THE first man to be granted asylum in Ireland for being gay has been assaulted by 10 Muslim women in Dublin.

Nabil Salim, 23, from Pakistan, was assaulted by the women, who wore burqas, outside a halal butcher in the city.

Salim, a Muslim, became an Irish national in 1997 after fleeing Pakistan, where Islamic sharia laws forbid homosexuality. Gay men who have sex face two years in prison, flogging and even death by stoning.

He did not expect to encounter such prejudice in Ireland. In May, however, Salim was verbally abused and spat upon by a group of Muslim women who apparently took offence at him as they queued in a halal butcher. Salim, who was with a female friend, overheard the women discussing his sexuality. He confronted them. The women then turned on him.

Salim was punched and kicked. The women chanted in Arabic that they would be “rewarded” by the government in their home country of Kuwait for killing a gay man.

“I couldn’t believe it, Irish people would never treat me like this,” said Salim, who is still receiving treatment at Dublin’s Mater Hospital for a back injury sustained in the attack.

“It was the first time that anyone has attacked me in Ireland because I am gay.”

Salim, who has an Irish boyfriend whom he hopes to “marry” in a commitment ceremony later this year, is studying for his junior certificate in Ireland.

He is also a celebrated drag artist, who performs in Dublin’s gay pubs and nightclubs.

“There are many gay men who are afraid to come out because they are afraid that they will be targeted and discriminated against. It is painful enough being gay and a Muslim,” he said.

“I would expect this level of abuse in my own country, but not by Muslim people living in Ireland, where they are obliged to respect Irish laws.”

Salim reported the assault to the gardai. Detectives have been unable to identify the assailants, however, who were all in traditional Muslim dress.

The Garda Racial and Intercultural Office, which monitors race crime and educates foreign nationals about Irish laws, has also been notified.

The attack has been condemned by the Islamic Cultural Centre in Clonskeagh, Dublin. “The Koran forbids homosexuality in all its forms, it is not acceptable,” said Dr Nooh al-Kaddo, director of the centre. “But no one has the right to take the law into their own hands. The women may have felt very strongly, but they are not in an Islamic country now.”

A recent survey commissioned by Gay Community News found that 83% of Irish gays and lesbians have been the victims of homophobic hate crime, with a quarter of respondents saying they had been punched, kicked, hit or beaten because they were assumed to be gay.

A study among the gay community in Northern Ireland, released last July, also found that four out of five gay people in the north have been the victim of homophobic crimes. Five gay and bisexual men have been killed in Northern Ireland over the past six years.

“It is a very frightening experience, people can be very violent,” said Brian Finnegan, editor of the Gay Community News. “You can’t fight back, because you don’t know where it could lead to.”

Recorded police statistics of “queerbashing” are low. Fourteen garda liaison officers trained to deal with victims of gay-related crime were appointed two years ago.

Finbar Murphy, an inspector, said concerns by victims about confidentiality, being “outed” and not being taken seriously contributed to the “vastly under-reported” incidences of gay-related crime.

Murphy also cautioned that gay-on-gay crimes were more problematic for Ireland’s gay community than random homophobic attacks.

“There are no marauding gangs wandering the streets queerbashing, and the gay community needs to address issues such as domestic violence, theft and blackmail perpetrated by members of its own community. Ultimately, it is crucial that all crime is reported.

“Everyone, regardless of sexual orientation, is entitled to the same level of protection if they have been assaulted.”

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