Continental promo
||  News  ||
 
November 04, 2008

Jordan Criminalizes Four LGBT People

Four gay men, some of them transvestites, were arrested on October 23 in a park of the Jordanian capital city of Amman, the gay French magazine Têtu recently reported.

The military governor of Amman, Saad Manasir is waging a campaign against the LGBT community, according to the magazine. On several occasions he has expressed his desire to put an end to the “propagation of depravation” by using tactics of repression.

According to Al-Ghad, a daily Jordanian paper that keeps strong ties with the monarchic power, the four men had been placed in solitary confinement in order to avoid the “spread of contagious sexual diseases” within its penitentiary institution. Al-Ghad also suggests that the four be submitted to a psychiatric exam in order to find out what might have caused their “sexual anomaly.” The paper supports the repression campaign until “morale” is reestablished.

Homosexuality has been legal in the Jordanian kingdom since 1951, but the mainly Muslim population usually shows virulent opposition against it. No civil rights legislation exists to protect LGBTs in the country, and the local LGBT associations are weak when they even exist. (Thibault Chareton, 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: Kaz
    Date posted: 2008-11-04 7:13 PM
    Hometown: Jordan

    Comment:

    I'm from Jordan and this is a bit surprising. Though many people are homophobes in my country, I don't see many people making such decelerations....How sad


  • Name: Jim Guinnessey
    Date posted: 2008-11-04 11:54 AM
    Hometown: West Palm Beach

    Comment:

    Jordan's Saad Manisir like many other Moslem officials and self-appointed mullahs are proponents of a warped and arcane Quranic sharia. Picking on LGBT persons is just a front to hide the real problems of most of these Moslem anti-western countries-they are failed states looking to blame anyone or anything Western for their own corruption. As for depravity what could be more depraved than jihadist Moslem parents turning their kids into suicide bombers and then receiving cash for their deranged efforts? Islam is no stranger to hypocrisy.


Back to top

Submit a comment for this story:

*Type your comment here (Required, 1000 characters max. HTML formatting and hyperlinks are NOT permitted.):

*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
  • View From the Hill: The End of DADT?
    Defense Secretary Robert Gates revealed that lawyers are exploring ways to ease enforcement of the military's gay ban, but cautioned that the law doesn't leave much wiggle room. He need look no further than DOD history for a lesson in altering the policy.
  • Hot Sheet: Week of July 5
    When you get back from that big 4th of July barbecue, unwind with Sacha Baron Cohen's Bruno and your favorite B-movie-mocking, basic cable robots.
  • Hungry Like the Wolf
    A master of viola, ukulele, piano, and harp, Patrick Wolf is a music prodigy -- one who, the night before this interview, spit on a cop and got himself arrested.
  • Soapside: Advocate's Guide to Daytime
    Forbes March talks about playing gay, Otalia fans outraged, update on One Life to Live’s Patricia Maurceri’s firing over gay plot point, Phillip Chancellor III big reveal, and Erica Kane goes to Africa.
  • The Faces of Federal Prop. 8
    With the federal challenge to Prop. 8 moving full speed ahead, Advocate.com sits down with the two couples named as plaintiffs in the suit.
  • Mommy, the Gays Are Coming
    After a year of advancements and celebration for gay and lesbian Colombians, the community takes to the streets of Bogota for the country's biggest pride ever.
  • The Pride of Antwerp
    Advocate.com hits the gay-friendly streets of Antwerp with openly gay police commissioner Serge Muyters.
  • Excerpt: Mean Little Deaf Queer
    In an excerpt from her humorous and harrowing new memoir, Mean Little Deaf Queer, Terry Galloway recalls her early childhood, describing feelings of ugliness, confusion about gender, and being one of the boys.
  • Top Political Blogs
    From Joe.My.God to The Daily Beast, Advocate.com spotlights a few of the best blogs that cover politics, inside and way outside the Beltway.
  • The Diva of French Television
    A hot young screenwriter who has made gay OK for millions of French viewers, Nicolas Mercier sips champagne, dons a feathered hat, and says he wants to see Colin Farrell and Jude Law go at it.