Meet the imam of Ai’s first gay-iendly mosque | World Enomic Fom

Contents:

• MEET THE IMAM OF AI’S FIRST GAY-IENDLY MOSQUE
• INSI CAPE TOWN'S GAY MOSQUE
• NEW ‘OPEN MOSQUE’ CAPE TOWN WEL OPENLY GAY MLIMS
• IS CAPE TOWN’S WOMEN AND GAY-IENDLY MOSQUE A SIGN OF NEW MLIM ATTUS?
• A GAY MOSQUE CAPE TOWN SOUNDS THE LL TO PRAYER FOR EVERYONE

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

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Cape Town - Friday prayers at the People's Mosque Wynberg look like any other around the Islamic world, except the imam is openly gay and the teachg promot homosexual is a stance that provok outrage om many Mlims, but Muhs Hendricks has built up a small, loyal ngregatn by helpg worshippers try to rencile their sexualy and their relign. ”Cape Town has an active gay scene, and is often scribed as the “gay pal” of Ai, wh a district of gay-iendly rtrants, bars, gutho and clubs near the cy 1996 Hendricks found “The Inner Circle”, a support group for Mlims livg Cape Town who felt rejected due to their sexual orientatn, which led to him settg up the mosque five years ntrast to the emotns that surround the explosive topic of Islam and homosexualy, the mosque offers a lm and open place for gay Mlims to worship together. Picture: Rodger Bosch/AFPToday the mosque, loted at the Inner Circle offic, has about 25 regular worshippers, and even offers a marriage blsg to gay Ai's 1996 nstutn protects homosexuals' rights, and the untry is the only one Ai that allows same sex many South Ains of all relig groups are ls tolerant, and LGBT (lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr) people are often subject to discrimatn and are about 300 000 Mlims Cape Town and most mosque lears the cy take a clear stand agast homosexualy, even enuragg home imprisonment and “rrective treatment”.

INSI CAPE TOWN'S GAY MOSQUE

“Homosexualy is unacceptable and the punishment will be the fire, ” Imam Pandy, lear of a mosque Mowbray said. “How n you be homosexual? ”The Inner Circle group has worked for 20 years to support gay Mlims, often stgglg to survive agast overwhelmg opposn om orthodox Islamic lears.

“The msagg that the Mlim muny gets about queer issu om a clergy that is pletely homophobic, ” said Abdul Karriem Matthews, programme manager at the Inner worshippers like Zaid Philanr, a lol art teacher, the mosque provis a wele refuge, as well as accs to unsellg after he endured a harrowg “rrective” rual nducted by a quack “doctor” Cape Town.

NEW ‘OPEN MOSQUE’ CAPE TOWN WEL OPENLY GAY MLIMS

”At one recent Friday prayers attend by AFP a female visor om the Middle East gave a sermon to about 30 people cg passag om the Qur’an to promote an acceptg versn of asked not to be intified or quoted for fear of hostile reprisals her native untry, where open worship by gay Mlims would be unimagable. Hendricks, whose father was also an imam, travels worldwi to spread his msage to other gay Mlims that the answer is to stay posive.

A new “gay-iendly” mosque Cape Town, South Ai, opened s doors on Friday spe receivg ath threats and cricism om the lol Mlim muny.

In addn to welg openly gay Mlims, the mosque wel women to preach and lead the ngregatn prayer, an unnventnal and ntroversial practice Islam. A Mlim amic recently opened a gay- and women-iendly mosque Cape Town, South Ai, which was largely regard as a rponse to the culture of excln and nservatism the Mlim fah. Sixty-year-old Taj Hargey is the man behd this new mosque– a mosque he se worthy of beg replited other parts of the says his mosque is open to non-mlims, homosexuals—women are allowed to preach om the pulp—they pray si by si wh the men.

IS CAPE TOWN’S WOMEN AND GAY-IENDLY MOSQUE A SIGN OF NEW MLIM ATTUS?

The ia has ught on small numbers plac like Canada to Paris to Los Angel where mosqu have opened up seekg to ter to women or gay people. When we look at the new centers g up, I thk we have to see – not as a trend towards we're gonna have gay mosqu or a trend towards havg women's mosqu. They are issug tennt leaflets anonymo and so forth sayg i am gay bee har gay—means the gay part of my name..

I'm gay—nonsense like that. Although Hargay's posn on homosexualy has been qutned—so we asked him for a clarifitn..

Well—I don't endorse homosexual livg. It is not our bs to ci who enters this mosque or not and the Koran is very specific that judgement belongs to god alone, so if the homosexual or the lbian known to me or unknown to me we don't have the right to exclu them om this gatherg. Even though homosexualy is nmned islam my heart and my arms are opened to those people who have a different sexual orientatn always enuragg them to e back to god almighty but the mosque is still open for them bee they are still human begs.

A GAY MOSQUE CAPE TOWN SOUNDS THE LL TO PRAYER FOR EVERYONE

We don't do a check if you're gay. " but at the same time, there's a culture of where are women loted a mosque– how do your sermons talk about different people who are gay or people of a different ethnicy?

Conservative Mlims Cape Town don't thk Hargay is gog to get many followers at his turnouts at Hargay's mosque have been small. The arson attacks late last year are still unr vtigatn Cape Towns Mlim Judicial Council cled to ment on Hargay's mosque— however, s lears have urged tolerance and nmned the acts of Hargey's claims and approach have stirred up ntroversy—but they have also stck a nerve the Islamic muny pecially on the issue of genr equaly..

The ll to prayer should wele all Mlims, cludg gay Mlims, acrdg to an openly gay imam Cape Town. Hendricks opened Cape Town’s first gay mosque five years ago as a safe haven, away om the clash between relign and gay rights. The cy is popular among gay travelers, but has been ls wele to those born there.