Health Promo 03 (Getty) | Advocate.com
||  News  ||
 
September 26, 2008

Iraqi Gay Activist Murdered in Baghdad

A coordinator of an Iraqi LGBT advocacy group was assassinated Thursday. The 27-year-old university student, known only as Bashar, was assassinated in a barbershop in Baghdad. Militia members burst into the barbershop and "sprayed his body with bullets at point blank range," Peter Tatchell of the U.K gay advocacy OutRage! told the Guardian newspaper.

The student organized safe houses for gays and lesbians in Baghdad, where many seek refuge from militias that seek out and kill LGBT people. Iraqi LGBT, which Bashar led, houses about 40 gay men between the ages of 14 and 28, according to Newsweek.

A United Nations report on human rights, released in 2006, showed that while gays and lesbians are supposed to be protected by law in Iraq, LGBT residents must still live in hiding or face extreme brutality.

Scott Portman, with the human rights group Heartland Alliance, told CNN in 2006 that gays and lesbians in Iraq are often threatened because "homosexuality is sometimes interpreted by people in Iraq as being a Western import. So they can sometimes be targeted by insurgent groups or militias in part because of animosity toward the West and in part because homosexuality is not well-accepted in Iraqi society." (Michelle Garcia, The Advocate)

Reader Comments

These comments are reproduced as written by visitors to this Web site. They have not been edited for content, grammar, or spelling. The viewpoints appearing here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or views of advocate.com, The Advocate, or its affiliates.

  • Name: Kalona Ortiz
    Date posted: 2008-09-27 6:53 PM
    Hometown: Kailua, Oahy\u

    Comment:

    I have never heard of this man and as I read the news from an online group I belong to, I cry. My heart goes out to my brothers and sisters in Iraq who have to live in more than a mere closet. I now ask myself, "What am I doing for my own GLBT community? Would I die for a cause?" I pray for the family and friends of Bashar and for forgiveness to those who killed him. Aloha, Kalona Ortiz


  • Name: USEyourHEADS
    Date posted: 2008-09-27 5:01 PM
    Hometown: Bloomington, Illinois/Fairbanks, Alaska

    Comment:

    For all the Jonboys and Chris S.'s out there who continue to spread the mistaken idea that folks "need to die horiffic deaths" for various things- think about how your attitude not only perpetuates the whacko hate and violence- but how it's also the exact same attitude that the extemists who do a share of the slaughtering, have. To stop the horiffic deaths one needs to lift themselves about the thought process that allows for their acceptance. Clearly your own narrow, self-serving views on religion, Arab nations, and violent crime is just as backward as those who commit "honeor" killings, or cut heads off of reporters in public in front of a video camera in the name of "whatever". You need to grow and mature beyond it, boys- or it's always gonna be. Always. If contemporay priveleged level-headed Americans in 2008 can think like you do- is it any wonder how someone in a dark, ultra-religious, primative, Arab nation with completely out of kelter ideals and beliefs can think it also?


  • Name: Terry Floyd Johnson
    Date posted: 2008-09-27 1:59 PM
    Hometown: Long Beach

    Comment:

    Bashar was truly a man of the world, and the Universe. He is a true humanitarian, who lived and died by his beliefs. Now about the precedent uttered by the head cleric over there; I am a minister- a spiritual guide- and you my friend are not. Your mouth drips hate and that isn't spirituality, but personal vendetta. As a minister, and a spiritual guide, I know make a spiritual codex and say that any religion or person of that religion who practices hate, shall merit the blessings of the truly peaceful and loving- to help transform them from a bastion of hate, to a river of love and gentleness. Anyone who holds hate in their heart as the supreme belief needs blessings to undo their blindness and heal to peace, love and tranquility. It is hard for a congregation or a religion to say it wants love and peace, when hate is what they utter. Let's hope all spiritual people will give blessings to those who hate, to help not only transform them, but transform the world.


