Identity experience among progressive gay Muslims in North America: A qualitative study within Al‐Fatiha

Abstract

This qualitative study aims to document the identity experience of progressive gay Muslim men in a North American context. Six in-depth interviews, supplemented with participant observation, were conducted of gay Muslim men who attended an international conference for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and questioning (LGBTQ) Muslims. For progressive gay Muslims such as these, a Muslim identity appears three-dimensional (religious, ethno-cultural, and color) when integrated with a gay identity. As a religious identity, gay Muslim's relationship to Allah (God) and a reinterpretation of the Qur'an and traditional condemnation of homosexuality appears necessary. As a cultural identity, East-West ethno-cultural differences that impact on homo-sociality and gay identity construction, marriage and the impact of coming out on the Eastern family and siblings emerged as critical issues. As a color identity, internalized racism, dating relationships and social dynamics within gay subculture as Muslims of color in a white dominant context appear key challenges.

‘Out to get us’: queer Muslims and the clash of sexual civilisations in Australia

“…This article focuses on queer Muslims' struggle for due recognition from mainstream Australian society, Australia's abidingly homophobic Muslim communities, and from Australia's overwhelmingly secular queer communities wherein 71.5% of individuals claim 'no religion' (Pitts et al 2006). In contrast to previous studies on queer Muslims by Yip (2003Yip ( , 2004Yip ( , 2005 and Siraj (2006) in the UK and Minwalla et al (2005) in the USA, rather than engaging with queer Muslims on an ethnographic level, this article offers a political engagement with contemporary issues of identity and belonging confronting queer Muslims in an age of ideological warfare. My approach here is Marxist, a tradition that numerous scholars of Islam and the Muslim majority world have worked within, or alongside.…”

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At the Intersection of Church and Gay: A Review of the Psychological Research on Gay and Lesbian Christians

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Influence of Intersecting Identities on Acceptance, Disclosure, and Internalized Homonegativity

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