Imam Daayiee Abdullah wel gay Mlims to worship, marry - The Washgton Post

Contents:

• MEET AMERI’S FIRST OPENLY GAY IMAM
• THERE ARE 8 OPENLY GAY IMAMS THE WORLD: DAAYIEE ABDULLAH
• A GAY IMAM'S STORY: 'THE DIALOGUE IS OPEN ISLAM – 10 YEARS AGO WASN'T'
• AFFIRMG MOSQU HELP GAY MLIMS RENCILE FAH, SEXUALY
• THE SECRET MOSQU OPENG THEIR DOORS TO GAY MLIMS
• THE RADIL: A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT WORLD’S FIRST GAY IMAM
• MEET DAAYIEE ABDULLAH, AMERI'S GAY IMAM
• WHAT ’S LIKE TO BE GAY AND MLIM
• LUDOVIC ZAHED ONE OF THE FIRST OPENLY GAY MUSLIM CLERICS IN THE WORLD
• GAY IMAM HOP TO OPEN ATRALIA'S FIRST LGBTI-IENDLY MOSQUE
• OPENLY GAY IMAM CREAT ONLE SCHOOL FOR LGBTQ-FRIENDLY ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY
• IMAM DAAYIEE ABDULLAH WEL GAY MLIMS TO WORSHIP, MARRY
• GAY MLIM IMAM TO OPEN FIRST LGTBI MOSQUE ATRALIA
• OPENLY GAY MLIM IMAM REACTS TO ORLANDO: CLUBS LIKE PULSE ARE SAFE HAVENS FOR LGBT MLIMS, TOO
• ‘FATWA ON HOMOSEXUALS HARMFUL,’ SAYS OPENLY GAY IMAM
• HOW HAVE MLIMS REACTED TO A LGBT-FRIENDLY MOSQUE IN ATRALIA RUN BY A GAY IMAM?

MEET AMERI’S FIRST OPENLY GAY IMAM

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. "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. The var scholars who ntributed to the project’s report emphasized that there is no sgular terpretatn of homosexualy Islam.

THERE ARE 8 OPENLY GAY IMAMS THE WORLD: DAAYIEE ABDULLAH

"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.

Muhs Hendricks, an openly gay imam Capetown, South Ai, has for years been leadg ngregants and preachg that homosexualy and Islam are not patible. ” Khan was born to the Mlim fah, while Ty – who intifi as non-bary – is a recent pansexual uple are among a dozen or so people who have gathered to listen to Muhs Hendricks, often lled “the world’s first openly gay imam”.

A GAY IMAM'S STORY: 'THE DIALOGUE IS OPEN ISLAM – 10 YEARS AGO WASN'T'

Unterred, he ntued to spread the msage that beg gay and Mlim are not patible, and is now the subject of a new documentary film, The Radil, which has s European premiere Berl this prayer at Masjadul Ghurbhh. ”In 2011 Hendricks bolstered his role as an imam figure by settg up a mosque space after a iend endured a lol sermon nmng homosexualy. ’”Same-sex marriage has been legally regnised sce 2006 South Ai, which is more acceptg of homosexualy than many Ain untri.

AFFIRMG MOSQU HELP GAY MLIMS RENCILE FAH, SEXUALY

“Havg a space where you n experience your culture and relign whout severe homophobia is very appealg, ” says Khan. ”skip past newsletter promotnafter newsletter promotnHendricks says there’s nothg the Qur’an that “should be ed as blanket nmnatn of homosexualy”. In 2019 he went to Kenya to promote LGBTQ+ rights ahead of the untry’s high urt upholdg anti-homosexualy laws current activism projects clu creatg onle vios Urdu and Hdi discsg LGBTQ+ Mlims.

THE SECRET MOSQU OPENG THEIR DOORS TO GAY MLIMS

He talks to the few other gay imams around the world, such as Atralia’s Nur Warsame and US-based Daayiee Abdullah, but remas the only one Ai.

Imam El-Faro Khaki -found Toronto's first LGBTQ-iendly mosque, Uny Mosque, 10 years ago to allow lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer Mlims to attend prayers whout havg to hi their sexual orientatn or genr inty for fear of discrimatn. INTERPRETATIONGay Mlim scholar Stt Siraj al-Haqq Kugle has spent two s rearchg LGBTQ issu the Islamic fah and said many people are surprised to disver that Islam is not herently nmng of LGBTQ people.

