(ANSA-AFP) - BERLIN, NOV 8 - Former Qatari international and
World Cup ambassador Khalid Salman has called homosexuality a
"damage in the mind" in an interview to be aired on German TV on
Tuesday. The country will accept gay visitors but "they have to
accept our rules", Salman said in the interview with the ZDF
broadcaster, filmed in Qatar ahead of the tournament. Salman
also insisted homosexuality was "haram" -- something forbidden
in Islam -- during the interview, which was abruptly cut off
after his comments. Qatar has come under sustained fire over its
human rights record ahead of the World Cup, including its
treatment of foreign workers and its stance on women's and LGBTQ
rights. Homosexuality is illegal in the Gulf state and captains
from a number of leading European countries, including England,
France and Germany, will wear armbands in rainbow colours with
the message "One Love" in an anti-discrimination campaign. Fans
in stadiums across Germany on Saturday called for boycotts of
the tournament. German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said last
week on a visit to Qatar that she will attend the World Cup
after being given a "guarantee of safety" for LGBTQ fans by
Qatar's prime minister. German lawmakers joined Faeser on the
visit, but the German government's human rights commissioner
Luise Amtsberg pulled out. Faeser had previously said Qatar's
hosting of the World Cup was "very tricky" from Berlin's
perspective, prompting Doha to summon the German ambassador.
(ANSA-AFP).
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