Iranian and Gay: Interview wh Comedian Mehran Khaghani – Persianque: Iranian Magaze

Contents:

• A RD EXEMPTED A GAY MAN OM SERVG IRAN’S ARY. IT MAY HAVE ST HIM HIS LIFE
• ALIREZA FAZELI MONFARED WANTED TO LIVE AS A EE GAY MAN THE WT. HIS FAY IRAN BEHEAD HIM DAYS BEFORE HIS DREAM ME TE, SAY ACTIVISTS.
• WHO WAS ALI FAZELI MONFARED? MAN ALLEGEDLY BEHEAD BY HIS FAY FOR BEG GAY
• GAY IRANIAN MAN AD ALLEGED 'HONOR KILLG,' RIGHTS GROUP SAYS
• HORRIFIC KILLG OF YOUNG GAY MAN PUTS PLIGHT OF IRAN'S LGBT COMMUNY IN SPOTLIGHT
• GAY IRANIAN, 20, 'BEHEAD BY HIS BROTHER AND S AFTER THEY DISVERED HIS SEXUALY'
• JAGUARS STRENGTH COACH KEV MAXEN COM OUT AS GAY
• KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY
• IRANIAN AND GAY: INTERVIEW WH COMEDIAN MEHRAN KHAGHANI
• IRANIAN GAY MAN: "I COULDN'T TELL POLICE ABOUT MY RAPE"
• A RARE GLIMPSE INTO IRAN’S UNRGROUND GAY COMMUNY
• WHO WAS ALIREZA MONFARED? IRANIAN GAY MAN, 20, BEHEAD BY STEP-BROTHER AND S ALLEGED 'HONOR KILLG'

A RD EXEMPTED A GAY MAN OM SERVG IRAN’S ARY. IT MAY HAVE ST HIM HIS LIFE

From the dawn of Persian poetry the nth century all through to the twentieth century, not only was homosexualy ndoned Persian poetry, but fact homoeroticism formed almost the only amatory subject of Persian ghazals (short son-like lyrics) and the ma topic of much of Persian love poetry. In later tim, when polil and social circumstanc changed and slav were not as readily available as durg the ontier wars, boys different walks of life bee the targets of homoerotic love.

ALIREZA FAZELI MONFARED WANTED TO LIVE AS A EE GAY MAN THE WT. HIS FAY IRAN BEHEAD HIM DAYS BEFORE HIS DREAM ME TE, SAY ACTIVISTS.

Novic workg unr master craftsmen, errand boys (šāgerds) shops, and youths workg at different tras were now mostly the targets of homoerotic love poems, although ls equently qasidas than ghazals, quatras, and ocsnal piec (qetʿas). An stctive example of the variety of the subjects of homoerotic love is a number of short poems the genre of Šahrāšub by Masʿud Saʿd [d.

The ḵaṭṭ is scribed varly as green (ḵaṭṭ-e sabz), st-lored (ḵaṭṭ-e zangāri), mk-lored (ḵaṭṭ-e moš-k), buddg ḵaṭṭ (ḵaṭṭ-e now-damida), etc., but most often upled wh ḵāl (bety spot) on acunt of their homonymy. In Persian love lyrics, however, one n hardly fd the kd of homosexual relatnship that is unrstood the morn Wt; love is a one-sid and asymmetril affair. Therefore, should be characterized more properly as pedophilia, and s physil aspect as perasty, rather than scribed unr the more nebulo ncept of homosexual love.

In many poems the poet-lover scrib himself as a fatherly figure to the beloved, and ed a homosexual may take a tame to his home and re for his well-beg and tn (actg as a ‘sugar daddy’). Not only Mlim boys were the subject of homoerotic sir, but so were boys om mory groups, more particularly Zoroastrians boys (mōḡ-bača) servg taverns and Christian on (tarsā-bača), sometim belongg to nvents; for example:. The social acceptance of homoeroticism, spe of relig prohibn, was such that ʿOnṣor-al-Maʿāli Kay-Kāv, a prce of Ṭabartān, his well-known mirror for prc, monly known as Qāb-nāma, wrten as a pendium of advice for his son Gilānšāh, not only approv of male homosexualy, but suggts the bt way of practicg , even though he is by all acunts a man of piety, bound by the dictat of relign.

WHO WAS ALI FAZELI MONFARED? MAN ALLEGEDLY BEHEAD BY HIS FAY FOR BEG GAY

The lerary reflectn of homoerotic love is not nfed to Persian poetry, but clear trac of are found prose as well, even though is poetry that manifts self most. In classil poems, f to be publicly read or reced, scriptn of the physil aspects of homoeroticism seldom go beyond embracg, kissg, and neckg (b o kenār).

