1. »  The Advocate: Islam and LGBT are Not Mutually Exclusive

    about the author: Urooj Arshad, a queer Pakistani-born woman, tells us why she devotes her life to helping LGBT Muslim youth.

         I grew up in Pakistan, a country with one of the largest Muslim populations in the world. Unlike most Pakistani women, I had access to a great education, and loving and supportive parents who treated me and my brothers equally. However, as I grew up I was troubled by the way women were treated in Pakistan.

    Much of my worry was fueled by growing up during one of the harshest military regimes in Pakistan, that of general Zia-Ul-Haq. In his push to “Islamisize” the country, he eliminated many of women’s rights in the name of Islam. His infamous Hudood Ordinances amplified violence against women, and the general degradation and humiliation of women in society. I was constantly afraid, and the oppression started to seep into my soul. Fortunately, when I was 16 my parents immigrated to the U.S. with the help of my uncle’s sponsorship.

    I came to the U.S. broken and disillusioned.  I thought that I would start a new and happier life away from Pakistan and away from Islam.

    But of course it was not that easy. I was just so different from my fellow suburban white teens.  Yet trying to forget who I was and where I was from didn’t bring me happiness either. By the time I got to the University of Illinois, away from home and family for the first time, I had become very isolated. Even when I came out and entered the LGBT community, I realized that as a queer-Muslim-person of color, the issues I faced were vastly different from my white LGBT peers.

    In 1999, I met Faisal Alam, the founder of the Al-Fatiha Foundation, an organization dedicated to Muslims who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, questioning, those exploring their sexual orientation or gender identity, and to their allies and families. He changed my life forever. To sit in a room full of queer youth and to know that there is another Pakistani Muslim queer person out there, started to fill a hole I did not even know existedand I stopped believing that I would never be able to reconcile my sexuality with my religion and culture.

    I began organizing and getting more involved with work specific to LGBT Muslim communities, and this has been my mission for the last decade and more.  As a community, we have provided countless workshops on the intersection of islamophobia and homophobia/transphobia, marched in pride parades to show our visibility, helped folks get asylum, provided spiritual counseling, and developed and advocated for scholarship that looks at Islam in the context of LGBT issues.  We have built retreat spaces that bring together LGBT Muslims to discuss spiritual life, religious texts, anti-oppression; and yes, we even had a speed dating event this year, because nothing is hotter than some Muslim on Muslim love.

    Most importantly, we have changed the discourse that looks at LGBT Muslims as if they are non-religious, somehow outside the realm of mainstream Muslim life, somehow not impacted by Islamophobia, somehow not quite able to be both LGBT and Muslim. And as we continue to change the discourse, I am proud of how much the movement has grown and truly reflects the LGBT Muslim community.

    I am particularly proud to see so many young people as LGBT Muslim organizers. Youth are especially vulnerable in an environment that puts all LGBT Muslims at risk of stigma and discrimination: from government, from our society, and even from our own families and communities. Many youth face violence and family rejection; many also feel disconnected from their culture and religion. These young people need a supportive community -  and the community needs their energy and leadership. Through Advocates for Youth’s Muslim Youth Project, we are developing Muslim youth leaders who will push back on Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia, silence about sexuality, and the oppression of women.

    It’s been 13 years since I became involved with LGBT Muslim organizing, and I am so proud of all the work we have done to bring people together who, like me, felt isolated and alone — who felt that if they are LGBT that the love of Allah is no longer with them, and they were cursed to go through this world unprotected and unloved.

    Just a few months ago, I went back to Pakistan, and I realized that the Pakistan I knew during the draconian days of Zia –ul-Haq has changed. From transgender communities getting ID cards, to the vibrant lawyers’ movement that eventually toppled the last military dictator’s regime, Pakistan has been on its own journey toward becoming the Pakistan I have always dreamed of. My trip to Pakistan not only took me home, but took me back to myself, and I hope that this gift of coming home to oneself is a gift that we as LGBT Muslims can continue to give to each other.

    UROOJ ARSHAD is the associate director of International Youth Health and Rights at Advocates for Youth, a group that advocates for realistic approaches to adolescent sexual health.

Notes

  1. decadentxpastry reblogged this from aspiringhermit
  2. psychopathlesstraveled reblogged this from claravoyant
  3. claravoyant reblogged this from aspiringhermit
  4. aspiringhermit reblogged this from queermuslims
  5. melancholyandjoy reblogged this from ushahzadi
  6. ushahzadi reblogged this from queermuslims and added:
    You hardly see this prespective of Pakistani Muslims. Kudos for a great article. Worth noting the reference to the era...
  7. thewretcheddownpour reblogged this from navigatethestream
  8. skittlespride reblogged this from navigatethestream
  9. actyourrage reblogged this from navigatethestream
  10. thehereticalway reblogged this from iamnotharaam
  11. digitaldesperados reblogged this from outburstm
  12. outburstm reblogged this from queermuslims
  13. a-feast-for-cunts reblogged this from navigatethestream
  14. revolution-stryker reblogged this from searchingforknowledge
  15. songsaboutmary reblogged this from navigatethestream
  16. searchingforknowledge reblogged this from navigatethestream
  17. navigatethestream reblogged this from queermuslims
  18. asukann reblogged this from ayunthefrog
  19. ilovealistair reblogged this from scottsredhoodie
  20. scottsredhoodie reblogged this from iamnotharaam
  21. ayunthefrog reblogged this from angrydumpling
  22. vonjeeves reblogged this from angrydumpling
  23. angrydumpling reblogged this from hacardi
  24. youthdk reblogged this from queermuslims
  25. hacardi reblogged this from queermuslims

About me

A Tumblr by & for Queer Muslims - celebrating our dual identities.

This is not a space for debate or where we will feel compelled to justify our existence. This is a place for us to express ourselves without fear, to share resources, and to connect with other queer Muslims.

Asks should keep the above in mind. We reserve the right to ignore asks, no matter how "polite", that deviate from our mission of a positive space for us. Negativity, "nasiha", name-calling, takfiring, questioning of our level of Islamic knowledge, and demands for us to justify our existence will NOT be published here or responded to. If people have personal questions/comments for the moderators that step outside the positive & affirming mission of this blog, they should go to our personal Tumblrs (though we make no promises that we will entertain you there either!)