In a survey of Amerin Mlims, 0% intified as lbian or gay. Here's the story behd that statistic | CNN

Contents:

• IN A SURVEY OF AMERIN MLIMS, 0% INTIFIED AS LBIAN OR GAY. HERE’S THE STORY BEHD THAT STATISTIC
• COMG OUT: GROWG UP GAY AND MLIM AMERI
• MAJORY OF AMERIN MLIMS NOW SUPPORT LBIAN, GAY AND BISEXUAL PEOPLE
• MEET AMERI’S FIRST OPENLY GAY IMAM
• WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE GAY AND MLIM AMERI
• AFFIRMG MOSQU HELP GAY MLIMS RENCILE FAH, SEXUALY
• GROWG UP—AND GRIEVG—AS A GAY MLIM AMERIN
• INTY EXPERIENCE AMONG PROGRSIVE GAY MLIMS NORTH AMERI: A QUALATIVE STUDY WH AL-FATIHA
• MLIMS WHO STRONGLY FAVOR OR FAVOR GAY MARRIAGE

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

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. Ani Zonneveld says she receiv lls regularly om young gay and lbian Mlims who have been threatened by their fay or are aaid to reveal their sexual inty. Now, Qadhi often prefac his remarks about homosexualy by notg that “feelgs and clatns” are not themselv sful, and that homosexual acts should not be sgled out for special nmnatn.

Mogahed herself me unr attack several years ago after a Gallup survey showed that no Brish Mlims – as , 0% – said homosexualy was morally acceptable. Rutgers profsor explasOut and the pulp:NJ mister seeks to help lbian clergy fd acceptanceIslam's harsh perspective on homosexualy has s roots the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, which is found the Quran and the Bible. "Amongst Islamic scholars, there is a wi range of terpretatns of homosexualy, " said Sylvia Chan-Malik, an associate profsor of Amerin studi at Rutgers Universy.

"It's a b tobgraphil but wh a happier endg, " Ali story foc on a mother a patriarchal nservative society South India who is faced wh a dilemma when her son reveals that he is gay. "I've read every holy book and uldn't fd any reference that monized me, " he said, addg that though Mlims are generally hostile towards homosexuals, the way that he unrstands the Quran,  don't ban that kd of fiant Pri Month, the shadow of the Supreme Court draft opn leakOrthodox:Judaism's most tradnal branch looks to make fah more supportive for LGBTQ membersWhen he go to the mosque, he wears his rabow p. It is this view and mixed msag that often leave young gay Mlims feelg nfed and alone, torn between the fear of beg disowned by fay and fah and nyg their sexual inti.

COMG OUT: GROWG UP GAY AND MLIM AMERI

And given the myriad social challeng facg Amerin Mlims general, om ernment monorg to discrimatn, the prsur n leave some gay Mlims feelg like a dual mory, isolated wh and outsi their muni. But some young gay Mlims are challengg this arrangement, risg the fields of polics, media, art and activism and workg to create a more clive Amerin Islam.

And while the tradn remas that homosexualy is a s Islam, there is a growg movement of scholars, activists and relig lears rereadg sourc and pullg om them ias of tolerance and social change. “The tth is that durg Prophet Muhammad’s days, he appoted the first female imam, and gay people were not persecuted for beg gay, ” said Ani Zonneveld, founr of Mlims for Progrsive Valu, a Los Angel–based anizatn that advot for women’s rights and lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr equaly. She is a trailblazer, helpg create the kd of safe spac Islam that young gay Mlims like Omar and Sara seek, has officiated at the Islamic weddg of a lbian uple and challeng the tablishment by leadg prayers — a task women are tradnally not allowed to do.

MAJORY OF AMERIN MLIMS NOW SUPPORT LBIAN, GAY AND BISEXUAL PEOPLE

“And this sounds silly, but even on social media, on Facebook, I’ll let some pictur go on there that uld really be perceived as gay, and my fay n see that. A majory of Amerin Mlims accept lbian, gay and bisexual people as part of society, acrdg to new fdgs om Pew Rearch Center, markg a dramatic shift attus over the past . A majory of Amerin Mlims accept lbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people as part of society, acrdg to new fdgs om Pew Rearch Center, markg a dramatic shift attus over the past .

MEET AMERI’S FIRST OPENLY GAY IMAM

Fifty-two percent of Amerin Mlims now agree wh the statement, “Homosexualy should be accepted by society, ” nearly double the number om those polled a ago. On issu affectg queer people, whe evangelils often stand out om other Amerin relig are the only major relig group that favors allowg small bs owners to refe goods or servic to gay and lbian people on relig grounds (56 percent). ” Women monstrate support of a lg by a feral judge Seattle that grants a natnwi temporary rtrag orr agast the printial orr to ban travel to the Uned Stat om seven Mlim-majory untri, at Tom Bradley Internatnal Termal at Los Angel Internatnal Airport on Febary 4, 2017 Los Angel, McNew via Getty ImagThe Growg Impact And Influence Of Young MlimsShiftg attus towards homosexualy Amerin Mlim muni have been driven by a few key groups.

There are fah lears who openly support gay youth, mosqu and muny centers where queer Mlims are weled, and Mlim lears and entertaers who are publicly out. ”- Mariam DurraniDebate Wh Amerin Mlim Communi On HomosexualyArshad said that queer Mlims have bee “utly optimistic” recent years about their acceptance wh Amerin Mlim muni. ”Tensns about Islam’s acceptance of homosexualy surfaced this June at a nventn held by the Islamic Society of North Ameri, a natnal associatn of Mlim anizatns.

