A gay imam's story: 'The dialogue is open Islam – 10 years ago wasn't' | World Enomic Fom

Contents:

• THERE ARE 8 OPENLY GAY IMAMS THE WORLD: DAAYIEE ABDULLAH
• MEET AMERI’S FIRST OPENLY GAY IMAM
• A GAY IMAM'S STORY: 'THE DIALOGUE IS OPEN ISLAM – 10 YEARS AGO WASN'T'
• LIFE AS A GAY IMAM ISN'T AS BAD AS IT SOUNDS
• MEET THE GAY IMAM CHANGG ATTUS OM WH
• GAY IMAM SOUTH AI IS HAPPILY MARRIED
• THE RADIL: A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT WORLD’S FIRST GAY IMAM
• LUDOVIC ZAHED ONE OF THE FIRST OPENLY GAY MUSLIM CLERICS IN THE WORLD
• MLIM ATTUS ABOUT LGBT ARE PLEX, FAR OM UNIVERSALLY ANTI-GAY
• THE SECRET MOSQU OPENG THEIR DOORS TO GAY MLIMS
• MEET THE GAY IMAM WHO STARTED SOUTH AI'S FIRST LGBTIQ IENDLY MOSQUE
• GAY MLIMS FD SANCTUARY SOUTH AI'S 'PEOPLE'S MOSQUE'
• GAY IMAM OF PAKISTANI ORIG TELLS HIS STORY OF PE : PART 1
• IMAMS AND HOMOSEXUALY: A POST-GAY BATE THE NETHERLANDSIMAMS AND HOMOSEXUALY: A POST-GAY BATE THE NETHERLANDSIMAMS AND HOMOSEXUALY: A POST-GAY BATE THE NETHERLANDSIMAMS AND HOMOSEXUALY: A POST-GAY BATE THE NETHERLANDSIMAMS AND HOMOSEXUALY: A POST-GAY BATE THE NETHERLANDS

THERE ARE 8 OPENLY GAY IMAMS THE WORLD: DAAYIEE ABDULLAH

Ain-Amerin Daayiee Abdullah (62) is one of the few publicly gay imams the world.

MEET AMERI’S FIRST OPENLY GAY IMAM

Durg my rearch Sdi Arabia, I found posive terpretatn on homosexualy Quran.

It is not difficult for an dividual to be openly a gay imam but pends on the cultural ntext. In the Wt, there is much more acceptance of gay imams or Mlim gays.

But Imam Daayiee Abdullah – believed to be the only openly gay imam the Ameris – is proud of his story.

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

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.

LIFE AS A GAY IMAM ISN'T AS BAD AS IT SOUNDS

“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.

"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.

MEET THE GAY IMAM CHANGG ATTUS OM WH

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”. 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.

GAY IMAM SOUTH AI IS HAPPILY MARRIED

’”Same-sex marriage has been legally regnised sce 2006 South Ai, which is more acceptg of homosexualy than many Ain untri. Acrdg to Masjidul Ghurbaah visors such as Khan, though, homophobia is still mon the cy’s mosqu.

“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”.

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

He says there’s nothg the text 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.

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

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. An Islamic scholar who broke taboos when he me out is empowerg gay Mlims around the world. As the world’s first openly gay imam he has experienced plenty of rejectn, but now he hop that a new documentary – The Radil, chartg his missn to promote sexual diversy Islam – will be a step towards wir acceptance.

More surprisg was the luge of supportive msag – not least om a uple of fellow imams – and a realisatn of the sheer number of closeted gay Mlims. He found an unrground support group – the Inner Circle – helpg gay Mlims rencile their fah and sexualy. As an Islamic scholar wh a gree om the Universy of Islamic Studi Pakistan, Muhs believ that homophobia is patible wh the Qur’an’s pictn of a “merciful and passnate” God, and that has been embedd the culture by centuri of patriarchal terpretatn.

MLIM ATTUS ABOUT LGBT ARE PLEX, FAR OM UNIVERSALLY ANTI-GAY

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 SECRET MOSQU OPENG THEIR DOORS TO GAY MLIMS

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.

For many people, beg gay and Mlim seems oxymoronic, patible to be openly both. 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.

MEET THE GAY IMAM WHO STARTED SOUTH AI'S FIRST LGBTIQ IENDLY MOSQUE

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. “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.

GAY MLIMS FD SANCTUARY SOUTH AI'S 'PEOPLE'S MOSQUE'

Subsequently he traveled to Tibet and wnsed homophobia there as well. 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. Mastream Islam nsirs homosexualy a s, and ’s a crimal offense most Arab and Mlim untri, punishable by imprisonment or, as Sdi Arabia and Iran, even ath.

GAY IMAM OF PAKISTANI ORIG TELLS HIS STORY OF PE : PART 1

Islamic State groups such as the Taliban and ISIS have taken this to an extreme, relishg public beheadgs or tossg homosexuals off of roof tops. This prevailg sentiment forc many homosexuals unrground and to miserable marriag.

Dpe the pronouncements of many Mlim scholars, the Quran and Hadh’s stance on homosexualy is far more plex than most Mlims realize. For centuri Arab-Mlim societi were more tolerant of homosexualy than European on, but sce the early 20th century, the tabl have turned.

IMAMS AND HOMOSEXUALY: A POST-GAY BATE THE NETHERLANDSIMAMS AND HOMOSEXUALY: A POST-GAY BATE THE NETHERLANDSIMAMS AND HOMOSEXUALY: A POST-GAY BATE THE NETHERLANDSIMAMS AND HOMOSEXUALY: A POST-GAY BATE THE NETHERLANDSIMAMS AND HOMOSEXUALY: A POST-GAY BATE THE NETHERLANDS

Most Wtern untri have creasgly enacted LGBTQ-iendly laws, while homophobic views predomate the Mlim world. One ntent analysis emerg om postlonial theory claimg that wterners troduced homophobia to Islam, a culture that prevly had neher a ncept nor a problem wh same-sex attractn. After studyg Islamic theology for five years, Ludovic pleted his humani doctorate on the topic “Sexual Mori at the Vanguard of Chang the Islam of France” and published his this on “LGBT Mlims facg Obscurantism and Homo-natnalism.