  • Name: CHRIS SULLIVAN
    Date posted: 2008-09-26 2:44 PM
    Hometown: Chicago, IL

    Comment:

    "USEyourHEAD" - let me put this so that even a "dude" can understand it. These people premediitatively murdered an innocent man helping other people who live in a constant state of fear and often tortured/killed by their own families/government. People who have the GAUL to attempt to justify these acts in "the name of God". My expression "If there is a "God"... " is a way of using their own "logic" against them... they "use God" to justfy their behavior - my remark was to point out that others can do the same. Wishing they died "truly horrific deaths" - (what they did to this innocent man) is consistent with my personal sense of balance. YOU may not like it - and you know what "dude" - that's your rite - but I don't have to justify my point to anyone. I stand by my statement completely. As far as "putting down a drink" - that only reveals your own naive thought process.


  • Name: Jason
    Date posted: 2008-09-26 1:55 AM
    Hometown: Columbus, IN

    Comment:

    THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE. LET US KNOW WHERE TO APPLY THE PRESSURE TO STOP THIS SORT OF THING AND WE WILL! TOO MUCH IS SAID EXPLAINING THE INCIDENT AND TOO LITTLE ABOUT WHAT WE CAN DO TO STOP IT FROM HAPPENING AGAIN! GENTLEMEN... START YOUR ENGINES! WRITE YOUR LOCAL ELECTED OFFICIALS... LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD!


  • Name: Jonboy
    Date posted: 2008-09-25 11:00 PM
    Hometown: Winner, SD

    Comment:

    Sadly, our own government which preaches the philosophy of equal treatment has surely fallen short. Our own military either through orders or apathy ignore the plights of the gay Iraqi. For all the good and high bar our country levels on this planet, it behooves its citizen to make it better. "Bashar" of Iraq did demonstrate courage in the face of such hate and torment of Iraq's gay citizen. I pray his death was so quick he did not know what happened. Regarding the comment from 'UseyourHead' I fail to understand what he means. I agree with Chris, that these murderers, who not only kill 'gays' but any person in Iraq who doesn't fall into their line of thinking should die a horrific death. And I might add one of pain of which they deserve. I am generally against the death penalty, but for these creaps of humanity; they deserve to be eliminated.


  • Name: Tom
    Date posted: 2008-09-25 9:20 PM
    Hometown: SF Bay Area

    Comment:

    Our community has lost a true hero. I wonder how many of us would have the courage to do what this man did? He is truly deserving of our thanks.


  • Name: USEyourHEAD
    Date posted: 2008-09-25 6:29 PM
    Hometown: Bloomington, Illinois/Fairbanks, Alaska

    Comment:

    RE: Chris Sullivan- Dude, re-read your words and THINK. You have absolutely NO IDEA of the ridiculousness of that statement, do you? You post here A LOT- you'd be wise to implement the practice of putting the bottle down at least an hour or two each time before posting!


  • Name: Chris Sullivan
    Date posted: 2008-09-25 6:01 PM
    Hometown: Chicago, IL

    Comment:

    If there is a "God", I can only hope that the people responsible for this man's murder die truly horrific deaths.


Back to top

Submit a comment for this story:

*Type your comment here (Required, 1000 characters max.):

*Name (Required): 

*Hometown (Required): 

*E-mail address: (Required, but will not be displayed)

Is this comment for publication? 
Yes   No

Daytime phone number: (Required for print publication only and will not be displayed)

Please enter the words you see in the box, in order and separated by a space. Doing so helps prevent automated programs from abusing this service.

  

If you would like to submit a comment for posting, please fill out the form above. 

All comments submitted via this form are subject to posting or publication. (To send a private letter to an Advocate editor or writer, please use the e-mail button at the top of the page, or use snail mail.) If you would like your comment considered for publication in The Advocate magazine, please include your full name, your city of residence, and a phone number where you can be reached during business hours so that we can confirm your identity. Your e-mail address and telephone number are strictly confidential and will not be shared or used for any purpose other than to contact you about your comment.

See the Contact page for sending comments for reasons other than responding to Advocate editorial and news stories.

