De Haan fused homoerotic impulse with religious devotion in his poetry.

Evidence

What made all of this even more shocking was that rather than sex and religion being separate parts of his being, they often were merged, with thoughts of one leading to the other: Hassan His mother takes off his clothes The water ripples in his small bath My heart flutters in an enamored sigh, Is Jerusalem not God’s Holy City? (158) Pointless Prayer The full moon and three stars are shining bright, We’re saying maariv by the wall, Soon I shall wander with Adil Effendi Where no piety saves my soul (110) In addition to a realm where men carouse with young boys, De Haan’s Orient is a place where men confide in each other with respect: Two Arabs One has a faded dark blue caftan. — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 444