Hello and welcome to the Ahbab site, the online community for Queer Arabs worldwide.
The purpose of this site is to help us communicate, network and stay in touch within Arab communities all over the world. Here, we have gathered news, articles, and other services that we hope you will find entertaining and educating.
Spring is here and our community continues to be active and to grow. On the political level, we continue to witness and protest abuse in various Arab countries, specially in Beirut and Cairo. As local gay groups in those cities and others become more visible, so is the backlash. Gays in Beirut marched in Anti-War demonstrations proudly waving Rainbow flags. Days later, a popular Gay nightclub in that city was raided. Over in Cairo, arrests and jailing of gays continues despite an outcry by global activist groups and members of the US congress.
Socially, we continue organizing successful events. Our parties in New York City are a huge success with people flying from various cities to attend. A small group is coming together in Houston, while the GLAS Los Angeles mailing list continues to grow. Once again we are planning to participate in events such as Gay Pride Day and AIDS Walk.
Spring is traditionally a time of renewal. Our Arab American family has been through a lot lately. Major changes in the Arab world that have affected all of us here. In addition, our community was already being marginalized in the US by ignorant and racist parties. However, our pride and belief in our background and community helps us to overcome these obstacles. There is a renewed feeling of activism in the community as people are reaching out to each other in an effort to empower one and all. Spring is here, it is time to come out.
As always, we thank you for visiting Ahbab and we would like to remind you to visit our shopping and personals areas. Also, please take some time to visit the "Support GLAS" area and pledge whatever you can to help us maintain this site and our activities. Visiting our sponsors sites also helps us to keep bringing this service to our global audience. Write to us your thoughts, comments, or suggestions. We also encourage you to send us your contributions, we welcome articles, essays, poetry, or anything else you would like to share with our audience.
Enjoy