Unspeakable Love: Gay and Lesbian Life in the Middle East [Paperback]

Brian Whitaker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 6, 2006 | ISBN-10: 0520250176 | ISBN-13: 978-0520250178 | Edition: 1

Homosexuality is a taboo subject in Arab countries. Clerics denounce it as a heinous sin, while newspapers write cryptically of "shameful acts." Although many parts of the world now accept sexual diversity, the Middle East is moving in the opposite direction. In this absorbing account, journalist Brian Whitaker calls attention to the voices of men and women who are struggling with gay identities in societies where they are marginalized and persecuted by the authorities. He paints a disturbing picture of people who live secretive, fearful lives and who are often jailed, beaten, and ostracized by their families, or sent to be "cured" by psychiatrists.
Whitaker's exploration of changing sexual behavior in the Arab world reveals that--while deeply repressive prejudices and stereotypes still govern much thinking about homosexuality--there are pockets of change and tolerance. The author combines personal accounts from individuals in the region with a look at recent Arab films and novels featuring gay characters and conducts a sensitive comparative reading of Christian, Jewish, and Islamic strictures around sexuality. Deeply informed and engagingly written, Unspeakable Love draws long overdue attention to a crucial subject.
Copub: Saqi Books

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

While the mainstream media cover Middle Eastern cultural tensions over the interpretation of Islamic law and the position of women, little attention has been paid to the complicated place of same-sex affection and relationships in these countries. Whitaker, Middle East editor for the Guardian, delivers a modest but informative primer on the complex historical, religious, social and legal status of same-sex acts and identities in the Middle East. Aware of the complexity of this undertaking, he points out that words such as "homosexual," "lesbian," "gay" and "queer" are Western constructs and can be misleading or dangerously inaccurate when applied to non-Western cultures. Whitaker is best when describing the lives of the dozens of women and men, some of whom he interviewed, such as a young Syrian man whose therapist outed him to his family and two Saudi men who killed a third man they feared would report their relationship to authorities. He also offers a larger view of the religious and political implications of homosexuality: there's no uniform Islamic position about the legality of homosexual acts; the Iranian government will frequently use the charge of homosexuality to further stigmatize its Arab Ahwazi minority population. While Whitaker's findings aren't conclusive, this is an illuminating book on an important topic. (Nov.)
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Review

'An extremely well-researched and well-written text that allows us an insight into the lifestyle of the gay and lesbian community in the Middle East...educates, informs and engages the reader from the outset to the last page.' Sable Magazine 'I enjoyed and learnt much from Brian Whitaker's book, which is excellent. It was inspirational to me on the challenges to international law, and the uses of nationalism to suppress dissent within countries.' Professor Fred Halliday 'This is a compelling read. It captures with detail and with disturbing accuracy the difficulties and dangers facing lesbians and gay men across the Middle East. It helps us to understand the social pressure, the sense of isolation, the anxiety and fear and trauma. And through it all we glimpse also the possibility of hope, of remarkable courage, and perhaps even in the longer term, the chance of a more open and accepting society.' Lord (Chris) Smith, former UK Secretary of State for Culture 'This is an important, timely book, and lucid to boot - a must-read for anyone who believes in human rights.' Rabih Alameddine, author of Koolaids and I, the Divine 'A fascinating insight.' Ben Summerskill, Chief Executive, Stonewall 'Brian Whitaker has given us a moving analysis of the hidden lives of Arab homosexuals. This genuinely groundbreaking investigation reveals a side of Arab and Muslim culture shrouded by the strictest taboos. Arab societies can no longer contain their cultural, religious, ethnic or sexual diversity within their traditional patriarchal definitions of the public sphere. Anyone interested in reform in the Arab world must read this book.' Mai Yamani, Research Fellow at Chatham House and author of Cradle of Islam 'It is high time this issue was brought out of the closet once and for all, and afforded a frank and honest discussion. Brian Whitaker's humane, sophisticated, and deeply rewarding book, Unspeakable Love, does exactly that.' Ali Al-Ahmed, Director of the Gulf Institute --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (November 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520250176
• ISBN-13: 978-0520250178
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #717,488 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Modern Gay and Lesbian Arabs, November 3, 2006

By 

Jeffery Mingo (Homewood, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Unspeakable Love: Gay and Lesbian Life in the Middle East (Paperback)

Arab is supposed to be an extremely difficult language to learn. It's incredibly difficult for writers to generalize about the Arab world when it encompasses so many countries and so much history, and historical change. Finally, in homophobic societies, it is hard to get people to speak about sexuality generally and homosexuality specifically. For all these reasons, I thank the author for producing this text and give him much credit.

However, this book may frustrate some. I think the author was trying to write for everyday readers and the academic, highly-versed. His journalism background shows in the chattiness of some chapters, but when he speaks of fields of Islamic law and constructionism versus essentialism in gay studies debates, it may get too complicated for some readers.

The best chapters were the ones in which he quotes actual Arab gay men and lesbians (and yes, the book does try to be lesbian-inclusive) and details homophobic controversies in that region. A large chunk of the book is about describing and critiquing homophobia from Muslim clerics and leaders. Given how religion is used to promote homophobia in many places, this addition was necessary, but it got dull after awhile. In the United States, religious homophobes play a key role in the battle of gay rights, but if someone wrote a book that focused more on Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson than on the Stonewall Riots, Ruby Mae Brown, or Rock Hudson, then it would be a rocky, unbalanced read.

Given the intense tensions between the Christian and Muslim worlds, I loved how this writer tried to keep Western readers humble. He says Arab countries have homophobic laws, but so did Britain less than 40 years ago. Mosques may be gay-unfriendly, but he writes that most churches and synagogues are too, except for a few, new, progressive institutions. Modern Arab literature may be homophobic, but much of English and American literature is the same way. Again, I applaud the author's promotion of keeping one's own community in check or humble.

I wasn't glued to this book, but I found it insightful and important. Readers may benefit from reading this alongside seeing the documentary "Living Dangerously."

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Helem, May 4, 2007

By 

Marty Cooper (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Unspeakable Love: Gay and Lesbian Life in the Middle East (Paperback)

Brian Whitaker's 'Unspeakable Love' is a great summary of the life of current trends and treatment of homosexuality within contemporary Arab culture. This book should not be read expecting a history of homosexuality within this culture as this is not its intent. The book provides a detailed portayal, especially, of a paradigm shift from the 90's to current day. There are some issues with the book being a bit choppy in its presentation but that does not interefere with the information. Whitaker also provides detailed notation of where to obtain additional resources via the web. In addition, many wonderful Arabic texts are discussed in this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars speakable literature..., September 21, 2007

By 

Afdhere Jama, author of ILLEGAL CITIZENS (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unspeakable Love: Gay and Lesbian Life in the Middle East (Paperback)

brian whitaker tackled a subject that is very touchy-- how the gay and lesbian arabs live in their countries. in a straightforward, journalistic kind of a way, he relates the lives of queer arabs who are encountering old traditions and the power of family honor. in lebanon, egypt and saudi arabia, whitaker documents the challenges of everday gay and lesbian arabs face in encoutering their own identity. it is an eye opening experience about a group of people in a very complicated part of the world. and whitaker does it in a way that neither offends arabs nor spits in their face. a well balanced act, indeed.