Opn: Dr. Nasser 'Nas' Mohamed sought asylum the US after g out as gay. Here's what he wants people to know about Qatar | CNN

Contents:

• GAY PEOPLE LIVG UNR RADAR QATAR PREPARE WARILY FOR WORLD CUP
• GAY LIFE QATAR
• GAY DOHA TRAVEL GUI
• WHAT ’S LIKE TO BE GAY AND QATARI
• GAY MAN 'HUNTED' BY QATAR POLICE AND GANG-RAPED HOTEL ROOM AHEAD OF WORLD CUP
• DOHA - GAY LIFE - DOHA FOM
• GAY QATAR TRAVEL GUI
• OPN: DR. NASSER ‘NAS’ MOHAMED SOUGHT ASYLUM THE US AFTER G OUT AS GAY. HERE’S WHAT HE WANTS PEOPLE TO KNOW ABOUT QATAR

GAY PEOPLE LIVG UNR RADAR QATAR PREPARE WARILY FOR WORLD CUP

As the first and currently only Qatari to publicly e out as gay, Mohamed­—a doctor who has lived the U. But given homosexualy is crimalized Qatar, he is likely to rema s only member for the foreeable future.

In the months sce, Mohamed lnched the non-prof Alwan Foundatn to advance LGBTQ+ rights across the Middle East and pecially Qatar, where he says that secury operativ filtrate gay muni orr to torture and erce members to rm on others.

GAY LIFE QATAR

TIME: As a gay Qatari, do you feel that hostg the World Cup n brg change?

Is there an unrground gay scene or is that too dangero?

There are some people om really affluent fai that are gay and ’s almost public knowledge—but they’re really wealthy, affluent, and very nnected, so people jt don’t say anythg. But even the most powerful gay [person] Qatar is powerls some ways. They uld gaybash and get away wh wh no nsequenc at all.

GAY DOHA TRAVEL GUI

And if such an attack happens on a gay fan, I don’t know of the [secury] rourc to help them. Bee you uld be harmed, you n be gay bashed, you n be beaten, and people may not be able to help you. REUTERS/Fabriz Bensch/RtersBy Maya Gebeily and Andrew MillsDOHA (Rters) - A group of Arab iends livg Qatar's pal Doha met up over cktails and snacks last week, exchangg opns as they flicked through profil of gay men on datg apps Tr and Grdr.

The man his 20s leapt up om the table, leavg to meet his date iends, who met up days before the soccer World Cup kicks off Qatar on Sunday, are part of a Doha gay scene that's managg to fly unr the radar a natn where same-sex relatns are illegal and punishable by up to three years of jail-time.

We go to the beach, " said another gay man, om the Wt, who has lived the wealthy untry for over a .

WHAT ’S LIKE TO BE GAY AND QATARI

"Polil Cartoons on World Lears Rters spoke to four gay men Doha - the Wterner, two Qataris pl an Arab om elsewhere the regn - who said they lived the untry, a mag for foreign workers, bee they had well-paid jobs, pl iends or fay there.

"It's not all sufferg, " said a 30-year-old gay Arab man who has lived and worked Doha for nearly 10 years. In fact, the four exprsed worri about the wave of ternatnal cricism about gay rights Qatar brought by the World Cup, fearg they uld lose the eedoms they do enjoy should the opprobrium lead to a public backlash agast the LGBT+ muny once global attentn mov on. "The men prent jt one snapshot of life for gay people the Gulf natn - and the four regnise their relative eedoms are a product of privilege; they n afford to live alone, host parti and meet partners high-end rtrants or nightclubs, where the strict l of Qatari society are often more relaxed.

GAY MAN 'HUNTED' BY QATAR POLICE AND GANG-RAPED HOTEL ROOM AHEAD OF WORLD CUP

A Qatari official cricised the HRW report as ntag false rmatn and said the untry do not license or operate nversn Mohamed, a gay Qatari physician who has lived the Uned Stat for about a , weled the attentn the tournament has drawn to Qatar's rights rerd, sayg prompted him to speak out wily about his sexualy. The four men terviewed by Rters said that there were strong fancial and reer centiv to ridg the untry, addg that life for gay people there was better than some other plac the Middle ced Sdi Arabia and Iran, where men have been sentenced to ath for beg gay.. I know gay men workers' mps wouldn't be able to live the same way.

"Qatari anisers of the World Cup have warned visors agast public displays of affectn but say that everyone, no matter their sexual orientatn or background, is wele at the the tournament, medil practners will not ask patients about their extramaral sex, relign or any other stat, acrdg to the Yoef Al Maslamani, the healthre spokperson for the FIFA World the 12 years sce Qatar was named host of the 2022 tournament, the untry has faced tensifyg cricism over s rights rerd on laborers, women and the LGBT furore has been fuelled by ments om public figur cludg former Qatar player and World Cup ambassador Khalid Salman who told a German broadster that homosexualy was "damage the md".

DOHA - GAY LIFE - DOHA FOM

(Beit) – Qatar Preventive Secury Department forc have arbrarily arrted lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) people and subjected them to ill-treatment tentn, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch terviewed six LGBT Qataris, cludg four transgenr women, one bisexual woman, and one gay man.

Doctor Nasser Mohamed, an openly gay Qatari activist, helped nnect Human Rights Watch to five of those terviewed. “You gays are immoral, so we will be the same to you, ” she said one officer told her.

GAY QATAR TRAVEL GUI

“I saw many other LGBT people taed there: two Morocn lbians, four Filipo gay men, and one Nepale gay man, ” she said. A Qatari gay man who has experienced ernment reprsn, cludg arbrary arrt, said that secury forc surveilled and arrted him based on his onle activy. Much like other small Gulf Stat the Arabian pensula fdg recent and -pth stori about gay life is not easy.

The biggt public kerfluffle about homosexualy Qatar recent years has not ncerned any gay executns, wch hunts, persecutn or mands for gay marriage.

OPN: DR. NASSER ‘NAS’ MOHAMED SOUGHT ASYLUM THE US AFTER G OUT AS GAY. HERE’S WHAT HE WANTS PEOPLE TO KNOW ABOUT QATAR

Completely overlookg the social impact of such a huge ternatnal event such a ty Islamic place as Qatar FIFA got self to hot water om human rights anizatns as well as gay rights associatns.