The founder of a website, Gayegypt.com, has said in an interview with the Weekly Middle East Times that there are political motives behind a crackdown on 52 young Egyptians on trial for immorality.
Nicknamed Ali Assali, the activist built the site to coordinate support and information for the 52 men arrested aboard the Queen Boat on May 11.
In a report on the site, he said the current clampdown went back to the student riots at Al Azhar University in May 2000 against the supposedly blasphemous novel A Banquet of Seaweed. The confrontation, followed by successes by the Muslim Brotherhood in subsequent elections, scared the government.
He added that the government probably thought the Queen Boat trial would be a highly convenient distraction to public attention.
According to the activist, the Intifada and the crisis in Palestine have also influenced the strength of public feeling about sexuality.
“Most Egyptians view homosexuality as a sign of moral and even physical weakness and we receive many e-mails accusing us of being Zionists or of being funded by Israel,” he said – Albawaba.com
