Amina Abdallah Arraf Al Omari
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''A Gay Girl in Damascus'' (February 2011 - June 2011) was a
blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...
purportedly authored by Amina Abdallah Arraf al Omari. Omari was, in fact, a hoax persona created by the American citizen and then-student of the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
, Thomas Jarvis MacMaster. During the
2011 Syrian uprising The Syrian revolution, also known as the Syrian Revolution of Dignity, was a series of mass protests and civilian uprisings throughout Syria – with a subsequent violent reaction by the Ba'athist regime – lasting from 15 March 2011 to 8 De ...
, a posting on the blog, purportedly by "Amina's" cousin, claimed that the girl had been abducted on June 6, 2011. This sparked a strong outcry from the
LGBTQ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...
community and was covered widely in mainstream media. In the wake of the reports, questions arose regarding the possibility that Arraf al Omari was an elaborate hoax. On June 7, 2011, author/blogger Liz Henry, Andy Carvin (a journalist with
National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
), and others raised doubts about the identity of the blogger. The photos purported to be of her were proven to be a Croatian woman residing in Britain, with no relation to Syria, the blog, or the ongoing protests in the country. On June 12,
Ali Abunimah Ali Hasan Abunimah (, Arabic: ; born December 29, 1971) is a Palestinian-American journalist who advocates a one-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. A resident of Chicago who contributes regularly to publications such as the ...
and Benjamin Doherty of the website ''
The Electronic Intifada ''The Electronic Intifada'' (''EI'') is an online Chicago-based publication covering the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. It describes itself as not-for-profit, independent, and providing a Palestinian perspective. History ''EI'' was founded in ...
'' conducted an investigation that pointed to a strong possibility that the identity of Amina was MacMaster, an American living in Edinburgh. Hours later, MacMaster posted on "Amina's" blog and took responsibility for it and the false reports of the girl's capture. He was accused of creating a second hoax persona to defend his first one. As of 2023, MacMaster is a history professor at
Morehouse College Morehouse College is a Private college, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Men's colleges in the United States, men's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia, ...
in Atlanta, Georgia. He has since written two e-novels and has come to the defence of Rachel Fulton Brown, an academic accused of white supremacy.


Creation and spread

MacMaster created the character Amina Abdallah as a fictional persona or alias; MacMaster said in an interview with National Public Radio that he could not recall when he created the character. NPR stated that it found posts from Amina at the Yahoo! group " alternate-history" dating to February 2006. MacMaster said that he created the Amina character so he could more easily participate in discussions about the Middle East. MacMaster believed that if he used his real name, people would have presumed that he was too closely tied to the United States, but as Amina he would have more credibility. As Amina, MacMaster posted on various
listserv The term Listserv (styled by the registered trademark licensee, L-Soft International, Inc., as LISTSERV) has been used to refer to electronic mailing list software applications in general, but is more properly applied to a few early instances of ...
s and websites. MacMaster fleshed out the character's background, and he said that he began writing a novel based on the character. Eventually, he created various profiles for Amina at various social networking sites. Originally he used the character to discuss politics of the Middle East and science fiction. In the northern hemisphere fall of 2010, MacMaster moved Amina to Syria. MacMaster said that he was going to stop using the persona by then. Eyder Peralta of NPR stated "But the
Arab Spring The Arab Spring () was a series of Nonviolent resistance, anti-government protests, Rebellion, uprisings, and Insurgency, armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began Tunisian revolution, in Tunisia ...
called her back."Peralta, Eyder (June 14, 2011).
Man Behind Syrian Blogger Hoax: Something 'Innocent ... Got Out of Hand'
" ''
National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
''. Retrieved on June 14, 2011.
In February 2011, MacMaster posted as Amina on the website
Lez Get Real Lez Get Real was a news site for lesbian audiences that operated between 2008 and 2014. The website was founded in 2008.Flock, Elizabeth and Melissa Bell." ''Washington Post''. June 13, 2011. Retrieved on April 8, 2013. The founder operated the we ...
, operated by Bill Graber, a straight man pretending to be a lesbian named Paula Brooks. MacMaster and Graber corresponded, and under the Amina character MacMaster flirted with the Paula character. Graber said that the interaction "was a major sock-puppet hoax crash into a major sock-puppet hoax." As Amina, MacMaster wrote pieces for ''Lez Get Real''. MacMaster began the blog ''A Gay Girl in Damascus'' under the Amina name. The first entry appeared online on February 19, 2011.'A Gay Girl in Damascus': how the hoax unfolded
" ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
''. June 15, 2011. Retrieved on June 14, 2011.
The publication, known for its commentary on politics, gender, sexuality, and Syrian culture, became, in the words of Nidaa Hassan of ''The Guardian'', "increasingly popular after capturing the imagination of the Syrian opposition as the protest movement struggled in the face of the government crackdown." The blog's tagline was "An out Syrian lesbian's thoughts on life, the universe and so on..." The blog gained popularity after an April 26 post titled "My Father the Hero" about two security agents who came to her home to detain her and were kept away by her father. She and he were described as going into hiding soon after, changing locations in Damascus. In May 2011, Katherine Marsh of ''The Guardian'', then deceived by the hoax, described the blog as "brutally honest, poking at subjects long considered taboo in Arab culture". The character of Amina claimed "Blogging is, for me, a way of being fearless, I believe that if I can be 'out' in so many ways, others can take my example and join the movement." According to Doherty of ''The Electronic Intifada'', MacMaster had also created
social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...
profiles, including on
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
, for both Amina and her fictitious cousin Rania, and had used them to correspond with activists for Palestinian and other causes.Doherty, Benjamin (December 29, 2011).
Whatever Happened to Tom MacMaster?
" ''Electronic Intifada''.
According to American bisexual activist and author Minal Hajratwala, MacMaster (as Amina) wrote to Hajratwala in May 2011, asking for advice regarding a book Amina was writing. She said that MacMaster sent a copy of an autobiography of the character and asked Hajratwala to send the text to an agent. Hajratwala said that she, unaware of MacMaster's true identity, did not send the script to an agent because she believed the material was "rambling and in need of a lot of work."Mackey, Robert (June 22, 2011).
While Posing as a Syrian Lesbian, Male Blogger Tried to Get a Book Deal
. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''. Retrieved on July 6, 2011.