Please note that comments sent by fax or snail mail are unlikely to be posted, although they will be considered for publication along with all letters received via e-mail or via this Web page. Comments that chiefly concern Advocate.com content will be considered for posting only on the Web site. The Advocate reserves the right to edit submitted comments for grammar, spelling, obscenities, or libel; we will, however, do our best to preserve the original comment's style and intent. Comments considered for publication in The Advocate magazine may also be edited for length.

More Exclusives
  • Letter From the Editor
    We’d like to unveil a big change: after nearly four decades as a biweekly magazine, we’re going monthly.
  • Parental Control
    San Francisco State researcher Caitlin Ryan explains the importance behind a study linking suicide and drug use among gay children to parental rejection.
  • Austerity Chic
    How novelist and performance artist Mike Albo gets by in lean times.
  • Hoping to "Wu" Michelle
    Dressing Michelle Obama in November was a game changer for designer Jason Wu. Now he has his sights set on the future first lady’s most high-profile event: Inauguration Day.
  • Boi From Troy Signs Off
    After five years of raising eyebrows on the Web, Boi From Troy blogger -- and gay Republican -- Scott Schmidt is signing off.
  • A Desert Journey
    The Mii Amo spa in Sedona, Ariz., is famous for packages designed to lead people through a spiritual as well as physical transformation. One writer relinquishes herself to the journey and recounts her days in one of the world's most beautiful destination resorts.
  • A List: Chris Evans
    Chris Evans is a serious actor but that doesn’t mean he wants you to stop objectifying him.
  • Great American Couple
    In an exclusive excerpt from his new book, Hollywood Bohemians: Transgressive Sexuality and the Selling of the Movieland Dream, Brett L. Abrams explores the relationship between Cary Grant and Randolph Scott, who led homosexual lives right under everyone's nose.
  • Mormons Gone Wild
    After one man undresses missionaries for his calendar, LDS Church–owned Brigham Young University strips him of his degree.
  • Constructive Impatience
    Stung by the Warren decision, GLAAD's former executive director Joan Garry offers the Obama transition team some sage advice.
  • Boxer Goes Trans for Eli Stone
    Often perceived as male by confused casting agents, boxer-body builder turned actor Dallas Malloy felt a deep connection to the trans minister she plays on Eli Stone.
  • Mamma Mia! Rises Again
    Meryl Streep and company managed to top Harry Potter and Titanic at the U.K. box office, and now Mamma Mia! is poised to break similar records on DVD. Director Phyllida Lloyd talked to Advocate.com about bringing one of the biggest musicals of all time to the big screen.
  • The Other White Meat
    As one of the subjects of the documentary about the drag pageant circuit, Pageant, opening in select theaters, and one of the contestants on RuPaul's Drag Race, premiering next month on Logo, Victoria "Porkchop" Parker may not look or act like your typical female impersonator, but make no mistake, she is one of the best.
  • The Religious Defense
    In an excerpt from her new book, Bulletproof Faith: A Spiritual Survival Guide for Gay and Lesbian Christians, author Candace Chellew-Hodge incorporates the wisdom of Xena: Warrior Princess to illustrate her theories as to how gay and lesbian people of faith can protect themselves from those who attack their views.
  • Photo Finish
    Did Prop. 8 backlash cause art censorship -- or its reversal -- at Brigham Young University? Could be, as BYU photography student J. Michael Wiltbank found when his contribution to a two-week-long art exhibition -- eight pairs of benign portraits, each depicting an LGBT-identified BYU student alongside a supportive friend -- had been removed.
  • The Divine Miss M.
    Since the death of performer Wayland Flowers in 1988, his over-the-top puppet creation Madame has been seen only sporadically. But with the launch of her new casino tour, Madame is back.
  • Whither NLGJA?
    The leading professional organization for LGBT journalists is facing a crisis that threatens its very survival. In a changing media landscape and a tough economy, how does a small nonprofit live up to its mission and retain members?
  • The Road to Equality
    Barbara Boxer, the U.S. senator from California, understands why her gay constituents are furious over Rick Warren's role in the inauguration -- it feels like Proposition 8 redux.