In the wake of the recent London bombings, the Western world has been propelled into another vicious cycle of revenge against Muslims and the Islamic world. While mainstream media around the world have more accurately represented the outpouring of condemnation by Muslim organisations and institutions against the attacks in London, the gay and lesbian media in the United States has unfortunately succumbed once again to the false belief that Islam condones acts of violence including suicide bombings, executions of civilians and even the killing of homosexuals.
Started in 1997 by Faisal Alam (top pic), the Al-Fatiha Foundation now has seven chapters in the United States (in Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, New York City, San Diego and Washington DC), and affiliate organisations in Britain, Canada and South Africa. The group is holding its 5th International Retreat for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Questioning Muslims & their Allies Sept 2 - 5, 2005, in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
While the gay and lesbian media in the United States and even the Human Rights Campaign jumped quickly to condemn the executions, government officials in Sweden and the Netherlands announced that they would halt any extraditions of gay people to Iran. OutRage!, a queer political organisation in the UK even went as far as calling for the European Union to institute trade sanctions against Iran for its on-going assault against sexual and gender minorities. While these Western organisations and governments quickly came to the judgement that Iran was displaying a brutal form of oppression, very few people took the time to research the details of the case or even consult with experts who deal with such news on a daily basis. In fact it was almost a week later that we began to read more accurate accounts of why the teens were executed from international human rights groups including Amnesty International, the Human Rights Watch and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission - all of whom have contacts in Iran and ways to confirm news of such incidents from independent sources.
While no one will ever know why these two young men were executed in Iran, what remains clear is that the hysteria surrounding the executions was enormous and only fed to the growing Islamaphobia and hatred towards Muslims and the Islamic world. The fact that the executions occurred in Iran also fed the frenzy of rumours that Iran will be the next target in the so-called "War on Terror." While it may not seem that the execution of two young men propagates the notion that Iran is part of the "axis of evil" one must only look at the lack of outrage expressed at the recent news of three men who were sentenced to be stoned to death in Nigeria for their supposed "homosexuality." Unfortunately the graphic pictures that accompanied the news from Iran only added fuel to the fire that is burning around the world in the minds of those that continue to perceive Islam as a religion of violence and terror. Furthermore, the lack of investigation into the case before a worldwide call to action was proclaimed will probably only perpetuate the cycle of violence against sexual and gender minorities in countries like Iran.
There are two lessons that should be learned from this tragic case:
1) The first is that it is imperative for Western organisations, queer and non-queer, to build connections with progressive NGOs and other groups on the ground in countries like Iran. While many feminist groups and HIV/AIDS organisations have done a tremendous job in reaching out to sister organisations around the world, queer groups in the West have done very little to help become part of the growing international queer movement. Apart from efforts of organisations like Amnesty International and its LGBT program, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, the Astraea Foundation and the Human Rights Watch in the United States, very little effort has been made to educate Western LGBT communities about the real and accurate situation faced by sexual and gender minorities abroad and how to support them in ways that will not cause further backlash. By creating a movement of solidarity, we can begin to more accurately report news and accounts of human rights abuses, while also calling upon our own communities to take action and speak out against such abuses - but only when the time is right and when it is in the best interest of those that we seek to help. Otherwise we will fail to accomplish our real objective - to help alleviate the suffering of queer people in countries like Iran. In fact our actions if not conducted properly may very well add to the targeted arrests of gay men and the subsequent torture and death that they may face, in a country such as Iran.
2) Secondly, we must begin to view our gay and lesbian liberation movement through a broader lens of social justice and human rights. While we seek to condemn the executions of gay teens in Iran, we must remember that our own country (the United States) is one of only five in the entire world that executes juvenile offenders. In fact it was only in March 2005 that the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the death penalty could not be applied to juveniles who committed crimes when they were under the age of 18. Since 2000, countries that have been known to have executed juvenile offenders include China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran, Pakistan and the United States. Thirteen of these 21 executions of young people have occurred in the United States. While other governments in the Western world continue to move toward a consensus that the death penalty is an inhumane form of punishment - no matter what the crime - the United States refuses to outlaw capital punishment. In 2004, China, Iran, the United States, and Vietnam accounted for 97 per cent of the executions recorded by Amnesty International. While activists in the United States are quick to condemn the executions of people in the Islamic world, we refuse to look at the issue of capital punishment as it applies to all people - regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The outlawing of capital punishment is not a "gay" issue - but it is a matter of social justice and human rights.
In a time when Islamaphobia flourishes in Europe and the United States, it is imperative for the gay and lesbian media to look beyond its Western "pink" glasses. We must not feed into the hysteria surrounding the so-called "war on terrorism," and the assault on law-abiding Muslims. Nor must we let our anger and outrage against regimes like those in Iran interfere with our work to strategically condemn human rights abuses against sexual and gender minorities, in consultation with individuals who's lives will be affected by our actions.
Gay and lesbian media, together with LGBT activists must work together with international human rights organisations that have great experience in dealing with news of horrific human rights abuses. Together, with building connections and supporting LGBT organisations abroad, we can continue our work to build a truly international queer movement for equality and liberation.
Faisal Alam is a queer Muslim activist of Pakistani descent. As the founder of Al-Fatiha, Faisal has represented the LGBT Muslim community at national and international conferences and forums, speaking out about the many challenges facing queer Muslims around the world. Faisal's professional work has included HIV/AIDS education and prevention, LGBT political organising, and women's reproductive rights. Faisal currently resides in Atlanta, GA where he continues his social justice work to build a world of peace, love and justice.