Middle East News and Stories

How the Middle East Moved From Tolerant of Homosexuality to a Battlefield of Anti-Gay Violence

Islamic culture once celebrated homosexuality as beautifully common, but a historian explains why the Middle East became so anti-gay (and how to fix it)

Lebanese Band Mashrou’ Leila and Its Gay Lead Singer Are Smashing Middle Eastern Homophobia

Happy 10th birthday to one of the world’s most revolutionary bands, thanks in part to its lead singer, a gay man named Hamed Sinno

The Film ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ Is Truly Miyazaki’s Anti-War Masterpiece

Produced in the aftermath of America’s 2003 invasion of the Middle East, it’s perhaps the director’s most political triumph

‘F*ck ISIS’ Is a Dating Simulation Game Where You Kill (and Date) Hunky Terrorists

We’re unsure about new game called ‘Fuck ISIS: The Super Patriotic Dating Simulator’ where you play a horny teen assassin who dates and kills terrorists