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William Daou 05 Feb 2020

Mashrou’ Leila Appearance Cancelled In Qatar After Anti-Gay Backlash

Upsetting news reported by Reuters, it appears as though Lebanese band Mashrou’ Leila’s upcoming appearance at Northwestern University’s Qatar campus was cancelled after online backlash over the fact that the lead singer Hamed Sinno is openly gay.

The members of the band were scheduled to partake in a panel discussion about revolutions and the media in the region, but after hostile and homophobic campaigns online, the university and the band agreed to move the discussion to the US campus.

The hashtag used to attack the event was #نرفض_محاضرة_مشروع_ليلى (we reject the Mashrou’ Leila lecture) – here are some snippets of the horrific comments:









Others tweeted their support of the bands appearance, and acceptance of open dialogue.







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