“In the Quran, there is no word that explicly scrib homosexual or transgenr persons; the Arabic terms were vented after the Quran’s revelatn, by medieval jurists and ntemporary journalists, doctors and social crics. “This went on for a few years until I went to the Ibn Rhd-Goethe Mosque, where I realized that is actually possible to be Mlim and gay. ”Tugay Sarac is the LGBTQ ordator of Ibn Rhd-Goethe Mosque, the only self-scribed liberal mosque Germany.

THE RADIL: A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT WORLD’S FIRST GAY IMAM

“I know that many gay Mlims turn to radil ias bee they want to cure themselv om homosexualy, ” Sarac explaed.

Acrdg to a 2017 Pew Rearch Center survey of Amerin Mlims, a majory (52 percent) believe society should accept homosexualy, pared wh jt 27 percent 2007. A 2016 ICM Unlimed survey found only 18 percent of Brish Mlims agreed that homosexualy should be legal Bra. ‘INCLUSIVE AND RELEVANT’Like Kugle, Imam Daayiee Abdullah, one of the first openly gay imams the U.

MEET DAAYIEE ABDULLAH, AMERI'S GAY IMAM

S., believ the prevalent view of homosexualy as a s current Islamic teachg is rooted tradn, rather than scripture. “Many tradns are locked to a particular time, place and culture — they're not necsarily appropriate for today or for people who will be worshippg 50 years om now, ” Abdullah Daayiee Abdullah, founr of the Mec Instute, is one of the first openly gay Imams the U.

Homosexualy is nsired a crime many Mlim untri, but there's a growg movement to embrace sexual diversy.

His father, who ially rejected him, said he would accept his son only if he kept his sexualy said he knows "que a few" gay Mlims Brisbane but says they have rejected their fah sce g also knows many more who intify as both gay and Mlim who are lookg for a mosque that will clu, not shun recently joed the newly lnched Brisbane branch of Mlims for Progrsive Valu (MPV), which started New York 2007 wh the aim to, "get anised promotg a progrsive and clive terpretatn of Islam agast the backdrop of extremism as played out by Al Qaeda, and nservatism as played out by the fluence of Wahhabism the US" mpaigns for diversy, genr equaly (cludg non-segregated mosqu) and LGBTQI cln, and now has thoands of members around the world, but only late last year did ga tractn Atralia, openg sub-branch Melbourne, Sydney and lol MPV ph is beg led by Profsor Saher Amer om the Universy of Sydney and Reem Sweid om Deak Universy, who claim Atralia is home, "to some of the most nservative Mlims the wtern world". My llg this lifetime is to help young, gay Mlims who have been trmatised by the Mlim lears Atralia. "In the Mlim tradn, the nsequence of g out to fay n be very severe and at tim, a risk to one's life, " Imam Nur told Joy FM News ntacted seven sheikhs, but no-one was willg to ment on the prevalence of homosexualy the Mlim muny, or share their thoughts on MPV and Marhaba.

WHAT ’S LIKE TO BE GAY AND MLIM

After all, homosexualy is nsired a crime many Mlim 's even punishable by ath Sdi Arabia, Egypt, Iran and Uned Arab Emirat; nontg footage emerged last December of Islamic State members phg men nvicted of "homosexualy" off buildgs Palmyra, Syria.

LUDOVIC ZAHED ONE OF THE FIRST OPENLY GAY MUSLIM CLERICS IN THE WORLD

Ameri's first openly gay Imam, Daayiee Abdullah says there is nothg the Koran that nmns homosexualy.

(Supplied)While the word "homosexual" don't exist the Koran, there's a wily held belief that, Islamic termology, homosexualy is associated wh al-fahsha' (an obscene act), shudhudh (abnormaly), or 'amal qawm Lut (behavur of the People of Lut) is, however, a different view emergg — of which Ameri's first openly gay Imam, Daayiee Abdullah, is a Daayiee has met and traed wh several LGBT Imams om around the globe. "Islam is very clear about homosexual activy, " AFIC's newly elected Treasurer, Keysar Trad, told ABC News.

