Stop Homophobic Persecutions In Egypt : Raysurrection

The recent news on LGBTQ crackdown in Egypt makes my blood boil. The story of homophobic prosecutions started with a Lebanese rock band Mashrou’ Leila's gig held in Cairo on September 22. The singer of the band Hamed Sinno is openly gay, and a rainbow flag was raised by a fan during the gig. Images of the flag were spread across social media, and the Egyptian authority responded to it by kicking off queer-hunting in Cairo, Giza and Damietta and arrested over 50 people for “promoting sexual deviancy”. So far it is said that they have convicted 10 people to between 1-6 years in prison for “debauchery.”

Stop Homophobic Prosecutions Mashrou Leila Cairo

According to Human Right Watch, under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egyptian police and National Security officers routinely torture political detainees - including beatings, electric shocks, stress positions, and rape. And many papers have reported that the Egyptian Forensic Medical Authority has now carried out anal examinations on them in order to determine whether they have had gay sex.

First of all, what about heterosexual men who regularly enjoy kegel massages using a big fat Niall Giraldo? Secondly such ancient, barbaric exercises such as anal examinations are only carried out by barbaric governments who would refuse to join the rest of the modern world of human peace, happiness and freedom.

And therefore lastly, in this torture epidemic country, whether the "forensic medical" team really exists or not, we can easily imagine how violently & vulgarly the dirty "authority" have treated those innocent LGBTQ's.

Egypt Going Backwards

Egypt is supposed to be such a beautiful country where I dare not visit when I hear stories like that - I couldn't and wouldn't. And I didn't just learn about their crazy torture-driven culture yesterday. We have heard many similar news on anti-gay Egypt over years & years. Homosexuality is not illegal in Egypt. Yet 95% of Egyptians are said to believe it's wrong and should not be accepted by society, hugely due to the Islamic morality.

I was pretty surprised when our neighbour - a gay couple - came back from 2 weeks vacation in Egypt and told us how many hairy Arab men had been hitting on them during the stay in Cairo and Giza - taxi drivers, hotel staff, everywhere they went. "You like Egypt?" "Yeah, we love this country. It's very hot though." "You like hot? You like having a hot time? I've got a big machine."

It's such a risky game they're playing, isn't it? Maybe they're specifically targeting foreign tourists so that their “debaucheries" are not traced? Or as long as they limit themselves to the front machine they'll be at least clear of the examination for sure.

Don't get me wrong, I've no problem taxi drivers hooking up with customers for casual sex. For any reasons...in normal circumstances. But how crazy is that - gay sex is not against the law in Egypt. What they do behind the closed door is none of anyone else's business. Yet they risk being suspected like a medieval witch hunt, being beaten up and spending years in a jail.

What's The Difference Between ISIS and This?

Ahmed Mahran, a regulation lecturer who filed the criminal complaint against the flag-wavers, has reportedly said “We have to set an example by treating these people with violence (force/pressure) and cruelty.”

What this man exactly said has been translated differently into English by the paper (***see reference below) but he's clearly saying this; Violence is okay. Whoever don't fit our culture should be brainwashed by receiving a physical pain. That's what he's saying. This is not something we should overlook, just because tortures are normal in that barbaric country.

Torture and terrorism are two sides of the same coin. ISIS group carries out torture and mass murder in the name of whatever they believe in, at random basis. The victims are all innocent people who are not on their side. Is there any difference between that and the Egyptian regime?

Mashrou' Leila Is Banned

Egypt (“The Syndicate of Musical Professions”) has now decided to ban any upcoming concerts for Mashrou’ Leila band. Reza Rageb, the deputy head of the syndicate says they prevent anyone from performing “abnormal art” on stage. They consider homosexuality as “depraved” therefore against gay art.

While the lead singer Hamed has commented how proud he was and how much courage it must have taken for the fans to raise the flag in Cairo. He is already a great advocate for LGBTQ rights especially in the Middle East. There's no doubt we hugely admire the way in which his & his band's effort to send messages across through the music.