Arabic Mag in Berlin Claims Shaking Hands With Gays Leads to Disease
Friday 15th August 2008
An Arabic magazine in Berlin has sparked an outcry after it published an article claiming that people can contract diseases by shaking hands with gay men.
Berlin's Christopher Street Pride festival.
al-Salam is a free Arabic language magazine distributed to cafes and restaurants across Berlin. The article, titled "A flesh-eating bacteria and sexual abnormality", showed a variety of disturbing photos of skin diseases, as well as offering some vague “scientific” explanations of how contact with gays leads to disease and death.
The article goes on to claim that most gay men have deadly diseases and that “good” Muslims must not shake the hand of a gay man because: “one never knows what kind of bacteria and germs are found on them.”
Unsurprisingly, the article’s 1980s “hugging gays gives you AIDS” style commentary has angered Berlin’s LGBT community.
Lesbian and Gay Association of Berlin-Brandenburg (LSVD) spokesman Alexander Zinn said the group has reported the article to German police. He said: “We have reported it as a crime to the police and it is now being examined to determine whether it should be dealt with as defamation or incitement.”
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