October 13, 2022
First Openly Gay Qatari Gets Blocked by David Beckham
READ TIME: 2 MIN.
The first openly gay Qatari with a global profile says he has one less follower on Instagram. He was blocked by David Beckham after he tried to highlight LGBTQ+ issues in the Gulf state, reports MSN.
Dr Nas Mohamed has spearheaded attention towards the treatment of LGBTQ+ people in Qatar ahead of the World Games in that country. He also wrote an open letter to Beckham who, the Daily Mail reports, signed a controversial £10 million deal with Qatar to promote the country ahead of the world cup. "This is despite warnings over human rights abuses and the country's abysmal record on LGBT+ issues: sex between two men can technically still be punished with the death penalty."
Watch David Beckham promote Qatar in a recent video.
"After tagging Beckham's account in posts, including one saying 'love is not a crime and being an LGBT person is not a crime', he said he discovered on Sunday that he could no longer view the profile," MSN reports.
The World Cup kicks-off on Nov. 21 in Qatar's 60,000-capacity Al-Bayt stadium.
Dr. Nas, who is seeking asylum in the US, told Metro.co.uk: "I was quite shocked just to get a reaction because I've been ignored completely by FIFA, FIFA officials, World Cup officials and my own government. I am getting international reaction from human rights and LGBT organisations, and even Norway's football federation met me and had a positive statement on their website about the work I am doing for the LGBT community in Qatar."
He continued: "It's not only shocking, it's frightening that they are so engaged with the deal they are doing that they don't want to hear the message.
"A few months into this I was exhausted and frankly this is the fuel I need for my fire, I will continue to speak up. The gay community in Qatar has been sending me messages saying how they feel upset and defeated."
The 35-year-old Nas went public at the end of May. This has resulted in death threats and abusive comments on social media, as well as many supportive messages from Qataris, albeit in private.
"The physician's decision to step out of the shadows has come at great personal cost. He accepts he will never return to the land of his birth and is estranged from his family," writes MSN.
