On a new wave of gay-killings in Iraq

There are few words to describe the horror of this article from The Guardian, which describes anti-homosexuality violence in Islamic Iraq. A group of Islamist just-short-of-terrorists are actively seeking out, torturing and murdering gays for, of course, “befouling Islam”. You know, that religion of peace and love and all that.

Sitting on the floor, wearing traditional Islamic clothes and holding an old notebook, Abu Hamizi, 22, spends at least six hours a day searching internet chatrooms linked to gay websites. He is not looking for new friends, but for victims.

"It is the easiest way to find those people who are destroying Islam and who want to dirty the reputation we took centuries to build up," he said. When he finds them, Hamizi arranges for them to be attacked and sometimes killed.

Hamizi, a computer science graduate, is at the cutting edge of a new wave of violence against gay men in Iraq. Made up of hardline extremists, Hamizi's group and others like it are believed to be responsible for the deaths of more than 130 gay Iraqi men since the beginning of the year alone.

The deputy leader of the group, which is based in Baghdad, explained its campaign using a stream of homophobic invective. "Animals deserve more pity than the dirty people who practise such sexual depraved acts," he told the Observer. "We make sure they know why they are being held and give them the chance to ask God's forgiveness before they are killed."

How merciful of you.

I can’t think of much to say that I haven’t already been repeated ad nauseum about my feelings of horror, disgust and hatred for these indescribably vile acts, and the sorts of sub-human beasts and ghouls who commit them. However, the article does raise a good point:

The violence against Iraqi gays is a key test of the government's ability to protect vulnerable minority groups after the Americans have gone.

However I may decry and oppose the presence of American forces in the Middle-East (and anywhere else other than on American soil, in general), one cannot deny that they have indeed been offering crucial protection for minorities such as homosexuals up ’til now. What will happen when forces depart, leaving gays (and other hated groups) defenseless in the hands of these monsters … is not a thought I like to entertain.

(via Dispatches from the Culture Wars)
Technorati tags: terrorism · Iraq · homosexuality · cruelty · Abu Hamizi