The Case of Mohammad Khordadian, an Iranian Male Dancer

摘要

In his speech at Columbia University, President Mahmud Ahmadinejad stated that there are no homosexuals in Iran. His attempt was to avoid the subject and any ensuing controversies that could hamper the nuclear talks at the United Nations General Assembly the following day. The present study will argue that the denial of homosexuality has been selectively applied to situations when the most prudent alternative was to overlook the issue or to keep quiet about it. A few years earlier, while the former president, Mohammad Khatami, was still in office, this attitude determined the course of action in dealing with Mohammad Khordadian, a famous Los Angeles based Iranian-American male cabaret dancer who was also rumored to be gay. In the spring of 2002, Khordadian visited Iran for the first time in more than twenty years. The authorities considered it an offense that he dared to challenge the morality codes of the Islamic Republic by crossing the border into Iran without any apprehension. The imprisonment and trial of Khordadian is a unique case in focus.