Brody's Notes... Head Of Gay Adult Erotica Firm Critiques International Gay Rights Organisation

By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) Mar 18 | In an online Op-Ed commentary written for The Advocate, Michael Lucas, head of Lucas Entertainment, a New York City based Gay adult erotica firm, wrote that the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission needs to be doing more to stop violence against gays and lesbians in countries "oppressed by Islam."

Lucas had attended the IGLHRC organisation's 20th anniversary celebration, dinner, and awards ceremony held at the Rosenthal Penthouse, in NYU's  Kimmel Center at 60 Washington Square South, New York City on March 15th.

Lucas, a Russian born naturalised U. S. citizen, is known for his searing opinions and outspoken advocacy for his views on politics and culture. He is a vocal opponent of drug use and an advocate for safe sex, both in the porn industry and the gay community at large, going as far as to take out full-page public service announcements in several national publications.

His opinion columns on Islam have been controversial. In an August 3, 2007 column Lucas expressed support for artist Charles Merrill's burning of a Koran, and condemned Islam for attitudes towards homosexuals. Lucas wrote "Between the Koran and the Hadith there is no question but that Mohamed, fatuously and ridiculously claiming to be speaking the thoughts and words of a Supreme Nincompoop called 'Allah,' believed that two men caught having sex with each other should be put to death."

In the Advocate piece he wrote:  

Michael Lucas Photo By Lucas Entertainment

"It was a nice event, a cocktail party at which my boyfriend and I made a donation; there were pretty views over New York from the penthouse at New York University’s Kimmel Center, white wine, and a serious, professional crowd. And the awards they gave were certainly well deserved: Barney Frank is indeed a vocal spokesman for our causes, and Colombia Diversa, Colombia’s LGBT advocacy group, did an amazing job of advancing LGBT rights in the country in record time.

However, what I heard about IGLHRC’s work left me not just unimpressed. It left me deeply disappointed.

I salute IGLHRC for its involvement in Uganda, where international pressure seems to have put a stop to a proposed law that would allow for the execution of gay people in certain circumstances. But all the rest of the talk was about work in countries where it’s actually pretty easy to advocate for LGBT rights and, while sometimes difficult, far from impossible to live as an out gay person: Mexico, Brazil, Jamaica, Belize.

Not one word about the places where the real atrocities against LGBT people take place today — the countries oppressed by Islam: for example, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq (yes, even after the “liberation”), the Palestinian territories."

Hossein Alizadeh, Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator at the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), countered Lucas' opinion by offering the viewpoint that a major component in the fight for LGBT equality to combat the orthodox Islam extremist views is Arabic Media outlets such as Al Jazeera. For example, he pointed out that Al Jazeera English regularly reports on gay issues. In recent months, its coverage included segments about the gruesome murders of close to 100 gay men by al Mahdi Shi'ite militias in Iraq in 2009, the killing of gay youths in a Tel Aviv club last summer, and India's court decision to decriminalize gay sex.

But Al Jazeera's Arabic network "is not interested in covering gay rights issues the way Al Jazeera English does," says Alizadeh. Comparing Al Jazeera Arabic with Al Jazeera English "is like comparing apples and oranges." Al Jazeera Arabic is geared towards a Middle Eastern audience and does not challenge cultural values or orthodox religion, he says.

Extremist religious viewpoints are expressed on Al Jazeera Arabic's religious talk show 'Shariah and Life.' A number of participants who regularly contribute to Al Jazeera Arabic make negative comments about homosexuality but appear on the channel again and again, he says. This includes Yousef al-Qaradawi, a prominent scholar who is on every other week. While Alizadeh says the cleric has offered some progressive views such as "discouraging government monitoring of citizen behaviour, the right of people to commit sin and the right to privacy," he also promotes anti-gay views — in line with orthodox Islam.

Alizadeh suggests that most Middle Eastern media use negative language in reports about homosexuality. For instance, media in the Middle East tend to frame it as a personal scandal if an actor is gay and claim that homosexuality is a Western conspiracy designed to undermine the social fabric of the Arab world.

