Kadhem (not his real name), 18, is a senior in high school. He moderates a private Facebook page for Iraqi emos.

The emo style came to Iraq three years ago. But it hasn't spread all over the country. Emos mostly live in the north of Iraq, as the south is more conservative. In Baghdad, we avoid Shiite neighourhoods, where people do not approve of our style at all.

The attacks against us began about a month ago. People started accusing us of being Satan worshippers or Free Masons, who are heretics in their eyes. They don't like our haircuts or our tight clothing. They say we're homosexuals, which is an insult here.

Some of my friends were threatened by a group of men one evening as they were walking home. The men stopped them and asked them to start dressing "like men" and grow mustaches, or else they would make trouble for them. They were lucky, because other emos have been kidnapped in broad daylight and executed.

Iraqi emos.

"They smash their heads in with cinder blocks"

There are lists of emos' names circulating in Shiite neighbourhoods. People post them on school walls, in cafés, and in Internet cafés. Those who do this are part of militias, usually Shiite militias. When they find their victims, they smash their heads in with cinder blocks. This is a form of lapidation, which makes sense since they equate us with the Devil [in Mecca, Muslim pilgrims carry out a symoblic lapidation of Satan]. They leave their bodies in the middle of the street. Sometimes, an emo will simply disappear and we never hear from them again. These militias also burn down stores that sell emo clothes or accessories.

A list of emos' names. Some of the names are followed by the number of the Baghdad district they are thought to live in. The introcution calls emos "people of Sodom".

Religious leaders have tried to calm tensions. Ali al-Sistani [an Iranian ayatollah who is very influent in Iraq] condemned these crimes and called for dialogue. The matter has been debated in parliament, too [some members of parliament criticised the Interior Ministry for failing to protect emos ]. But nothing has changed yet.

Personally, I'm having trouble with the idea of altering the way I dress or cutting my hair to avoid becoming a target. I don't understand this hatred against us; we're not doing anything wrong. We don't share the spirit of emos in other countries, who are often solitary, depressed, and talk about suicide and self-harm. For us, being emo is just about style.