News and views 2008
-THE INTERFAITH ALLIANCE WELCOMES
DR AMINA WADUD (London, 17 October 2008)
http://www.interfaithalliance.org.uk/statements.html
SHALOM - SALAM - NAMASTE - PEACE BE WITH YOU
The Interfaith Alliance UK offers its prayerful good wishes and support to The Muslim Education Centre, Oxford, and particularly to Professor Amina Wadud, leading Jummah prayers and conducting the Khutbah on Friday 17 October 2008, in Oxford.
The event empowers UK Muslim women to celebrate gender justice as they reclaim their right to be spiritual equals and leaders. Women will move from the space to which tradition has relegated them, at the back of the mosque and now pray in the front rows.
The courage of Amina Wadud,Visiting Scholar at Starr King School of the Ministry, Berkeley, California is impossible to describe. To stand before God as the spiritual equal to male congregants - praying together, not behind men and not in another room – shows the capacity of women’s leadership. The event will clear the deck of distractions and acknowledge the egalitarianism that permeates Islam.
Every human being, man and woman, Muslim and non-Muslim, has the right to interpret God’s message, because the message is addressed to all of humanity. They must interpret and act accordingly; that is the essence of our humanity.
-Out of Place: Interrogating Silences
in Queerness/Raciality edited by Adi Kuntsman and Esperanza
Miyake. York, UK: Raw Nerve Books, July 2008; ISBN:978-0-9553586-4-7
http://outofplace.book.googlepages.com/samples
“It is not enough to call yourself anti-racist, pro-Muslim or left-wing
if you are not willing to get uncomfortable with yourself and others.
Being an ally is less about feeling cosy in your progressive identity
than
about
putting in the footwork, and putting yourself on the line with
other
privileged people. To paraphrase the powerful dedication in Paulo Freire’s
Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1968), it requires that you walk and fight
with us not on behalf of us.”
-Asian LGBT Groups Meet in Indonesia
to Discuss Human Rights
From the Jakarta
Post – 9 June, 2008
Asian gay, transgender groups fight for their rights
Irawaty Wardany , The Jakarta Post , Denpasar | Mon, 06/09/2008 10:29 AM
| Bali
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) groups in Asia have agreed to develop an international network to advocate protection of their rights in their respective countries and at the regional level.
Bali hosted a conference of the groups from June 2 to 6 in the tourism enclave Nusa Dua. The conference was attended by 21 participants from eight countries -- Indonesia, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, China and Thailand.
"We agreed to make some kind of international network to advocate protection of LGBT rights in our countries," Rido Triawan, head of Arus Pelangi, an Indonesian non-governmental organization that fights for LGBT rights, told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
He said it would be like an open communication channel connecting LGBY communities in different countries, so that when there was a problem in one country the communities could work in unison to apply political pressure on the government in question.
Generally, Rido said, LGBT communities in Asia faced similar problems.
"
We are all at this time suffering from stigmatization, discrimination,
persecution from religious groups and discriminative government regulations," he
said.
"For example, the 2004 regional regulation in Palembang, South Sumatra, categorizes LGBT as a form of prostitution," Rido said.
He said religious-based persecution was the most difficult problem LGBT groups faced in Indonesia.
"Those religious doctrines are then being integrated into the formal education curriculum. Naturally, the curriculum educates the students that the only 'normal' and accepted sexual orientation is heterosexuality," he said.
Consequently, other sexual orientations are considered
as not "normal" and
unacceptable.
This has resulted in students and communities discriminating against members
of the homosexual and transgender community.
"There are many cases of discrimination experienced by members of the LGBT community. One example involved a man who openly acknowledged his sexual orientation of being gay. Suddenly, his company fired him for no apparent reason," Rido said.
He said other gay workers faced varying levels of hostility from co-workers.
"
They suddenly keep a distance or, even worse, socially isolate him just
because he is gay," he said.
He said upholding the rights of the LGBT community was a significant issue since sexual orientation was also part of human rights.
Rido said the LGBT community in Indonesia just wanted to be acknowledged and treated the same as the other Indonesian citizens, who enjoyed the right to education, health, work and all the other basic human rights.
"It is still very hard for people to accept the fact that LGBT are
also human beings, who should be treated humanely," said Arus Pelangi
secretary general, Yuli Rustinawati.
A Sri Lankan LGBT activist, Rosanna Flamer-Caldera, said the situation
in Sri Lanka was worse than in Indonesia.
