Brave Muslim cleric flees Iran after being attacked for marrying gay couples
A Muslim cleric has been forced to flee Iran after he was attacked for marrying gay couples.
The gay mullah, identified as Taha, was found to have conducted the marriages in violation of Islamic shariah law.
Speaking to the BBC the cleric said he had officiated the weddings, but that the time leading up to his eventual departure from the country became very difficult.
He said he was threatened “with death” by the authorities, over the marriages.
“The authorities questioned me several times about my choice of friends”, he said.
“They were saying I am a cleric and I shouldn’t be meeting gay men. The other mullahs were suspicious about my sexual orientation and threatened me with death”.
Refugees from Iran spoke to the BBC to say: “We knew mullahs as people who wanted to punish us. They prayed at our execution ceremonies. But now we know someone who prays at our wedding ceremonies.”
Those found guilty of “homosexual conduct” under Iran’s shariah law can be fined, lashed, or even executed.
Earlier this year a famous Iranian model was arrested for posing on Instagram with her hair on show in a sting under which Kim Kardashian has been accused of being a spy.
Wearing of the hijab by all women has been compulsory in Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution when strict Islamic law was introduced.
The country has also seen a number of young women passing themselves off as men – in order to escape the country’s sexist morality laws.
