Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Saudi Arabia face repression and discrimination. The government of Saudi Arabia provides no legal protections for LGBT rights. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity is illegal within the country.
The law of Saudi Arabia is uncodified; a Wahhabist interpretation of sharia, derived from the Quran and the Sunnah, is the basis of the law and justice system. In particular, the Quranic account of the prophet Lut and certain teachings of Muhammad in the Sunnah, as viewed in the Wahhabi tradition, inform the legal treatment of same-sex sexual activity and nonconforming-gender presentation. Homosexuality and transgender status or gender non-conformity are widely seen as immoral and indecent, and the law allows penalties for acts of homosexuality of capital punishment, prison sentences of indeterminate length (the maximum term is unknown), fines, flogging, and deportation for foreigners. During investigations and detentions, mistreatment of suspects and detainees, including beatings and torture, have occurred. Community violence against LGBT persons occurs. (Full article...)
... that the 2021 film West Side Story was banned in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain, likely due to the transgender character Anybodys?
... that Saudi Arabian historian Sa'd ibn Junaydil took high school graduation exams with his students, as he had yet to obtain a high school diploma?
... that Saudi Arabian poet Hamad al-Hajji lost three members of his family during his childhood and later suffered from schizophrenia until he died at the age of 49 after a lung disease?
Image 1Sunset view from Farasan Island, the largest island of the Farasan Islands, in the Red Sea. It is located some 50 km offshore from Jizan, the far southwestern part of Saudi Arabia.
Image 2Nasseef House is a historical structure in Al-Balad, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. As of 2009 it is a museum and cultural center which has special exhibits and lectures given by historians.
Image 3A view of Jabal Sawda, a peak located in Saudi Arabia, with an elevation of around 3,000 metres (9,843 ft).[1]
... that Lawrence of Arabia's plan to install the Sharif of Mecca's sons as rulers in what became modern Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and western Saudi Arabia was only partially successful?
Image 19Dammam No. 7, the oil well where commercial volumes of oil were first discovered in Saudi Arabia on March 4, 1938. (from History of Saudi Arabia)
Image 20The Rashidun Caliphate reached its greatest extent under Caliph Uthman, c. 654 (from History of Saudi Arabia)
Image 21Saudi males dressed and prepared for ardah, the national dance. It also includes swords, poetry, and singing. (from Culture of Saudi Arabia)