April 2024
Mesahat Newsletter April 2024
In This Newsletter:
1. Former Egyptian Mufti Ali Jumaa describes homosexuality as “immorality” and a “criminal
2. The situation in Khartoum on the morning of April 5th
3. One year since the war in Sudan: a joint statement
4. A year of war in Sudan
5. The Ministry of Education is investigating whether the curriculum of a German school in Cairo includes families of sexual and gender diversity
6. The situation in Khartoum on the morning of April 19
7. The diplomatic war between the UAE and Sudan in the UN Security Council escalates
8. A widespread power outage in many areas of Omdurman
9. As the war in Sudan enters its second year, people struggle to find food
Former Egyptian Mufti Ali Jumaa describes homosexuality as “immorality” and a “criminal
During an episode of the TV programme Light of Faith, broadcast on the TV channels of United Media Services - which is closely linked to the Egyptian security services - Ali Jumaa, the former Mufti of Egypt, stated when asked about homosexuality, saying: “The Book - that is, the Holy Qur’an - said that this act is obscene, which means it’s immoral, and Allah hates this act. These people are doomed, their actions are described as criminal, and Allah destroyed them for this.” He also added that the Prophet Muhammad said (Whoever you find doing the actions of the people of Lot [i.e. male homosexuality] then kill the doer and to whom it is done). These statements, which mainly incite against individuals of sexual and gender diversity, come in a show that mainly hosts children and adolescents to answer their questions about religion. Ali Jumaa also claimed in the same show that there is a psychological treatment for homosexuality, promoting what is called conversion therapy. This is despite the fact that homosexuality is not considered a mental illness, and there are several warnings from several academic and medical bodies about the dangers of so-called conversion therapy and its effects on the health and safety of individuals exposed to this type of practice. The Executive Director of Meem Muslim said that using religion in this way has a profound impact on how gay people view themselves and religion. Using these inaccurate interpretations and weak hadiths to incite against gay people gives an excuse for acts of violence against gay people, and leaves some gay Muslims with questions about why God does not love them. This is not true, and Ali Jumaa and others like him who use religion to spread hate speech are responsible for this. It is worth noting that the Egyptian authorities use the Anti-Commercial Sex Work Law (No. 10 of 1960) to hunt down and prosecute gay people in Egypt for crimes of “habitual immorality and incitement to it,” in addition to some local courts, such as the Economic Court in Alexandria, beginning to use the Anti-Cybercrime Law (No. 151 of 2020) under accusations of "using social media platforms to incite immorality
More details: https://bit.ly/4bskOYW
The situation in Khartoum on the morning of April 5th
A video showing the situation in Khartoum at the beginning of the fifth day of this month, as the war in Sudan is about to complete its first year
Failure to stop the war means increasing the danger to Sudanese men and women from being harmed by shells and bullets, the danger of famine and the deterioration of the psychological state, especially for people of sexual and gender diversity dispersed inside and outside Sudan without access to the basics of life.
More details: https://bit.ly/3UM2xQW
One year since the war in Sudan: a joint statement
Masahat Foundation for Sexual and Gender Diversity in the Nile Valley region (Egypt and Sudan) participated with a number of Sudanese and regional queer groups (Loud & Queer Sudan, Sagia, Taqa, Shades of Ebony, Mesahat, Mufraka, NACSP, Sudan SOGI coalition, Queer Peace & Security Taskforce) by signing a statement to call for peace and justice for Sudan, as the ongoing war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces exceeds one year.
More details: https://bit.ly/3UOlqTf
A year of war in Sudan
Within one year, more than 6,657,550 individuals were displaced within Sudan due to the armed conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, while more than 2,044,248 individuals were displaced across the border into neighbouring countries. The conflict has made Sudan the largest displacement crisis in the world. Among these numbers are many people of sexual and gender diversity who ended up in unsafe homes inside Sudan, or in countries outside of Sudan that are foreign to them.
More details: https://bit.ly/4abp5zh
The Ministry of Education is investigating whether the curriculum of a German school in Cairo includes families of sexual and gender diversity
During the month of April, a number of parents filed complaints against a German school in Egypt due to the sixth grade curriculum containing materials on family forms, which included families of sexual and gender diversity, which the parents considered “incitement to and acceptance of homosexuality,” followed by parliamentary action through a number of interrogations submitted by parliamentarians to the Minister of Education, who in turn explained that the Ministry would send a committee to verify the complaints and take legal action regarding them. The Administrative Judicial Court began examining the case for withdrawing the school’s license on April 28, on the grounds of “teaching students in the sixth grade of primary school some academic courses that contain encouragement of homosexuality and a call for tolerance toward those who commit it,” according to the description of the lawsuit filed by lawyer Amr Abdel-Salam. It is worth noting that in Egypt, in addition to free or state-subsidized public education, there are several different educational systems and curricula, including schools of Al-Azhar, whose curriculum is subject to the supervision of Al-Azhar, and language schools that teach in English and French, and whose study materials are prepared by the Ministry of Education, in addition to international schools, such as the case of this school, where the study materials are accredited and designed so that their students obtain academic certificates equivalent to those studying in those countries. This comes in light of the state’s continued systematic prevention of the presence of any content, whether in the academia or the media, that deals with sexual and gender diversity, except when it reinforces stigma, an example of this is the decision of the Supreme Council for Media Regulation to prevent the appearance of any symbols or people who support sexual and gender diversity or hosting any person of the queer community unless they are determined to “renounce and repent of this act,” as described in the decision.
More details: https://bit.ly/3WwFefb
Rapid Support Forces raped three nurses at Al-Hasahisa Hospital
A video showing explosions and a huge fire in the vicinity of Al-Souq Al-Sha’bi south of Khartoum, where large numbers of Sudanese people are still inside Khartoum, making them vulnerable to the danger of missiles and violations, and this includes people of sexual and gender diversity.
More details: https://bit.ly/3Wv5JBG
The diplomatic war between the UAE and Sudan in the UN Security Council escalates
In November last year, an escalation began between the UAE and Sudan following statements made by the Assistant Commander of the Sudanese Army, Yasser Al-Atta, in which he accused the UAE of being a “mafia state” and that it had taken the “path of evil” by supporting the Rapid Support Forces led by Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo. The development of the escalation between the two countries means the possibility of changes in the conditions of Sudanese people in the UAE and its allies, a country to which a large number of Sudanese people have been displaced.
More details: https://bit.ly/4a4TQ8Z
A widespread power outage in many areas of Omdurman
There has been a widespread power outage in many areas of the city of Omdurman since the evening of April 28. The power outages are affecting the remaining medical facilities and the ability to communicate with groups in these areas. All of this reflects on people of sexual and gender diversity in not having access to fully functioning health facilities.
More details: https://bit.ly/3JSVpfi
As the war in Sudan enters its second year, people struggle to find food
“More people are dying from hunger, from lack of food and medicine, than from bullets. The situation is very difficult,” said former Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok in describing Sudan’s situation. Last year, nearly half of the country's population suffered from hunger, with Sudan's population among the hungriest in 2023. Currently, Sudan has five million people suffering from hunger at emergency level, which is one step away from famine. This changes the difficulty of reaching the most affected areas and therefore the arrival of aid. This reflects on people of sexual and gender diversity in these areas that are unable to access aid, or have communities, in which they find acceptance and support.
More details: https://bit.ly/44vdDNw