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Revision history for this page on the wikienMediaWiki 1.13.3Sun, 01 Nov 2026 16:58:28 GMTSeagerPride250: New page: Homosexuality in the Arab world is a topic thus volatile that in some countries death is the penalty. nonetheless gradually and really cautiously gay Arabs are setting out of the closet wi...
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<p>New page: Homosexuality in the Arab world is a topic thus volatile that in some countries death is the penalty. nonetheless gradually and really cautiously gay Arabs are setting out of the closet wi...</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>Homosexuality in the Arab world is a topic thus volatile that in some countries death is the penalty. nonetheless gradually and really cautiously gay Arabs are setting out of the closet with increasing confidence. Spanning across 22 countries with a combined population of 323 million, the Arab world is not solely connected through its language however is also linked through various gay Arab websites, chat rooms, and blogs.<br />
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However, for gay Arab Americans, albeit they live with abundant greater personal freedoms they typically still realize themselves conflicted between their sexual, religious, ethnic/cultural and national identities. Meet Issam Khoury of Washington, DC and Ramy Eletreby of l. a. . They both are gay Arab men however each with a completely different path and background. but both men have a motivating clarity and an agreement on the crucial issues that impact them the foremost.<br />
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Issam Khoury<br />
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A refugee by birth and by war, Issam Khoury has seen and experienced a broad cross-section of the planet. both of his oldsters were born and raised in Palestine however thanks to the politics surrounding the Israeli occupation, Issam was forced to be born and raised in Kuwait till the age of 13. "I learned what it meant to differ in being in Kuwait as a result of as a non Kuwait you're always perceived different" he explains.<br />
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But when Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, Issam's family was forced to live in Cypress where Issam finished his schooling. again he felt the unspoken words and perception of being totally different in another country.<br />
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As a youth Issam began to become additional responsive to his burgeoning homosexuality. "I forever knew i was drawn to men. I knew from the days once I was living in Kuwait that to me debunks the parable that several Arabs would like to have that this doesn't exist in our a part of the world as a result of it will. when I moved to Cypress in 95' I found myself turning into sexually active and that's how I knew that this was here to stay" he reveals.<br />
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Issam later attended college within the US, first graduating from Virginia Tech, then onward to Ohio State to earn a masters degree and then forward to yankee University where he's currently earning a doctorate in cultural studies.<br />
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He admits that it wasn't till college that he began to become absolutely awake to his identity as an "outwardly gay man and not someone who engages in sex with different men" he explains. In many ways his college years helped him to adopt a holistic identity that was associated with his sexual orientation, but this was solely the first step.<br />
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He reveals that his [http://www.chatarabs.com/ chat for arabs] journey still was "very troublesome as a result of I even have no examples i don't have any James Baldwin's we don't have any Gloria Anzaldua's, we do not have any of these within the Arab community. There are gay people out there and they are out and they're proud, however they are doing not write, they are doing not represent, they need not laid the foundation for a community in the same manner that yank ethnic communities have had on varying levels."<br />
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As a result, Issam found nurturing support at intervals the African yankee community adding that he was "adopted" by many black folks and that "in the black community...I found my identity as a man of color.<br />
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I really found my identity as a gay man of color through reading E. Lynn Harris. I found it inspiring to read about men of color loving different men and color. I found my identity and what it might be to be in a relationship with another man of color and the way stunning that could be and the way celebrated that would be while not having to be ashamed of it."<br />
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In terms of his Arab identity, Issam says that he found his Arabic-self through his masters degree program at Ohio State where he studied Arab literature. He overtly admits that he had a "big aversion" to white individuals once being referred to as a "sand nigger, camel jockey, and towel head" during his college years. thus this new tutorial program gave him both affirmation and confirmation of who he extremely was, so casting away all labels and stereotypes.<br />
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"It was in my masters program that I found myself as an Arab man" he proudly states. However, the reconciliation of being Arab, Gay and Christian was still a protracted, arduous and complicated method. once popping out to his oldsters, he we have a tendency to went into the closet for 6 years.<br />
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"It took plenty of internal work on behalf of me to merge my Arabic and my gay identities. It took a lot of soul searching, it took lots of research; delving into the difficulty of Arabic and gay but it is very slow. we've lots issues of pride in Arabic community and pride is expounded to family honor and if somebody is gay then you shame family honor and therefore these problems aren't widely talked concerning but discussed in closed circles" he shares.<br />
