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Homosexuality within the Arab world could be a topic so volatile that in some countries death is the penalty. yet 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 only connected through its language but is also linked through numerous gay Arab websites, chat rooms, and blogs.

However, for gay Arab Americans, even supposing they live with a lot of larger personal freedoms they typically still find themselves conflicted between their sexual, religious, ethnic/cultural and national identities. Meet Issam Khoury of Washington, DC and Ramy Eletreby of l. a.. They both are gay Arab men but every with a very different path and background. but each men have a noteworthy clarity and an agreement on the crucial issues that 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 world. both of his folks 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 until the age of 13. "I learned what it meant to be different in being in Kuwait because as a non Kuwait you are invariably perceived different" he explains.

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

As a youth Issam began to become a lot of aware of his burgeoning homosexuality. "I forever knew i was drawn to men. I knew from the days once I was living in Kuwait which to me debunks the myth that several Arabs would love to have that this does not exist in our a part of the planet as a result of it does. once I moved to Cypress in 95' I found myself turning into sexually active and that is how I knew that this was here to stay" he reveals.

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

He admits that it wasn't until school that he started to become totally attentive to his identity as an "outwardly gay man and not someone who engages in sex with alternative men" he explains. In some ways his faculty years helped him to adopt a holistic identity that was related to his sexual orientation, however this was solely the primary step.

He reveals that his journey still was "very troublesome because I actually have no examples i do not have any James Baldwin's we do not have any Gloria Anzaldua's, we do not have any of those within the Arab community. There are gay people out there and they're out and they are proud, but they do not write, they are doing not represent, they need not laid the foundation for a community within the same method that american 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 many black folks and that "in the black community...I found my identity as a man of color.

I really found my identity as a gay man of color through reading E. Lynn Harris. I found it inspiring to examine men of color loving different men and color. I found my identity and what it could be to be in an exceedingly relationship with another man of color and how lovely that would be and the way celebrated that could 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 brazenly admits that he had a "big aversion" to white people after being known as a "sand nigger, camel jockey, and towel head" during his school years. therefore this new educational program gave him both affirmation and confirmation of who he extremely was, therefore 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 an extended, arduous and complicated process. when commencing to his oldsters, he we have a tendency to went into the closet for six years.

"It took lots of internal work for me to merge my Arabic and my gay identities. It took lots of soul looking out, it took a lot of research; delving into the issue of Arabic and gay but it's very slow. we've got lots problems with pride in Arabic community and pride is said to family honor and if someone is gay then you shame family honor and so these issues are not widely talked concerning however mentioned in closed circles" he shares.

Because of his journey of transformation and reconciliation Issam determined to enroll during a cultural studies doctoral program because he recognized that he belonged to too several numerous teams to limit himself to only one identity or concentration. "The us thrives on identity politics; it is the capital of what I call the check box on the applying as a result of you always have to be one thing you mostly have to be categorized as something."

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

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 kids. while both of his folks were born and raised in Egypt, Ramy's perspective encompasses a distinct american aptitude. 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] actually began round the age of fifteen. He remembers attending a play in l. a.   that focused around boxing. throughout a locker space scene, one among the boxers really showered on stage. it had been Ramy's first time seeing a naked man.

"I was flustered and blushing and all that stuff and that i just knew that if I had a reaction like that it must mean one thing. I never had such a robust reaction of anybody like that. I couldn't avert my eyes but 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 along with his Muslim beliefs. "I went through a lot of self exploration, a lot queries, and a lot of confusion" he explains.

Similar to the path of many alternative gays, Ramy eventually mustered up enough courage to begin coming out to his friends. after an eight year period he had start off to just regarding everyone in his life with the exception of his family, but that was close to modification in an exceedingly very public way in the summer of 2005.

A budding actor,[www.ChatArabs.com Arab chat] Ramy determined to just accept a role at a Hollywood theater portraying a gay Arab. however sure Arab community groups identified 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 to to 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 people reading it before the news was promptly delivered to his oldsters. additional attention came when Advocate Magazine additionally did an expansion on him. it had been an especially stressful and an emotionally raw time for him, however these days he is out to everybody and living his life authentically.

And once many years of wrestling with each his spirituality and his sexuality, Ramy has finally found the peace that he is been looking for since he was fifteen. "I've simply come to the conclusion that not everything is perfect. This faith that i was raised in is not perfect" he explains. He adds that individuals who subscribe to a religious belief system must "apply however a lot of you'll apply to your life and since i do know I cannot amendment certain facts concerning who i am....if i select to own a religion like Islam it must be the maximum amount as I can take of it."

Today Ramy works for a gay publication in los angeles where he says it's helped him to search out 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'm an Arab yank who happens to be raised Muslim who considers himself for the foremost half Muslim however i'm an yank who is of Arab descent."

He adds that "your [www.ChatArabs.com Arabic chat] identity is who you're at any given moment. there's never each day where i am not Muslim or do not not view myself as a product of Muslims. i'm able to go through a day and realize which parts of my establish are speaking up and the way I will filter those to come back to a centered stop method through any given state of affairs."

Advice to Young Gay Arabs

While Issam and Ramy were able to move on top of and beyond the conflicts of their multiple identities, there are several different young gay Arabs who are still baffled by it and struggle with it daily.

Issam provides this piece of recommendation to gay Arab youth. "You aren't alone, you are not the sole gay Arab person out there. you are not the sole young man or young girl who's combating this. realize where the myth is; find the actual fact and where the two separate. Do your research. Dispel the myths for yourself."

Ramy agrees adding that "the only person that you really need to hear is yourself. you can't enable people who have taught you as a toddler, or your folks, or members of the family, non secular students, siblings, friends. you cannot allow folks to create decisions about your life and what is right concerning you without you involved. thus don't act outside of your best interest."