"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. "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.

WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE GAY AND MLIM AMERI

Ebenhack)Gay Mlims tend to be virtually visible the Uned a culture that has been alternately skeptil of and downright hostile toward Mlim Amerins, g out as LGBTQ si that muny isn't exactly easy. Too many are left to live and love the shadows—foreigners their own land, tranged om their after the tragedy that saw 49 killed and 53 jured at a gay nightclub Orlando last weekend—and wispread reports that the perpetrator Omar Marteen was stgglg wh his sexual inty and mental health—gay Mlims fd themselv unr new my nversatns wh gay Mlim Amerins this week, the roundg msage was that Omar Mateen is no reprentative of the Mlim muny—LGBTQ or otherwise. The only notable difference between those whe men and Mateen, of urse, is that the latter was brown and Mlim, the extremist iology he flirted wh supposedly be sure, homophobia is a real problem the Mlim muny, one that n produce alienatn for many young people.

AFFIRMG MOSQU HELP GAY MLIMS RENCILE FAH, SEXUALY

He's a Paltian Amerin and works as a public health profsnal, travelg to untri the Middle East and Ai where there are large Mlim majori and strict laws agast homosexualy. "Though Kamal is grateful for openly gay Mlim voic, he remas gnizant that his journey is far more mon among men and women of his muny—who rema silent for fear of beg ostracized at bt, or victims of vlence at worst. In addn, another recent survey by Public Relign Rearch Center found that more than half (52%) of Amerin Mlims believe “society should approve of homosexualy.

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. 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. “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.

GROWG UP—AND GRIEVG—AS A GAY MLIM AMERIN

” In 2019, Mlim Advot, MPAC, and CAIR-Oklahoma llectively submted an amic brief favor of gay and transgenr employment protectns alongsi the heretil “reformist” anizatn Mlims for Progrsive Valu (MPV)—a peculiar cln, particularly given MPV print Ani Zonneveld’s prr repudiatn of Yasir Qadhi, Hamza Yuf, the Council on Amerin–Islamic Relatns (CAIR), the Islamic Society of North Ameri (ISNA), Hsam Ayloh (Executive Director, CAIR-LA), Nihad Awad (-founr and Executive Director of CAIR), Zaytuna Instute, and the Islamic Circle of North Ameri (ICNA) as “homophobic. Like , the prohibn of homosexual behavr—and all sexual acts that fall outsi specifilly leated legally sanctned relatnships (all of which are necsarily heterosexual)—is also “known of the relign by necsy.

At no pot is there even implic support for homosexual relatnships all of this recent years, heterodox groups have emerged proposg reforms to this sexual ethic, argug that the Quranic msage has been misunrstood by jurists or that perhaps the language self is malleable enough to acmodate same-sex relatnships alongsi normative heterosexual on. The relign of Islam therefore prcrib a clear sexual ethic light of which homosexual acts are prohibed and the act of sodomy specifilly is a grave moral s (as are heterosexual fornitn and adultery). Attempts to approve homosexual acts not only vlate clear vers of revelatn (th nstutg a posn of disbelief, or ku) but also profoundly unrme the very soc-faial ethic whose prervatn is an sential prciple and one of the ma overridg objectiv of Islamic law, namely, the prervatn of leage (nasl).

Terms such as sexual orientatn, gay, straight, homosexual, heterosexual, and the like are all exceedgly recent tegori and ncepts, gurated the late neteenth century and which, acrdg to Michel Fouult and others, served to troduce a new “speci” of sexual beg, one to be studied, examed, and pathologized for medil purpos. 4 (2010): 801–838, Though many scholars have supported this perdizatn, a few recent voic have argued for slightly earlier begngs, wh some lotg the orig of “homosexualy” (as a social ncept, if not a fully formed term) late eighteenth- / early neteenth-century Germany2 See Robert Beachy, “The German Inventn of Homosexualy, ” The Journal of Morn History 82, no. Neverthels, is important here simply to note that although some people the past (pre-neteenth century) certaly exprsed and acted on homoerotic sir, they had no ncept of an attendg inty to which that sexual exprsn was tethered.

INTY EXPERIENCE AMONG PROGRSIVE GAY MLIMS NORTH AMERI: A QUALATIVE STUDY WH AL-FATIHA

Unlike past peopl, the morn dividual experiencg same-sex attractn begs first to nceive of his inty before anythg else: his first orr of bs is to wrtle wh whether he is “gay. When the homosexual inty is fully ternalized, beg gay (or lbian) not not only to whom one is attracted sexually but also how one behav romantilly and sexually, how one thks polilly or socially, how one relat to relign, and, of urse, who one tly is. When homosexualy is viewed this manner, the whholdg of moral approval om homosexual acts and disapproval of the gay inty e to be seen as a rejectn not of a discrete set of sful acts and a problematic self-nceptn but of the very person himself.

MLIMS WHO STRONGLY FAVOR OR FAVOR GAY MARRIAGE

It is precisely for this reason that people objectg to homosexual activism are seen not as dividuals wh a specific moral claim about what do and do not nstute acceptable sexual behavr but as retrogra, hateful bigots. We mt do so wh discernment, takg great re to avoid the equent nglomeratn of sexual sir (which and of themselv do not necsarily nstute s), sexual acts, and everythg else that is bound up the homosexual inty and wh an eye towards helpg nfed members of our muny unrstand this topic more easily.