A cacophony of outrage and condemnation greeted Mithly, the Arab world's partly European Union-funded only gay magazine, when it hit the internet and underground 'newsstands' in Morocco for the first time.
Targeting the gay community in Morocco and Europe as well as Arab gays, Mithly, a play on the Arabic words for homosexual and 'like me', can only be sold under the counter in Morocco and the Arab world. The overwhelming majority of its readers access it online. For safety and political reasons, the groundbreaking magazine's editorial staff is based in Spain as are its servers.
While Mithly hopes to steer debate in Morocco and the Arab world about homosexuality into calmer, more rational waters, it does not want to rock the boat in a country where authorities are among the more relaxed in the Arab world because of tourism that has attracted a high-end gay community. Gay activists fear that a more open Mithly presence in Morocco could further fuel Islamist and populist protests and force the government to crack down in a bid to prevent the Islamists from gaining the high ground.
Like everywhere in the Arab world, homosexuality in Morocco is illegal. Homosexuals can be jailed for up to three years for what Moroccan law describes as 'lewd or unnatural acts with an individual of the same sex'. Islamist agitation has already increased homophobia in Morocco in recent months. 'The constant attacks on homosexuals by the Islamist parties and newspapers worry us,' says Mourad, a Mithly journalist.
Yemeni cultural magazine, Al-Thaqafiya, was forced to cease after publishing a film review that described homosexuality as 'part and parcel of our society'. The magazine sparked protests in parliament; the Paris based reviewer, Hamid Aqabi, says he has received death threats.
Homosexuality in Yemen is punishable by death. But with the Yemeni government preoccupied with fighting Al Qa'ida and defeating southern secessionists, gays have more to fear from religious vigilantes. Three men suspected of being gay were shot dead in 2008 in the Yemeni province of Shabwa. Death squads have abducted, tortured, and executed hundreds of Iraqi gays with only a cursory response from authorities. Their abused bodies are dumped in public places as a warning.
Kif-Kif, the Madrid-based Moroccan organisation for lesbians, transsexuals and homo- and bisexuals and publisher of Mithly, estimates that some 5000 people have been jailed in Morocco or forced to emigrate because they are gay. Conservatives have demanded that