Why are such heroes so hard to find for young Masrur Joarder? It’s likely that a number of them are dead or in hiding.
The Qur’an contains numerous condemnations of homosexual activity: “And [We had sent] Lot when he said to his people, ‘Do you commit such immorality as no one has preceded you with from among the worlds? Indeed, you approach men with desire, instead of women. Rather, you are a transgressing people.’…And We rained upon them a rain [of stones]. Then see how was the end of the criminals.” (Qur’an 7:80-84)
Muhammad specifies the punishment for this in a hadith: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘Whoever you find doing the action of the people of Loot, execute the one who does it and the one to whom it is done.’” (Sunan Abu Dawud 4462)
Yet gay rights advocates still hold up signs reading “Queers Against Islamophobia,” and steadfastly refuse to say a word about Islam’s death penalty for homosexuality. It has long been established that in the hierarchy of politically correct causes, Islam trumps gay rights. When AFDI ran ads highlighting the mistreatment of gays in Islamic law, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors issued a resolution condemning not that mistreatment, but our ads. Gay advocates such as Theresa Sparks and Chris Stedman attacked us for daring to call attention to the institutionalized mistreatment of gays under Islamic law. It was that, or risk not being invited to the best parties.
“My whole life I have been looking for fearless queer Muslim heroes,” by Masrur Joarder, Guardian, October 25, 2019:
I grew up Googling the words “gay and Muslim” most nights. Sometimes I still do.
For any young Muslim like myself, whether they be queer, an ally or have a passion for social justice similar to mine, this kind of struggle to find like-minded people is all too real.
This craving to find other Muslims who are open-minded enough to not just accept who they are but completely embrace their identities and to see these same people speak out against issues of marginalisation like racism, sexism and Islamophobia has always been validating to me. They were my fearless Muslim heroes and I had hoped they would speak out against homophobia in much the same way, particularly during the marriage equality debate in 2017. At the time, they never did. But attitudes are changing now and queer Muslims and allies around the world are having a moment which needs to be acknowledged.
In its winning bid to host the 2023 WorldPride, which will be themed “fearless”, the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras emphasised the importance of the event to “shine a light on the widespread human rights abuses by our regional neighbours”. In the bid, there was special mention of certain Muslim-majority nations, such as Brunei, to contrast with Australia’s more progressive treatment of LGBTQ+ issues.
Even though much of the Muslim world still hasn’t decriminalised homosexuality nor granted marriage equality like Australia has, in recent years there has been a noticeable shift in attitude with respect to sexuality among Muslim populations and an increased visibility of queer Muslims in the media….