#queer muslims

[mlmxreader]

lesbian Muslims are fantastic.

gay Muslims are brilliant.

bisexual Muslims are wonderful.

pansexual Muslims are amazing.

omnisexual Muslims are lovely.

aromantic Muslims are marvellous.

asexual Muslims are spectacular.

transgender Muslims are phenomenal.

nonbinary Muslims are sensational.

Poly Muslims are stupendous.

queer Muslims are outstanding.

queer & lgbtqia+ Muslims are sublime.

you are important, valued, cherished, treasured. you are loved and deserve to be loved in return (however that looks for you & if you wish to be!). you are ENOUGH, and you are doing amazing.

[hussyknee]

Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani’s Kitab al-Aghani records the lives of a number of individuals including one named Tuways who lived during the last years of Muhammad and the reigns of the early Muslim dynasties. Tuways was mukhannathun: those who were born as men, but who presented as female. They are described by al-Isfahani as wearing bangles, decorating their hands with henna, and wearing feminine clothing. One mukhannathun, Hit, was even in the household of the Prophet Muhammad. Tuways earned a reputation as a musician, performing for clients and even for Muslim rulers. When Yahya ibn al-Hakam was appointed as governor, Tuways joined in the celebration wearing ostentatious garb and cosmetics. When asked by the governor if he were Muslim Tuways affirmed his belief, proclaiming the declaration of faith and saying that he observes the fast of Ramadan and the five daily prayers. In other words, al-Isfahani, who recorded the life of a number of mukhannathun like Tuways, saw no contradiction between his gender expression and his Muslimness. From al-Isfahani we read of al-Dalal, ibn Surayj, and al-Gharid—all mukhannathun—who lived rich lives in early Muslim societies. Notably absent from al-Isfahani’s records is any state-sanctioned persecution. Instead, the mukhannathun are an accepted part of society.

...

Far from isolated cases, across Islamic history—from North Africa to South Asia—we see widespread acceptance of gender nonconforming and queer individuals. - Later in the Ottoman Empire, there were the köçek who were men who wore women’s clothing and performed at festivals. Formally trained in dance and percussion instruments, the köçek were an important part of social functions. A similar practice was found in Egypt. The khawal were male dancers who presented as female, wearing dresses, make up, and henna. Like their Ottoman counterparts, they performed at social events.

- In South Asia, the hijra were and are third-sex individuals. The term is used for intersex people as well as transgender women. Hijra are attested to among the earliest Muslim societies of South Asia where, according to Nalini Iyer, they were often guardians of the household and even held office as advisors.

- In Iraq, the mustarjil are born female, but present as men. In Wilfred Thesiger’s The Marsh Arabs the guide, Amara explains, “A mustarjil is born a woman. She cannot help that; but she has the heart of a man, so she lives like a man.” When asked if the mustarjil are accepted, Amara replies “Certainly. We eat with her and she may sit in the mudhif.” Amara goes on to describe how mustarjil have sex with women.

...

Historian Indira Gesink analyzed 41 medical and juristic sources between the 8th and 18th centuries and discovered that the discourse of a “binary sex” was an anachronistic projection backwards. Gesink points out in one of the earliest lexicography by the 8th century al-Khalil ibn Ahmad that he suggests addressing a male-presenting intersex person as ya khunathu and a female-presenting intersex person as ya khanathi while addressing an effeminate man as ya khunathatu. This suggests a clear recognition of a spectrum of sex and gender expression and a desire to address someone respectfully based on how they presented.

Tolerance of gender ambiguity and non-conformity in Islamic cultures went hand-in-hand with broader acceptance of homoeroticism. Texts like Ali ibn Nasir al-Katib’s Jawami al-Ladhdha, Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani’s Kitab al-Aghani, and the Tunisian, Ahmad al-Tifashi’s Nuz’ha al-‘Albab attest to the widespread acceptance of same-sex desire as natural. Homoeroticism is a common element in much of Persian and Arabic poetry where youthful males are often the object of desire. From Abu Nuwas to Rumi, from ibn Ammar to Amir Khusraw, some of the Islamic world’s greatest poets were composing verses for their male lovers. Queer love was openly vaunted by poets. One, Ibn Nasr, immortalizes the love between two Arab lesbians Hind al Nu’man and al-Zarqa by writing:

“Oh Hind, you are truer to your word than men. Oh, the differences between your loyalty and theirs.”

...

Acceptance of same-sex desire and gender non-conformity was the hallmark of Islamic societies to such a degree that European travelers consistently remarked derisively on it. In the 19th century, Edward Lane wrote of the khawal: “They are Muslims and natives of Egypt. As they personate women, their dances are exactly of the same description as those of the ghawazee; and are, in like manner, accompanied by the sound of castanets.”