"Being part of LGBT communities in Sri Lanka is similar to committing
a criminal offense. That's the reason why people with LGBT sexual orientation
prefer to be invisible," she said.
She said members of the LGBT community in her country who fell victim to
criminal acts often didn't report their cases to the police, because the
treatment they would receive could be worse than the perpetrators of the
criminal acts.
She said she participated in LGBT conferences and seminars around the world to learn about human rights instruments that could be used to advance the struggle in her country.
-True to her Faith
June 2008
http://international.lotl.com/default.aspx?iid=8003&startpage=page0000012
Ida Bergstrom meets a Muslim lesbian who balances er beliefs with her
faith. Read on...
-Moderate Muslim Scholars in Indonesia Call for Acceptance of Homosexuals
Islam 'recognizes homosexuality'
27/3/08
Abdul Khalik , The
Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Fri, 03/28/2008 1:38 AM |
Homosexuals and homosexuality are natural and created by God, thus permissible
within Islam, a discussion concluded here Thursday.
Moderate Muslim scholars said there were no reasons to reject homosexuals under Islam, and that the condemnation of homosexuals and homosexuality by mainstream ulema and many other Muslims was based on narrow-minded interpretations of Islamic teachings.
Siti Musdah Mulia of the Indonesia Conference of Religions and Peace cited the Koran's al-Hujurat (49:3) that one of the blessings for human beings was that all men and women are equal, regardless of ethnicity, wealth, social positions or even sexual orientation.
"There is no difference between lesbians and nonlesbians. In the eyes of God, people are valued based on their piety," she told the discussion organized by nongovernmental organization Arus Pelangi.
"And talking about piety is God's prerogative to judge," she added.
"The essence of the religion (Islam) is to humanize humans, respect and dignify them."
Musdah said homosexuality was from God and should be considered natural, adding it was not pushed only by passion.
Mata Air magazine managing editor Soffa Ihsan said Islam's acknowledgement of heterogeneity should also include homosexuality.
He said Muslims needed to continue to embrace ijtihad (the process of making a legal decision by independent interpretation of the Koran and the Sunnah) to avoid being stuck in the old paradigm without developing open-minded interpretations.
Another speaker at the discussion, Nurofiah of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), said the dominant notion of heterogeneity was a social construction, leading to the banning of homosexuality by the majority.
"Like gender bias or patriarchy, heterogeneity bias is socially constructed. It would be totally different if the ruling group was homosexuals," she said.
Other speakers said the magnificence of Islam was that it could be blended and integrated into local culture.
"In fact, Indonesia's culture has accepted homosexuality. The homosexual group in Bugis-Makassar tradition called Bissu is respected and given a high position in the kingdom.
"Also, we know that in Ponorogo (East Java) there has been acknowledgement of homosexuality," Arus Pelangi head Rido Triawan said.
Condemnation of homosexuality was voiced by two conservative Muslim groups, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and Hizbut Thahir Indonesia (HTI).
"It's a sin. We will not consider homosexuals an enemy, but we will make them aware that what they are doing is wrong," MUI deputy chairman Amir Syarifuddin said.
Rokhmat, of the hardline HTI, several times asked homosexual participants in attendance to repent and force themselves to gradually return to the right path.
-Changes needed to Islamic view on homosexuality
http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/2006/2006-September/017003.html
Farid Muttaqin, Athens, Ohio
It is important to begin any discussion on homosexuality in Islam with a look at how some hegemonic cultures and traditions before Islam influenced Islamic teachings. Greek Hellenism and ancient Arabic society were two important groups that supported a type of Islamic la won homosexuality.
Same-sex relationships have deep roots in the history of humankind. The story of Lot's people in the Koran proves that homosexuality has been a part of human life for a long time. Some famous Greek philosophers such as Aristotle and Plato also experienced same-sex relationships. In ancient societies, homosexuality was considered common behaviour. Why do we now view homosexuality as social deviancy? Why is it believed among Muslims that homosexuality is such a terrible sin?
The characteristics of Islamic teaching and its interpretations are possibly colored by the traditions of previous societies. In ancient Greek society homosexuality was a usual sexual behaviour. Meanwhile, Islam strongly discourages its believers from mimicking traditions of previous societies. This was significant for early Islamic believers to clearly distinguish themselves from non-Muslims. The Islamic restriction against homosexuality has a correlation to this teaching.
