The allegation that Dr Adel Hussein promotes homosexuality is scientifcally wrong and fatally flawed

The imprisonment of the doctor and journalist Adel Hussein is despicable and atrocious, to say the least. It is totally inconsistent with the current Iraqi constitution that ensures freedom of thought, and is in violation of the law in Iraqi Kurdistan that prohibits the imprisonment of journalists. This incident is even more unsettling since the current Iraqi Minister of Health is a psychiatrist. Furthermore, this sentence violates the goals and duties stipulated by the Iraqi Medical Association (IMA) which state that the IMA aims at “Boosting up the medical profession, and enhancing the scientific and professional standards of the members".
The allegation of Dr Hussein’s encouragement of homosexuality, an allegation on which the sentence was based, was ridiculous and has no scientific validity whatsoever for many reasons, only some of which I cite here:
1. The sexual or gender orientation; heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, asexual or transsexual, is not a choice, because people are born with this orientation and hence it cannot be encouraged or discouraged. Therefore, it is considered in many parts of the world immoral and unethical on the part of the medical doctor or health professional to dissuade a person away from his or her sexual/gender orientation, and the health provider can face a disciplinary action and even lose job if acting unethically. There are well-established international, scientific guidelines on the management of these conditions that every doctor and health professional is obliged to follow if he or she is not prepared to sacrifice his professional integrity or to betray his Hippocratic Oath. The Iraqi Medical Association themselves should have initiated this appeal, instead of keeping silent on this matter, perhaps out of fear or ignorance-there is no qualified sexologist working inside Iraq (sexology or sexual medicine is not be confused with genial medicine). It is worth mentioning too that the World Psychiatric Association abandoned the diagnosis of homosexuality as an illness in the early seventies of the last century.
2. As the famous sexologist Kinsey teaches us, it is empirically wrong to speak of the dichotomy of homosexuality versus heterosexuality. His surveys clearly indicate that heterosexuality and homosexuality are on a continuum, and he devised his 6-point scale of heterosexuality versus homosexuality. This scale indicates that heterosexuality and homosexuality are the extremes of the scale and most people; I suppose including myself, are having attributes belonging to both heterosexuality and homosexuality. Hence the ‘seduction theory’ of homosexuality is a fallacy and is fatally flawed. And our current world now speaks of human sexualities, rather than one sexuality.
3. Many people who reject homosexuality and endeavor to inhibit its practice are blind to their unconscious homophobia they are afraid of, and consequently employ the well known psychological defense mechanism of “reaction formation” to prove (unconsciously) to themselves and others that they are not homosexuals. Hence, it is a dual form of denial and scapegoating. Homophobic people are; sadly, a menace to themselves and others, and their lack of insight necessitates that they work though their phobia by seeking psychotherapy to discover their blind spots and free themselves of their denial. Also, denial of homosexuality and escape into a marriage or a heterosexual relationship is a potential recipe for a disaster.
4. Many people base their rejection of homosexuality on the principles of social Darwinism (social survival of the fittest), assuming erroneously that homosexuality leads eventually to the extinction of human species by virtue of the homosexuals’ lack of off-springs. Not only historians of sexuality, but even lay people, know well that homosexuality has been around since time began (homosexuals were celebrated in the ancient Greece). We are not threatened with extinction, but with over-population. And certainly homosexuality in human (or other animals if you like) is not, and has never been, a threat to the survival of our species or any other animal species. And we know that the threat of wars, particularly nuclear wars, famines, hunger and global warming are our real threats. Further, this fear is based on additional fallacy that nature has its own teleology or mind that aims at the survival of our species Homes Sapiens and other species. This assumption projects our thoughts on the mindless nature, and we do not need to remind ourselves that many animal species have been extinguished, partly because of our selfishness and disregard for nature. Further, we need to bear in mind that not all heterosexual relationships or marriages aim at having children, sometimes out of choice and life-style.
5. The notion of sexuality (be it hetero or homosexual), as the historian of thought Foucault indicated in his 3-volume History of Sexuality, is a relatively new term. The first time the notion of sexuality was introduced in the Oxford Dictionary of English was in 1800 with the advance of capitalism (and later ‘orthodox’ communism), as the economic equivalent of the patriarchal social system and its need for manpower (procreation). However, to be fair, there is little or no evidence now to support the contention that the persecution of homosexuals remains a matter of state policy in Cuba.
6. Again, constant with what Foucault taught us, we all know that many Arabic poets in the Abassea era, for example, were courting men and young boys in their poems and this has never been a morally contentious issue. One of the main streets in Bagdad bears the name of their main representative, Abu Nuas. No one, thanks God, on the part of authorities or the public, has objected to naming this street after this beautiful poet, apart form Saddam, but that was due to the ‘alleged’ poet’s ethnic origin.
7. The association made between AIDS and homosexuality is totally wrong, since the spread of AIDS has several crucial causative pathways, mainly related to not using safer sex (condoms) and the use of contaminated needles in those with drug addictions. Additionally, many people falsely equate homosexuality with anal sex. The falsehood is twofold. Firstly, most homosexuals do not practice anal sex and prefer mutual masturbation instead. Secondly, anal sex could be also a part of a heterosexual relationship. The incorrect equation of AIDS and homosexuality certainly compounds the stigma attached to AIDS and contribute additionally to a person’s disinclination to be tested or seeking treatment. It is proved that early diagnosis of HIV infection through testing helps greatly in preventing the conversion of infection into an AIDS illness and in hindering its spread to the partner or others.

The Iraqi Government is calling on Iraqi doctors to return to their homeland and serve it. This is a very noble cause and we like to return provided that our professional integrity is maintained and our professional freedom of thought is respected.
To conclude, the sentence against Dr Hussein is neither lawful nor based on scientific facts. The Iraqi authorities should release Dr Hussein and compensate him for any physical or psychological damage he has sustained. We also call on the authorities to encourage breaking the taboo on discussing sexuality in our society and media, a taboo which is partly self-imposed. This taboo and censorship can only promote the spread of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Suppression of scientific facts that promote health care and prevent spread of disease is a crime and those who commit this crime should be held responsible thereof irrespective of who they are or of their position in the governmental hierarchy in Kurdistan or other parts of Iraq. We all know that one of the main reasons for the resignation (read dismissal) of the past South Africa president Thabo Mbeki was his government’s disregard of the scientific evidence about AIDA and its treatment.
It is more than an irony that we launch this appeal when the whole world is observing now the AIDS Day. AIDS Day is about raising money, increasing awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education, particularly sexual education.
Just in the way of a last word, although I am just a humble medical doctor and not a theologian, I would like to ask those who reject homosexuality on religious grounds the following question: Who they think has created homosexuals?

Rate the article
Bad	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Very good
Result : 86%							Participated in the vote : 17