Prominent Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr, one of Iraq’s most prominent political figures, has launched a campaign against homosexuality in the country accompanied by a large demonstration by his supporters on Friday night against these «forbidden desires» and «chaotic and lustful freedom.»
«I vow to confront homosexuality or the LGBTQ community through ethical, peaceful and religious means, against this violation of the innate characteristics on which humanity is built,» according to a statement accompanied by his signature and posted on Twitter by his spokesman Salé Mohamed al Iraqi.
The cleric has reiterated his message by calling for the creation of an abolition of the alleged law of homosexuality in Iraq because «it cannot be a door to generalize this affliction».
In reality, homosexuality has been legal in Iraq for 20 years because the country does not have a law explicitly criminalizing it.
However, it does have a regulation prohibiting «immodest acts,» probably the one Al Sadr was referring to, which Human Rights Watch has described as a «vague provision that could be used to target minorities.»
The demonstrations have been concentrated in the Baghdadi neighborhood of Sadr City, the cleric’s stronghold during the war, as well as in the city of Kufa, in his home province of Najaf, reports the New Arab news portal.