Additionally, the stigma against homosexuality refers to the academic tradition of interpretation within Islamic society, including the subject of homosexuality. Also, the stigma of homosexuality is related to the political interests of the early formation of Islamic society.
One of the most influential traditions in Islam is the patriarchal view of ancient Arabic society. This society encouraged people to show the power of masculinity. It was a common view within ancient Arabic society that only a man could be a leader. Having a daughter embarrassed parents. Fathers would even kill their daughters in order to save the family from disgrace. Having several wives or concubines was a measure of male power. Ancient Arabic society eradicated feminine values in order to keep their masculine images. The Prophet Muhammad introduced Islamic teachings in this patriarchal Arabic society. Thus, it is possible that the patriarchal views of Arabic society interfered with the tradition of Islamic interpretation, including on homosexuality. Ancient Arabic society resisted homosexual behaviour because homosexuality was considered a feminine value. These stereotyped effeminate males were contrary to tribal interests in conflicts which required masculine values such as bravery, courage, strength, roughness and dominance. Homosexuality could reduce these masculine values and lead to losing tribal wars.
It was also common among the first group of Islamic believers to face socio-political and religious wars with non-Muslim societies. Jihad as a spirit of religious defence was a well-known Islamic dogma to win these wars. As with other dogmas of war, jihad at that time was overwhelmed by "masculine values", and under the patriarchal influences of Arabic society the first group of Muslims restricted homosexuality as an irrelevant value of jihad (Wafer, 1997:92). In addition to this fact, the verses of the Koran on homosexuality describe more male homosexual experiences than female homosexual ones. The patriarchal interests influencing Islamic teachings did not count females as significant members of the society.
In times of peace that required "feminine values" such as beauty, love and compassion, rather than "the spirit of masculine values", it is not difficult to find homosexual experiences in Islamic societies. Some great Islamic scholars experienced same-sex relationships. Abu Nawas, the greatest Arab poet, was homosexual. It was common among male Sufis to experience homosexuality in correlation with the belief that sexual lust or nafs (desire) toward women would lead them to spiritual decadence (Schimmel, 1979:124). These realities are crucial evidence that in some contexts homosexuality has not been a major problem within Islamic society.
Homosexual experiences have been alive among recent Islamic societies, including Iran, Turkey, Morocco, Syria and Pakistan (Schmitt and Sofer, 1992). Among Muslims in Indonesia, homosexual experiences are common in pesantren, or Islamic boarding schools. However, patriarchal views still dominate Islamic teaching and its interpretations, including on homosexuality. Thus, Islamic societies tend to maintain the construction of a pseudo socio-religious belief that homosexuality is a major sin.
Progressive Islamic groups have to be aware that stereotypes against homosexuals in the name of Islamic teachings encourage discrimination and even violence. An example of this discrimination can be found in the fact that some Muslim countries criminalize homosexuality.
Based on the fact that various stereotypes and discrimination against homosexuals have a correlation with the misinterpretation of Islamic teachings on homosexuality, it is important to create an agenda toward the recognition of homosexual rights by representing a new interpretation of these teachings. In this regard, therefore, the agenda to recognize homosexual rights has a strong relevance to other progressive Islamic agendas, including stopping violence against women.
The writer graduated from State Islamic University, Jakarta, in Islamic Philosophy and Theology and is a student at Ohio University Athens, the U.S. His research focus is liberal aspects of Islamic feminism. He can be reached at faridmoe at yahoo.com
-Drag Against the Occupation
11/03/08 From Haaretz (in Israel) By Tamara Traubman
http://queermuslimrevolution.blogspot.com/2008/03/drag-against-occupation.html
A full dance floor in a South Tel Aviv nightclub, replete with its share
of drag queens. Ostensibly another Friday night of gay men having a good
time. But this is not an ordinary party of this sort. Palestinians and
Jews are dancing together, the music is Arabic, several of the drag performances
have a political content, and even the time of night - from the early evening
until before midnight - is designed so the celebrants can get home at a
reasonable hour without being asked too many questions.
A full dance floor in a South Tel Aviv nightclub, replete with its share of drag queens. Ostensibly another Friday night of gay men having a good time. But this is not an ordinary party of this sort. Palestinians and Jews are dancing together, the music is Arabic, several of the drag performances have a political content, and even the time of night - from the early evening until before midnight - is designed so the celebrants can get home at a reasonable hour without being asked too many questions.
