Egypt The Queen Boat and Tahir Square
In 2001, 52 men who were arrested aboard a floating gay nightclub called the Queen Boat, which was moored on the Nile in Cairo.In the first – and final – issue of Ehna, a few pages were dedicated to remembering the 2001 incident, which became known by Egyptians as “Cairo 52.” The magazine pages recount the event, with an eyewitness account from a man who was aboard the Queen Boat.
Of the 52 accused, 29 were acquitted and 23 were convicted for with "habitual debauchery" under Law 10 of 1961 on the Combat of Prostitution, and defaming Islam. All 52 men had pleaded innocent but they were sentenced to up to five years prison with hard labor.
The trial was held in a state security court, allowing no appeal.
Back then, Dr. Essam Elarian, a spokesman for the Brotherhood, who is now the vice chairman of the FJP, expressed a common opinion.
"From my religious view, all the religious people, in Christianity, in Judaism, condemn homosexuality," he told the BBC. "It is against the whole sense in Egypt. The temper in Egypt is against homosexuality."
The event drew international intrigue, with media exclusives that revealed the men were subjected to beatings and forensic examinations to "prove their homosexuality."
One Queen Boat eyewitness told the BBC in 2002: “The police told the man to take down his trousers. They wanted to see if he was wearing typical Egyptian underwear - baggy white cotton. If he was not, they said he must be a homosexual. He failed the test.”
Tahrir Square
Last year, the country’s LGBT community had wanted to hold a demonstration in Tahrir Square to push for their rights, but canceled it, saying the country was not ready, Egypt-based news website Bikya Masr reported.
“There was a joy and openness after the first days of the revolution,” says Bedayaa’s Maha Youssef.
“Many believed that the collapse of the previous political system would open doors for them [the homosexual community] to live without stigma or discrimination.
“But now the majority of LGBTQI community members believes that the rise of Islamist political parties - particularly the Muslim Brotherhood’s FJP and the Salafi al-Noor Party - could further marginalize the Queer community and cause the issue of gay rights to once again fall completely off the political agenda.”
Ehna’s pages also covered the Egyptian revolution, citing the LGBTIQ’s own revolutionary resolve – to stand out from the crowd and gain societal rights.
The magazine’s launch was hailed by gay rights groups as another Middle Eastern support framework for homosexuals. It followed a Morocco-based online and print publication, called Mithli (meaning “homo” in Arabic), established in April 2010 and created by Moroccan LGBT group Kifkif.
Kifkif states that it did not apply for a government license from the Ministry of Communication, “as one is supposed to do to release any public magazine,” a statement from the group says.
“Only 200 copies of the first edition were released in April (2010) to a number of interested people and advocates for freedom of intellectual, ideological and sexual choices,” says staff member Karim S., not disclosing his full name.
In May, Kifkif had published its 14th issue of Mithli, which included news from the Algerian LGBT group Abu Nawas.
But with Ehna’s incapability to make it to its second online issue, doubts remain over whether the magazine’s creators can tackle possible governmental obstructions to become at the forefront of the homosexual community’s plight in Egypt, let alone the wider Arab region.
“Nevertheless,” says Youssef, “we always think that there is a glimmer of hope; that the future will be better than the past.”
(Rana Khoury contributed to this report)
english.alarabiya.net
“There was a joy and openness after the first days of the revolution,” says Bedayaa’s Maha Youssef.
“Many believed that the collapse of the previous political system would open doors for them [the homosexual community] to live without stigma or discrimination.
“But now the majority of LGBTQI community members believes that the rise of Islamist political parties - particularly the Muslim Brotherhood’s FJP and the Salafi al-Noor Party - could further marginalize the Queer community and cause the issue of gay rights to once again fall completely off the political agenda.”
Ehna’s pages also covered the Egyptian revolution, citing the LGBTIQ’s own revolutionary resolve – to stand out from the crowd and gain societal rights.
The magazine’s launch was hailed by gay rights groups as another Middle Eastern support framework for homosexuals. It followed a Morocco-based online and print publication, called Mithli (meaning “homo” in Arabic), established in April 2010 and created by Moroccan LGBT group Kifkif.
Kifkif states that it did not apply for a government license from the Ministry of Communication, “as one is supposed to do to release any public magazine,” a statement from the group says.
“Only 200 copies of the first edition were released in April (2010) to a number of interested people and advocates for freedom of intellectual, ideological and sexual choices,” says staff member Karim S., not disclosing his full name.
In May, Kifkif had published its 14th issue of Mithli, which included news from the Algerian LGBT group Abu Nawas.
But with Ehna’s incapability to make it to its second online issue, doubts remain over whether the magazine’s creators can tackle possible governmental obstructions to become at the forefront of the homosexual community’s plight in Egypt, let alone the wider Arab region.
“Nevertheless,” says Youssef, “we always think that there is a glimmer of hope; that the future will be better than the past.”
(Rana Khoury contributed to this report)
english.alarabiya.net
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