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Homosexuality in the Arab world is a topic so volatile that in some countries death is the penalty. nonetheless gradually and extremely cautiously gay Arabs are kicking off of the closet with increasing confidence. Spanning across 22 countries with a combined population of 323 million, the Arab world is not solely connected through its language however is additionally linked through various gay Arab websites, chat rooms, and blogs.

However, for gay Arab Americans, although they live with a lot of bigger personal freedoms they usually still notice themselves conflicted between their sexual, religious, ethnic/cultural and national identities. Meet Issam Khoury of Washington, DC and Ramy Eletreby of los angeles. They both are gay Arab men but every with a totally totally different path and background. however each men have a noteworthy clarity and an agreement on the crucial issues which impact them the foremost.

Issam Khoury

A refugee by birth and by war, Issam Khoury has seen and experienced a broad cross-section of the planet. each of his oldsters were born and raised in Palestine but because of the politics surrounding the Israeli occupation, Issam was forced to be born and raised in Kuwait till the age of thirteen. "I learned what it meant to vary in being in Kuwait because as a non Kuwait you're continually perceived different" he explains.

But when Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, Issam's family was forced to measure in Cypress where Issam finished his schooling. once more he felt the unspoken words and perception of being completely different in another country.

As a youth Issam began to become additional responsive to his burgeoning homosexuality. "I continuously knew i used to be interested in men. I knew from the times once I was living in Kuwait that to me debunks the myth that a lot of Arabs would love to have that this does not exist in our a part of the planet because it will. once I moved to Cypress in 95' I found myself changing into sexually active and that is how I knew that this was here to stay" he reveals.

Issam later attended school within the US, initial graduating from Virginia Tech, then onward to Ohio State to earn a masters degree and then forward to yank University where he's currently earning a doctorate in cultural studies.

He admits that it wasn't till faculty that he started to become fully conscious of his identity as an "outwardly gay man and not somebody who engages in sex with different men" he explains. In many ways his college years helped him to adopt a holistic identity that was associated with his sexual orientation, but this was only the first step.

He reveals that his journey still was "very tough as a result of I actually have no examples i do not have any James Baldwin's we don't have any Gloria Anzaldua's, we don't have any of those within the Arab community. There are gay folks out there and they are out and they're proud, but they do not write, they do not represent, they need not laid the inspiration for a community in the same manner that yankee ethnic communities have had on varying levels."

As a result, Issam found nurturing support within the African yank community adding that he was "adopted" by several black folks and that "in the black community...I found my identity as a person of color.

I really found my identity as a gay man of color through reading E. Lynn Harris. I found it inspiring to read about men of color loving alternative men and color. I found my identity and what it might be to be in a very relationship with another man of color and the way beautiful that might be and the way celebrated that would be while not having to be ashamed of it."

In terms of his Arab identity, Issam says that he found his Arabic-self through his masters degree program at Ohio State where he studied Arab literature. He openly admits that he had a "big aversion" to white people once being referred to as a "sand nigger, camel jockey, and towel head" throughout his college years. so this new tutorial program gave him both affirmation and confirmation of who he really was, thus casting away all labels and stereotypes.

"It was in my masters program that I found myself as an Arab man" he proudly states. However, the reconciliation of being Arab, Gay and Christian was still a long, arduous and sophisticated method. when popping out to his oldsters, he we have a tendency to went back into the closet for six years.

"It took lots of internal work on behalf of me to merge my Arabic and my gay identities. It took plenty of soul searching, it took a lot of research; delving into the difficulty of Arabic and gay however it's totally slow. we have plenty issues of pride in Arabic community and pride is related to family honor and if someone is gay then you shame family honor and so these issues aren't widely talked concerning but discussed in closed circles" he shares.

Because of his journey of transformation and reconciliation Issam set to enroll during a cultural studies doctoral program because he recognized that he belonged to too several diverse groups to limit himself to just one identity or concentration. "The us thrives on identity politics; it's the capital of what I call the check box on the applying because you usually have to be compelled to be something you usually have to be compelled to be categorized as one thing."