A similarly scandalized CS Sonnini writes of Muslim homoerotic culture:

“The inconceivable appetite which dishonored the Greeks and the Persians of antiquity, constitute the delight, or to use a juster term, the infamy of the Egyptians. It is not for women that their ditties are composed: it is not on them that tender caresses are lavished; far different objects inflame them.”

In his travels in the 19th century, James Silk Buckingham encounters an Afghan dervish shedding tears for parting with his male lover. The dervish, Ismael, is astonished to find how rare same-sex love was in Europe. Buckingham reports the deep love between Ismael and his lover quoting, “though they were still two bodies, they became one soul.”

...

Today, vocal Muslim critics of LGBTQ+ rights often accuse gay and queer people of imposing a “Western” concept or forcing Islam to adjust to “Western values” failing to grasp the irony of the claim: the shift in the 19th and 20th century was precisely an alignment with colonial values over older Islamic ones, all of which led to legal criminalization. In fact, the common feature among nations with anti-LGBTQ+ legislation isn’t Islam, but rather colonial law.

Don't talk to me I'm weeping. I'm not Muslim, but the grief of colonization runs in the blood of every Global South person. Dicovering these is like finding our lost treasures among plundered ruins.

Queer folk have always, always been here; we have always been inextricable, shining golden threads in the tapestry of human history. To erase and condemn us is to continue using the scalpel of colonizers in the mutilation and betrayal of our own heritage.

[queerdisabledmuslimlove]

Shout out to

LGBTQ reverts in a homophobic and islamophobic household

Aromantic allosexual Muslims

Lesbian couples who can’t decide who pays mehr /hj

Queer Muslims who have cried to Allah SWT, begging for forgiveness for being queer

Queer Muslims who tried to “pray the gay away”

Transmasc Muslims who still wear their hijab and transfems who can’t wear hijab

Genderqueer and multigender folks who can’t decide if they should wear a hijab or not

neurodivergent Muslims

Muslims who can’t recite prayer in arabic because of neurodivergence

Muslims who are in DID/OSDD systems

Muslim system who feels guilt when a non muslim alter fronts

Muslim alters in non Muslim systems and vice versa, that’s probably pretty rough :(

Muslims who forget prayer because of amnesia

Muslims who forget prayer due to Maladaptive Daydreaming Disorder

Muslims with invisible disabilities that prevent them from prayer

Muslims who can’t fast during Ramadan for any reason

Poor Muslims

White and Black Muslims

Arabs who have been accused of t3rrorism

Any Muslim who have been accused of t3rrorism

Muslims with addictions

Muslims who are therians, otherkin, or nonhuman in anyway

Muslims reverts who aren’t sure if they can still identify as a therian, otherkin, or nonhuman

Hijabi quadrobists

Hijabi cosplayers. Your hijab looks great

And anyone who feels they don’t fit into the community. You are loved, I promise. There’s people out there for you 🤍

[hummussexual]

It seems like the West dictates how advocacy for queer folks can look: a public parade of scantily clad white men surrounded by gratuitous images of sexuality and Western queer iconography. Queer Qataris (and, by extension, queer Khaleejis) are reduced to “self-hating queers” with internalized homophobia when we try to make space for our own heritage, value, or belief systems, or to find symbols, slogans, and acronyms within our own experience of queerness. We are, instead, spoken for and subsumed into the LGBTQ+ acronym that is not part of our native vernacular.  What these Western pundits fail to realize is that our rejection of the oppression we face for our queerness does not mean we necessarily hate our countries, our national or cultural identities, or our religion. And, it certainly doesn’t mean we are willing to become conduits for advancing their fundamentally racist and Islamophobic ideology under a banner of “inclusion.” 

- QUEER QATARIS AND THE WORLD CUP: A CRITIQUE OF THE WESTERN MEDIA STORM

[blusthings]

[Religion trauma | Religion stigma | sexuality vent below]

I can't express what goes on in my head. When the world views my Religion as barbaric, backwards and uncivilised, i get so upset. And when my Religion views my identity wrong, i also get upset. I always think, what does that make me? I can't exist in two separate universes, but I can't leave either.

I truly question how I'll go forward like this. Islam is beautiful in its nature, but it keeps getting tainted by twisted thoughts of men in power, and I feel everyone thinks I'm oppressed or something.

I truly am not. I'm not brainwashed, I'm not in a cult or something. Islam is why I am the way I am, yknow? And in the same perspective, being queer is the reason I am the way I am, too.

But I feel like these days when you tell someone "I'm muslim" they kinda get their red flags going for them. And god forbid I tell any Muslim that I'm queer.

