Like the Jews in Germany during the Adolph Hitler era, Gays and lesbians in Egypt are being persecuted. Homosexuality is against the law. Allah does not allow it. Gays and lesbians use cyberspace to meet.

While it is difficult to be gay in the West because of the prejudice, it is even harder in a Muslim country. In Egypt, suspected gays are arbitrarily arrested, beaten, and forced to take an HIV test.

Egypt is known for its brutal policing against political opposition and anything against the Moubarak regime. It is sad and troubling to see many gay rights activists and human rights activists leaving the country instead of fighting for a basic human right: freedom to be themselves.

In order to exist, gays and lesbians in Egypt must fight, not hide. By hiding, they make their lives miserable. As the Oromo of Ethiopia say, “There is no cure for him who hides an illness.”