2004
- In 2004, a Syrian woman named Hiba came forward as transsexual who had been given permission to have a sex change operation
- The Nazareth District court ruled that same-sex couples have the same rights as married couples in inheritance rights
- The British government announced details of the new Civil Partnerships Bill, which will give legal recognition to same-sex couples
- In Lebanon, a new LGBT rights organization was founded called Helem, it would be the first gay rights organization in the entire Arab world. Facing prejudice from the start by the majority of Lebanese society, Helem remained strong and resilient throughout, and is still making astounding strides in changing public attitudes to homosexuality today, its mission statement was clear, to lead a peaceful struggle for the liberation of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community in Lebanon from all legal social and cultural discrimination. It also established support groups in different locations around the world, in France, Canada and the United States
- A 17 years old private university student received a 17 years sentence in prison including 2 years hard labor, for posting a personal profile on a gay dating site. The Student was arrested outside the American University in Midan Al Tahrir (Liberation Plaza) in Cairo yesterday. He is accused of "offences" to the public good, the honor of society, and a contempt to moral principles and social tradition. The sentence was issued by the Jahah court in Cairo by A'laa Deen Shoja'a under the supervision of heads of court Rida Shazzli and Mohamed Moheb
- Activist launches first openly-functioning Palestinian organization for Arab lesbians in the Middle East, 'Aswat’
2005
- Civil Unions began in New Zealand
- Same-sex marriage began in Spain
- Latvia amended its law to prohibit same-sex marriage
- Civil Unions finally began in the United Kingdom
- In Iran, the ultra right-wing candidate of the Alliance of Islamic Builders of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became President in a land slide victory, his time as President would see an astonishing increase in gays and lesbians being executed, after nearly thirty years since the Iranian revolution, the LGBT community had hoped for more leniency from the government of Iran, but Ahmadinejad’s succession would have these hopes dashed
- In 2005, a group of Lebanese gay men fled to the Netherlands, seeking asylum. They argued that, because homosexuality is a crime in Lebanon, they would be treated as criminals if they returned to Lebanon. Canada has given some Lebanese gays asylum
- Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani issued a fatwa in late 2005, calling for the execution of gay people in Iraq in the ‘most severe way possible’
- Aljazeera has effectively outed the Crown Prince Tameem Bin Hamad the 2nd to a worldwide auduence. According to Aljazeera, the verdict of Dr. Qaradawi in response to allegations that Qatar's 25-year old Prince Tameem was spotted at the popular London gay club, G.A.Y. The prince and his male partner, Michael Heard, were allegedly banned from G.A.Y. for a month following a fight. Dr. Qaradawi's support for the execution of the Crown Prince was reported by Aljazeera. Dr. Qaradawi's recommendation that the prince be stoned to death far exceeds the current penalty for homosexuality in Qatar, which is 5 to 10 years in prison
2006
- In the Czech Republic, registrations of same-sex partnerships began, it is the first nation of the former Soviet Bloc countries to sanction same-sex unions
- Same-sex marriage began in South Africa
- Iraqi lesbians and gays continue to be subjected a systematic reign of terror by Shia death squads. More than 400 gay men have been murdered in Iraq since 2003 due to their sexual orientation
- On May 25, 2006, Wissam Auda, an Iraqi Olympic squad tennis player, his coach Hussein Ahmed Rashid, and and his teammate Nasser Ali Hatem, were shot at close range and killed in the al-Saidiya district of Baghdad by fundamentalist militias. Their 'crime' was wearing Western-style tennis shorts, and were perceived as being gay
- In Dubi more than two dozen Arab men arrested at what police called "a mass homosexual wedding", they could face goverment-ordered hormone treatments, five years in jail and lashing, authorities said. The interior Ministry said police raided a hotel chalet earlier this month and arrested 22 men from the Emirates celebtating the wedding's ceremony, one of the strings of recent group arrests of homosexuals in the UAE
2007
- In Jordan, the very first gay themed (unpublished) magazine MK was about to launch in Nomevber 2007, but quickly folded after taking the major spotlight suddenly in the tabloids and news, also having shirtless 18-year old model Khalid on the cover, which had put him instantly on the map
- Registered partnerships of same-sex couples began in Switzerland
- In Israel, following a Supreme Court ruling ordering them to do so, Jerusalem registered its first gay couple, Avi and Binyamin Rose married
- In Iran, at 5am on December 6th, Makvan Mouloodzadeh was executed at Kermanshah Central Prison, for simply being gay, neither his lawyer or his family were told until after his execution
- Jenny Bailey became the first transsexual mayor in the United Kingdom
- In August 2007, a lesbian group named Meem was founded to support lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning women in Lebanon
