“It is a constant onslaught, and it is killing me,” Majid al-Qatari, wrote in Doha News last week. “It is very jarring living here, it is traumatizing to see that you are the cause of your parents’ anguish, that you are shaming your family.”
Al-Qatari – not his real name – was writing about his experience of being gay in Qatar, a country where homosexuality is illegal. In the moving short essay, he describes living in the shadows, rejected by society and losing hope for a meaningful future.
Now his story has garnered more than 6,000 shares – and it’s prompted a significant backlash. Many in Qatar have attacked the article and its author on Twitter, arguing that gay relationships are illegal and not socially accepted in the country.
موقع #دوحة_نيوز يجب ان يتم استدعاء مسوؤله واخطاره بالقانون واحترام البلد وتطبيق قانون الجرائم الالكترونية عليه
— جاسم سلمان (@jassimsalman) 6 August 2016
#نطالب_بالتحقيق_مع_دوحة_نيوز
#DohaNews and its representatives should be called up to be informed about the law and the importance of respecting the country, as well as being referred to the law on internet crimes.
Extramarital sex is illegal in Qatar and gay sex between men can mean a prison sentence of between one and three years. Twitter critics also concentrated on the idea that an LGBT voice was the result of a foreign influence into Qatari politics and culture.
مب اول مرة ترى كذبوا وايد على هل قطر وفوق هاي تعليقات عنصرية ضدنا يطفح بها هالموقع من بعض الاجانب هني
— راشد الكواري (@Rashid_Alkuwari) 6 August 2016
#نطالب_بالتحقيق_مع_دوحة_نيوز
This is not their first time. They’ve said many lies about the people of Qatar and the website contains many racist comments from foreigners living here.
#دوحة_نيوز يديرانها في #قطر هنود من جنسية بريطانية ونشروا مقال لشاذ قطري ينافي تعاليم ديننا ومجتمعنا…
— حسن حمود (@BoHomoud007) 5 August 2016
لذلك #نطالب_بالتحقيق_مع_دوحة_نيوز
#Doha_News is run in #Qatar by Indians that hold British citizenship. They published an article from a Qatari gay that’s against the commands of our religion and society #WeDemandInvestigatingDohaNews
Majid bemoaned some Qataris’ hateful responses to the Orlando shooting, and said regressive attitudes to homosexuality were rampant in his patriarchal, testosterone driven society. “There are also people who say homosexuality is a Western invention and influence,” he added. “But this isn’t a creeping, loosening of our values – homosexuality has always been there.”
Not everyone was opposed to the article, however.
هذا مثلي قطري كتب مقال عن حياة المثليين بقطر، طبعا زعلانين منه لأنه "يشوه صورة قطر" وبنفس الوقت يثبتون انهم هوموفوبز pic.twitter.com/2XoXe0CfFc
— Anon (@dontcarebut) 6 August 2016
Here’s a Qatari gay who wrote an article about the life of gays in Qatar. People are upset with him because he “distorts the image of Qatar”, but at the same time they are proving they are homophobic.
The backlash prompted Doha News to post an explanation on their site. “Doha News is aware that any extra-marital affairs in Qatar are illegal, and we do not advocate breaking the law. It seems that many people are upset about this post because it shares a view they do not agree with,” it said.
“Please understand that our intention is simply to foster communication, and the opinion piece is the view of one person who wanted to share what it’s like to be gay in Qatar.”
For people who, like Majid, are struggling with a sexuality that’s deemed unacceptable to mainstream society, the response will be a discouraging reminder of the daily oppression they still face.
“We don’t want to cause public dissent, we don’t want to cause more damage, hurt or pain, but I feel like my country hates me,” the author wrote in the original article. “I am in constant turmoil and anguish – how do I reconcile who I am with my faith that says I shouldn’t exist? I have been so fearful in writing this, but I have had enough.”
BS
