Muslim, Imam and Islamic LGBTQ Leaders
Despite that Islam is viewed by some individuals as the least accepting religion for LGBTQ persons, there are numerous high profile LGBTQ leaders in the Muslim community. These individuals are reaching out to build bridges and communicate the message of tolerance and acceptance of diversity in the religion. This is occurring despite the feedback of criticism and hate from the conservative elements in the religious community. There is a growing movement of inclusive Muslims around the world.
A new organization has been created to advance this process of acceptance – Muslims for Progressive Values (MPV). This organization promotes ideals of human dignity, egalitarianism, compassion and social justice. As well, there is the Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity (MASGD), co-founded by the world's first transgender Muslim faith leader Tynan Power. In the UK, there is the support group imaan.org.uk. There are also numerous LGBTQ friendly mosques around the world. The Alliance for Inclusive Muslims (AIM) was created as a collective of progressive Muslims across all nationality, race and sectarian affiliations. As well, there are several Muslim AIDS projects in existence, including the Muslim AIDS Programme (South Africa), the Rhma Project (United States) and the National Muslim AIDS Initiative (United States).
We have identified the following Muslim, Imam, and Islamic LGBTQ leaders. They hail from France, Spain, Morocco, Great Britain, Germany, the United States, Pakistan, Australia, South Africa, and Canada. Simply click on their names to access their biographies.
- Daayiee Abdullah, United States
- Mania Akbari, Iran, Great Britain
- Faisal Alam, Pakistan
- Suhail Abu al-Sameed, Canada
- Urooj Arshad, Pakistan, United States
- Mobeen Azhar, Great Britain
- Rahal Eks, Germany
- Ramy Eletreby, United States
- Ibrahim Abdurrahman Farajaje, United States
- Juan Goytisolo, Spain
- Muhsin Hendricks, South Africa
- Sabrina Jalees, Canada
- Afdhere Jama, Somalia, United States
- El-Farouk Khaki, Canada/Tanzania
- Irshad Manji, Canada
- Rachid O., Morocco
- Bilal Qureshi, United States
- Tynan Power, United States
- Omar Sarwar, United States
- Taha, Iran
- Nur Warsame, Australia
- Ludovic-Mohamed Zahed, France