All I really want is peace of mind. To be comfortable in my own skin. And feel like I belong somewhere. With a community thats accepting and friendly. But I don't find it in either worlds, not entirely. But then again, you can't have everything can you?

I feel isolated from both communities. Somehow I float in between, and it all adds to the sense of loneliness.

[queermuslimlove]

Happy TDOV and Ramadan Kareem to my Trans Muslims out there!

And sending religious solidarity love to my Trans Christian siblings! Happy Easter!

☪️🏳️‍⚧️✝️

[spacewives-in-spacetime]

eid mubarak to all gay and queer muslims, thou art forever loved

[danepopfrippery]

pinkwashing

Gay people exist in Gaza too

[url0cal-weird0]

shout out to everyone who started shark week the first day of Ramadan

[icekingofhope]

quick little vent about stuff

But I’m I the only one who gets frustrated when people hate on queer Muslims? I mean I know I’m technically not a Muslim (I’m a pagan) but it’s very frustrating when they act like being gay is a choice since it shown to be not a choice.

like people who hate on gay Muslims have you guys not research how the brain works? Literally BILL NYE the guy who did science education explains it we can’t control being lgbtq even if we wanted to be straight we can’t! We just end up hurting ourselves and making ourselves feel unhappy

I sometimes even see lgbtq people who stop being muslims still get hated! honestly seeing lgbtq muslims being hated reminds me of how the Christians hate on lgbtq people especially christians who are lgbtq

also to quickly mention we don’t really know the original text for everything like it’s been confused if the Bible part where it says “men shall not sleep with men” bit was translated wrong or not so but I could be wrong but even if I was it doesn’t mean you have to be rude about it

look I maybe just being harsh or hell maybe some call stupid but I am a personally believe that if it doesn’t effect you or the person then just let them live their lives

I already know I may get hate comments but I am just stating my opinion and if there is any lgbtq Muslims out there who are scared just know just be you even if everyone acts hateful and towards you just be yourself and I’m glad or well hope your happy being just the way you are cause your being yourself and not hurting anyone that’s all that matters you deserve to be happy and I’m sure your god if it’s allah Jesus or whoever respects and loves you for being who you are even if people say shit to you be yourself

anyways that’s all for now

Just remember this is my opinion I am not looking for drama I’m just giving out my opinion and not looking for a fight anyways see ya

[kodieskhalwa]

Hear me out

Pride flag themed thobes, and other hijab wear.

[queerdisabledmuslimlove]

reverts who can’t pray correctly yet, you are loved

folks who have to pray with a youtube video of someone praying on to do it right, you are loved

muslims with bad memory, you are loved

muslims with did/osdd who have non muslim alters that don’t pray (or don’t know how/forget to pray), you are loved

muslims who can’t get onto the floor or get up off the floor, you are loved

muslims who need a cane/walker/arm crutch to stand, you are loved

chronically ill muslims who sometimes can’t pray or fast, you are loved

muslims who sometimes can’t pray due to islamophobia in their own house, you are loved

every muslim who struggles to pray every day, 5 times a day, you are loved!

sometimes your body is against you, that’s okay. sometimes it seems like the world is against you, and that’s okay! Allah knows your intentions, he knows you don’t purposefully skip prayer, or do it wrong. no muslim is perfect, a perfect muslim doesn’t exist.

you are loved, and you are seen. Allah sees you, he loves you. I see you, and i have a special place in my heart for you. keep doing your best!

[hummussexual]

If anything, this bombardment of Western-led activism makes us feel more othered and alienated, because it has prompted homophobic and reactionary responses from our native communities, particularly from repressed, homophobic, hetero-acting Qatari homosexuals. The repercussions for actions like those of Peter Tatchell and his disastrous one-man protest in Qatar befall us and use alone because they essentially erase our own native queer identities and histories to preserve their white savior rhetoric.

A friend put it, “the world is not the white man’s burden; the white man IS our burden.” 

QUEER QATARIS AND THE WORLD CUP: A CRITIQUE OF THE WESTERN MEDIA STORM

[fandomsareforlife]

Hot take but I think Muslims who are queer should be allowed to be open in supposedly lgbt spaces about being Muslim and queer

[deenahalaqsa]

My identity as a Muslim lesbian is one that I will continue to keep close to my chest.

For some people, that mere label is a misnomer – or, worse, an oxymoron. I’m not going to go into the interpretative religious nitty-gritty, because I can guarantee it will only serve to confuse or aggravate people further. But in case you’re wondering, the short answer is that, yes, I am Muslim, meaning I follow the five pillars of Islam, including five daily prayers and fasting during the month of Ramadan. Simultaneously, I identify as a gay woman, which means my sexual and romantic attraction is confined to other women.

From an outsider: The reality of being lesbian and Muslim