GAY IMAM HOP TO OPEN ATRALIA'S FIRST LGBTI-IENDLY MOSQUE

Homosexualy is 'an aberratn and a major s and has always been forbidn', says Atralian Feratn of Islamic Councils treasurer, Keysar Trad. A documentary feature film about Muhs Hendricks, a Capetonian ex-drs signer who beme the world’s first openly gay imam, is premierg at the Enunters Internatnal Documentary Film Ftival. The Radil film is already g a stir: while the first screengs have been sold out for weeks, there are already the mblgs of disntent om those who feel that beg gay is unacceptable wh Islam.

Abdullah is thought to be the only openly gay imam the Uned Stat, a signatn he says he is pleased to have. Drsed sually a tank top, shorts, and baseball p bearg the logo of a chary where he volunteers, Abdullah is, many ways, not your typil jovial 61-year-old has followed a wdg and unnventnal path around the world that led him to bee a lear the gay Mlim muny the U. Daayiee Abdullah says other imams treat him rpectfully spe his ntroversial belief that is acceptable to be Mlim and gay.

OPENLY GAY IMAM CREAT ONLE SCHOOL FOR LGBTQ-FRIENDLY ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY

(Meagan Fzpatrick/CBC News)"Those who say there's somethg the Qur'an that says 's agast homosexualy are g their own terpretatn of what they thk the Qur'an says, " Abdullah said. "Beg gay is not socially acceptable Islam, but that view n't legimately be based on the Qur'an, he acknowledg the way he terprets that Qur'an is an "alternative view.

"Abdullah's homosexualy and beliefs have at tim ma him an outsir his fah, but general he said other imams Washgton treat him "rpectfully. Seekg acceptance, not toleranceAs a unsellor he has helped gay youth and their parents navigate the challeng of beg gay and Mlim.

IMAM DAAYIEE ABDULLAH WEL GAY MLIMS TO WORSHIP, MARRY

Abdullah said some stanc parents are supportive but worry their muni may not be gay Mlims are treated pends on what part of the world they live , Abdullah said. - Daayiee AbdullahThis unual imam, one of a handful known the world to be openly gay, said he don't seek tolerance about his sexualy and his relign, he is lookg for acceptance. But as wh many gay Mlims she terviewed and photographed, unsettlg ner dialogu are takg place beneath the surface.

“I started wh the notn that was sful (to be gay) and that those who practiced were problematic at bt, ” he said. In Paris, Darj spent time wh Ludovic-Mohamed Zahed, an openly gay imam who opened the cy’s first gay-iendly mosque.

“Beg Mlim, Arabic and gay and th a member of several mory groups opened my ey: Mori are beg discrimated agast, particularly tim of enomic crisis. We have to know more about Islam, and we have to unrstand who we actually are orr to fight homophobia.

GAY MLIM IMAM TO OPEN FIRST LGTBI MOSQUE ATRALIA

That was until she met openly gay imam Daayiee Abdullah, a former Southern Baptist turned Mlim who studied the Quran Beijg and opened a gay mosque Washgton. “As an clive imam who is also gay, ” Abdullah told Darj, “I unrstand the turmoil of homosexual Mlims. “I am om a untry where is punishable by ath to be gay, ” said Samira, one of Darj’ subjects who was born Iran.

OPENLY GAY MLIM IMAM REACTS TO ORLANDO: CLUBS LIKE PULSE ARE SAFE HAVENS FOR LGBT MLIMS, TOO

But Ludovic Zahed, the first out gay imam Europe and one of the first openly gay Mlim clerics the world, has ma his life’s missn to bridge the gap between the two seemgly disparate worlds by challengg the domant, closed-md, tolerant terpretatn of Islam. At the age of twelve his homosexualy was awakened when he started havg feelgs for an olr iend, then later as a teen Zahed dated a Frenchman. When he fally accepted beg gay and began explorg his sexualy while at universy Algeria, he felt he had to leave Islam behd.

‘FATWA ON HOMOSEXUALS HARMFUL,’ SAYS OPENLY GAY IMAM

“I uldn’t really unrstand how my homosexualy uld be so vlently rejected, spe the fact I had done nothg wrong and was tryg to live a good life.

HOW HAVE MLIMS REACTED TO A LGBT-FRIENDLY MOSQUE IN ATRALIA RUN BY A GAY IMAM?

Ludovic then cid to return to his Islamic roots and explore s teachgs more eply, but “The only reprentatn of Islam I had ever experienced was a fascist, misogynistic, anti-semic and homophobic one, which I strongly reject as reprentg my spirual tradn that I believe is spired by peace.