Gay Muslim Life In U.S. Complicated

Looking for some more information on Muslim gay life in the United States? Well, thank your respective deities, because the NY Times spends some of its venerable time today taking a look at the lives of gay Muslims in the United States. While some thrive, most seem to struggle with a life pulled between two worlds. Despite discrimination, however, the more dedicated Muslims hope to change people’s minds:

Imam Daayiee Abdullah, 53, a black convert to Islam, was expelled from a Saudi-financed seminary in Virginia after the school found out he is gay. His effort to organize a gay masjid, or mosque, in Washington failed largely out of fear, he said.

“You have these individuals who say that they would blow up a masjid if it was a gay masjid,” he said. Mr. Abdullah and other scholars argue that there is no uncontested record of the Prophet Muhammad addressing homosexuality and that examples of punishment would surely exist had he been hostile.

Mirroring the feminist school of Islam, gay advocates pursue a holistic interpretation that emphasizes accepting everyone as equally God’s creation.

The article goes on to examine the religious texts allegedly supporting homophobia and gay scholars’ objections. It’s sort of like taking a really quick class on the relationship between homosexuality and Islam. Only without the test.