May 2007 issue of the Atlantic

Monthly, many in the Saudi population, both male and female, frequently engage in

homosexual acts despite the fact that it is punishable by death under Islamic Sharia

law. Homosexuality seems risky in a kingdom sometimes called "The Land of The Two

Holy Mosques", a reference to Mecca and Medina, Islam's two holiest places. Much

of the Kingdom's law is derived from an ultra-conservative form of Sunni Islam

commonly known as Wahhabism, which has zero tolerance for diversity.
According to Western Resistance, one of the reasons that a large segment of the
Saudi population engages in homosexual acts is that it's frankly easier to mingle with

members of the same sex in the highly restrictive and oppressive regime--
According to Islamic law homosexuality is punishable by death. This punishment,
however, is a poor deterrent. According to the article, most Saudi men become gay

because it's easier to pick up a man than to find a woman. The situation is the same

for young women. The article claims that Saudi Arabia's inhumane laws and dread

morality police, which forbid dating between young men and women, in fact are a major

factor pushing them towards homosexuality in their youth.
In his article, Queer Shiek, Being openly gay in Saudi Arabia used to be a death sentence

-but times are changing, John R. Bradley describes the scene at a western-type mall in

the city of Jeddah- Gay Saudi men now cruise certain malls and supermarkets, openly

making passes at each other, and one street in Jeddah is said to have the most traffic

accidents in the city because it is the most popular place for Saudi drivers to pick up gay

Filipinos, who strut their stuff on the sidewalk in tight jeans and cut-off t-shirts. (Filipinos

are one of the larger groups of foreign workers in Saudi Arabia.)

Meanwhile, gay and lesbian discos, gay-friendly coffee shops, and even gay oriented

Internet chat rooms are now flourishing in some Saudi cities; in the chat rooms, gay and

lesbian Saudis discuss the best places to meet people for one-night stands. "We talk

about places that aren't gay cruising areas, because they're now in the minority," says

one young gay Saudi, only half-jokingly.
These excerpts from the Atlantic Monthly article reflect some attitudes and realities

about homosexuality in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia-- Talal, a Syrian youth who moved

to Riyadh in 2000, calls the Saudi capital a "gay heaven.''
"I used to have the feeling that I was the queerest in the country,'' said Yasser, a Saudi

youth. "But then I went to high school and discovered that there are others like me. Then

I find out it's a whole society.'' Many gay expatriates say they feel more at home in the

kingdom than in their native lands.
"Guys romp around and parade in front of you,'' said Marco, a 41-year old gay man from

the Philippines living in Saudi Arabia. "They will seduce you. It's up to you how many

you want, every day.''
A magazine editor in Jeddah told me that many boys in Mecca, where he grew up have

sexual relations with men, but they don't see themselves as gay. "Homosexuality is

considered to bea stage of life, particularly at youth.''
"[Saudi Arabia] is the land of sand and sodomites,'' said Tasmin, a female student who

told me about the lesbian enclave at her school. ``The older men take advantage of

the little boys.''
Dave, a gay American teacher living in Saudi Arabia, put it this way: "Let's say there's a

group of men sitting around a cafe. If a smooth faced boy walks by, they all stop and

make approving comments. They're just noting: "That's a hot little number.''
It seems that these homosexual men and women are risking their lives. An Islamic cleric

quoted at Front Page Magazine writes about the sin of homosexuality, "This sin, the

impact of which makes one's skin crawl, which words cannot describe, is evidence of

perverted instincts, total collapse of shame and honor, and extreme filthiness of character

and soul... The heavens, the Earth and the mountains tremble from the impact of this sin.

The angels shudder as they anticipate the punishment of Allah to descend upon the

people who commit this indescribable sin."
Amnesty International reports "gross human rights violations" in the Kingdom of Saudi

Arabia, many against homosexuals, and reports incidents of capital punishment for

homosexuals. A Chicago Free Press article reports this chilling story about the fate of

three homosexual men in Saudi Arabia-
We learn that on January 1, 2002, Saudi Arabian authorities publicly beheaded three

gay men after Islamic religious courts in the southwestern city of Abha declared them

guilty of "engaging in the extreme obscenity and ugly acts of homosexuality, marrying

among themselves and molesting the young," charges obviously exaggerated to provoke

public outrage.
For the wealthy in Saudi Arabia, though, it appears that homosexuality is overlooked

by the authorities. John Bradley writes- The upper crust of Saudi society is becoming

more open as well. Carmen bin Laden, the sister-in-law of Osama bin Laden, recently

published a book, in French, titled Inside the Kingdom, which is a look at the life of the

idle Saudi rich. In the book, The New York Times reported this month, bin Laden tells
stories of homosexual affairs among the kingdom's wealthy and idle women. And Saudi

anthropologist Mai Yamani has shown that all-female discos catering to rich Saudi women

are often covers for lesbian get-togethers. Saudi princes, meanwhile, have frequented

the Jeddah disco, where they openly interact with club-goers.
Is homosexuality in Saudi Arabia an "open secret" caused by a repressive Islamic
regime that controls every aspect of its citizens' lives, including their sexuality under

Sharia law? Is it the result of men-only and women-only interactions required by Muslim

guidelines? Or, are the Saudis really coming out of the closet?