Iran, Not a Gay Place
ByMahmoud Ahmadinejad is in New York to address the UN. Yesterday, he spoke at Columbia University. There are many who think Columbia was wrong to invite him, but I can’t think of a better setting to challenge the Iranian president. This moment, live blogged by the New York Times City Room, was one of the highlights:
In response to a question about the treatment of homosexuals in Iran, Mr. Ahmadinejad was initially evasive, instead talking about the death penalty, which, he pointed out, exists in the United States. “People who violate the laws by using guns, creating insecurity selling guns, distributing guns at a high level are sentenced to execution in Iran,†he said. “Very few of these punishments are carried out in the public eye.â€
Pressed by Dean Coatsworth on the original question about the rights of gay men and lesbians in Iran, Mr. Ahmadinejad said: “In Iran, we don’t have homosexuals like in your country. We don’t have that in our country.â€
The audience booed and hissed loudly. Some laughed, uncomfortably.
“In Iran, we do not have this phenomenon,†Mr. Ahmadinejad continued, undeterred. “I do not know who has told you that we have it.”
Which begs the question, if homosexuality does not exist in Iran why is it a crime punishable by death?
Related: Lee Bollinger is having the best week ever. (Daily Intel)
6 Comments
September 25th, 2007 at 2:00 pm
When we lived in Korea our students used to tell us there were no gays in Korea. It always made us laugh when they said this. They were way too scared of their parents to be gay.
As for Iran, if you tell people you’ll kill them if they are gay, most rational people will pretend to be straight. Thus there are no gays. At least no “homosexuals like in your country.” Ahmadinejad was right.
October 1st, 2007 at 11:06 am
I just spent a week in Moscow at a trade fair and a Russian ladyboy came up to my stand. I’ve been going to Russia on biz trips for 6/7 years and have seen gays before (and as for lesbians well I know this place called the “Safari Gentlemen’s Lodge” which I highly recommend) but never a cat like this who was a man according to his business card but a woman according to every other factor. I doubt that he uses the Moscow metro very often.
October 1st, 2007 at 6:59 pm
It’s funny, I hate Ahmadinejad, but I didn’t like Bollinger bullying him like that. It just seemed rude. And opportunistic. If I were an Islamonut, I’d have taken it as further evidence of the infidel’s duplicitous ways.
October 1st, 2007 at 10:25 pm
I remember watching the Phil Donohue show back in the 1980s when Phil and his Russian counterpart held an audience particitpation in which American women could ask Russian women questions about each others’ countries, via satelite. The issue of nuclear war apparently wasn’t pressing. The first question raised was by an American who asked if there were any homosexuals in Russia like in the United States. The Russia audience was dead silent for nearly two minutes before one brave woman took to the microphone. She clearly stated there were no homosexuals in Russia (it was a Western phenomena) and that although it may appear there are gays in the theater, they really aren’t gay. It was classic. Good to see tyrannical countries never change.
October 2nd, 2007 at 7:44 pm
http://www.actwin.com/eatonohio/gay/world.htm
The above link will give you lists of countries and gay rights.
What was the public expecting President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to say that there are gays in Iran and they get executed and wait for his execution on his return to Iran?
Why is everyone on Iran’s case? There are countries like Saudi Arabia that suppress Christians and gays alike.
October 8th, 2007 at 10:21 pm
Read some of the gay blogs of which most are lefty bent. They are bending over backwards defending this maniac dicator. Only the brainwashed trust fund brats of the West could be so arrogant.