I’m Lebanese, and from most outside perspective, Beirut (the capital city), is a partially-Westernized, big city, in the middle of a volatile part of the world. I was trying to convince my boss of this, and then of course they went and had two car bombs the next week. Stable, it may not be, but from pictures I’ve seen, it’s a beautiful city on the Mediterranean.
Lebanon, also has a large LGBT community, and as far as that part of the world goes, they have more freedoms than most. Recently, the Lebanese court ruled that homosexuality is not a crime:
The court ruled that homosexual relationships do not “contradict the laws of nature” and therefore cannot be considered a crime….The assumption that homosexuality is a result of disturbances in the family dynamic or unbalanced psychological development is based on wrong information.
It’s a step forward, and it’s great to see in Lebanon, of all places, so hopefully it is thinking that will continue throughout all the corners of the world. You can read more about the court ruling at the Good Men Project.
All my best,
Mike
