Qatar’s World Cup ambassador has describe homosexuality as “damage in the mind’ and is referred to as “harmful and unacceptable.”
Former Qatar international Khalid Salman released a statement in an interview with German broadcaster ZDF.
Salman said: “They have to accept our rules here. [Homosexuality] is haram. You know what haram means?” when asked about the fact that homosexuality is illegal in his country.
“I am not a strict Muslim but why is it haram? Because it is a damage in the mind,” Khalid Salman said when asked why it was haram, or forbidden.
Salman said that as an ambassador for the 2022 World Cup, he shares the same role as many football legends such as Cafu and Xavi Hernández. The organizers described the ambassador’s role as “using the power of football to create positive social change in Qatar, across the region, and around the world.”
“Salman’s suggestion that same-sex attraction is ‘damage in the mind’ is harmful and unacceptable. The failure of the Qatari government to counter this false information has a significant impact on the lives of LGBT residents of Qatar ranging from fueling discrimination and violence against them to justifying subjecting them to state-sponsored conversion practices,” Rasha Younes of the LGBT rights program at Human Rights Watch said.
Last month, HRW released a report documenting “arbitrary” police actions against Qatar’s LGBTQ+ residents. This includes his six counts of serious and repeated beatings and his five counts of sexual harassment which took place while he was in police custody between 2019 and 2022. It “contains categorically and demonstrably false information” but does not provide further details.
Fans planning to travel to the World Cup have also expressed concerns about mainland security. Police have been ordered not to take action against public displays of affection or LGBTQ+ rights, according to documents seen by The Guardian.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino stressed last week that “everyone is welcome [to the World Cup] regardless of race, background, religion, gender, sexual orientation or nationality”, citing Qatar’s organizers. The statement was part of a letter urging football’s governing bodies and their players to put aside discussions of the political and human rights issues surrounding the competition and “let football take the stage”.
FIFA, the highest committee that organizes the World Cup and the government of Qatar have been asked for comment.
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