The search for Salam Pax 

(Bnews, July 2003)

ONE OF the most intriguing aspects of the Iraq War was the instant celebrity gained by 
an anonymous Iraqi using the name Salam Pax, which means "peace" in Arabic and 
Latin. Throughout the war Salam maintained a regular internet diary (weblog) called 
Dear Raed.

At his site Salam chronicled the Coalition air strikes on Baghdad, the violent repression 
of Saddam Hussein's regime, the arrival of the American army in the city and the 
subsequent scenes of jubilation - followed at once by widespread looting.

What made Salam even more interesting was the fact that he claimed to be gay, as well as 
an atheist and other rather un-Iraqi things. He documented the persecution of gay men by 
Saddam's regime - which in November 2001 introduced the death penalty for 
homosexuality.

Some thought Salam was really a western hacker pretending to be an Iraqi, or (less 
plausibly) a trick by the CIA or the Iraqi secret police.

It was obvious that Salam was a very smart guy. He kept his site online even when 
Baghdad's infrastructure collapsed - it later emerged that he had expert IT help from 
friends in Europe.

At the end of the war western journalists started to look for Salam Pax. He could not be 
found. Had he been killed? Had he fled the country? Was he a hoax after all?

Then in June Peter Maass, a journalist with the New Yorker, revealed that he had figured 
out who Salam was. Through various clues in Salam's writings, Maass realised that 
Salam was his former interpreter in Baghdad, a 29-year-old Iraqi architect.

Maass wrote an article about Salaam for Slate, but wisely refrained from revealing his 
name. If Salam is still in Iraq, he is still in danger. Although he opposed the Coalition 
invasion, he welcomed the overthrow of Saddam (a slight contradiction there, but never 
mind). There are still plenty of angry Saddamites with guns lurking around Baghdad.

Then there is the gay thing. Presumably Saddam's death-penalty law is no longer in 
force, but homosexuality will probably still be illegal under whatever regime the Iraqis 
elect when they get the chance. Being openly gay in any Islamic country is a risky 
business.

Now we learn that Salam is to write a column for the Gaurdian and has signed a book 
deal with an American publisher. So it seems that, even in Iraq, being gay is the quickest 
route to celebrity.