A question for the reader: Oman for Gay Expat?

While I'm away, one I'd like to pass to my many readers and facebook fans.

Answers please (as comments) to a fellow reader of Muscat Confidential, who asks:

Hello there,

I may be moving to Oman, I am from [Somewhere in Europe] and I am gay. I have a partner and we have been together for 6 years. We are thinking about getting married.

Now I have the chance to move to Oman for work and we are quite worried about him getting a visa. Since homosexual acts, per se, are outlawed, I would like some recommendation by perhaps another expat on how to proceed when requesting the visa. Should we say we are married? should we look for an alternative?

By Anonymous on Sexual Adventures in Oman on 7/26/11

Over to you. My answer soon.

Well, that was unexpected! Muscat Confidential finally censored by Oman's Government over ... a photo of women kissing

UPDATE: Muscat Confidential has been unblocked after about 12 hrs of being censored. Thanks to all the emails to Omantel readers - they seem to have worked, along with, I can only presume, my removing of the offending photo of the two girls kissing.

Special thanks too to local bloggers (in no particular order):
Dhofari Gucci, Mr Sythe, Suburban, Muscato, Angry in Oman, Jet Driver, The Restless Quill, Non-Crowned Princess, and all the others.

Thank you for the support. It worked. Normal business is resumed. And to the haters who were crowing and bragging... well. You just KNOW what I'm thinking... heh heh.

And thanks Omantel and/or Mr. TRA for listening. Next time, maybe send me an email about what you're objecting to? Sometimes just asking will get results, you know?

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Yes, well, I can hardly say it was a surprise. It seems today the internet censors here in the Sultanate of Oman have blocked Muscat Confidential.

Nice pic - image credit: deviantart.com

As a result, standard requests through the only internet gateway available to people within Oman will not connect to this site right now. Those outside Oman obviously continue to have access. As do those within Oman who either use a VPN or who know how to circumvent the filters (quite trivial, in reality).

It would seem likely that the cause of the block was a photo used to illustrate the post where Muscat Confidential interviewed a local blogger from Community Queer, who is an Omani bi-lesbian woman. Some people objected to the photo as being against the 'cultural and religious traditions of Oman', even though it was quite a tame photo of two young women exchanging a kiss. Shocking, I know. But obviously enough to convince the censors to block the whole website.

The offending photo has been removed, as it was not Oman specific (in fact, the women were almost certainly not from Oman) and was purely used to provide an image to support the interview.

Lets now see if the block will be reversed as a result of appeals to Omantel.

It's actually most surprising to me that this what what finally got Muscat Confidential blocked, after a couple of years of this blog annoying various important people and posts ranging from Government corruption through to expropriation of land and various shady dealings among the great and the good.

In the end, all it took was 1 image of 2 fully clothed young ladies kissing. One has to laugh at the irony.

Supporters of Muscat Confidential within Oman can submit a request on the 'This site is blocked' form that appears when you try to access the site normally. This seemed to work for the recent blocking and rapid unblocking of Community Queer, so its true that Omantel do respond to public opinion.

Those outside Oman can send a request by clicking here:
here, which will also let you experience the magic of having someone tell you what sites you can visit!

More on this to come.

Note: Normal service at Muscat Confidential will be maintained. The block doesn't mean I'm in prison or anything equally crazy.

Tomorrow: A Cautionary Tale for Filipino housemaids intending to come to the Sultanate of Oman.