Gay Boys in Baghdad

To begin, it's worthwhile to cite the official position on homosexuality espoused by His Eminence, Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, the Supreme Religious Authority for Shi'ite Muslims in Iraq. Extracted and translated in March 2006 from Sistani's website is the following entry.

Q: What is the judgment on sodomy and lesbianism?

A: "Forbidden. Those involved in the act should be punished. In fact, sodomites should be killed in the worst manner possible."

Consistent with Sistani's guidance comes the story of 14-year-old Ahmed Khalil.

It is unclear whether Ahmed was gay or not. He had sex with men, often in exchange for small amounts of money and food. He did this in order to help his family financially. Sometimes they were so desperate, he had sex for a few potatoes or some bread.

Ahmed's 'gay' reputation spread all over his neighbourhood, causing great scandal. His behaviour was reported to the police by informants in the community.

In early April 2006, Ahmed was found dead on the doorstep of his house. He had been shot, with two bullets in the head and several bullets in the rest of his body.

According to a neighbour, who saw Ahmed's execution from his bedroom window, four uniformed police officers arrived at Ahmed's house in a four-wheel-drive police pick-up truck. The neighbour saw the police drag Ahmed out of the house and shoot him at point-blank range.

Quite disturbing, in my mind, and there is reason to believe that Ahmed's murder may not have been an isolated incident. It's been reported that there is a thriving commercial gay sex trade in Iraq involving as many as 4,000 teenage boys who receive the equivalent of around $10 US for each sexual encounter.

"Iraqis love boys and our work is to offer pleasure to them," the ring leader, who calls himself Abu Weled (or 'father of the boys'), said. "They are all gay and, in Iraq, the homosexual is something cheap and bad, but we make them feel special when working with us."

Unfortunately, homosexuality under Sharia Law carries a death sentence. In fact, according to Shi'ite Muslim leader Sheikh Hussein Salah, "the families of those boys engaged in homosexual practices should kill them, whether the situation was forced on them or they entered into it freely."

As a result, the typical teenage male sex worker fears that he will die by an "honor killing" committed by a family member. Of course, as demonstrated by Ahmed Khalil's death, there is also the police to fear.

In my estimation, it's illogical to pursue the teenage victims of the gay sex trade without also going after the adult male perpetrators. After all, it's a game with considerably fewer catchers than pitchers. Without all those many eager customers, the gay sex business in Iraq would fail.