I think it is good to highlight what others are facing across the world with regard to this issue. It will inform our prayers and hopefully inspire some action to assert a redemptive voice into these various situations. I find the plight of these young men in Iraq horrendous and ask that you all join me in praying for them (more after the jump.)
Gay Men Targeted In Iraq, Report Says
Militias Blamed for Scores of Killings
By Ernesto Londoño
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, August 17, 2009
BAGHDAD, Aug. 16 — Human Rights Watch will urge in a report to be released Monday that the Iraqi government do more to protect gay men, saying militiamen have killed and tortured scores in recent months as part of a social cleansing campaign.
Although the scope of the problem remains unclear, hundreds of gay men may have been killed this year in predominantly Shiite Muslim areas, the report’s authors said, basing their conclusion on interviews with gay Iraqi men, hospital officials and an unnamed United Nations official in Baghdad.
“The government has done absolutely nothing to respond,” said Scott Long, director of the gay rights program at Human Rights Watch. “So far there has been pretty much a stone wall.”
Homosexuality was tacitly accepted during the last years of Saddam Hussein’s rule, but Iraqis have long viewed it as taboo and shameful.
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Even though Saddam is gone, the torture continues for those dealing with same sex attractions. Warning: the following quote has a very disturbing description of torture against these men.
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The attacks on gay men appear to have coincided with a call by religious leaders in Sadr City and other Shiite communities to curb behavior that clerics called unnatural and unhealthy.
Sadr movement officials say they condemn homosexuality, but have denied participating in violence targeting gay men.
Please read the whole article Gay Men Targeted In Iraq, Report Says – washingtonpost.com.
Again, please be in prayer about this. The cruelty that exists across the world is astounding and not something we hear about often in the United States. Please send me updates or news tips along these lines (or any others) by using the “Contact Us” link at the top of the blog. And of course your comments are welcome.
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[...] troops there. He is going as a worship leader to minister to the Christian troops. Given the horrible climate in Iraq toward those struggling with homosexuality, I pray somehow his testimony will be a [...]