GAY IRANIAN MAN AD ALLEGED 'HONOR KILLG,' RIGHTS GROUP SAYS

The public acceptance of homoerotic love Persian lerature, more particularly Khorasan and Transoxiana durg the 10th-12th centuri, spe of strong relig prohibn both pre-Islamic and Islamic Persia, however, requir an explanatn. In pre-Islamic Persia the harsh punishment foreen for homosexualy attts to s existence, but there is no evince of s reflectn pre-Islamic “lerature. ” The romanc classil Persian lerature based on Parthian and Middle Persian origals such as Faḵr-al-D Gāni’s Vis o Rām, ʿAyyuqi’s Waraqa o Golšāh, ʿOnsori’s Vāmeq o ʿAḏrā, Neẓāmi’s Ḵosrow o Šir and Haft Peykar, and possibly Attar’s Ḵosrow-nāma all treat of heterosexual love wh no ht of homosexualy.

HORRIFIC KILLG OF YOUNG GAY MAN PUTS PLIGHT OF IRAN'S LGBT COMMUNY IN SPOTLIGHT

Nor n any trace of homosexual love be found the entire Šāh-nāma, which clus several romanc such as Zāl o Rudāba, Rostam o Tahma, Bižan o Maniža, and the fatuatn of Sudāba for Siāvaš. Yet New Persian poetry homoerotic love explos a surprisg manner that attts to s wi currency and clear acceptabily, particularly urt circl and among the urt poets. Different views have been exprsed as to the reasons for the exuberance of homosexual love Khorasanian poetry.

Šamisā exprs the view that homosexual love was prevalent among the Turks and was troduced by them to Persia (p.

There is a possibily that Greek loni northeastern Persia durg the Hellenistic perd had a share removg or rcg the stigma of homosexual love and makg socially acceptable, whereas southern Persia, a bastn of Zoroastrianism, and where a good al of Zoroastrian wrgs origated, the suatn was different. That emotnal ti should velop between Sufi mentors (pirs) and their young discipl the Sufi hospic (ḵānaqāhs) is only natural, given the wispread tenncy toward homoeroticism and s social acceptance on the one hand, and the excln of women om ḵānaqāhs, on the other. In spe of the transparency of homoerotic love the lyril prelus of the qasidas the 10th-12th centuri, the ghazals and robāʿis of the ʿErāqi school, notably Saʿdi and Hafez, and later the poems of the Safavid school and Indian style, as many ocsnal poems (qatáaʿāt), is surprisg that among historians of Persian lerature, om Hermann Ethé (q.

GAY IRANIAN, 20, 'BEHEAD BY HIS BROTHER AND S AFTER THEY DISVERED HIS SEXUALY'

), and ʿAbd-al-Ḥosayn Zarrkub, none has broached the issue as such and discsed the implitns of homosexual love the velopment of the motifs, imag, and metaphors Persian poetry. 1946) had been published; and his diatrib agast major figur of Persian lerature (wh the exceptn of Ferdowsi) went hand hand wh his homophobia and gave rise to vehement attacks on poets, Sufis, homosexuals, and morn advot of classil Persian poetry, cludg Moḥammad-ʿAli Fo-ḡi, ʿAli Aṣḡar Ḥekmat, Qāsem Ḡani (qq. Recently, however, Šamisā, a lerary scholar, has dited a volume to the subject: Šāhed-bāzi dar adabiyāt-e fārsi (Homosexual love Persian lerature, 2002) which he discs var aspects of the subject and which he has assiduoly brought together ample exampl om Persian poetry and prose.

The neglect of, or rather, the omissn of and silence about, the subject has been apparently due to a number of , cludg general currents of homophobia both the Wt and morn Persia, aggravated perhaps by the translatn and discsn of acunts of earlier European travelers and wrers on Persia and the Middle East, who had emphasized the strong element of homoeroticism the East. Recently, however, the growg refal of gays and lbians to accept a clanste existence and the rultant visibily of gay culture has led some wrers the Wt to pay attentn also to the wispread currency of perasty the Middle East.

THE TREND IN MODERN IRAN Morn Persian poetry belongs to a climate strongly fluenced by Wtern notns, and as a nsequence homoerotic poems have practilly disappeared.

JAGUARS STRENGTH COACH KEV MAXEN COM OUT AS GAY

It is possible, though, that wh the emergence of important gay and lbian wrers and poets and their translatn to Persian, addn to the spread of more liberal attus toward homosexualy the Wt, exemplified by the drive towards gay marriag the U.

KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY

S., morn Persian lerature would be more exprsive of homoerotic love, if not Persia self, then at least the Diaspora. The 20-year-old Iranian had hoped to pe the untry, where he felt stifled by the Iranian regime’s rtrictns on homosexualy, and had dreams of molg or beg a make-up artist, his partner Aghil Abiat told CNN. But on May 4, Fazeli-Monfared was killed, possibly after his extend fay disvered that he was gay through a ary service exemptn rd that arrived the mail, acrdg to Abiat and the Iranian LGBTQ anizatn 6Rang.

Always seethg the background, however, was buildg fay prsure and Iran’s dranian laws agast homosexualy that make same-sex relatns a potential pal offense. The most obv one is by law but there is also a lot of homophobia society pendg on where you are and which mographic you belong to … the fay n sometim be the most dangero place, ” Tara Sepehri Far, Iran rearcher at HRW.

Iran allows exemptns for gay men om s mandatory ary service unr a medil tegory for mental health disorrs. Alireza Fazeli Monfared, a 20-year old Iranian man, was behead what an Iranian human-rights group says was an "honor killg" by fay members after they learned he was gay. But Iranian human-rights activists have said is emblematic of a daily persecutn that gay people Iran face.

IRANIAN AND GAY: INTERVIEW WH COMEDIAN MEHRAN KHAGHANI

"The Internatnal Day Agast Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia' is g up on Monday (May 17), " Okan Sengun, the executive director and founr of the LGBT Asylum Project, said. Homosexualy is nsired a psychologil disease IranWhile beg gay is forbidn Iran and punishable by ath, the law allows gay men to fo ary service.

IRANIAN GAY MAN: "I COULDN'T TELL POLICE ABOUT MY RAPE"

"Homosexualy is also nsired a psychologil disease Iran, and the ary's ary board n exempt a gay man om service if they are emed homosexual after an examatn, " she add. "I thk their hate of homosexualy was so huge that they cid to kill him, " she May 4, Monfared ma the fal preparatns for his parture.

The activist hop the vios rm people of queer people's liv Iran, where punishments for beg gay range om 100 lash of the whip to, the munitns director for the Center for Human Rights Iran, said homophobia was wispread the untry. "In the days followg the killg, Okan Sengun of the LGBT Asylum Project said he received many emails om gay Iranians who were heartbroken by Monfared's ath.

A RARE GLIMPSE INTO IRAN’S UNRGROUND GAY COMMUNY

Thkg about this betiful boy —alireza fazeli monfared, an iranian 20 year old, was recently killed by his fay for beg gay. Human rights groups, activists, lawyers and policians have nmned the killg of Fazeli Wiener, a member of California's State Senate, wrote on Twter on May 10: "Another LGBTQ Iranian has been btally murred—pated by his fay—for beg a gay man. "Alireza's killg as a rult of his sexual orientatn beg stated on his ary service [exemptn] rd has once aga provid proof for our warng several years ago about the risks ed by the ary service exemptn procs for gay Iranian men and unrl the need for legislatn to prevent the safety risks, " LGBT Iranians have fled over the borr to Turkey recent years, hopg to ga asylum Europe.

A monstratn about the persecutn of gay people Iran, takg place ont of the Eiffel Tower Paris on July 28, 2007. Ali Fazeli Monfared, a 20-year-old gay Iranian man, was allegedly killed an “honor killg” by some of his male fay members after they found out he was gay, acrdg to an LGBTQ rights group Iran and Monfared, who was known as Alireza by iends and fay, lived a cy southwt Iran. He had applied for an exemptn om pulsory ary service so he uld leave the untry and move to Turkey to live wh his close iend, Aghil Bayat, acrdg to 6Rang, the Iranian Lbian and Transgenr homosexual nduct is crimalized Iran, part of the ary exemptn law allows gay and transgenr people to receive a medil exemptn om service for their inty.

WHO WAS ALIREZA MONFARED? IRANIAN GAY MAN, 20, BEHEAD BY STEP-BROTHER AND S ALLEGED 'HONOR KILLG'

”Fazeli Monfared received an exemptn rd the mail om the Islamic Revolutnary Guard Corps after disclosg his homosexualy, but one of his male relativ found and disvered he was gay, acrdg to 6Rang. “We thk that bee of his genr exprsn and his behavrs, they knew that he is homosexual, but was proof that shows he wants to leave the untry, and he is a gay man, ” Am said.

If Fazeli Monfared’s alleged killers had ught him havg sex wh a man, then they might receive lser punishments for his is one of an timated 11 untri where same-sex sexual acts are punishable by ath, acrdg to the Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn, and one of almost 70 untri where is crimalized, acrdg to Human Rights Watch, an ternatnal human rights group based New York.