Blog contents


Purported biography

The character of Amina Abdallah Arraf is a dual Syrian and American citizen, with an American mother and Syrian father. "The Lede Blog" of ''The New York Times'' noted that Arraf's draft of her biography indicated "very deep" American roots. She wrote that she was born in Staunton, Virginia in October 1975 to Abdallah Ismail Arraf and Caroline McClure Arraf. The McClures had emigrated to Virginia from
Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...
in 1742. Four decades later, Arraf added, her mother's family fought in the American Revolution at Yorktown, "earning me the right to be in the DAR aughters of the American Revolution" Her family moved to Syria when she was six months old and she grew up between the two countries. She spent a long period in the US after 1982, when an Islamist uprising in Syria was being violently put down. She realized she was gay when she was 15 and it terrified her. After planning to attend Agnes Scott College in Atlanta, she decided not to attend because she was troubled by the number of open lesbians on campus. She came out at 26 and returned to Syria to enjoy a calm life. There she taught English until the uprising closed classes. Arraf experienced prejudice both in the US and Syria, but said she saw no conflict in being both gay and Muslim and described an experience finding other gay women in Syria. Arraf's position as a dual citizen informed her political and cultural perspective, as did being a lesbian.


Homosexuality

Homosexual activity is illegal in Syria, and is punishable by at least three years in prison,"Syria: Treatment and human rights situation of homosexuals"
''United Nations Refugee agency''. May 22, 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
and it is uncommon for gay Arabs to be open about their sexuality. Although Syria's human rights record is among the worst in the world, according to
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
,"Lesbian blogger 'Gay Girl in Damascus' feared kidnapped in Syria"
LGBTQNation.com. June 7, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
the character of Amina wrote openly about her sexual orientation, experiences, and aspirations. In an email interview with CNN, MacMaster wrote as Amina that she believed that political change could improve gay rights.


Syrian uprising

The character of Amina was working on a book of her writings when she disappeared. She had gained popularity after her blogging about the Syrian opposition movement in the face of the government's crackdown on protests. The media in
Western countries The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also constitute the West. ...
first paid attention to the blog around May 2011. Her family was well-connected with relatives in the government and the Muslim Brotherhood, and being politically active was a "natural thing". However, she stated "Unfortunately, for most of my life being aware of Syrian politics means simply observing and only commenting privately." Amina had been increasingly critical of the government in the months of the Syrian uprising. In April, Arraf told how her father confronted two security agents who came to arrest her, threatened to rape her, and accused her of being involved in a
salafist The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a fundamentalist revival movement within Sunni Islam, originating in the late 19th century and influential in the Islamic world to this day. The name "''Salafiyya''" is a self-designation, claiming a retur ...
plot. When unrest broke out, her character described the protests as if she were there.


