The Trials of a Gay Muslim

Afew years ago I wanted to write about gay life in Algiers, where homosexuality is illegal and, if you’re not careful, can get you killed. There is, however, a busy, if well-hidden, gay underground in the city, as there is in most Arab countries. I found it relatively easy to make a few contacts, who all insisted that we meet in a “neutral” restaurant in the embassy district of Hydra, which is well guarded by government and foreign soldiers and a difficult place for hardline Islamists to penetrate. The watchwords for being gay in Algiers, I learned, were secrecy and discretion. There were no clubs or bars to go to, but rather invite-only private “parties”, along with the riskier, potentially lethal business of cruising the port area and main boulevards. Significantly, everyone I spoke to was upper-middle class, which ensured a certain immunity from suspicion and accusation, and they were diffident about their Islamic faith. To be working class and gay in Algiers, as well as a devout Muslim, is quite another matter. Read Full Article »