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As many Western nations celebrate Pride Month, jihadis – including supporters of the Islamic State (ISIS) and Al-Qaeda, as well as Shi'ite clerics – have taken the opportunity to express homophobic views in social media posts, including that homosexuality destroys the family, that Western support for LGBT rights spreads moral depravity, and that homosexual intercourse is responsible for the monkeypox epidemic. The below report documents such posts.
ISIS Supporter "Gay Satan" Is Behind Satirical "Pregnant Ken Doll"
On June 15, 2022, an ISIS supporter in the ISIS-operated Rocket.Chat server shared a link to a satirical YouTube video[1] produced by "The Babylon Bee" – a self-described "Christian news satire" channel – which features a fake advertisement for a "pregnant Ken doll." Likely not recognizing the clip as satire, the ISIS supporter commented: "Look what the gay Satan do[es] now."[2]
Canada-Based Pro-Al-Qaeda Cleric: The LGBT Community Is "Destroying The Family"
On June 14, a pro-Al-Qaeda cleric based in Canada attributed many of the world's alleged ailments – including the destruction of the traditional family structure by the "perverted community" – to the West.
In a Telegram post, he wrote: "The world is heading towards a devastating economic, social, and environmental catastrophe. Hunger and crisis threaten all societies, including the West. The economy is collapsing, the perverted [LGBT] community is destroying the family, and the environment is collapsing from emissions from the West. All wars are waged by the white race in the east and west. But then it is said that Muslims are terrorists and they must be eliminated!"[3]
Pro-Al-Qaeda Channel Posts Anti-LGBT Meme
On June 13, a pro-Al-Qaeda Telegram channel published a two-panel meme showing the Pride Month version of American corporate logos. The bottom panel featured a cat, labelled "humanity," being force fed a Pride flag by a person, labelled "the people of Lot," a reference to Sodom and Gomorrah.[4]
Salafi-Jihadi Telegram Channels Disseminate Essay Condemning Pride Month For Spreading "Sexual Deviancy" Among Youth
On June 9, a Telegram channel criticized Pride Month in a series of posts that included an essay and photos of English-language educational material for children that promotes LGBTQ awareness. Several Salafi-jihadi Telegram channels subsequently shared the post.[5]
In the essay, titled "Pride Month: Does it Aid Us," the author criticized Western nations for promoting "gender dysphoria" and "sexual deviancy" among youth. She railed against alleged public displays of nudity during Pride parades in American cities – that take place in "broad daylight" – and disparaged what she sees as a pro-LGBTQ media agenda, manifested in corporate branding strategies and public programming targeted at children.
The author further lamented that Pride Month in Western countries does not aim to promote tolerance, as it claimed, saying it is intended to suppress dissent. "Your job is to agree, be quiet, and smile without any display of protest," she wrote, "or they will burn your home, change your children's thoughts, and attack your society's basic understanding of men, women, the family, and the individual himself."
Despite her pessimism, the author did express thanks that pro-LGBTQ efforts in Arab countries are still "few and far between." She warned that Western propaganda can still reach Arab Muslim children through public programming in Arabic and social media.
Iraqi Shi'ite Cleric: Monkeypox Are "Gay Pox"
On May 23, an Iraqi Shi'ite cleric capitalized on the spread of monkeypox, an infectious viral disease, to rail against LGBTQ rights. In a Tweet that has since been deleted by Twitter, he disparagingly referred to monkeypox as "gay pox," calling on Iraqi lawmakers to withdraw pro-LGTBQ legislation to "ward off scourges and diseases" and not to "pardon" the "guilt" of gays in Iraq. The Shi'ite cleric also proposed establishing a designated day for "combatting homosexuality" and advertised an Arabic-language anti-LQBTQ hashtag, #No_To_Homosexuality."
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