According to Alizadeh, "The idea of gay pride doesn't work in the Middle East. There's an absence of language [for homosexuality], and not much organizing around political identities. If there's gay sex, it is not to be discussed. Even talking about straight sex in public is frowned upon. There are lines around morality that are clearly drawn."

The IGLHRC website page on the Middle East & North Africa states:

"IGLHRC’s work in the Middle East and North Africa currently focuses on Iran and Iraq, two countries where sexual minorities confront enormous dangers. According to the Iranian penal code, homosexual conduct is a crime punishable by death. Although the Iraqi penal code does not prohibit sexual activity between consenting same-sex adults, the chaos caused by ongoing war enables death squads to persecute gay men and lesbians. Our staff partners with activists to fight for an end to human rights violations based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression in the region.

Most of our work on Iran and Iraq has involved emergency responses to arrests and executions, such as when we joined other human rights activists in demanding a halt to the execution of Makvan Mouloodzadeh, an Iranian who was convicted of sodomy allegedly committed at age 13 and sentenced to death by the Iranian judicial system in 2007. We have also contributed to the rentals of safe houses for gay Iraqis who have been persistently persecuted by militias, and have worked with international refugee groups to help Iranian refugees in Turkey."

Lucas additionally commented in his Op-Ed that: 

"IGLHRC has staff assigned to this area, so the organization must know what goes on there, and for all I know, it has useful programs in the region. If it does, the group prefers to keep silent about it.

So why does the region which today is most cruel toward gay and lesbian people get a free pass? Is it politically incorrect to get involved where the need is most dire? Is it once again the word “Islam” that makes criticism and, indeed, humane intervention impossible? Or are we just simply too intimidated by the Islamists and their fatwas to help those of our gay brothers and sisters who are today in most danger?

I am infuriated that an organization that is actually familiar with this situation and that could at least make visible the abuse, if not stop it, chooses to keep silent. The betrayal of our brothers and sisters who are suffering under Islam is infuriating, dishonest, cowardly, and a sickness of the politically correct. IGLHRC grew out of a brave mission to the old Soviet Union in the early '90s to lobby against the Soviet sodomy law that punished consensual sex between men with five years imprisonment."

Illustrating the difficulties faced by not only the IGLHRC but Gay Muslims everywhere is a piece by ABCNews correspondent Lara Setrakian entitled; 'Forbidden, but I can't Help It-Across the Middle East, Many Struggle With the Stigma of Homosexuality'

In her piece, Ms. Setrakian reported on a Gay Saudi, whose identity has been shielded to protect him: "For Samir, a 34-year-old gay man living in Saudi Arabia, each day is a denial. He lives in Mecca, the holiest city according to Islam, and is acutely aware of the stigma that surrounds his gay lifestyle.

"I'm a Muslim. I know it's forbidden, but I can't help it," he tells ABCNews, clearly conflicted.

"I pray to God to help me be straight, just to avoid hell. But I know that I'm gay and I'm living as one, so I can't see a clear vision for the future."

Samir, like many gay men in the Arab world, guards his sexual orientation with a paranoid secrecy. To feel free he takes long vacations to Thailand, where he has a boyfriend, and spends weekends in Lebanon, which he regards as having a more gay-tolerant society.

But at home in Saudi Arabia, he is vigilant. Samir's parents don't know of his lifestyle. He says his mom would kill herself if she found out. They constantly set him up with women they consider potential wives. At work, Samir watches his words, careful not to arouse the suspicion of colleagues.

Photo Courtesy of ABCNews.com

"You can't let a word slip that makes you seem gay-friendly or gay," he says. "Before you make a move you have to think." 

Homosexuality is illegal in Saudi Arabia, but the charge calls for four witnesses to make a case. Arrests by the religious police are far more arbitrary. In a recent case they apprehended one man at a Jeddah shopping mall, suspecting he was gay from his tight jeans and fitted shirt. 

[ Michael Lucas' entire Op-Ed column can be read at the Advocate.com. ]