Iraqi leaders condemn LGBTQ+ flag of EU Delegation

Iran International TV has reported that Muqtada al-Sadr and Hadi al-Amari condemned the raising of the LGBTQ+ flag by the EU Delegation to Iraq, calling the LGBTQ+ community “psychotic patients”.

Sadr and Amari are the leaders of Iraq’s two largest political parties. They also called on Iraqi embassies and consulates in Britain, Canada and Europe to raise Islamic flags in response to the LGBTQ+ flag being raised in Baghdad.

The rainbow flag was raised as part of the International Day Against Homophobia, and the TV station reported that it immediately resulted in a homophobic backlash in Iraq.

Muqtada al-Sadr has previously blamed Covid-19 on same-sex marriage and claimed that the LGBTQ+ community “are mentally sick.”

Hadi al-Amiri, head of the Fatah Alliance, called for the expulsion of European ambassadors who took part in the flag raising, claiming that “what the European Union mission and British and Canadian embassies did in Baghdad with the gay flag is an outrageous and improper act that violates the customs, traditions and ethics of Iraqi society”.

Senior editor of Iran International Fariba Sahraei said: “What we have witnessed with Muqtada al-Sadr and Hadi al-Amiri’s comments is the explicit promotion of homophobia and intolerance in Iraq, where the LGBTQ+ community is already repressed.”

She added: “Similarly in Iran, the LGBTQ+ community can be killed simply for being who they are, and on the International Day Against Homophobia, this is deeply troubling.”