For a general discussion of homosexuality and Islam, see Homosexuality and Islam

Gay Muslims was a UK Channel 4 documentary about how the experiences of five lesbian and gay Muslims in Britain challenge the heterosexual bias in Muslim communities and illustrate the diversity within Islam. For age-structured homosexuality, see Pederasty in the Islamic world There is no concept analogous to homosexuality in Islam, in the sense of an innate identity. ... Channel 4 is a public-service television broadcaster in the United Kingdom (see British television). ... A lesbian is a female who is exclusively emotionally, sexually, and romantically attracted to other females. ... For other articles with similar names, see Gay (disambiguation). ... A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ... Heterosexuality is a sexual orientation characterized by esthetic attraction, romantic love or sexual desire exclusively for members of the opposite sex or gender, contrasted with homosexuality and distinguished from bisexuality and asexuality. ... A bias is a prejudice in a general or specific sense, usually in the sense for having a preference to one particular point of view or ideological perspective. ... A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Turkish: Müslüman, Persian and Urdu: مسلمان, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of Islam. ... Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the Quran, its principal scripture, whose followers, known as Muslims (مسلم), believe God (Arabic: الله ) sent through revelations to Muhammad. ...

Diverse perspectives on homosexuality exist amongst Muslims, ranging from condemnation through to the Muslim Canadian Congress's welcome for legislation redefining marriage to include same-sex partners. In the documentary, a number of Islamic scholars assert that the Qur’anic verse, ‘we created you as partners’, need not be limited to male-female couples. The documentary shows Muslim gay marriages (nikahs) in the USA, Canada and India. It states that this diversity may lie at the heart of traditional Islamic practice. In the formation of the different Islamic schools of thought, which have now become different denominations, such as Maliki and Shaefi, scholars accepted there could be different interpretations of Qur’anic Arabic and people could align themselves to whichever they felt represented them most. The documentary asserts that the modern-day call of the politico-religious right for a homogeneous Islam is a new invention, and not at all fundamental. Homosexuality refers to sexual and romantic attraction between two individuals of the same sex. ... A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ... The Muslim Canadian Congress is a grassroots organization that claims to provide a voice to Muslims who support a progressive, liberal, pluralistic, democratic, and secular society where everyone has the freedom of religion. ... Islamic scholars are Muslim and non-Muslim scholars who work in one or more fields of Islamic studies. ... A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Turkish: Müslüman, Persian and Urdu: مسلمان, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of Islam. ... Same-sex marriage (also called gay marriage, and—less frequently—homosexual marriage) refers to marriage between partners of the same gender (for other forms of same-sex unions that are different from marriages, see the articles linked in that section). ... Islam (Arabic: ; ( â–¶ (help· info)), the submission to God) is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions and the worlds second-largest religion. ... The religion of Islam has many divisions, sects, schools, traditions, and related faiths. ... This page deals with Islamic thought. ... Arabic can mean: From or related to Arabia From or related to the Arabs The Arabic language; see also Arabic grammar The Arabic alphabet, used for expressing the languages of Arabic, Persian, Malay ( Jawi), Kurdish, Panjabi, Pashto, Sindhi and Urdu, among others. ... Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the Quran, its principal scripture, whose followers, known as Muslims (مسلم), believe God (Arabic: الله ) sent through revelations to Muhammad. ...

The scholar

The diverse ways of understanding of the Qur’an are echoed in the programme by Dr Scott-Siraj Al-Haqq Kugle, of Swarthmore College in the USA, currently a research fellow at Leiden University in Holland. He asks a question which is not asked often enough: what do we mean by Shariah? Shariah – Islamic law – is determined by male jurists whose interpretations of Islamic texts are based on cultural assumptions situated in particular times, and particular political and geographical locations? It’s not divine. It offers us different avenues to live our lives as Muslims, depending on who’s doing the interpretation. Importantly, Kugle also points out that there is no word in the Qur’an for 'gay' or 'homosexual', and no mention of lesbians. The Quran (Arabic: al-qurān literally the recitation; also called Al Qurān Al KarÄ«m or The Noble Quran; or transliterated Quran, Koran, and less commonly Alcoran) is the holy book of Islam. ... Holland is a region in the central-western part of the Netherlands. ... Sharia (Arabic شريعة also Sharia, Shariah or Syariah) is traditional Islamic law. ... Sharia (Arabic شريعة also Sharia, Shariah or Syariah) is traditional Islamic law. ... A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ... The Quran (Arabic: al-qurān literally the recitation; also called Al Qurān Al KarÄ«m or The Noble Quran; or transliterated Quran, Koran, and less commonly Alcoran) is the holy book of Islam. ... This article is about homosexual women, not inhabitants of the Greek island of Lesbos A lesbian (lowercase L) is a homosexual woman. ...

