THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

Two views of gay Muslims: The New York Times ( Dec. 18 ) has an article on gays in Iraq. There was a tentative quiet acceptance of a hesitant gay sub-culture in Baghdad before the Americans came. Now, with the rise of conservative religious extremism and American distaste for gays, things are much more difficult: Many gays now live in constantly changing safe houses and most want to leave the country. Things are different in Berlin, which has a large Muslim population. The New York Times ( Jan. 1 ) reports that gay Muslims from Turkey and the Middle East are filling their own gay discos where, ironically, they often dance traditional male-only circle dances. Even there though they are aware that their families would actually, not figuratively, kill them if they found they were gay.

Here's some High Culcha for the New Year: 'The Noel Coward Collection' has just been released as a DVD. Thirty-one hours of some of the wittiest plays, shows and reviews in the English language by the gay playwright who did camp with brains. Recently published and reviewed in The New York Times Book Review ( Dec. 23 ) , Henry James: The Mature Master by Sheldon M. Novick entered the debate over James' sex life—not was he gay or not, but rather did he have sex at all or not. The author comes down on the side of sex and rather a lot of it, all romantic and virtually all of it with good-looking young young men. Quite a change from James' previous rep as an 'effete, fussy figure; homosexual, if at all, only in spirit, and most likely celibate.' Happy New Year!