Muslims protesting against LGBTQ+ pride are ignoring Islam's tradition of inclusion
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Tuesday, July 25, 2023
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Given the recent backlash against LGBTQ+ communities in Canada and elsewhere, Pride is more important than ever to promote visibility and challenge discrimination.
Key Points:
- Given the recent backlash against LGBTQ+ communities in Canada and elsewhere, Pride is more important than ever to promote visibility and challenge discrimination.
- In recent months, some Muslim communities in Canada and the United States have protested against LGBTQ+ inclusion.
- In Michigan, a Muslim majority city council banned Pride flags from being flown on city property.
Pride and protest
- This year the Christian anti-abortion group Campaign Life Coalition, organized a National Pride Flag Walk-Out Day on June 1 designed to target Pride month celebrations in public schools.
- The walk-out protests were also supported by a series of “pray-ins” held at Catholic school boards and dioceses across Canada.
- These tactics are not new but harken back to the days of gay rights opponents like Anita Bryant.
Building new coalitions
- Seeking to build new coalitions of support, far-right evangelicals have been courting conservative Muslims to jump on their homophobic bandwagon against LGBTQ+ rights and inclusion.
- Sadly, some conservative Muslim leaders are now fanning the flames of hatred against sexual and gender minorities.
Muslim accommodation of gender diversity
- Muslim societies have historically accepted gender diversity.
- In South Asia, multiple gender identities such as the zenana, chava, kothi and so on exist.
- There is also Islamic scholarship on the accommodation of gender and sexual minorities in Islam.
- Muslim jurists derived laws of inheritance, funeral and prayer for the khuntha mushkil (indeterminate gender) individuals.
Avoiding the anti-LGBTQ+ bandwagon
- Nonetheless, when Muslim groups in Western democracies jump on the anti-LGBTQ+ bandwagon, they act against the longstanding accommodation of sexual and gender diversity in their own tradition.
- Our main worry is for LGBTQ+ Muslim youth who may be isolated without support from their families and communities.
- Thankfully, there are Muslim community groups providing important sexual health education which embraces Islamic laws and traditions.