ISIS beheaded my boyfriend, sent video to his mother, reveals Mr Gay Syria

Istanbul: Standing tall with an unbending grit, 24-year-old Hussein Sabat, winner of Mr Gay Syria represents a defiant face of the country’s suppressed gay community that refuses to be shushed by the terror tactics of ISIS.

But dig a little deeper and you get to see the source of such courage. As a gay refugee, Hussein has been through harrowing experiences that have made him strong.

Speaking to Daily Mail from Istanbul, where he has currently sought refuge, Hussein reveals, “I was with Zakaria for four years, but three years ago ISIS beheaded him. They sent the execution video to his family - his mother almost went crazy and I couldn't speak for a month.”

He was 17 when he met Zakaria in a café through a mutual friend.

“I want to show that Syrian gays are not just bodies thrown off buildings by ISIS. We have dreams and ideas and we want to live our lives,” says Hussein, insisting that he hated the IS more than he was scared of them.

Describing his journey to win the Mr Gay Syria title, Hussein reveals that when the idea was pitched by the organiser of the pageant, he was just not interested.

“I met the organiser Mahmoud Hassino at our LGBT support group - it's called 'Shy wa Hakee' (Tea and Talk). He said we should involve other gay men and get to Mr Gay World.  I thought it was going to be all about the looks and not just about the whole package so I didn't want to do it. But then three weeks later I saw an application form posted on Facebook. I don't know why, but I found myself filling it in,” he said.

The organisers were on the lookout for someone more than just good looks and they found the man in Hussein. In his allotted three minutes of stage time, Hussein struck a chord depicting the pressure on a gay man coming out to his mother.

His performance however, was in sharp contrast to the other candidates who performed raunchy heel dances and striptease sessions. “I played a character speaking to his mother at her grave about the difficulties of being gay. I just wore trousers and a t-shirt - the only thing that was missing was the hijab,” he jokes.

“I had made it clear that if the competition was about beauty then let me go because there are so many men more beautiful than me. But they said no, we need someone who can talk,” he said.

The Gay Syria event was organised after two years of constant hard work and setbacks and became a reality on Valentines Day.

But the happiness was not complete. Hussein, who was to represent Syria in the Mr Gay World competition in Malta, was denied the schengen visa.

Like most other Syrian gay men, Hussein leads a double life, with his family and friends not knowing anything about his gay identity.

But when quizzed if he would ever come out to his family, Hussein says, “Anybody in my situation would be scared and I'm not prepared to lose my family for any reason. But they will find out one day and I hope they find out from a stranger and not from me. I hope I'm far away from here when they find out - it would be much better if I'm in Europe. If they find out I will have to lie to them, they will deny it and take me to a doctor or a sheikh to 'treat' me, but if I insist that I am gay, they will kick me out of the house.”

Though living as a refuge in Istanbul has made him understand and accept himself better. “I just want to be able to be myself and not lose anybody”.

“We need to be more public about our sexuality so we can demand our rights. I can't give advice because some people just can't leave Syria,” he adds sadly.