As a gay man who has lives most of the past 11 years in the Middle East, I can’t wait to download and listed to this episode. Of course, living in the Middle East means it takes 100 times longer to download stuff off the net than in the rest of the world.
I’d be interested to hear comparisons of my experiences (fat (or “steroid-fat”), hairy, I’m only oral or top, 30-second cummers, selfish, arrogant men who think they’re not gay if they’re the ones fucking) to those of the author. Or there are the married lebanese who seem to be exclusively 100% bottom when in the sack.
According to iTunes, only 6 hours remaining til the download’s finished. Welcome to Kuwait!

The WSJ had a great article on this topic:

Daily Archive - April 3, 2007
April 3, 2007, 6:47 pm
Gay Life Thrives, Quietly, in Saudi Arabia

Gay life is flourishing in Saudi Arabia, despite the country’s puritanical laws. The kingdom’s adherence to sharia, or Islamic law, as its sole legal code largely impedes socializing between men and women. Nadya Labi reports in the May issue of the Atlantic (subscription required) that such strict separation in many ways has made it easier to be gay than straight in a society that forbids all sexual activity outside of marriage.

Sodomy remains punishable by death in the kingdom, which maintains long lists of prohibitions — against smoking, drinking or going to discos. In many homes, families won’t allow a man to be alone with an unrelated woman, but that standard doesn’t apply to companions of the same sex. For some Saudis, the strict limits on gender-mixing have made homosexual relationships a safer or more accessible option, as long as the behavior is kept private. Consequently, cities like Riyadh and Jeddah have emerged as centers of gay life in the Middle East. As it has elsewhere, the Internet has provided a convenient way for people to connect privately — Web access has grown tenfold in the kingdom since 2000.

While the West associates homosexual behavior with sexual orientation, the Middle East traditionally hasn’t — homosexual behavior often is regarded as an act, not an orientation. Many people who act on sexual urges don’t consider themselves gay, and others dismiss past homosexual behavior in their lives as part of growing up. Even the 18th century religious scholar who founded Wahhabism, the fundamentalist form of Islam practiced in Saudi Arabia, drew a distinction between homosexual desire and homosexual acts. Today, gays in Saudi Arabia operate under something akin to a Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell shield — parents who suspect their children are homosexual say nothing, rather than risk any shame that knowledge of the truth might bring.

Still, in a country where nearly everyone — gay and straight — lives a highly restricted life, gay rights aren’t a subject of discussion. Western gay pride advocacy is seen as “too much a masquerade for attention,” says one gay Saudi man. “Women’s rights, gay rights — why? Get your rights without being too loud.” – Nick Timiraos

Could be wrong, but i don’t think there’s an analogy between the koran burning and the general waste of money, even if that waste has a supposed religious undertone. i think if someone burned the shroud of turin in protest against a belief of christianity, the public outcry would be monumental. i tend to agree with fausto in that he could’ve easily sold the book and donated the moolah to an organization that could concretely deal with the issues he opposes.

I loved the Middle Eastern flavored opening theme song. Terrific!

Great interview! It sounds like you could get moocherx on the podcast for a follow-up, to probe the issue further…

Very enlightening and interesting show. In some ways, the way it is in muslim countries reminds me very much of traditional Asian views, in that homosexuality is very much tolerated, but identity as “gay” is frowned upon. Similarly I see a lot in ancient asian history where homosexuality with certainty do exist, but remain hidden part of society. People certainly do not identify themselves as “gay” even if they have sexual relations with people of the same sex. Similar to what was said in the interview, it wasn’t until up take of western values that intolerance and the gay identity become more prevalent.

The “gay” identity is very much a western concept in viewing behavior as black and white. By claiming and acknowledging the “gay” identity, one is labeling (and classifying) oneself, in a sense, limiting oneself to a particular behavior. I can somewhat understand my parent’s viewpoint, about me “limiting” myself to homosexual relationships.

In someways, I think the muslim countries where sexual orientation is more fluid is somewhat more advanced than western culture. I suppose it would be comparable to what is termed “metrosexual” in western societies. However, intolerance of the “gay” identity forces homosexuality into the shadows and prevents those societies from further advancement.

Swarthy - just the way I like them too. If Michael Luongo and I went cruising together, sounds like we would constantly be cockblocking eachother. Ah well, I don’t mind sharing. In the Netherlands we have one of the world’s only (or so they claim) Arabic gay bars: Habibi Anna. But what really fascinates me is the park-phenomenon. Lots of married Arab men out in the parcs at night here - all claiming to be top (because being bottom would be too feminine) and then very easily flipping when you get them into bed. (This is second-hand information as I don’t do parks, but I know an expert in this area.) There is something unusual (to a Westerner) going on with their concept of masculinity. At some point my expert friend got called names (fag) by a group of young Arabs when he passed them, though on separate occasions he had ‘had’ 3 of them. Must be group behaviour. Will be checking out that book, sounds fascinating.