Brian Whitaker > Quotes

“I don't believe in a country where it's more acceptable to see two men holding guns than two men holding hands.”
― Brian Whitaker, Unspeakable Love: Gay and Lesbian Life in the Middle East

“There is an important distinction to be drawn between tolerance of homosexuality and tolerance of sex tourism.”
― Brian Whitaker, Unspeakable Love: Gay and Lesbian Life in the Middle East

“Denial is the first line of defence against a problem and also the easiest, since it requires no action. In Saudi Arabia, denial is almost an institution ... it suits the authorities to deny that homosexual activity exists in the kingdom to any significant extent, and it suits gay Saudis (who well understand how the rules work) to assist that denial by keeping a low profile. If it reaches a stage where denial is no longer, possible, however, the authorities are obliged to respond. The choice then is between tolerance and oppression ...”
― Brian Whitaker, Unspeakable Love: Gay and Lesbian Life in the Middle East

“The irony of this is that while believers and non-believers are on opposite sides where religious ideas are concerned they may also find themselves on the same side in the struggle for freedom of belief.”
― Brian Whitaker, Arabs Without God: Atheism and freedom of belief in the Middle East

“One day, her husband slapped her face. When she complained to her father, he told her God gave husbands the right to beat their wives as stated in the verse of Al-Nisa’ sura.[152] Then she began to wonder how God could give the right to a husband to abandon and beat his wife … How could that be when Islam forbids beating animals? Are women inferior to animals?”
― Brian Whitaker, Arabs Without God: Atheism and freedom of belief in the Middle East

“The idea of a licentious West that many Arabs hold today closely mirrors the view that Europeans had of the Middle East a couple of centuries or more ago.”
― Brian Whitaker, Unspeakable Love: Gay and Lesbian Life in the Middle East

“Sexual rights are not only a basic element of human rights but should have an integral part in moves towards Arab reform ...”
― Brian Whitaker, Unspeakable Love: Gay and Lesbian Life in the Middle East

“It is worth recalling that Britain, over several centuries, waged a war against homosexuality - in the name of religion, social order, decency, etc. - that certainly equalled, and in its scale probably outstripped, anything that happens in Arab countries today.”
― Brian Whitaker, Unspeakable Love: Gay and Lesbian Life in the Middle East

“Trying to suppress atheistic thought on the internet does
nothing to address the causes of people’s religious doubts and may actually
increase their curiosity. People would not be seeking out this material
unless they felt it had some relevance to their own situation and attempts at
censorship imply a fear that religion cannot win the argument on evidence
and reasoning alone.”
― Brian Whitaker, Arabs Without God: Atheism and freedom of belief in the Middle East

“Islam has strong social
aspects based around the concept of ummah – the community of believers –
and expressions of individualism or nonconformity tend to be frowned
upon. Members are expected to pull together and behave (at least in public)
in ways that uphold its Islamic ethos. Thus, when someone breaks away
from established norms – especially if they do so publicly – they are liable
to be seen as damaging communal solidarity”
― Brian Whitaker, Arabs Without God: Atheism and freedom of belief in the Middle East

“This type of tax structure also minimises the opportunity for citizens to protest against their government. Direct taxes, in particular income tax, are viewed as the category of tax that gives citizens most proof that they are contributing to the public purse. In Arab countries, the majority of tax receipts are derived from indirect sales and customs taxes hidden in the price … These types of tax typically conceal the direct link between tax payments and funding of the public purse, thus weakening public pressure for accountability. At the same time, income tax revenue is negligible and tax evasion is on the rise, particularly among influential social groups, which, in principle, should shoulder the greatest burden in funding the public purse, if only as fair return for their greater share of power and wealth. Moreover, in Arab countries, the share of direct taxes appears to have dropped over time, as a result of increasing resort to indirect taxes.”
― Brian Whitaker, What's Really Wrong with the Middle East

“The main problem, according to Nasser al-Sarami, Head of Media at alArabiya TV channel, lies with “traditional attitudes” and an “inability to
address the demands of modern times and younger generations and to
become open to new ideas instead of resorting to repression and blaming
freedom of expression for atheism”:”
― Brian Whitaker, Arabs Without God: Atheism and freedom of belief in the Middle East