I don’t frequently add new blogs to my blogroll — perhaps I have become complacent with my reading list. Tonight, however, while doing some research on Islamist homophobia, I stumbled onto Direland, an extraordinary blog by political journalist Doug Ireland with a focus on GLBT issues. The level of reporting and analysis is exceptional, even compared to other excellent weblogs. The name of the blog might be misleading even though, yes, the news Doug Ireland reports and analyzes seems to require urgent attention: his blog is full of warnings others on my reading list seem to miss, but he is not shrill.

Perhaps I do not read enough GLBT-themed blogs. But, Doug Ireland does not have the myopic focus so characteristic of a, say, Andrew Sullivan, who I also follow.

Tonight’s research began with a story on 365gay.com about 11 men in Cameroon who have been imprisoned for the last seven months “on ‘suspicion’ for being gay.” I have an RSS feed from 365gay.com on my Phatic News page, and the link to that story intrigued me just enough to read about those men — even though I’ve noticed that 365gay.com does not always present stories in a professional manner. [Really, folks, if you are going to present yourselves as a news magazine, you should edit for correct spelling and grammar. Please. At least make the effort with every story.] At the end of the story are a few more links to similar stories of repressive and even brutal homophobic practices in the “developing world” (as 365gay.com calls it.) One link led to another, with links leading to others; I followed links until I ended up reading about an event I only vaguely recalled reading about earlier this year: the execution, on July 19, of two gay teenagers by the Islamo-fascist regime in Iran.

Wikinews has a synopsis of the event and controversies surrounding it. But a link from Wikinews has something I had not yet seen, photos of the teenagers which had been published shortly after the executions on the Iranian Student News Agency website:

These teenagers were 18 and 17 (or 16) at the time of execution, but had been imprisoned for fourteen months before being hanged; so, they were probably 16 and 15 at the time they were arrested for having gay sex. Initial reports of the execution only included details about their homosexual activities — activities which are prohibited by Sharia law. Iran’s barbaric statutes regarding homosexual practices (translated here, by the Persian Gay and Lesbian Organization) include punishments from flogging to death, depending on the type of activity. Even “lustful” kissing is considered punishable by up to 60 lashes. Gay frottage (the rubbing of a penis on the thighs of a lover) is not punishable by death — unless the active partner is a non-Muslim and the passive partner is Muslim; in which case, the non-Muslim is to be killed. (Repeated offenses by Muslims, however, will lead to the death penalty.) Penetration, of course, means certain death for both parties at the hands of Iranian executioners. However, because conviction requires either confession four times before a Sharia judge or the testimony of four witnesses, gay men in Iran are often sentenced to die for other charges, such as rape. Although initial reports from within Iran of the executions made no mention of any violent sexual assault, widespread global condemnation of the execution was quickly followed by the explication that these two teens had raped a 13-year-old boy at knifepoint, and some Western media picked up that nugget of information.

Subsequent investigation suggests that the “rape” was a trumped-up charge, and that the boys may have been reported to the authorities by relatives: an instance of “honor killing,” in which families purge the dishonor they believe has been brought to the family by immoral or sinful family members. The initial ISNA report, which made no mention of the rape charge, reported that “the couple acknowledged having sexual relations with each other but said they were unaware of laws against homosexuality.” In fact, another gay Iranian from Mashhad, the teens’ home, who had been to some of the same parties in the city, has reported that the teens were in fact lovers.

Here they are, handcuffed together, on their way to execution:

At some point before their trip to the noose, the teens were given 228 lashes for violations including drinking in public and theft.

The fact that they may have been lovers does not rule out the possibility that they raped a younger boy; but since their execution, other gay individuals and couples have been executed, and Iranian officials often report a rape scenario or other crime as justification for the executions. Doug Ireland at Direland discusses and links several reports since the July 19 execution of the teenagers, including a story about four young men who were hung in Bandar Abbas for “sex offenses”:

All four were accused of sex offences and theft. The daily [state-owned daily, Kayhan] quoted an unnamed Justice Ministry official as saying that the reason why young men were committing so many sex offences was that “they are not aware of the punishment for their offences under Islamic laws”. [Iran Focus]

The unnamed Justice Ministry official uses an explanation that is reminiscent of the defense given by the two teenagers in Mashhad at their own trial.

Iran’s persecution of gays has intensified recently, with the election of ultra-conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the presidency:

The lethal anti-gay pogrom in the Islamic Republic of Iran under recently-elected, arch-conservative President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (lower right) continues to send homosexuals to the gallows. In the latest hangings of gays, the semi-official, ultraconservative daily Kayhan reported on November 13 that two gay men, Mokhtar N., 24, and Ali A., 25, were publicly executed for “penetrative homosexual acts” in the Shahid Bahonar Square of the northern city of Gorgan, which has a population of some 200,000. Human Rights Watch, in denouncing these latest gay executions, said in a statement that, “These abuses have created an atmosphere of terror for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people throughout Iran.” [“SAVE US!”: Direland]

The growing terror in Iran is limiting the West’s ability to investigate reports, because not only do gay and lesbian Iranians fear speaking on the subject, but heterosexual Iranians also fear to speak out. In “Save Us!”, Doug Ireland posts an interview he recently conducted with a 27-year-old gay Iranian who is now living in exile in Turkey, having fled Iran after an informant notified authorities that he had “wed” his lover. His lover did not escape Iran but remains in prison, his fate unknown. Doug Ireland gives the heartbreaking details of Mojtaba’s young “coming out,” his eventual falling in love, his wedding, and his flight from persecution.

Another great example of Direland’s relevance: Doug Ireland’s call for progressives to dump their pet hero George Galloway:

I’ve been a lifelong opponent of American imperialism, and have written reams of articles and columns against the Anglo-American invasion and occupation of Iraq. But Galloway is not a genuine democrat, and for that reason I always thought it was a serious mistake for some sectors of the U.S. anti-war movement to have embraced Galloway as an anti-war spokesman on his recent American speaking tour. Now, this repulsive and opportunistic pandering to homophobia by Galloway and his party’s leadership as part of their electoral strategy ought to make American opponents of the war shun them. Period.

Galloway’s political party, Respect, receives half of its funding from Dr Mohammed Naseem, who is leader of the Islamic Party of Britain IPB, — “whose website claims that ‘Islam is the solution to the world’s problems. No other religion, way of life or culture can possibly succeed.’ ” — and Chairman of the Birmingham Central Mosque, “one of the largest Islamic instutions in Britain.”:

According to the Islamic Party of Britain’s website: “People afflicted with unnatural conditions like homosexuality or pedophilia (sic) need treatment, not encouragement.” The IPB’s home affairs policy would “safeguard public decency by preventing any public advocacy for homosexuality”. A violation of this law would fall under “public incitement” — meaning gay publications or broadcasts or posters would be illegal. For “public displays of lewdness witnessed by several people”, (e.g., having sex in a public park or toilet), the “death penalty” would apply (George MIchael better get ready for the gallows if the IPB takes power.) [ed. — my bold]

I.e., the man who funds half of Galloway’s political party would turn Britain into the same kind of repressive Islamist state that we see in Iran and other Islamo-fascist regimes.