Introduction: Researching cultural matters on the Internet that pertain to Somalia and Somaliland is often confusing because both ‘territories’ are very similar and derive from the Somali tradition. Reading the following stories and reports it’s not always clear which territory is being referred to so it is easier (for outsiders) to consider the whole of the land as Somalia. In either location the state and fate of homosexuals is the same — confusing, risky, secretive and sometimes dangerous.
The Somali state currently exists largely in a technical capacity; Somalia has a weak but largely recognized central government authority, the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), but this is only the latest in a string of ineffectual, externally recognized governing authorities.It is a country without unity or cohesive organization. Different factions (gangs, militias) vie for power and are often at war with one another. Homosexuality is considered by many a mortal sin although Arab and Muslim officials often turn a blind eye to homosexual practices as long as it stays in the dark. But conspicuous punishments await those who dare to test the limits of the law or family: honor killings are not unknown.
Name: Somalia
Population: 10097000
Capital: Mogadishu - Pop. 1175000
Area: 637657 sq. km/ sq. miles
Language: Somali, Arabic, Italian, English
Religion: Sunni Muslim
Status of Homosexuality: Illegal- punishable by death
Telephone Country Code: 252
Gay Somalia: The Price of Being Soul Mates
Introduction An Africa queer Muslim writer opens a small window onto the difficult world of gay love between two boys-to-men in Somalia who simply want to live peacefully in love. But the world around them–danger, threats, harassment, civil war–forces them away from home into unpredictable changes. This story is not new but the human nature