Fictitious account of threats and hiding

One of Amina's close online friends, a real person named Sandra Bagaria (who later admitted that she never met Amina in person or virtually) explained on June 7 that Arraf had been hiding in "four or five different apartments in four or five different cities" across Syria since two young men appeared at her home in Damascus several weeks before. "Amina woke up in the middle of the night and saw her father outside talking to two young guys in their early 20s. I think they were there just following orders, they didn't know what they were doing" Bagaria said. The two men eventually left without arresting Arraf al Omari, but "Since that day, we agreed they might come back for her. It was only a matter of time." In April, before fictionally going into hiding she wrote,"The Syria I always hoped was there, but was sleeping, has woken up ... I have to believe that, sooner or later, we will prevail." In May 2011, Arraf wrote that she had gone into hiding after her father reported that men had come looking for her. Two weeks later, she blogged that she had been sent a fake message by someone posing as her partner, inviting her to a meeting at a hotel. She also suspected her email accounts had been hacked. In the weeks before her reported abduction, Amina had described traveling around Syria, sometimes in disguise and once riding inside a box on a truck, Bagaria said. At one point, Amina wore an Islamic head scarf and posed as her father's wife so that they could slip more easily through government checkpoints. "When she was traveling with her father, she was grabbed by a soldier who said 'What is a lovely young girl like you doing with an old man like him?'" Bagaria recalled being told. Although purportedly in hiding and under threats of arrest, the character of Amina continued to write her blog. Arraf's character wrote that she would not flee Syria, and that activists had to fight for a more open and free country. She also explained her approach to nonviolence.Mackey, Robert; Stack, Liam (June 7, 2011)
"After Report of Disappearance, Questions About Syrian-American Blogger"
''The New York Times''. Retrieved June 7, 2011.


Fictitious abduction

The character of Amina Arraf was reportedly kidnapped by three armed men when she was on her way with a friend to a meeting in Damascus to meet with protest organizers around 6:00 pm on June 6, 2011. She was described as walking in the area of the Abbasid bus station near Fares al Khouri Street, on her way to meet a person involved with the Local Coordinating Committee, a real opposition planning group. On the blog, MacMaster posted as "Rania Ismail", Amina's fictional cousin, reporting the event: "Amina was seized by three men in their early 20s. According to the witness (who does not want her identity known), the men were armed ... Amina hit one of them and told the friend to go find her father. One of the men then put his hand over Amina's mouth and they hustled her into a red
Dacia Logan The Dacia Logan is a family of automobiles produced and marketed jointly by the French manufacturer Renault and its Romanian subsidiary Dacia since mid-2004, and was the successor to the Dacia 1310 and Dacia Solenza. It has been produced as ...
with a window sticker of Basel Assad." Basel is the brother of president
Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...
.


Response to abduction

The online response in the LGBT community, mainstream media, and social networking websites was rapid and extensive. Facebook pages were set up on June 6 calling for Arraf's release. The Free Amina Arraf Facebook page had already gathered over 10,000 members by the night of June 7; activists tweeted using the hashtag #FreeAmina. On Arraf's blog, MacMaster, writing as Amina's cousin "Ismail", wrote they did not know whether Arraf was in a jail or held elsewhere. '' Now Lebanon'' wrote that Arraf was one of the "ordinary, inspiring heroes of the Syrian revolution", known for "her fearless, blunt accounts of political turmoil in the country, and for her candidness about being gay". Journalist Andrew Belonsky wrote an article for ''Death and Taxes'' magazine, stating the "U.S. government should ... use its power and influence to call for Arraf's release ... Such a statement would of course prove that the U.S. remains committed to freeing citizens held overseas, just as we have in North Korea and Iran, but an official declaration would also send two indispensable messages: international governments must protect free speech, and democratic societies must respect LGBT equality." The U.S. State Department stated on June 7, 2011, that it was looking into the issue.


