Meet Ameri’s First Openly Gay Imam | Al Jazeera Ameri

Contents:

• CHURCH A GAY BAR: QUEER CHIGOANS FD WAYS TO MERGE RELIGN AND INTY
• MEET AMERI’S FIRST OPENLY GAY IMAM
• IN A SURVEY OF AMERIN MLIMS, 0% INTIFIED AS LBIAN OR GAY. HERE’S THE STORY BEHD THAT STATISTIC
• THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985
• AFFIRMG MOSQU HELP GAY MLIMS RENCILE FAH, SEXUALY

CHURCH A GAY BAR: QUEER CHIGOANS FD WAYS TO MERGE RELIGN AND INTY

E: I lerally knew nobody else that, you know, intified as such - plenty of Christians, even some Jewish dividuals, but not Other relig muni are havg the same ternal stggl about cln and homophobia. A survey by Pew Rearch Center asked people whether, quote, "homosexualy should be accepted by society.

“Yeah, we had to make sure they were OK lettg all the gay Mlims , ” said Hannah Fidler, a volunteer program ordator at the mosque.

Salaam is a volunteer-n anizatn that advot for social jtice and addrs the tersectg issu around homophobia, transphobia, and Islamophobia/racism. CALEM received the SOS Homophobia 2010, was supported by the European Council 2012, was an advisor to the Brish urt of jtice to the stat of refuge, was advisor to the French ernment regardg the law on marriage for all, and advisor to the nstutn of ILGA Ai (Biggt LGBT NGO worldwi).

MEET AMERI’S FIRST OPENLY GAY IMAM

The send Tuday of every month, Affirmg Worship holds church Atmosphere, an Anrsonville gay bar. ” A pri flag hangs agast the brick wall, and Joshua Hundl, a drag performer, wears a drs that says “God is gay, nonbary, pan, queer.

IN A SURVEY OF AMERIN MLIMS, 0% INTIFIED AS LBIAN OR GAY. HERE’S THE STORY BEHD THAT STATISTIC

” Wicker Park Lutheran pastor Jason Glombicki said this unfortunately supported his “general lived experience” as a gay man, though the plan is to keep new pri flags up. Sometim all there is to do is pack to a gay bar on a Tuday night, sg and one pot durg the Affirmg Worship service, a group of teenagers trickl off the street.

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.

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

Performg funeral r for a gay Mlim who died of AIDS. But not all of them are gay. Many worshippers at the Light of Reform Mosque are not gay.

"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, ” he said. “If you go to most Mlim scholars, they're gog to tell you that homosexual acts are a s Islam; that there's no way around , ” said Dr. Hse Rashid, an adjunct profsor of relign at Hofstra Universy and ntributor to a report on homosexualy U.

“But the tradn was and remas that homosexualy is a s Mlim tradn.

AFFIRMG MOSQU HELP GAY MLIMS RENCILE FAH, SEXUALY

The var scholars who ntributed to the project’s report emphasized that there is no sgular terpretatn of homosexualy Islam. "I thk Daayiee is tryg to say, 'Y, I n be gay and I n be a Mlim, and I n tend to people who are also gay and Mlim, ' that this is part of their inty as a human beg and that the relign of Islam teach people to embrace all aspects of their humany, " he said.

Though is unknown how many Amerin Mlims or Mlims around the world are gay, a growg number are vyg to be heard. The film “I Am Gay and Mlim” tracks several gay Morocn men as they explore their relig and sexual inti.