As the only publicly out gay Qatari, Dr Nas is a leading voice in calls to make the decriminalisation of homosexuality in his homeland part of the World Cup 2022 legacy…
In May 2022, Dr Nasser Mohamed was catapulted into the international media spotlight after speaking publicly with major outlets for the first time about being a gay Qatari man. He was the subject of an article in The Independent and a BBC News Arabic video.
He runs a primary care health service business in San Francisco, which he founded in 2019 having moved to the city four years previously. He was granted asylum in the US in 2018 after completing a residency at the University of Connecticut and a fellowship at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh.
Dr Nas is the only known person worldwide who is from Qatar and is both LGBTQ+ and out. Since May, he has been campaigning for change in Qatar and the wider SWANA (South-West Asia and North Africa) region on behalf of fellow LGBTQ+ people who cannot be visible in the same way as him, for their own safety.
He is working with Human Rights Watch and other organisations to gather and publish testimonies of people in Qatar, describing the discrimination and abuse they face. Over 50 individuals have come forward so far; some of them shared their experiences in HRW’s report titled ‘Qatar: Security Forces Arrest, Abuse LGBT People’ which was published on 24 October.
He has also partnered with the not-for-profit global advocacy movement All Out to create a petition called ‘Qatar: Love is Not A Crime’ which at the time of writing has over 74,000 signatures.
Four anonymous accounts, voiced by actors and hosted on YouTube, are available to listen to on the All Out petition page at the time of writing.
Dr Nas has a verified Instagram account at @dr._nass, which is his main campaigning social media platform.
Dr Nas has given interviews to news outlets worldwide, including Metro UK, Outsports, Press Association, RTL Sport, and NPR.
Here are some excerpts from his recent media appearances…
Qatar’s first openly gay man has a message for football fans ahead of the FIFA World Cup
Cameron Watts for SBS News (1 November)
“Big and unapologetic visibility is the responsibility of the teams, players and FIFA, because they’re not going to be harmed. So I think they’re the bodies that should be the loudest advocating for LGBT+ rights.”
The doctor discovering Qatar’s ‘dark’ side
Jon Holmes for Sky Sports (1 November)
“All of the victims that I’ve interviewed myself suffer from PTSD. A lot of them hear sounds and have images that pop in their head from the time they were tortured and that is very dark.
“To have that reality exist and at the same time, to go in and have an event like the FIFA World Cup, say publicly that gay fans are welcome and have that be the only narrative for LGBT+ rights in Qatar is wrong. It’s just straight up wrong.”
Qatar’s Human Rights Record In The Spotlight Ahead Of 2022 World Cup
Audio from NPR‘s All Things Considered (2 November)
“This year, the spotlight is shining on Qatar and the world is about to meet us. You really need to know all of us…
“The PR that’s projecting from Qatar, about Qatar, is just so inaccurate. It’s just not where I grew up.”
You can follow Dr Nas Mohamed on Instagram and Twitter, and access his website at lgbtrightsqatar.org