Hoax revealed

In the wake of the kidnapping reports, questions were raised about the possibility that not only the kidnapping but Arraf al Omari were an elaborate ongoing hoax. Writer/editor Liz Henry was quoted in the "Middle East Live" blog run by ''The Guardian'' saying "I started having doubts based on some of her patterns of talking about personas and fiction ... I would hate to have my existence doubted and am finding it painful to continue doubting Amina's. If she is real, I am very sorry and will apologize and continue to work for her release and support." This possibility was also part of a discussion on the
BBC World Service The BBC World Service is a British Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcas ...
programme '' World Have Your Say'' including fellow blogger Andy Carvin, who expressed more confidence that she was real, but admitted the evidence was ambiguous. Researchers found a prior blog written under the name of Arraf al Omari called ''Amina's Attempts at Art (And Alliteration)'' that advertised itself as a mix of fiction and non-fiction: "This blog is ... where I will be posting samples of fiction and literature I am working on. This blog will contain chapters and drafts. This blog will have what may sometimes seem likely deeply personal accounts. And sometimes they will be. But there will also be fiction. And I will not tell you which is which. This blog will sample what I'm writing. This blog is not a diary. This blog is not about politics. This blog invites your comments."Amina Arraf's Attempts At Art (and Alliteration)


Misappropriated photographs

On June 8, Jelena Lečić, a Croatian national and expatriate in the United Kingdom, issued a statement that the pictures claiming to represent Arraf al Omari were actually of herself, causing ''The Guardian'' and ''The Huffington Post'' to expunge, replace or remove photos that had been from the newspaper's past articles. Lečić, who worked as an administrator at the
Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...
in London, was made aware of the issue by a friend. She appeared on the BBC's ''Newsnight'' to clarify that she had never known of the Syrian woman and that the usage of Lečić's personal images had been going on for some period of time. She stated that having her photograph circulated and associated with someone else — whether that person was real or not — was upsetting for her.


Admission

On June 12, ''The Electronic Intifada'' published evidence for its claims that Amina was the product of Tom MacMaster of Edinburgh, formerly of Atlanta, Georgia. He initially denied this, but later that day the blog was updated with MacMaster's admission that he was the sole author of the blog. The blog post titled "Apology to readers" read:
I never expected this level of attention. While the narrative voice may have been fictional, the facts on this blog are true and not misleading as to the situation on the ground. I do not believe that I have harmed anyone – I feel that I have created an important voice for issues that I feel strongly about. I only hope that people pay as much attention to the people of the Middle East and their struggles in this year of revolutions. The events there are being shaped by the people living them on a daily basis. I have only tried to illuminate them for a western audience.
MacMaster stated in an interview that the kidnapping report was part of a plan to end the blog. He had intended to follow it a few days later with a message saying that Amina "had been released, had left the country and was not going to blog any more".Addley, Esther (June 13, 2011)
"Gay Girl in Damascus hoaxer acted out of 'vanity'"
''The Guardian''.


Identity of author

Thomas "Tom" MacMaster was raised in Harrisonburg, Virginia. He graduated in 1994 from Emory University in Atlanta, with a bachelor's degree in history. At the time of the blog and its unraveling, he was a postgraduate student at the University of Edinburgh. MacMaster said that few would have paid attention to the blog if he had started it in 2010. Because of the political developments in Syria, people on the internet began to notice the blog. Attention increased after the blog character described her experience with the Syrian state internal police. On June 24, 2011, the University of Edinburgh released a statement, stating they were "very concerned" about the reported activities of MacMaster and would investigate any misuse of university computing facilities: they would also investigate the matter in the context of Edinburgh University's Dignity and Respect Policy and list of Disciplinary Offences.


