ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraqi leaders on Sunday condemned western diplomatic missions in Baghdad for hoisting rainbow flags in a sign of solidarity on the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.
The European Union, the World Bank MENA, and the Canadian and British embassies to Iraq all hoisted the flag in Baghdad on Sunday morning to “highlight the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people,” the EU mission said in a tweet, which has since been removed.
Rudaw English has approached the EU mission for comment, but is yet to receive a response. The British embassy has also since removed its tweet.
Although same-sex relationships are technically legal under the Iraqi Penal Code, they are still widely frowned upon in the largely conservative society.
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Iraq’s foreign ministry issued a statement on Sunday to “denounce” the raising of the flags, claiming it is against “the noble morals of all divine religions.”
“We remind all the missions operating in Iraq to adhere by the laws of the country, and to follow diplomatic norms,” it said.
Bashir Hadad, deputy speaker of Iraqi parliament, also issued a statement calling the hoisting of the pride flags a “clear provocation to the feelings of the Iraqi people.”
“We do not allow the hoisting of the homosexual flag on our land […] We have directed the foreign relations, religious affairs, and other relevant committees to take the necessary measures against this behavior,” he said.
“The [EU] mission must immediately lower the flag and apologize for their action which should not be repeated again,” he added.
Influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s Sairoon bloc also called the act “unacceptable” and culturally insensitive during the holy month of Ramadan.
“We refuse and condemn any behavior that contradicts the culture and religion of the Iraq people. We ask the European mission in Iraq to lower the flag,” read a Sairoon statement.
“We are in a blessed and holy month for all Muslims, and the foreign diplomatic missions in Iraq need to take into account the peculiarities of Muslim peoples,” it added.
Sadr himself tweeted about the incident later in the day, calling LGBTQ+ people “mentally ill and in need of recovery and guidance.” He described the raising of the flags as “attacks on all People of the Book, not just Muslims.”
He called on the Iraqi parliament to investigate the case and to “seek an apology [from these countries] as soon as possible,” also suggesting that Iraqi embassies abroad should raise Islamic banners.
Amir Ashour, founder and executive director of activist network IraQueer, said being LGBTQ+ is not incompatible with being Iraqi.
“Critics […] continue to rely on the outdated and unfounded notion that being LGBT+ is a western export. We believe that diversity exists everywhere. The recognition of the LGBT+ community in Iraq, an important and valuable part of the society, is not a western export,” Ashour told Rudaw English.
The act of raising the pride flag is a tribute to those murdered and persecuted for their sexuality, he said.
In March this year, Sadr claimed the coronavirus had been caused by the legalization of gay marriage – a claim which has no scientific basis. Ashour responded to Sadr’s comments, accusing his Saraya al-Salam militia of committing crimes against the LGBT+ community.
Sadr leads “a militia which has a documented history of torturing and killing LGBT+ people in organized campaigns using horrific means,” Ashour said at the time.
Updated at 11.50 am on May 18, 2020 to mention the British embassy taking down its tweet
