A Progress Pride flag worn by a student in Pekin. (Credit: AFP / Greg Baker / File)
The Islamic Cultural Center in Lebanon asked authorities on Saturday to investigate Helem, an association that defends LGBTQ+ rights, and called for its "dissolution, due to its provocative actions in public spaces," the National News Agency reported.
According to the NNA, the office of the public prosecutor at the Court of Cassation accepted the association's request to open an information note and forwarded it to the relevant authorities.
Helem declined to comment to L'Orient-Le Jour, pending further developments in the case.
In a press release, the Islamic Cultural Center denounced the "numerous celebrations organized by homosexual associations during this month, notably in Gemmayze and at the Beirut racecourse," as well as the decision taken by certain embassies to raise rainbow flags.
June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month, dedicated to the celebration and commemoration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender pride
On June 9, the US Embassy in Lebanon raised a Progress Pride flag to celebrate the "diversity and perseverance of the LGBTQ+ community," as announced on the chancellery's Twitter account.
On May 17, demonstrators gathered outside the German embassy in Beirut to protest the raising of a rainbow flag to commemorate the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT).
The Cultural Islamic Center called on the authorities to "immediately ban" these events "in order to prevent the country from falling into sedition."
According to the Islamic Cultural Center, Helem "violated religious values, both Islamic and Christian, which risks stirring up social and ethical tensions and threatens national peace."
The center also announced that it asked the judiciary to open a file on the Helem association and asked caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi to "dissolve" the association to prevent it from organizing "provocative" activities in Beirut.
The minister previously banned LGBTQ+ events in Lebanon. In June 2022, Mawlawi issued a decree ordering the security services to cancel all LGBTQ+ events organized during the month, a move condemned by a coalition of rights groups.
The Shura Council immediately annulled the minister's decision, but this did not prevent him from repeating the decree in November 2022.
Over the past year, repression against Lebanon's LGBTQ+ community has resurfaced, with the government and religious authorities calling for a crackdown.