Post-revelation reception

Monica Hesse of ''The Washington Post'' wrote that upon discovery of the hoax, bloggers, women, gays and lesbians, and Syrians were unhappy, since a blog that claimed to be one of them was written by an American heterosexual male. Hesse explained "If acMasterhad not been so emotionally resonant, so detailed, so seemingly 'real,' nobody would have cared so much when Amina disappeared, and nobody would have worked so hard to figure out what might have happened to her, and nobody would have learned that she was a pale man from Georgia. Which meant that, at least according to a chilling and narrow definition of what it means to be real on the Internet, Tom MacMaster was very good indeed at being Amina."Hesse, Monica (June 13, 2011)
"‘A Gay Girl in Damascus’ displays ease of fudging authenticity online."
''The Washington Post''. Retrieved on June 13, 2011.
Liz Henry, who had recommended some of the posts made by MacMaster when he worked under the Amina character, stated "He's stealing the voice of a marginalized person. His way of describing what it's like to be gay in the Middle East goes down smooth with people who have a progressive bent. Why did I jump to this blog — just because it was a person who shares some of my values?" Minal Hajratwala, upon discovering the real identity of Tom MacMaster, re-examined the fictional biography draft he sent her with more scrutiny. Robert Mackey of ''The New York Times'' stated that Hajratwala's second assessment of the writing was "scathing". Hajratwala stated "The faked lesbian sex scenes turn my stomach. The narcissistic writing, the sprinkling of quotations from the
Koran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
and tidbits from Syrian history, the stock stories compiled from a thousand news clippings — it all seems painfully obvious." Hajratwala posted the manuscript from MacMaster online so readers could look at it. MacMaster asked Hajratwala to take the manuscript down and threatened legal action. Hajratwala refused to remove the writings, posted the e-mails MacMaster sent her, and asked readers to copy and disseminate the Amina story draft. MacMaster later said he had apologized to Hajratwala "for any hurt feelings" in a letter.Max, Read (June 22, 2011).
While Posing as a Syrian Lesbian, Male Blogger Tried to Get a Book Deal
". ''
Gawker ''Gawker'' was an American blog founded by Nick Denton and Elizabeth Spiers that was based in New York City and focused on celebrities and the media industry. According to SimilarWeb, the site had over 23 million visits per month in 2015. Fo ...
''. Retrieved on July 6, 2011.
Brian Whitaker of ''The Guardian'' stated that the blog "was an arrogant fantasy" that "undermines, rather than illuminates, awareness of the realities of being gay in the Middle East."Whitaker, Brian (June 13, 2011).
Gay Girl in Damascus was an arrogant fantasy
" ''The Guardian''. Retrieved June 13, 2011.
Whitaker added that "Living a fantasy life on your own blog is one thing, but giving an interview to CNN while posing as a representative of the region's gay people appears arrogant and offensive, and surely a prime example of the 'liberal
Orientalism In art history, literature, and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects of the Eastern world (or "Orient") by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. Orientalist painting, particularly of the Middle ...
' that MacMaster claims to decry." According to Benjamin Doherty of ''The Electronic Intifada'', MacMaster's use of Facebook and other social media to "infiltrate" the networks of political activists made such activists suspicious and uncomfortable.


Documentary and popular culture

* Canadian documentary filmmaker
Sophie Deraspe Sophie Deraspe (born October 27, 1973) is a Canadian director, scenarist, director of photography and producer. Prominent in new Quebec cinema, she is known for a 2015 documentary ''The Amina Profile'', an exploration of the Amina Abdallah Arraf ...
's 2015 documentary film '' The Amina Profile'' explores the case through the perspective of Sandra Bagaria,"What’s Gay at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival?"
''
NewNowNext Logo TV (often shortened to Logo, and stylized as Logo.) is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Media Networks, a division of Paramount Global. Launched in 2005, Logo was originally dedicated to lifestyle and entertainment progra ...
'', January 5, 2015.
the Montreal woman who was in an online relationship with Amina and became involved in the international attempt to "rescue" Amina after her purported abduction, only for the truth to arise afterwards that the blog was a hoax and that Amina had never really existed. * Episode 15 of season 3 of ''
The Good Wife ''The Good Wife'' is an American legal political drama television series that aired on CBS from September 22, 2009, to May 8, 2016. It focuses on Alicia Florrick, the wife of the Cook County State's Attorney, who returns to her career in law ...
'', titled "Live from Damascus", features a Syrian blog titled "Pink Damascus", supposedly created by a Syrian lesbian; investigation reveals to be created by a male from Kansas.


See also

* Iraq the model * List of fictitious people *
Online identity Internet identity (IID), also online identity, online personality, online persona or internet persona, is a social identity that an Internet user establishes in online communities and websites. It may also be an actively constructed presentatio ...
*
On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog "On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog" is an adage and Internet meme about Internet anonymity which began as a caption to a cartoon drawn by Peter Steiner, published in the July 5, 1993 issue of the American magazine ''The New Yorker'' ...
* LGBT rights by country or territory#Western Asia *
LGBT in Islam Within the Muslim world, sentiment towards LGBTQ people varies and has varied between societies and individual Muslims. While colloquial and in many cases '' de facto'' official acceptance of at least some homosexual behavior was commonplace ...
* Syrian Civil War


References


Further reading

*


External links


''A Gay Girl in Damascus''
Amina's blog written by MacMaster, currently with all entries from before the revelation of the hoax removed. * http://www.minalhajratwala.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/damascusgaygirl.blogspot.com_.zip shows the blog as it was at June 6, 2011. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gay Girl In Damascus, A 2011 in Syria 2011 in the United Kingdom British blogs Fictional schoolteachers Hoaxes in the United States Hoaxes in the United Kingdom Human rights in Syria Nonexistent people used in hoaxes Internet hoaxes Fictional lesbians 2011 hoaxes Deception Impostors Orientalism Internet characters introduced in 2011 Fictional Muslims