Kind of brain dead not to realize Iraq was a British mandate after World War I, 100 years ago. They did upend the bureaucratic systems following the fall of the Ottoman Empire and instituted sweeping new laws.
I’m not well versed to speak about the UK and Iraq, but there are indeed examples in the contemporary world where some 8–14 years would be enough to change the public opinion quite a lot
I realise this, my issue is that this is blamed on Britian despite administration being for well less than 20 years before independence. Iraqi opinions to homosexuality have over history been more influenced by the teachings of Islam than Britain.
British Law was exported to all of its colonies. Homosexuality was not taboo in Pre-Anglo Ottoman Iraq. After the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the British land grabs you start to see these kinds of changes in the penal code.
Bro don’t be obtuse. It was illegal to be gay in Britain as recently as 1981 in some parts. British colonial rule had a profound effect on the countries it held dominion over particularly in introducing laws which often held harsher punishments than at home in order to “civilize” the local people there. As other commenters have mentioned, homosexuality was not nearly as taboo in the Middle East during the days of the Ottoman Empire as it is today. Many countries which were under British rule still maintain harsh anti homosexuality laws today, the harshness of which can be traced back to the introduction of British law codes.
But instead of blaming a period of time that lasted only around a decade (British control of Iraq), why not blame the massive rise in fundamentalist Islamic views since the mid-20th century? That seems to be the much more important factor.
Hey, where do you think financialist Islam came from? Hint hint, it wasn’t under Ottoman occupation. It was post British colonial rule under a system set up by the British.
It’s more complicated than that. Governments established by Britain are a factor, but Salafi ideology fostered a hatred of Western ideals separate from colonial issues. Trying to say it’s Britain’s fault is oversimplifying to the point of absurdity.
What’s stopping them repealing these laws in the century odd that the UK hasn’t controlled their countries? Yeah, colonialism was a bit naff, but blaming us for issues that persist that long after we left seems silly.