- In 2004, a Syrian woman named Hiba came forward as transsexual who had been given permission to have a sex change operation
- The Nazareth District court ruled that same-sex couples have the same rights as married couples in inheritance rights
- The British government announced details of the new Civil Partnerships Bill, which will give legal recognition to same-sex couples
- In Lebanon, a new LGBT rights organization was founded called Helem, it would be the first gay rights organization in the entire Arab world. Facing prejudice from the start by the majority of Lebanese society, Helem remained strong and resilient throughout, and is still making astounding strides in changing public attitudes to homosexuality today, its mission statement was clear, to lead a peaceful struggle for the liberation of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community in Lebanon from all legal social and cultural discrimination. It also established support groups in different locations around the world, in France, Canada and the United States
- A 17 years old private university student received a 17 years sentence in prison including 2 years hard labor, for posting a personal profile on a gay dating site. The Student was arrested outside the American University in Midan Al Tahrir (Liberation Plaza) in Cairo yesterday. He is accused of "offences" to the public good, the honor of society, and a contempt to moral principles and social tradition. The sentence was issued by the Jahah court in Cairo by A'laa Deen Shoja'a under the supervision of heads of court Rida Shazzli and Mohamed Moheb
- Activist launches first openly-functioning Palestinian organization for Arab lesbians in the Middle East, 'Aswat’
2005
- Civil Unions began in New Zealand
- Same-sex marriage began in Spain
- Latvia amended its law to prohibit same-sex marriage
- Civil Unions finally began in the United Kingdom
- In Iran, the ultra right-wing candidate of the Alliance of Islamic Builders of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became President in a land slide victory, his time as President would see an astonishing increase in gays and lesbians being executed, after nearly thirty years since the Iranian revolution, the LGBT community had hoped for more leniency from the government of Iran, but Ahmadinejad’s succession would have these hopes dashed
- In 2005, a group of Lebanese gay men fled to the Netherlands, seeking asylum. They argued that, because homosexuality is a crime in Lebanon, they would be treated as criminals if they returned to Lebanon. Canada has given some Lebanese gays asylum
- Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani issued a fatwa in late 2005, calling for the execution of gay people in Iraq in the ‘most severe way possible’
- Aljazeera has effectively outed the Crown Prince Tameem Bin Hamad the 2nd to a worldwide auduence. According to Aljazeera, the verdict of Dr. Qaradawi in response to allegations that Qatar's 25-year old Prince Tameem was spotted at the popular London gay club, G.A.Y. The prince and his male partner, Michael Heard, were allegedly banned from G.A.Y. for a month following a fight. Dr. Qaradawi's support for the execution of the Crown Prince was reported by Aljazeera. Dr. Qaradawi's recommendation that the prince be stoned to death far exceeds the current penalty for homosexuality in Qatar, which is 5 to 10 years in prison
2006
- In the Czech Republic, registrations of same-sex partnerships began, it is the first nation of the former Soviet Bloc countries to sanction same-sex unions
- Same-sex marriage began in South Africa
- Iraqi lesbians and gays continue to be subjected a systematic reign of terror by Shia death squads. More than 400 gay men have been murdered in Iraq since 2003 due to their sexual orientation
- On May 25, 2006, Wissam Auda, an Iraqi Olympic squad tennis player, his coach Hussein Ahmed Rashid, and and his teammate Nasser Ali Hatem, were shot at close range and killed in the al-Saidiya district of Baghdad by fundamentalist militias. Their 'crime' was wearing Western-style tennis shorts, and were perceived as being gay
- In Dubi more than two dozen Arab men arrested at what police called "a mass homosexual wedding", they could face goverment-ordered hormone treatments, five years in jail and lashing, authorities said. The interior Ministry said police raided a hotel chalet earlier this month and arrested 22 men from the Emirates celebtating the wedding's ceremony, one of the strings of recent group arrests of homosexuals in the UAE
2007
- In Jordan, the very first gay themed (unpublished) magazine MK was about to launch in Nomevber 2007, but quickly folded after taking the major spotlight suddenly in the tabloids and news, also having shirtless 18-year old model Khalid on the cover, which had put him instantly on the map
- Registered partnerships of same-sex couples began in Switzerland
- In Israel, following a Supreme Court ruling ordering them to do so, Jerusalem registered its first gay couple, Avi and Binyamin Rose married
- In Iran, at 5am on December 6th, Makvan Mouloodzadeh was executed at Kermanshah Central Prison, for simply being gay, neither his lawyer or his family were told until after his execution
- Jenny Bailey became the first transsexual mayor in the United Kingdom
- In August 2007, a lesbian group named Meem was founded to support lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning women in Lebanon