The Ayatollah's Gaze - a Memoir of the Forbidden and the Fabulous by Majid Parsa

An unflinching memoir about growing up in a country where homosexuality is punishable by death, and yet underground, hidden from Sharia law, is a vibrant gay scene threatening to burst open. The dawn prayer calls echo through the streets. As many make their way to mosques, for some it signals the end of another illegal gay party.

Under the cover of darkness, smiles on lips and sweat on foreheads, the gays of Tehran blend back into daily life. Hidden in plain sight, they plan when and where they will meet again. In an unparalleled true story, Majid Parsa recounts how a childhood of war, prayer and obedience was upended by a teenage sexual awakening and ultimately, pride.

He lifts the heavy veil of persecution to reveal the fabulous and flamboyant gay scene right at the heart of the Islamic Republic of Iran, flourishing under the ever-present shadow of the grand Ayatollah and morality police. Eye-opening and at times laugh-out-loud funny, The Ayatollah’s Gaze is a story of self-discovery in a country where Sharia is the law.
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'The Ayatollah's Gaze is an exceptional, unflinching debut by Majid Parsi. Offering a rare, intimate and honest depiction of life as a gay man in Iran, Parsi challenges stereotypes about his home country and at the same time empowers the queer Iranian community through his refusal to make concessions about his lived experience and that of his friends. This is a memoir that everyone needs to read.' - Elias Jahshan
 
'Defiant, fabulous and filled with the nuanced challenges so many young queer people struggle to make sense of: family, faith, tradition, affection and belonging. I loved this intimate, heartbreaking coming-of-age story' Henry Fry