When San Francisco physician Nasser Mohamed fled his home country of Qatar at 24, a queer man seeking a chance to live free, he wrote a poem:
“I pleased others with a life that led to my demise. Now it is time for others to see me reborn victorious.”
After arriving in America, Dr. Nas, as he’s known, tattooed the poem on his body. The statement has become a promise. As Qatar and other Gulf countries curry favor with the global community by presenting themselves as progressive societies open to LGBTQ visitors, he’s being seen as a direct rebuttal to that narrative.
He remains the only Qatari ever to come out publicly and has used his growing stature to raise awareness of the country’s repressive treatment of LGBTQ people. The World Cup has presented a golden opportunity.
“The World Cup gets four billion eyes on it, and we need to be part of the story of humans and humanity,” he told The Standard Friday. “We need to show that we exist, because when you erase us from the stadiums, you’re telling the world we don’t belong in civil society, we don’t belong in hospitals, we don’t belong in any job, in any place. We have to be seen.”
On Saturday, Dr. Nas was seen.
Accompanied by state senator and congressional candidate Scott Wiener, he attended the tournament’s first match in the Bay Area to watch Qatar take on Switzerland at Levi’s Stadium. The match ended in a 1-1 draw as a late-game header from the Qatari team hit the back of the net. But Dr. Nas’ ambitions for the match were less athletic and more aesthetic.
“I’m a flower, I’m just a flower, and I will be a flower in the stands,” he said Friday. “I will have to be a very dramatically-dressed flower in order to be seen.”
Mission accomplished. The good doctor, now an American citizen, strode down the aisle to his seat wearing a long, flowing bisht, a ceremonial cloak worn by Arab men to showcase their heritage.
This one wasn’t your off-the-rack bisht, though. Dr. Nas customized his with the words “LOVE” and “FREEDOM” emblazoned in gold letters and with flowing rainbow-colored sleeves.
The folks watching the game on TV in Qatar didn’t see Dr. Nas’ dramatic entrance into the otherwise all-white-clad Qatari cheering section, but images and footage were shared widely on social media.
That visibility can be dangerous. In 2023, when Dr. Nas wore the bisht as grand marshal of the San Francisco Pride Parade, he received 10,000 death threats.
“At great personal risk, Dr. Nas has used his persona and his existence to call attention to something very important, that LGBTQ Qataris are being targeted and brutalized,” Wiener said.
Saturday’s World Cup appearance is a page from the Dr. Nas playbook. As a lone crusader, he’s had to write it as he goes.
When Qatar hosted the World Cup in 2022, the global media sought him out. Instead of choosing anonymity, he wanted his name attached. He had done enough hiding as a young man. He had played by the rules, memorized the Quran, suppressed his identity. He became a sharp stick poking the bear. The candor has cost him family and friends in Qatar — any contact he has with them would be hazardous to their health.
He launched a World Cup-centric campaign named Love is the Goal. He founded and largely self-funds The Alwan Foundation, which is dedicated to gathering and sharing data on LGBTQ people in the Gulf states. He sees knowledge as a weapon against hate.
After Saturday’s match, Dr. Nas — who works in HIV prevention and serves the queer community in San Francisco — hosted a free dance party at the Old Mint on the corner of Fifth and Mission streets, themed “Love is You.” He traded his bisht for a slinky, one-shoulder, Halston-inspired chiffon dress.
“Dr. Nas is doing something that’s never been done,” said partygoer Moe X Kaden, a tech CEO who left Saudi Arabia a few years ago and has been inspired to become an activist by Mohamed. “He’s saying, ‘Here I am, I’m part of your culture, a part that you have denied.’ Ten years from now, Nas will be recognized for being at the forefront of a great movement.”
On the car ride from the game to the party, Dr. Nas posted on Instagram a video of his grand entrance. By the time he hit the dance floor in the Mint courtyard, the post had 1.1 million views.
“You are such a queen, aren’t you?” a member of Dr. Nas’ security detail marveled as they left the stadium.
“I am,” he said, basking in the stares of the Qatari fans. “They all marched together at the order of a king, but the people will always hear the whisper of a queen.”
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