Comg out: Growg up gay and Mlim Ameri | Al Jazeera Ameri

Contents:

• NO, UGANDA IS NOT MAKG ILLEGAL TO BE GAY (AGA)
• MEET AMERI’S FIRST OPENLY GAY IMAM
• CUBA ASSEMBLY OPENS DOOR TO GAY MARRIAGE, OTHER FAY RIGHTS
• COMG OUT: GROWG UP GAY AND MLIM AMERI
• AMERI'S FIRST OPENLY GAY ERNOR FDS A NEW LLG

NO, UGANDA IS NOT MAKG ILLEGAL TO BE GAY (AGA)

Supreme Court cled to hear challeng to gay marriage, clearg the way for legal same-sex marriag the state and four others. Seven years after an act of parliament ma homosexualy a crime punishable by ath, the anti-gay mpaigners of Uganda are at aga. Last month, the parliament of my untry once aga voted to make homosexualy a crimal offence, this time wh a 10-year prison sentence.

In 2014, I played a small part makg sure that anti-LGBTQI forc Uganda do not succeed wrg their hate to law: I was one of the petners the se that succsfully overturned the famo anti-gay law. The Ugandan ernment will not sign this anti-gay legislatn to law part bee was troduced by an outgog legislator and approved by a now-dissolved parliament.

Ined, after Uganda passed the “Kill the gays bill” – as was dubbed lolly – 2014, s reputatn on the ternatnal arena suffered. Our sovereign cred ratg also took a h due to the passg of the anti-gay law. While the efforts of LGBTQI mpaigners across the globe ma highly unlikely for Uganda to sign to law another “Kill the gays bill”, the fight for LGBTQI rights the untry and the rt of Ai is far om over.

MEET AMERI’S FIRST OPENLY GAY IMAM

The fear of retaliatn om the ternatnal muny may stop Uganda and other Ain untri om attemptg to officially crimalise homosexualy, but will not make beg gay socially acceptable on the ntent.

Today, homosexualy is simply not accepted by the majory of Ain cizens. Ultimately, will not matter how many urt s are won, or ernments prsured to cease anti-gay legislatn, or Ain lears backed by wtern money and tn elected wh the expectatn they will challenge public perceptns of homosexualy. Most Ains are refg to accept homosexualy not so much bee of their Christian beliefs, but bee they perceive as a “Wtern value” beg forcefully phed upon their societi by malignant and vasive outsi forc.

Wh our youthful populatn, so many young, knowledgeable Ugandans, who do not rry strong anti-gay sentiments, and even support LGBTQI rights, are jog the electoral roll every electn cycle. Two years after our legal victory agast the “Kill the gays bill”, the Ugandan electorate had reward me for my efforts by turfg me out of parliament at the 2016 general electn. Among those rejected at the polls this year was the MP whose anti-gay private members bill brought this issue back to parliament.

CUBA ASSEMBLY OPENS DOOR TO GAY MARRIAGE, OTHER FAY RIGHTS

Another was our untry’s opposn lear, Bob We, who began his polil reer 2014 sgg pop songs about burng homosexuals. Will Uganda pass another law crimalisg homosexualy the future?

The parliament that voted for last month’s anti-gay bill is now replaced. And the current ernment clearly has no tentn to die on the hill of crimalisg homosexualy.

COMG OUT: GROWG UP GAY AND MLIM AMERI

No, Uganda is not makg illegal to be gay (aga).

But beg gay is still not socially acceptable the untry – nor, realy, is anywhere Ai. But Imam Daayiee Abdullah – believed to be the only openly gay imam the Ameris – is proud of his story.

But as a gay man Ameri, he saw that lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr Mlims had unmet spirual needs and he beme an imam to provi muny support. "Beg an openly gay imam and havg been intified as such, I do get a lot of feedback and also kickback, but that's OK, " said Imam Daayiee Abdullah, of Washgton, D.

AMERI'S FIRST OPENLY GAY ERNOR FDS A NEW LLG

Performg funeral r for a gay Mlim who died of AIDS. But not all of them are gay.