Homosexuality and Islam - LGBT Movements Within Islam

LGBT Movements Within Islam

The Al-Fatiha Foundation is an organization which tries to advance the cause of gay, lesbian, and transgender Muslims. It was founded in 1998 by Faisal Alam, a Pakistani American, and is registered as a nonprofit organization in the United States. The organization was an offshoot of an internet listserve that brought together many gay, lesbian and questioning Muslims from various countries. The Foundation accepts and considers homosexuality as natural, either regarding Qur'anic verses as obsolete in the context of modern society, or stating that the Qu'ran speaks out against homosexual lust and is silent on homosexual love. In 2001, Al-Muhajiroun, a banned and now defunct international organization who sought the establishment of a global Islamic caliphate, issued a fatwa declaring that all members of Al-Fatiha were murtadd, or apostates, and condemning them to death. Because of the threat and coming from conservative societies, many members of the foundation's site still prefer to be anonymous so as to protect their identity while continuing a tradition of secrecy. Al-Fatiha has fourteen chapters in the United States, as well as offices in England, Canada, Spain, Turkey, and South Africa. In addition, Imaan, a social support group for Muslim LGBT people and their families, exists in the UK. Both of these groups were founded by gay Pakistani activists. The UK also has the Safra Project for women.

Some Muslims such as the lesbian writer Irshad Manji and academic author Scott Kugle argue that Islam does not condemn homosexuality. Kugle, South Asian scholar and author Ruth Vanita, and Muslim scholar and writer Saleem Kidwai even contend that ancient Islam has a rich history of homoerotic literature.

There are also a number of Islamic ex-gay (i.e. people claiming to have experienced a basic change in sexual orientation from exclusive homosexuality to exclusive heterosexuality) groups aimed at attempting to guide homosexuals towards heterosexuality. The StraightWay Foundation is a UK based ex-gay organization which works with homosexual Muslims who seek to eliminate their same-sex attractions. Al-Tawbah is an Internet-based ex-gay group.