It's Pride Month again.

So it's time for many companies for some rainbow washing.

The logos of BMW, VW, Lenovo and Ko shine in rainbow colors - but of course only in countries like Germany, the USA or Switzerland.

A little sparkling wine, a little glitter and visibility, so queer without it hurting: companies want to make money.

In Germany, this Pride marketing would have been unthinkable 30 years ago: Homosexuality was a criminal offense in the Federal Republic of Germany until 1969, and Section 175 was not completely deleted until 1994.

LGBT people have always existed everywhere. Old Arab homoerotic love poems or the poetry of the Greek poet Sappho tell of this. Homosexuality is a global, timeless phenomenon. Unfortunately, the same applies to homophobia. In view of the many no-go areas for homos, the horror comes: In 69 countries in the world homosexuality is a criminal offense, in Iran, in Yemen and in Saudi Arabia even under the death penalty. One punishes with lashes, hanging on construction cranes, stoning. And even if homosexuality is legal, that doesn't necessarily mean social acceptance. Homophobia exists in all anti-modern ideologies: Nazis are homophobic as well as gray wolves, evangelical Christians, Islamists.

Just think about how ISIS knocked homosexuals off rooftops. Or the Islamist attack on the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, which is mainly frequented by LGBT people. Or in 2020 in Dresden, when a 21-year-old IS supporter stabbed a gay couple and killed one of the men. Islamists justify their homophobia with the Koran and hadiths. They fantasize about homosexuality as a Western invention and recommend conversion therapy or even killing. The Shiite cleric and militia leader Muqtada Sadr from Iraq even said that homos were to blame for Corona. Likewise Ali Erbas, the head of the Turkish religious authority Diyanet. Homosexuality is un-Islamic, haram. Erdogan, of course, stood behind Erbas, who was charged with agitation, and responded with a counter-complaint for "violating religious feelings".The Ditib mosques in Germany also belong to Diyanet. That means: What Ali Erbas launches for Diyanet also applies to her. The Diyanet finances the Ditib, sends imams and is now even supposed to participate in religious instruction in schools in Rhineland-Palatinate.

Homo hatred is not an isolated case at Ditib. Until recently, books by the homophob Şimşirgil were still available in their online shop. An event with him was only canceled due to public pressure. LGBT-friendly mosque communities such as those in Paris, founded by the gay imam Ludovic-Mohamed Zahed, or those of Seyran Ateş in Berlin, show that a different understanding of Islam is also possible. Germany should be more careful when choosing its dialogue partners. Islam and homosexuality are not mutually exclusive, but homophobia and a free and democratic basic order are.

In March, the Federal Foreign Office announced that it would do more to promote the rights of queer people in foreign and development policy. It would be logical to also improve the situation of LGBT refugees. In the accommodation they are often exposed to anti-queer threats. In many places there is a lack of protection. The asylum process is often arduous as sexual orientation has to be proven. How does that work? Photos of yourself having sex? Asylum has also been denied to queer refugees. The reason: In the country of origin, only the exercise is punishable, not the orientation. Say: Don't get caught or give up love and sex.

It is always society that tolerates and fuels hostility towards queer people. In Germany, too, LGBT people are threatened with forced marriage, violence in the name of honor and exclusion. You can meet Yusuf from Neukölln, Maria from an arch-Catholic village in Upper Bavaria or Ciwan from an Ezidi family in Bremen. LGBT people depend on majority society, and it has to do more than just hang up rainbow flags. LGBT rights are not the particular interests of a bizarre minority, but universal human rights. But change is possible, in Germany as in the Middle East. Three years ago I was on the jury of the film festival in Duhok in the Autonomous Region of Kurdistan. Media, culture and party officials were invited. The hall was full. In the opening film, one of the protagonists said “I'm gay.Why do you think I ran away from Kurdistan ten years ago? ”Homosexuality is also a taboo in Kurdish society. There was a moment of silence after that sentence was uttered, but then the audience began to clap. Something will change because it has to. So happy pride!