meanwhile, in Egypt

[RussBLib]

Eight men sentenced to jail in Egypt for alleged same-sex wedding

3 years in prison apiece. For "inciting debauchery." I wonder if they would be treated even more harshly if the Muslim Brotherhood were still in office?

An Egyptian court on Saturday convicted eight men for "inciting debauchery" following their appearance in an alleged same-sex wedding party on a Nile boat, sentencing each of them to three years in prison.

The Internet video shows two men exchanging rings and embracing among cheering friends.

The eight were detained in September when a statement from the office of Egypt's chief prosecutor said the video clip was "shameful to God" and "offensive to public morals."

"Shameful to God"? It's actually a little shocking to me to even hear that charge, in 2014.

Egypt is a conservative majority Muslim country with a sizable minority of Christians. Homosexuality is a social taboo for both communities and only in recent years fiction and movies have included gay characters. Consensual same-sex relations are not explicitly prohibited, but other laws have been used to imprison gay men in recent years, including "debauchery" or "shameless public acts." Same-sex marriage is unheard of in Egypt.

The verdict was received with protesting screams by relatives waiting outside the Cairo courthouse court. Some of them broke down and cried while others protested that medical examinations carried out by state doctors showed the defendants were not gay.

This jumped out at me. Medical exams by state doctors showed that they were not gay? What is that test, exactly? See? He got a boner when a woman doctor was examining him!

The verdict is the latest in a crackdown by authorities against homosexuals and atheists. The campaign also targets liberal and pro-democracy activists and violators of a draconian law on street protests.

And we think WE have a long way to go here in the US! More to the story here.

[LostOne4Ever]

1. Countries like Egypt are in a sad state when it comes to human rights

Last edited Mon Nov 3, 2014, 12:26 AM - Edit history (1)

[font color=teal face=papyrus size=3]Yet because we they have oil our government will continue to turn a blind out to them. Just as they do to Saudi Arabia and Russia.

[RussBLib]

3. 11% of countries worldwide have anti-apostasy laws

Yeah, some serious problems with human rights, and many (most?) of these offenders are Muslim countries.

A Muslim who converts to Christianity would be guilty of apostasy, as would a Muslim who became an atheist.

And you can still be killed over changing your mind!

Earlier this month, the U.S. embassy in Khartoum said it was “deeply disturbed” that Sudan had sentenced a pregnant woman to death for apostasy, the act of abandoning one’s faith — including by converting to another religion. (The woman later gave birth in jail.) And in Pakistan, the country’s most popular TV station was the latest target in a rash of recent government accusations of blasphemy, defined as speech or actions considered to be contemptuous of God or the divine.

A new Pew Research (circa March 2014) analysis finds that as of 2012, nearly a quarter of the world’s countries and territories (22%) had anti-blasphemy laws or policies, and one-in-ten (11%) had laws or policies penalizing apostasy. The legal punishments for such transgressions vary from fines to death.

Couple of good maps at the link

[Curmudgeoness]

2. This is what happens

when you have conservative religious people running in the government. We do not have anything like these problems here....yet.

I have so much sympathy for people in these draconian countries. I hope one day that they will have the freedom to be who they are.

[AlbertCat]

4. And we think WE have a long way to go here in the US!

Well, religions of peace and love, y'know... some are more peace-y and love-y than others.... or something....

[onager]

5. Surprise! Massive hypocrisy is involved.

Again for newbies - I lived in Alexandria, Egypt from 2005-09. I'm a straight white guy. But this subject did come up in the Egyptian media while I was there.

Everybody in Egypt knows that gay tourism is very common in Egypt's Red Sea resorts, like Sharm el-Sheikh. It has been covered in Frommer's and other travel guides for at least 10 years.

I never visited Sharm, but I've heard/read that men traveling alone there are openly hustled by young Egyptian guys.

Those hustlers use an old and tired bit of hypocrisy to rationalize their occupations - you're not REALLY gay unless you're the "passive" partner in the transaction. I guess that makes it OK with Allah, too.

Western tourists bring a lot of money into Egypt and the authorities turn a blind eye to the resort hustling.

OTOH, gay men living in Egypt are under constant surveillance by the security services. The cops do all the usual things, like post fake meet-up notices on the internet to entrap gays.

Gay women can usually fly under the radar, long as they're not too exhibitionistic. Women holding hands or walking along with arms around each other is a perfectly ordinary sight in Egypt.

The OP mentions that gays have only popped up in novels etc. in the past few years. One of the best examples is the novel "The Yacoubian Building" by Alaa Al-Aswany. (Naturally he got death threats when it was published.)

Along with gays, that novel also covered the horrendous treatment of Egyptian women, the hypocrisy of religious/political leaders, the cruelty of the security services, and how a moderate Muslim turns into a fanatical terrorist. Well worth reading if you're interested in the subject.

PS - in the famous Other Group, I remember someone posting that "prostitution does not exist in Muslim countries." Maybe that was a Muslim recruiter. Anyway, that's complete BS. When I lived in Saudi Arabia, everyone knew where the hookers hung out. In broad daylight in downtown Alexandria, Egypt, I've been propositioned by hookers wearing hijab. More than one Egyptian man offered to set me up with a "housekeeper," and made it clear that she would be doing more than dusting and vacuuming.

[RussBLib]

6. and how do they tend to deal with atheists in Egypt

It sounds like pretty much of a hellhole. I can guarantee you that I will not be taking any tourist dollars to Egypt. (or anywhere else in the Middle East for that matter)

[onager]

7. The classic case of an Egyptian atheist...

Is probably Kareem Amer. Spent several years in prison for "insulting Islam."

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kareem_Amer

He lived in Alexandria so his court case was closely covered by the local media. The trial took place in 2007, when I was living there.

I like the humorous twist he put on the traditional Islamic "There is no God but Allah." Amer stated it as - "There is no God but the Human Being."

Something not mentioned in the Wiki article, that I remember: at the trial, Amer's own father said his son should be executed if he was guilty of blasphemy.