Was Oman's Late Sultan the 'Only Gay Monarch' the World and Why Do People Care? | Al Bawaba

Contents:

• WAS OMAN'S LATE SULTAN THE 'ONLY GAY MONARCH' THE WORLD AND WHY DO PEOPLE CARE?
• WAS OMAN’S LATE SULTAN THE ‘ONLY GAY MONARCH’ THE WORLD AND WHY DO PEOPLE CARE?
• DISVER THE 5 MOST GAY-IENDLY ARAB UNTRI
• TWO GAY ROYALS
• IN INDIA, A GAY PRCE’S COMG OUT EARNS ACLAS, AND ENEMI
• FIRST OPENLY GAY PRCE SPEAKS OUT ON MISSN TO END CONVERSN THERAPY: 'I HAVE TO KEEP FIGHTG'
• MAGIC OF OMAN GAY CULTURAL TOUR
• JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU

WAS OMAN'S LATE SULTAN THE 'ONLY GAY MONARCH' THE WORLD AND WHY DO PEOPLE CARE?

He died unmarried, whout an heir and, spe long-standg mours that he was gay, homosexualy Oman remas illegal and n be punished wh a jail sentence of up to 3yrs.

WAS OMAN’S LATE SULTAN THE ‘ONLY GAY MONARCH’ THE WORLD AND WHY DO PEOPLE CARE?

He was gay and had no children... Over the last 40 years, mors claimed that the Sultan was leadg an openly gay life, whout g out publicly. ) the only gay monarch the world.

Even though many onle mentators scribe the Omani Sultan's sexual inty as an 'open secret', homosexualy remas illegal the nservative gulf Sultanate and is punishable by law. Are you gay?

DISVER THE 5 MOST GAY-IENDLY ARAB UNTRI

Unr Sultan Qaboos, gay people went straight to jail (ironilly ahem). Some activists argued that the Sultan's sexualy should have phed him to e out publicly, as his wealth and polil power uld have helped efforts to crimalize homosexual relatnships the Middle East. Even though many onle mentators scribe the Omani Sultan’s sexual inty as an ‘open secret’, homosexualy remas illegal the nservative gulf Sultanate and is punishable by law.

TWO GAY ROYALS

A nservative school board southern California reversed urse and approved a social studi curriculum that referenc gay rights activist Harvey Milk, after Gov.

IN INDIA, A GAY PRCE’S COMG OUT EARNS ACLAS, AND ENEMI

The 1975 ontman Matty Healy’s recent appearance at a ftival Kuala Lumpur – where he cricised Malaysia’s homophobic laws and kissed a male ….

He told a Gujarati daily newspaper about his sexualy 2006, makg him the first openly gay morn monarch the world — but then his fay quickly disowned him. Style was at the fore of the Prce’s life and he later published two books about fashn and terr sign: The Power Look 1978 and a follow-up, The Power Look at Home: Deratg for Men, Fürstenberg had a well-known fondns for gay nightlife. Is the Sultan of Oman gay?

Through a haze of shisha smoke and somewhat stiflg sexual stigma, the Arab world unveils an unexpected realm of possibili for trepid gay travellers. If you n five the state-approved homophobia and are willg to act wh discretn while out and about, the Arab untri n reem themselv a thoand and one different ways, om the ancient centre of Petra to the glterg ephets of Bahra and to the serts beyond. While by and large closeted kgdoms, the handful of gay clubs the progrsive cy of Beit n allow you to be your te self, while the luxury ternatnal hotels across the regn n ensure your privacy is rpected.

FIRST OPENLY GAY PRCE SPEAKS OUT ON MISSN TO END CONVERSN THERAPY: 'I HAVE TO KEEP FIGHTG'

Jo as we track the 5 most gay-iendly Arab untri. Wh so much do see and do, Mt is bt seen by tour b, allowg you to hop off at untls mms, the Sultan’s Palace and the Mutrah Corniche wateront, before venturg further afield on day trips to the beach and turtle-filled lagoons for divg and of the slightly more tolerant untri the regn, Oman is said to have once had s own gay sultan – Sultan Qaboos b Said al Said – although the state prs is quick to ny this as a pric mour! Neverthels, the unofficial gossip is that the former sultan leads a lavish gay liftyle wh his palace, divorced om his wife and enjoyg the ocsnal English lover.

Much the way of the Sultan, gay life here is to be led unrground, due to the heavy penalti for homosexualy. In realy, the laws are rarely upheld except high-profile s, however, and gay Oman remas a perfectly safe place to | Photo: Katera KerdiPetra, particular, is the crowng glory of Jordan, protected wh sandstone cliffs and offerg an unrivalled llectn of monuments, cludg the fg Siq to the Treasury on an ethereal sert se of red rock and dun known as Wadi Rum2. Now you, avid explorer of gay Arab worlds, get to see the antiqui all their majty, movg om Roman Amphheatre to Csar stle wh a samplg of early Christian art along the way.

Jordan crimalised homophobia as early as 1951 and while there remas social stigma and ‘public moraly’ laws that hr LGBTQ+ eedoms, gay Jordan gas tractn thanks to s unrground gay muny (most active on Grdr! ) and annual events such as the Internatnal Day Agast Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. Gay Bahra legalised homosexualy 1976 though this means ltle as an LGBTQ crackdown is still force targetg those that supposedly vlate “public cency”, as Jordan.

MAGIC OF OMAN GAY CULTURAL TOUR

Tunisian society is viewed posively among the Arab gay muny for s LGBT progrs, as the base for anisatns such as ‘Mawjoud’ which mpaigns for LGBTQ mory rights.

On paper, Tunisian law still stat that homosexualy is illegal, yet wh an openly-gay printial ndidate recently nng and ongog activism, ’s lookg more and more likely crimalisatn will e.

JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU

In a strange twist, one gay marriage beme legally regnised Tunisia and though that don’t say much for society as a whole, ’s a small w for gay Tunisia. A clear wner for s LGBTQ eedoms, Lebanon is also hard to beat for s lively gay scene and diversy of spir.

Avoid the occurrenc and Lebanon will she, thanks to s fantastic beach rorts not far om the pal as well as s mounta vistas, ancient s and more, all urteoly attend by kdly Lebane social stigma rgs te and the ft array of Arabian gays is likely to be found onle (hello Grdr, my old iend) gay Lebanon is perhaps one of the few Arab natns where a tentative gay scene tak shape real life. As well as hostg the regn’s largt gay club, POSH, where gay Arabs and ternatnals n fally dance together whout fear of persecutn, gay Beit also hosts annual queer events such as the Internatnal Day Agast Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia and Beit Pri. Homosexualy the Sultanate of Oman is illegal acrdg to Paragrpah 32 of the penal and n be punished wh a jail sentence of up to 3 years.