Further, Issam's own diversity and his need to learn regarding the diversity of others led him out of his personal check box. he's a member of a black fraternity and is currently learning to talk Spanish, all in a shot to broaden his exposure and understanding of culture and diversity.

Ramy Eletreby

Born and raised in sunny Southern California behind the conservative and affluent curtain of Orange County, Ramy Eletreby, who is of Egyptian descent, grew up the youngest of 3 youngsters. whereas both of his parents were born and raised in Egypt, Ramy's perspective features a distinct yank flair. He says that he was raised "conservative and Muslim" and that his upbringing has helped shaped him to where he's these days.

Ramy's gay awakening [www.ChatArabs.com chat for arabs] truly began round the age of 15. He remembers attending a play in los angeles that focused around boxing. throughout a locker room scene, one of the boxers truly showered on stage. it had been Ramy's 1st time seeing a naked man.

"I was flustered and blushing and every one that stuff and i simply knew that if I had a reaction like that it must mean something. I never had such a robust reaction of anybody like that. I couldn't avert my eyes however deep down I knew I should not be enjoying it."

Interestingly enough, Ramy failed to act out sexually on his urges. Instead he went through a private journey seeking to reconcile his sexuality together with his Muslim beliefs. "I went through lots of self exploration, a lot questions, and lots of confusion" he explains.

Similar to the trail of many other gays, Ramy eventually mustered up enough courage to begin kicking off to his friends. once an eight year amount he had commence to simply regarding everybody in his life with the exception of his family, however that was on the brink of amendment in a very public method within the summer of 2005.

A budding actor,[www.ChatArabs.com Arab chat] Ramy decided to just accept a role at a Hollywood theater portraying a gay Arab. but bound Arab community groups distinguished of the play and its gay content and commenced to protest. Meanwhile the LA Times bloodhounds sniffed out the story and surrounded down playhouse to try and do what eventually became a major news story regarding the play, its gay content, the controversy, and the incontrovertible fact that its lead actor, Ramy was a gay man.

When the story hit, Ramy estimates it took four individuals reading it before the news was promptly delivered to his folks. further attention came when Advocate Magazine additionally did a selection on him. it had been a very stressful and an emotionally raw time for him, but today he's out to everyone and living his life authentically.

And when a few years of wrestling with both his spirituality and his sexuality, Ramy has finally found the peace that he's been sorting out since he was 15. "I've just come to the conclusion that not everything is ideal. This faith that i was raised in isn't perfect" he explains. He adds that folks who subscribe to a religious belief system should "apply but much you can apply to your life and since i know I cannot change certain facts regarding who i am....if i choose to have a religion like Islam it needs to be the maximum amount as I will take of it."

Today Ramy works for a gay publication in l. a.   where he says it's helped him to find his gay identity. However, he sees no back and forth competing of his multiple identities of being gay, Arab, and Muslim. "I've never allowed it to be a fight; it's just part of my daily reality. i am an Arab yankee who happens to be raised Muslim who considers himself for the most part Muslim but i'm an yankee who is of Arab descent."

He adds that "your [www.ChatArabs.com Arabic chat] identity is who you are at any given moment. there's never daily where i'm not Muslim or don't not read myself as a product of Muslims. i'm able to bear a day and realize that parts of my identify are speaking up and the way I can filter those to come back to a focused stop method through any given scenario."

Advice to Young Gay Arabs

While Issam and Ramy were ready to move higher than and beyond the conflicts of their multiple identities, there are many other young gay Arabs who are still baffled by it and struggle with it daily.

Issam offers this piece of recommendation to gay Arab youth. "You aren't alone, you're not the sole gay Arab person out there. you are not the only young man or young girl who's fighting this. find where the parable is; notice the actual fact and where the 2 separate. Do your analysis. Dispel the myths for yourself."

Ramy agrees adding that "the only person that you really need to listen to is yourself. you can't allow people who have taught you as a baby, or your parents, or family members, religious scholars, siblings, friends. you can't enable individuals to create selections regarding your life and what is right regarding you without you involved. therefore do not act outside of your best interest."