NOTE: The contemporary manual of Sharia
law, approved by the highest Islamic religious authorities in Saudi Arabia,
Egypt, Syria and Jordan, says: "The Prophet said: "Kill the one who sodomizes
and the one who lets it be done to him." (Umdat al Salik: A Classic Manual of
Islamic Sacred Law. p17.3,page 665) Why is there no mention of this in the
article???
Gay men attacked, executed in Iraq, rights group
says
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Hundreds of gay men have
been tortured and killed in Iraq in recent months, some by the nation's
security forces, Human Rights Watch said Monday.
Iraqi clerics say
homosexuality must be eradicated but warn against anti-gay violence.
"Iraq's leaders are supposed to defend all Iraqis, not abandon them to armed
agents of hate," said Scott Long, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender Rights Program at Human Rights Watch. "Turning a blind eye to
torture and murder threatens the rights and life of every Iraqi."
Four victims who spoke to CNN gave accounts of the attacks, which they say
have intensified in the past few months.
"In 2004, militias and unknown groups started to go after the gays ... but
the peak was six months ago," said Qaisar, who uses a pseudonym for fear of
reprisal. "It has become wide scale war against gays in Iraq."
Iraqi officials acknowledged that the nation's culture stigmatizes
homosexuality, but said the government does not condone such attacks.
Authorities are unable to provide homosexuals with special protection, said
government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh.
According to Human Rights Watch,
which is urging a government crackdown, attackers target people on the streets
or storm homes, where they conduct interrogations and demand names of suspected
gay men. Many end up in hospitals and morgues, the organization said, basing its
conclusion on reports from doctors.
Men have been threatened with "honor killings" by
relatives worried that their "unmanly behavior" will ruin the family's
reputation, Human Rights Watch said. 
Watch
Iraqi men discuss attacks »
Killings, kidnappings and torture of those suspected of homosexual conduct
have intensified in areas such as the Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City, the
watchdog said.
"The Shiite people started this war and especially what happened in Sadr
City," Qaisar said, adding that his sister-in-law had warned him against going
to the area.
Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi
Army militia, which is active in Sadr City, has joined in the attacks and
defends its actions as a way to stop the "feminization" of Iraqi men, the report
said.
"We have testimony that indicates that the nation's security forces are
taking part in the attacks," Long said.
The group interviewed more than 50 people who gave accounts of abuses,
beatings and stops at security checkpoints, he said.
"When the gay killings started and when they started go(ing) after them at
checkpoints ... we started to change our look," said Basim, who also used a
pseudonym.
"These killings point to the continuing and lethal failure of Iraq's
post-occupation authorities to establish the rule of law and protect their
citizens," said Rasha Moumneh, Middle East researcher for Human Rights
Watch.
A provision from the Saddam Hussein era endorses crimes committed "with
honorable motives," according to the organization.
The government spokesman said the provision was popular during the Saddam
era, but is not used today. He added that there is a push to educate police
about human rights.
Attacks against civilians, including homosexuals, are not
allowed, al-Dabbagh said.