New LGBTQ focus on Middle East, North Africa

Colin Stewart is a 45-year journalism veteran living in Southern…

Since its launch in 2010, online publisher Muftah has collected a wealth of editors, staff writers, “gurus,” and advisors to provide English-speaking audiences with insightful analysis of LGBTQ sexuality and gender variance issues in Middle East and North African (MENA) countries from its own perspective.

They have just launched a new, special collection that you will want to access at this link: LGBTQ Sexualities in the Middle East and North Africa.

“This Special Collection seeks to broaden popular, simplistic discourses about sexuality in the MENA region. It includes analyses of lesbian-identified movements in Algeria, trans* legal developments in Lebanon, a closer look at Islamic teachings on homosexuality, and the deployment of homophobic discourse to terrorize and stigmatize anti-government activists and refugees. “LGBTQ Sexualities in the Middle East and North Africa” will be a living, regularly updated collection.” says the Muftah website.

The complete list of the 9 articles in the Special Collection:

Open letter: S. Africa must demand human rights in Uganda and Ghana, not just in Gaza

What’s Missing from the ‘LGBT’ Discussion in Egypt? by Sandra Fernandez & Layla Aziz
Gay & Lesbian Mobilization in Algeria: the Emergence of a Movement, by Sarah Jean-Jacques
“Too Gay To Represent #Bahrain”: Homophobia & Nationalism in the Wake of a Revolution, by Erin Kilbride
The U.S. Media’s Damaging Assumptions about LGBT-Issues in the Middle East, by Dominic Bocci
Sexualizing & Villainizing Male Syrian Refugees in Lebanon, by Adriana A. Qubaia & Mathew Gagné
Lebanon Just Did a Whole Lot More Than Legalize Being Gay, by Erin Kilbride
Being Transgender in Kuwait: My Biggest Fear Is a Flat Tire,by Belkis Wille
Media & the LGBT Community In Iran, by Amin Mirsaeidi-Farahani
LGBTQ Rights in Lebanon: an Interview with Georges Azzi, by Dominic Bocci

Muftah pledges that its Special Collection will continue to grow. They plan to publish the best and most incisive pieces on LGBTQ issues and people in the MENA region, particularly to explore gender variance and queer sexualities across the Middle East and North Africa.