Comment is free  Brokeback desert
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Comment is free: Brokeback desert http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/brian_whitaker/2006/03/brokeb...Brokeback desertIt is a pity Brokeback Mountain isn't showing in the Arab world, because it resembles current reality there. March 21, 2006 11:12 AM | Printable versionWith a couple of hours to kill at Doha airport in Qatar a few weeks ago, I wandered into a shop selling newspapers, gifts and a small selection of books. Among the rather bland titles on display, one book stood out a mile: it was Brokeback Mountain.There was only one copy in stock, and I suspect it had somehow got there by mistake, since the film version of Brokeback has not been shown anywhere in the Arab world and there's no sign that it will be any time soon.The ministry of culture and information in the United Arab Emirates has already banned the film on the grounds that it "will destroy the values and morals" of society."Brokeback Mountain is a film which has nothing positive about it," said Dr Abdullah al-Amiri, a prominent member of parliament in Sharjah emirate. "The portrayal of the sexual behaviour of its main character [sic] is offensive to eastern societies, particularly Muslims and the Arabs, since Islam forbids abnormal behaviours like homosexuality ... The film will upset the people of this culture and tradition." In Saudi Arabia the question of showing Brokeback simply doesn't arise: the ultra-conservative kingdom sidesteps the problem of censoring films by not ...

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Comment is free: Brokeback desert
1 of 2
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/brian_whitaker/2006/03/brokeb..
Brokeback desert It is a pity Brokeback Mountain isn't showing in the Arab world, because it resembles current reality there.
March 21, 2006 11:12 AM |Printable version
With a couple of hours to kill at Doha airport in Qatar a few weeks ago, I wandered into a shop selling newspapers, gifts and a small selection of books. Among the rather bland titles on display, one book stood out a mile: it was Brokeback Mountain.
There was only one copy in stock, and I suspect it had somehow got there by mistake, since the film version of Brokeback has not been shown anywhere in the Arab world and there's no sign that it will be any time soon.
The ministry of culture and information in the United Arab Emirates has alreadybannedfilm on the grounds that it "will destroy the values the and morals" of society.
"Brokeback Mountain is a film which has nothing positive about it," said Dr Abdullah al-Amiri, a prominent member of parliament in Sharjah emirate. "The portrayal of the sexual behaviour of its main character [sic] is offensive to eastern societies, particularly Muslims and the Arabs, since Islam forbids abnormal behaviours like homosexuality ... The film will upset the people of this culture and tradition."
In Saudi Arabia the question of showing Brokeback simply doesn't arise: the ultra-conservative kingdom sidesteps the problem of censoring films by not permitting cinemas. Lebanon, the most easy-going of the Arab countries, might possibly allow it, but so farno Lebanese film distributor has plucked up the courage to give it a try.
Homosexuality is still very much a taboo subject in the Arab countries. Even newspaper reports of prosecutions (since it is normally illegal in these countries) tend to use phrases like "shameful behaviour" in order to avoid spelling out the nature of the supposed crime.
Sometimes, though, it is difficult to avoid the subject entirely, and Brokeback Mountain is one example. You couldn't sensibly report the Oscars without mentioning it - though the Saudi daily,Arab News, tried pretty hard, describing the film simply as "a compelling love story". More daring newspapers worked in a passing reference to "gay cowboys" before hastily clearing their throats and moving on to the next film.
Since the film came out,al-Jazeera's website (theEnglish-language version) has mentioned it three times - only in connection with the Oscars and only in reports from foreign news agencies. For comparison, the website of the BBC has mentioned it 54 times, the Washington Post 139 times, the Daily Telegraph 89 times and the Guardian 193 times.
It is difficult to search the Arab media systematically on the internet, but I have yet to find any articles that discuss the film in detail or the issues it raises.
This is a great pity, because the story of Jack Twist and Ennis del Mar -unhappily married and yearning for each other but prevented by society from fulfilling their love - has particular resonance in the Middle East today.
Western audiences who see the film can view it as a portrayal of gay life in the bad old days of the 50s and 60s. For Arabs, on the other hand, it's a portrayal of the reality now.
While researching a book on gay and lesbian Arabs, which will be published shortly, I came across many in the Middle East who face the same predicament as Jack and Ennis. Marriage is more or less obligatory in the Arab countries and parents often take it upon themselves to choose a partner for their sons and daughters.
Youngsters who are gay or lesbian find ways to delay this as much as possible - for example, by prolonging their studies - but eventually the crunch comes and they have to decide whether the play along with their family's wishes and get married or to reveal the secret of their sexuality.
Deciding to "come out" to your family is still quite an ordeal for gay youngsters in the west, but in the Middle East it can be catastrophic. Having a gay member of the family brings shame on the entire household; it can cause fathers to lose their jobs and make brothers and sisters unmarriageable.
:04 PM
Comment is free: Brokeback desert
2 of 2
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/brian_whitaker/2006/03/brokeb..
his very religious father had found out that he was gay and was insisting that he must marry a female cousin. The father had also threatened to report his son's homosexuality to the police if he refused the marriage.
Rejecting his appeal, the Norwegian authorities helpfully suggested he should go back to Morocco and live in hiding.
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1/23/08 12:04 PM
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