Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. (Credit: AFP/File photo)
BEIRUT — Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc issued a statement on Thursday that appeared to condemn homosexuality.
The statement denounced "the growing phenomenon of deviance, decadence, disintegration, and family chaos ... [that] threatens the country's stability and its demographic and confessional composition."
Issued on the occasion of the Islamic New Year, the parliamentary group statement was addressed to "Lebanese officials and government, spiritual leaders and all concerned citizens."
"Turning a blind eye, neglecting or showing indifference to this phenomenon will lead to serious problems and constitutional and legal violations that threaten the country's stability and its demographic and sectarian make-up," the statement continued, again without specifying what it meant by "phenomenon."
Repressive statements and actions against Lebanon's LGBTQ+ community have resurfaced in the last year. Although not explicitly illegal in Lebanon, Article 534 of the penal code is often used to criminalize homosexuality.
In June 2022, outgoing Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi issued a decree ordering security services to cancel all LGBTQ+ events organized during Pride Month— a move condemned by a coalition of rights groups.
The State Council annulled the minister's decision, but this did not prevent him from repeating the decree in November.
In a June 2023 statement, Hezbollah's parliamentary group said it rejected "any tolerance of promoters of sexual perversion, pornography and homosexuality" in Lebanon because of the "danger" they represent to society.
That same month, the Islamic Cultural Center asked the Lebanese judiciary to investigate Helem, an association defending the rights of the LGBTQ+ community in Lebanon. The Islamic Cultural Center called for Helem's "dissolution, due to its provocative actions in public spaces."
In March, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah attacked the LGBTQ+ community and the "attempt to modify our culture, led by the West."
The very influential culture of homosexuality comes from the United States," said Nasrallah. "It's not just demonic, it has real effects."