Muslim and Gay

I was recently reading about the resignation of Surina Khan as Executive Director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, an international human rights advocacy organization that advocates for the rights of gays and lesbians around the world. Khan, an openly Muslim lesbian, has held the position for the last two and half years. In the article she described how she was faced with responding to the September 11 terrorist attacks as a representative of two marginalized and misunderstood communities. In addition to facing anti-Muslim sentiment from within the gay community, she also had to lead the fight against governments in Muslim countries increasing their persecution of homosexuals.

She got me thinking. More than a third of all Peace Corps volunteers now serve in countries that are heavily or majority Islamic in West, North and East Africa, the Middle East, and in Central and South Asia. In the last year and a half Peace Corps has evacuated volunteers from the Central Asian Republics (the “stans”), Bangladesh, the Ivory Coast, and Jordan - all for reasons of security that relate in some way to Islamic political or potential terrorist issues.

Because of the events of the last year and a half, information about Islam and Islamic culture is far more visible, but what about lesbian and gay Muslims. This information is much harder for lesbian and gay volunteers to find. I’ve gone looking and have come up with two organizations with web sites containing helpful information.

Al Fatiha
This organization is the more comprehensive of the two. One of Al Fatiha’s goals is to provide a safe space and a forum for LGBTQ Muslims to address issues of common concern, share individual experiences, and institutional resources. They also support LGBTQ Muslims in reconciling their sexual orientation or gender identity with Islam. Al Fatiha promotes the Islamic notions of social justice, peace, and tolerance through its work, to bring all closer to a world that is free of injustice, prejudice and discrimination. A look at their mission and goals brings many of the goals of the Peace Corps and individual volunteers to mind.

Of particular interest to LGB Peace Corps applicants and volunteers are their discussion groups. A Peace Corps “invitee” about to be sent off to an Islamic country could email them, join one of their discussion groups and ask questions about the status of lesbians and gays in the country she or he has been assigned.

Of particular interest to me was a discussion of Islamic traditions and text from the Quran that deal with issues of same sex affectional affiliation. One comes to understand the dilemmas Muslim gay men and lesbians deal with. How do you live as lesbian or gay man, and remain a Muslim. It’s part of a bigger picture dealing with the issues of Islam adapting to the modern world. I think not completely different from Western lesbians and gays raised in traditional communities and religions trying to reconcile what often seem unreconcilable differences.

GLAS - The Gay and Lesbian Arab Society
This organization seems to have a narrower base than Al Fatiha. Their focus is on the Arab rather than the more expansive Islamic world. They appear to be based in Lebanon, one of the most modern of Islamic countries, and significantly Christian. They have chapters in Lebanon, Egypt, New York and Los Angeles. They provide a support network for their members while fighting for human rights everywhere. They describe themselves as part of the global Gay and Lesbian movement, while fighting negative images of Arabs within the Gay and Lesbian community.

Their web site archives gay/lesbian relevant news items from the Near East, Europe and the States. News items are very current. I read through a thoughtful review of a book I’ve recently read, Islamic Homosexualities, Culture, History and Literature. The site also has a very interesting Entertainment page with links that provide an insight into the music and entertainment interests of young Arabs living in a less traditional world.

If any of our readers know of other relevant web sites let us know and we’ll check them out. - lgbrpcv-news@lgbrpcv.org.