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Homosexuality is a taboo subject in the Arab world. While clerics
denounce it as a heinous sin, newspapers write cryptically of
'shameful acts' and 'deviant behaviour'. Amid the calls for reform
in the Middle East, homosexuality is one issue that almost everyone
in the region would prefer to ignore. In this absorbing account,
Guardian journalist Brian Whitaker calls attention to the voices of
men and women who are struggling with gay identities in societies
where they are marginalised and persecuted by the authorities. He
paints a disturbing picture of people who live secretive, fearful
lives and who are often jailed, beaten, and ostracised by their
families, or sent to be 'cured' by psychiatrists. Deeply informed
and engagingly written, Unspeakable Love reveals that - while
deeply repressive prejudices and stereotypes still govern much
thinking about homosexuality - there are pockets of change and
tolerance. This updated edition includes new material covering
developments since the book's first publication.
Islam is often treated as an inextricable part of Arab culture, and
in the minds of many in both the west and the Arab world, to be an
Arab is to be a Muslim by default. While many religious minorities,
notably the Druze, Jews and Christians, have found ways of
reconciling their Arab identity with their beliefs, a far greater
challenge faces the growing number of Arabs who identify as
atheists, agnostics, or sceptics. Emboldened by the political
upheavals of the Arab spring and facilitated by the growth of
social media, these predominantly young men and women are becoming
an increasingly vocal and assertive presence in Arab societies,
despite facing the risk of imprisonment, ostracism, and death.
Arabs Without God explores the roots and consequences of this
phenomenon, as well as the experiences of those living as
'non-believers' in Muslim countries. Beginning with an examination
of the history of atheism in the Arab world, it goes on to consider
the circumstances which led these Arab Muslims to question their
faith. It also examines the pressures they face in attempting to
assert and defend their stance, both in Muslim countries and in the
west, where they often find themselves caught between political
Islamists who deride them as 'westernised' apostates, and a far
right which regards all people from Muslim backgrounds as potential
extremists. Arabs Without God argues passionately that these
developments, previously ignored by western observers, are of vital
importance to the future of Arab societies. For as the author says
it is only 'when an atheist can be accepted and respected as a
normal human being' that liberty will truly have arrived.
Islam is often treated as an inextricable part of Arab culture, and
in the minds of many in both the west and the Arab world, to be an
Arab is to be a Muslim by default. While many religious minorities,
notably the Druze, Jews and Christians, have found ways of
reconciling their Arab identity with their beliefs, a far greater
challenge faces the growing number of Arabs who identify as
atheists, agnostics, or sceptics. Emboldened by the political
upheavals of the Arab spring and facilitated by the growth of
social media, these predominantly young men and women are becoming
an increasingly vocal and assertive presence in Arab societies,
despite facing the risk of imprisonment, ostracism, and death.
Arabs Without God explores the roots and consequences of this
phenomenon, as well as the experiences of those living as
'non-believers' in Muslim countries. Beginning with an examination
of the history of atheism in the Arab world, it goes on to consider
the circumstances which led these Arab Muslims to question their
faith. It also examines the pressures they face in attempting to
assert and defend their stance, both in Muslim countries and in the
west, where they often find themselves caught between political
Islamists who deride them as 'westernised' apostates, and a far
right which regards all people from Muslim backgrounds as potential
extremists. Arabs Without God argues passionately that these
developments, previously ignored by western observers, are of vital
importance to the future of Arab societies. For as the author says
it is only 'when an atheist can be accepted and respected as a
normal human being' that liberty will truly have arrived.
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