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Homosexuality in the Arab world may be a topic so volatile that in some countries death is the penalty. nevertheless gradually and very cautiously gay Arabs are starting 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 but is also linked through various gay Arab websites, chat rooms, and blogs.

However, for gay Arab Americans, even though they live with much greater personal freedoms they usually still realize 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 totally totally different path and background. but each men have a remarkable clarity and an agreement on the crucial problems 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 globe. both of his folks were born and raised in Palestine however as a result 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 vary in being in Kuwait as a result of as a non Kuwait you're forever 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 totally different in another country.

As a youth Issam began to become a lot of responsive to his burgeoning homosexuality. "I always knew i was interested in men. I knew from the times once I was living in Kuwait which to me debunks the parable that several Arabs would love to possess 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 changing into sexually active and that's how I knew that this was here to stay" he reveals.

Issam later attended faculty in the US, first graduating from Virginia Tech, then onward to Ohio State to earn a masters degree and then forward to american 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 responsive to his identity as an "outwardly gay man and not somebody who engages in sex with other men" he explains. In many ways his school years helped him to adopt a holistic identity that was related to his sexual orientation, but this was solely the primary step.

He reveals that his journey still was "very troublesome as a result of I even 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 these in the Arab community. There are gay people out there and they are out and they are proud, however they are doing not write, they do not represent, they need not laid the foundation for a community within the same means that yankee ethnic communities have had on varying levels."

As a result, Issam found nurturing support within the African yankee community adding that he was "adopted" by many 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 different men and color. I found my identity and what it may be to be during a relationship with another man of color and the way lovely that would be and how celebrated that could be without having to be ashamed of it."

In terms of his [www.ChatArabs.com chat for arabs] 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 folks after being called a "sand nigger, camel jockey, and towel head" throughout his school years. thus this new tutorial program gave him both affirmation and confirmation of who he very 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 process. once coming out to his parents, he we went into the closet for six years.

"It took a lot of internal work on behalf of me to merge my Arabic and my gay identities. It took plenty of soul looking out, it took a lot of research; delving into the issue of Arabic and gay however it is very slow. we've a lot issues of pride in Arabic community and pride is expounded to family honor and if someone is gay then you shame family honor and so these problems aren't widely talked about but discussed in closed circles" he shares.

Because of his journey of transformation and reconciliation Issam determined to enroll during a cultural studies doctoral program as a result of he recognized that he belonged to too many numerous teams to limit himself to just one identity or concentration. "The u. s. thrives on identity politics; it's the capital of what I decision the check box on the applying because you always need to be one thing you always need to be categorized as something."

Further, Issam's own diversity and his want to learn concerning the range 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 an effort 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 three youngsters. whereas each of his parents were born and raised in Egypt, Ramy's perspective encompasses a distinct yankee flair. He says that he was raised "conservative and Muslim" and that his upbringing has helped formed him to where he is nowadays.

Ramy's gay awakening really began around the age of 15. He remembers attending a play in los angeles that focused around boxing. throughout a locker area scene, one in every of the boxers actually showered on stage. it had been Ramy's 1st time seeing a unadorned man.

"I was flustered and blushing and all that stuff and i simply knew that if I had a reaction like that it should mean one thing. I never had such a strong reaction of anybody like that. I could not avert my eyes but deep down I knew I shouldn't be enjoying it."

Interestingly enough, Ramy did not act out sexually on his urges. Instead he went through a personal journey seeking to reconcile his sexuality together with his Muslim beliefs. "I went through a lot of self exploration, lots questions, and a lot of confusion" he explains.

Similar to the path of the many other gays, Ramy eventually mustered up enough courage to start starting off to his friends. once an eight year amount he had come out to just about everybody in his life with the exception of his family, but that was close to modification in a terribly very public approach in the summer of 2005.

A budding actor,[www.ChatArabs.com Arab chat] Ramy decided to just accept a job at a Hollywood theater portraying a gay Arab. but bound Arab community groups distinguished of the play and its gay content and started 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 concerning the play, its gay content, the controversy, and also the undeniable 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 variety on him. it had been a particularly stressful and an emotionally raw time for him, however nowadays he is out to everybody and living his life authentically.

And after many years of wrestling with each his spirituality and his sexuality, Ramy has finally found the peace that he's been checking out since he was fifteen. "I've just return to the conclusion that not everything is ideal. This faith that i was raised in is not perfect" he explains. He adds that folks who subscribe to a religious belief system must "apply but much you'll be able to apply to your life and since i know I cannot modification bound facts about who i am....if i choose to have a faith like Islam it must be as much as I can take of it."

Today Ramy works for a gay publication in l. a.   where he says it has 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 simply part of my daily reality. i'm an Arab yank who happens to be raised Muslim who considers himself for the foremost part Muslim however i am an yankee who is of Arab descent."

He adds that [www.ChatArabs.com Arabic chat] "your identity is who you're at any given moment. there's never a day where i'm not Muslim or don't not read myself as a product of Muslims. i'm able to go through on a daily basis and notice which components of my identify are speaking up and the way I can filter those to come to a centered stop process through any given situation."

Advice to Young Gay Arabs

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

Issam provides this piece of advice 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 woman who's struggling with this. find where the myth is; realize the fact and where the two separate. Do your analysis. Dispel the myths for yourself."