<p>Tom MacMaster, a bearded 40-year-old married Edinburgh University masters student,apologised yesterday and confessed that he was "Amina Abdallah Arraf", supposedly a Syrian lesbian.<br /><br />The Arraf character rose to fame with her reports on the movement against President Bashar Al-Assad, posting as "an out Syrian lesbian's thoughts on life, the universe and so on".<br /><br />Then last Tuesday someone claiming to be her cousin wrote on the website that Arraf had been snatched off the street by three armed men and bundled into a car bearing a pro-government window sticker.<br /><br />The report sparked a wave of alarm among her online followers. Supporters even set up a "Free Amina Abdallah" group on the social networking site Facebook, attracting nearly 15,000 followers.<br /><br />MacMaster finally came clean in a posting on the blog yesterday, after doubts began to emerge as to whether Arraf was for real. He admitted that he was the sole author of the posts.<br /><br />"I never expected this level of attention," MacMaster wrote in an "Apology to readers" which he datelined from Istanbul, Turkey, where he and his wife were reportedly on holiday.<br /><br />"While the narrative voice may have been fictional, the facts on this blog are true and not misleading as to the situation on the ground."<br /><br />MacMaster added: "I do not believe that I have harmed anyone -- I feel that I have created an important voice for issues that I feel strongly about.<br /><br />"I only hope that people pay as much attention to the people of the Middle East and their struggles in this year of revolutions.<br /><br />"The events there are being shaped by the people living them on a daily basis. I have only tried to illuminate them for a western audience.<br /><br />"This experience has sadly only confirmed my feelings regarding the often superficial coverage of the Middle East and the pervasiveness of new forms of liberal Orientalism."</p>
<p>Tom MacMaster, a bearded 40-year-old married Edinburgh University masters student,apologised yesterday and confessed that he was "Amina Abdallah Arraf", supposedly a Syrian lesbian.<br /><br />The Arraf character rose to fame with her reports on the movement against President Bashar Al-Assad, posting as "an out Syrian lesbian's thoughts on life, the universe and so on".<br /><br />Then last Tuesday someone claiming to be her cousin wrote on the website that Arraf had been snatched off the street by three armed men and bundled into a car bearing a pro-government window sticker.<br /><br />The report sparked a wave of alarm among her online followers. Supporters even set up a "Free Amina Abdallah" group on the social networking site Facebook, attracting nearly 15,000 followers.<br /><br />MacMaster finally came clean in a posting on the blog yesterday, after doubts began to emerge as to whether Arraf was for real. He admitted that he was the sole author of the posts.<br /><br />"I never expected this level of attention," MacMaster wrote in an "Apology to readers" which he datelined from Istanbul, Turkey, where he and his wife were reportedly on holiday.<br /><br />"While the narrative voice may have been fictional, the facts on this blog are true and not misleading as to the situation on the ground."<br /><br />MacMaster added: "I do not believe that I have harmed anyone -- I feel that I have created an important voice for issues that I feel strongly about.<br /><br />"I only hope that people pay as much attention to the people of the Middle East and their struggles in this year of revolutions.<br /><br />"The events there are being shaped by the people living them on a daily basis. I have only tried to illuminate them for a western audience.<br /><br />"This experience has sadly only confirmed my feelings regarding the often superficial coverage of the Middle East and the pervasiveness of new forms of liberal Orientalism."</p>