Gays are being
targeted--and killed--by roving Iraqi militias,
charges Peter Tatchell, president of the British gay
rights group OutRage! Tatchell contends that
Taliban-style fundamentalist militias are in control
throughout Iraq, including parts of Baghdad, and that these
groups are executing Iraqis for listening to Western pop
music, wearing jeans, drinking alcohol, or
participating in homosexual activities.
Tatchell
describes Iraq as sliding into a theocracy similar to
Iran's, where militant fundamentalists enforce morals
on the entire populace.
"Under Saddam
Hussein, discreet homosexuality was usually
tolerated," writes Tatchell. "Since his overthrow, the
violent persecution of gay people is commonplace. It
is actively encouraged by Iraq's leading cleric, the
British- and U.S.-backed Grant Ayatollah Ali
al-Sistani."
According to
Tatchell, al-Sistani at one time ordered a death fatwa that
called for the execution of gay Iraqis. (The
Advocate)