The activists

Some 200 lesbian and gay Muslims were contacted by the programme makers but only a handful were willing to be interviewed, and most of those insisted on keeping their identities hidden, to prevent reprisal. The majority of them came from sudan. Only one was prepared to show his face and give his true name. He was Adnan Ali, an activist on issues affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual (LGBT) Muslims. Adnan described how, when he first came out about his sexuality in Pakistan, he was physically and verbally abused. He then came to the UK, where he chatted online with members of the Al-fatiha Foundation in the States. Al-fatiha is an international organisation dedicated to questioning Muslims who are LGBT and their friends. Adnan then set-up a sister group called Al-fatiha UK, now called Imaan. A lesbian is a female who is exclusively emotionally, sexually, and romantically attracted to other females. ... A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ... A lesbian is a female who is exclusively emotionally, sexually, and romantically attracted to other females. ... For other articles with similar names, see Gay (disambiguation). ... In human sexuality, bisexuality describes a man or woman having a sexual orientation to persons of either or both sexes (a man or woman who sexually likes both sexes; people who are sexually and/or romantically attracted to both males and females). ... A transsexual (sometimes transexual) person establishes a permanent identity with the opposite gender to their assigned (usually at birth) sex. ... Sexual orientation describes the direction of an individuals sexuality, often in relation to their own sex or gender. ... The Al-Fatiha Foundation is an organization devoted to advancing the cause of gay, lesbian, and transgender Muslims. ... LGBT (or GLBT) is an abbreviation used as a collective term to refer to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender people. ... For information about the model, see Iman Abdulmajid. ...

There are also counter activists who insist that the traditional Islam is the right Islam to be followed. Many point back to the old stories of the Prophets such as Lut who came to the gay people and preached Islam. Later on because they refused to listen to Lut, they and their people, were destroyed by God. Stories like this still ring true to many scholars and they cite these events as proof that there can never be a "Gay" muslim. Right now there is overwhelming evidence against gay muslims and that is why many of them refuse to show their identities, especially in traditionalist countries.

The battle still rages and a conclusion has yet to be taken as many other "Gay" muslims are becoming more active and voicing there opinions.

The voices

The interviewees speak of their commitment to and belief in Islam, though instead of having their beliefs supported by their community and family, they face being ostracised. ‘Razeem’ speaks of his pain at being denied access to the children of his previous marriage, despite having a legal right to access and the fact that his wife ran away with another man. He also wishes there were more role models, like Adnan Ali, for gay Muslims. ‘Shakir’ and his parents find it easier to accept lesbianism than gay men’s homosexuality. ‘Farah’ contemplates going back into the closet, to lie about her sexuality to ease the tension in her relationship with her parents. Presenter Sonia Deol says that the gay Muslim group, Imaan, supports the idea of ‘keeping sexuality a private matter’. Of course there are other voices out there, which are not heard in the programme, like the mothers, children and siblings of LGBT Muslims who come along to gay Muslim events. There have been active LGBT members of Muslim societies and communities for generations, who now want their relationships and responsibilities recognised just like their heterosexual counterparts. They are not asking for special treatment but for justice. Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the Quran, its principal scripture, whose followers, known as Muslims (مسلم), believe God (Arabic: الله ) sent through revelations to Muhammad. ... A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ... A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Turkish: Müslüman, Persian and Urdu: مسلمان, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of Islam. ... For information about the model, see Iman Abdulmajid. ... LGBT (or GLBT) is an abbreviation used as a collective term to refer to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender people. ... A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Turkish: Müslüman, Persian and Urdu: مسلمان, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of Islam. ... Heterosexuality is a sexual orientation characterized by esthetic attraction, romantic love or sexual desire exclusively for members of the opposite sex or gender, contrasted with homosexuality and distinguished from bisexuality and asexuality. ...

External links

• Blog: Eye on Gay Muslims
• Rasheed Eldin's analysis (Part 1)
• Rasheed Eldin's analysis (Part 2)
• Shaykh Riyad Nadwi's comments