Homosexuality is by no means unheard-of in the Middle East. Probably not even in Iran, of all places.
I've seen one person (can't remember where) suggest an explanation of Ahmedinejad's remark. In the US, in the 20th century, "homosexuality" came to be regarded as an
identity, so that people would say, "I
am gay." Prior to that, even in the US, "homosexuality" was an
act--in particular, a criminal act. To call someone a "sodomite" was similar to calling someone a "thief": it was not an assertion of identity, but an accusation of certain crimes. To say "you
are a thief" is only to say "you
commit theft," not that you were born with a larcenous "orientation."
The Muslim world has not adopted the western concept of homosexuality as identity. Hence they can say, with a straight face, "We don't have 'gay people' (in the Western sense), nor a 'gay community' (in the western sense). We
do, of course, have criminals who commit sodomy, and we punish them like any other criminal..."
If it's true, as is commonly said, that Muslim men in their teens and twenties engage in same-sex relations, that would actually
strengthen the denial of homosexuality as identity: those same men who use each other as an outlet strongly self-identify as heterosexuals. They would be insulted to be told they "are" gay. They're heterosexuals who, lacking access to females, make do.
--Len.
