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
• AFFIRMG MOSQU HELP GAY MLIMS RENCILE FAH, SEXUALY
• THERE ARE 8 PUBLICLY GAY IMAMS THE WORLD SAYS DAAYIEE ABDULLAH
• MEET THE GAY IMAM CHANGG ATTUS OM WH
• AS A GAY IMAM, I KNOW THAT ISLAM IS NOT ANTI-LGBTQ+
• GAY IMAM SOUTH AI IS HAPPILY MARRIED
• THE RADIL: A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT WORLD’S FIRST GAY IMAM
• MEET THE IMAM OF AI’S FIRST GAY-IENDLY MOSQUE
• MEET DAAYIEE ABDULLAH, AMERI'S GAY IMAM
• MEET THE GAY IMAM WHO STARTED SOUTH AI'S FIRST LGBTIQ IENDLY MOSQUE
• LUDOVIC ZAHED ONE OF THE FIRST OPENLY GAY MUSLIM CLERICS IN THE WORLD

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.

Do Islam approve of homosexualy? Durg my rearch Sdi Arabia, I found posive terpretatn on homosexualy Quran. Is difficult to be a gay imam publicly?

There are 12 gay imams the world and eight are openly gay. 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.

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. Performg funeral r for a gay Mlim who died of AIDS.

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

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.

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

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. 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.

AFFIRMG MOSQU HELP GAY MLIMS RENCILE FAH, SEXUALY

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.

Last year, a gay-iendly mosque opened Paris – Europe’s first. Muhs Hendricks, an openly gay imam Capetown, South Ai, has for years been leadg ngregants and preachg that homosexualy and Islam are not patible.

THERE ARE 8 PUBLICLY GAY IMAMS THE WORLD SAYS DAAYIEE ABDULLAH

Andre Carson, D-Ind., have both advoted for gay rights.

” 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”.

MEET THE GAY IMAM CHANGG ATTUS OM WH

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.

AS A GAY IMAM, I KNOW THAT ISLAM IS NOT ANTI-LGBTQ+

’”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.

Last summer the MJC clared a h fatwa on gay liftyl.

GAY IMAM SOUTH AI IS HAPPILY MARRIED

”skip past newsletter promotnafter newsletter promotnHendricks says there’s nothg the Qur’an that “should be ed as blanket nmnatn of homosexualy”. 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.

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. FINDING ‘A MIDDLE GROUND’Tugay Sarac was 13 when his father died eight years ago.

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

“I thought I n't be Mlim and gay at the same time, ” he said. “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. Courty of Tugay SaracIbn Rhd-Goethe Mosque is the only self-scribed liberal mosque Germany.

MEET THE IMAM OF AI’S FIRST GAY-IENDLY MOSQUE

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

“Mosqu like Ibn Rhd-Goethe n give people a place to be gay and Mlim. 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.

K., however, Mlims are ls acceptg of homosexualy.

MEET DAAYIEE ABDULLAH, AMERI'S GAY IMAM

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. 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. World religns are stgglg to e to terms wh homosexualy. The recent Orlando shootg is beg nsired as a crime agast homosexualy.

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

Daayiee Abdullah spoke to The Tim Of India about homosexualy and Islam. That, some Mlim imams are gay is a fact very few of Sop EmpireAin-Amerin Daayiee Abdullah (62) is one of the few publicly gay imams the world.

Daayiee says thats Islam approv of homosexualy. “Durg my rearch Sdi Arabia, I found posive terpretatn on homosexualy Quran.

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

But the lerature g out om Wahhabist and Salafist schools, puts an rrect terpretatn on , ” said the gay imam. 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.