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Because of his journey of transformation and reconciliation Issam determined to enroll in a cultural studies doctoral program because he recognized that he belonged to too several various groups to limit himself to merely one identity or concentration. "The us thrives on identity politics; it is the capital of what I call the check box on the applying because you usually have to be one thing you always have to be categorized as one thing."<br />
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Further, Issam's own diversity and his need to be told regarding the variety of others led him out of his personal check box. he is a member of a black fraternity and is currently learning to speak Spanish, all in a shot to broaden his exposure and understanding of culture and variety.<br />
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Ramy Eletreby<br />
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Born and raised in sunny Southern California behind the conservative and affluent curtain of Orange County, Ramy Eletreby, who is of Egyptian descent, grew up the youngest of 3 youngsters. whereas each of his parents were born and raised in Egypt, Ramy's perspective includes a distinct yank flair. He says that he was raised "conservative and Muslim" and that his upbringing has helped shaped him to where he is today.<br />
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Ramy's gay awakening actually began round the age of 15. He remembers attending a play in la that targeted around boxing. during a locker area scene, one in all the boxers truly showered on stage. it absolutely was Ramy's first time seeing a naked man.<br />
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"I was flustered and blushing and every one that stuff and i just knew that if I had a reaction like that it should mean something. I never had such a powerful reaction of anybody like that. I could not avert my eyes however deep down I knew I mustn't be enjoying it."<br />
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Interestingly enough, Ramy did not act out sexually on his urges. Instead he went through a private journey seeking to reconcile his sexuality with his Muslim beliefs. "I went through plenty of self exploration, lots questions, and plenty of confusion" he explains.<br />
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Similar to the trail of many alternative gays, Ramy eventually mustered up enough courage to start out initiating to his friends. after an eight year period he had start to only regarding everyone in his life with the exception of his family, but that was about to change in a very public manner in the summer of 2005.<br />
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A budding actor, Ramy [http://www.chatarabs.com/ Arabic chat] decided to just accept a job at a Hollywood theater portraying a gay Arab. but sure Arab community groups acknowledged of the play and its gay content and began to protest. Meanwhile the LA Times bloodhounds sniffed out the story and surrounded down playhouse to do what eventually became a major news story about the play, its gay content, the controversy, and therefore the indisputable fact that its lead actor, Ramy was a gay man.<br />
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When the story hit, Ramy estimates it took four folks reading it before the news was promptly delivered to his oldsters. extra attention came when Advocate Magazine also did a diffusion on him. it absolutely was an especially stressful and an emotionally raw time for him, however these days he's out to everyone and living his life authentically.<br />
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And when a few years of wrestling with each his spirituality and his sexuality, Ramy has finally found the peace that he's been sorting out since he was fifteen. "I've just return to the conclusion that not everything is perfect. This faith that i was raised in isn't perfect" he explains. He adds that individuals who subscribe to a spiritual belief system must "apply however much you'll be able to apply to your life and since i know I cannot change certain facts concerning who i am....if i select to own a religion like Islam it needs to be as much as I can take of it."<br />
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Today Ramy works for a gay publication in los angeles where he says it has helped him to find his gay identity. However, he sees no back and forth competing of his multiple identities of being gay, Arab, and Muslim. "I've never allowed it to be a fight; it's simply a part of my daily reality. i am an Arab yankee who happens to be raised Muslim who considers himself for the foremost half Muslim however i am an yankee who is of Arab descent."<br />
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He adds [http://www.chatarabs.com/ Arab chat] that "your identity is who you are at any given moment. there's never each day where i am not Muslim or don't not view myself as a product of Muslims. i am able to go through each day and realize that parts of my establish are speaking up and the way I can filter those to come back to a focused stop process through any given state of affairs."<br />
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Advice to Young Gay Arabs<br />
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While Issam and Ramy were able to move higher than and beyond the conflicts of their multiple identities, there are many different young gay Arabs who are still baffled by it and struggle with it daily.<br />
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Issam gives this piece of recommendation to gay Arab youth. "You are not alone, you're not the sole gay Arab person out there. you are not the only young man or young woman who's scuffling with this. notice where the myth is; notice the actual fact and where the two separate. Do your analysis. Dispel the myths for yourself."<br />
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Ramy agrees adding that "the only person who you really need to hear is yourself. you cannot permit those that have taught you as a baby, or your folks, or relations, non secular students, siblings, friends. you cannot enable folks to create choices regarding your life and what's right concerning you without you concerned. therefore don't act outside of your best interest."</div>Thu, 08 Mar 2012 11:12:59 GMTSeagerPride250http://beta.aalf.org/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:SeagerPride250