The party is taking place as part of the activities of a new association, Al-Qaws [The Rainbow] for Sexual and Gender Diversity in Palestinian Society. The dance parties, which take place once every two months, characterize the organization's nature: Political activism can be more than just demonstrations and serious slogans. You can surely dance while fighting for civil rights.
The association's members, who come from all over the country, began operating in 2000 in the context of the Open House gay organization in Jerusalem. But lately they realized they had to take another step to meet the special needs of the Arab gay and lesbian community in Israel, and to preserve their uniqueness and political character. Al-Qaws registered as an independent association, and on March 1 will celebrate the launch of its operations.
The association's director, 29-year-old Haneen Maikey from Jerusalem, says the parties are only one aspect of the group's activities, which include local support groups. "We also provide a personal response to people who come for advice, information and a sympathetic ear, and we organize events as well," she says.
'Badge of shame'
Al-Qaws is the first Palestinian-Israeli organization to cater to the entire gay and lesbian Palestinian population. About five years ago the organization Aswat (Voices) was founded for lesbian, bisexual and transsexual Palestinian women. The organization's members are involved in a variety of feminist and political activities. Last year, when they wanted to hold a large convention in Haifa, the Islamic Movement published a condemnation of the convention and called it a "a badge of shame."
An Arab gay man or lesbian in Israel is doubly excluded: In Arab society they suffer from oppression and discrimination because of their sexual orientation, while in Jewish society they suffer from discrimination for nationalist reasons. Maikey says the Arab gay or lesbian in Israel "remains a stranger even in an accepting environment." Usually their relationships are conducted in Hebrew in an environment different from their original cultural milieu. "So even if it's an accepting environment, you remain a stranger, a kind of 'guest of the culture,' and you have to behave according to rules determined by the other," she says.
According to Maikey, "At the parties many people say that it's important to them that there is finally a framework where you can speak Arabic without fear." At the parties there is a sense of freedom and liberation, one reason being the variety that is celebrated. "There's everything here, and everything is accepted," says one of the female participants. "Arabs, Jews, men, women, lesbians, gays, trans, straights." Another reason for the feeling of liberation is that the parties are a meeting place for many identities, mainly gender and national identities.
"I see the parties as both a path and a goal," says Samira, an activist at Al-Qaws and Aswat. "As far as I'm concerned the parties are part of a way to build a community. It's a social meeting place and the beginning of creating a community. It's also a place where you don't apologize for anything about your identity. In the nightclubs and at other parties we are asked to leave the Palestinian aspect outside the club before we enter. Here it's a place that doesn't ask for that. On the contrary, it nurtures our identity."
Songs of love, and struggle
On the stage the performances are beginning. A drag queen sings a love song by the singer Fairuz, another begins a belly dance. A black drag queen with a dark blond wig, wearing a tunic sewn from a keffiyeh, gets onstage. "I don't care what they say," she sings to her beloved. "Every day I'll be what I want to be."
Later the installation artist R. appears. He is active in the Al-Qaws Tel Aviv-Jaffa branch and organizes exhibitions, but he prefers not to be identified by name. R.'s installations are political and very moving. One can often see people in the audience crying. To the strains of songs of struggle, for the most part by classic singers such as Fairuz or Majida al Romi, he appears as a character he created: "Arus Falastin," The Bride of Palestine. "It reminds people of who they really are," he says.
The conflict and distress supposedly subside at the party, mitigated by drag. R. says that "in recent years, all the drag queens I have encountered came to entertain, to make people laugh, to amuse. Although all drag is political in itself, when it is only amusing it becomes boring in a certain sense. Ordinary people - that doesn't excite anyone any longer."
At the last party R. appeared as a "drag king" in a new character he created: Ahmed Basha. His face adorned with bristles, a keffiyeh on his shoulders, he wears a black shirt with the inscription "Free Palestine."
The song he sings, by Lebanese musician Marcel Khalifa, was written during the first Lebanon war. It tells about a little boy who is playing in the yard, looking for string to fly a kite. Suddenly he sees a plane in the sky, "a kite that doesn't need string," he calls to his friends. The plane then bombs the house and turns everything into fire.
Can we expect a Palestinian gay pride march as well? Is coming out of the closet one of the goals of the association?
Samira says that coming out of the closet is not a sacred goal. She was born and grew up in the North and currently lives with her Jewish partner in Tel Aviv. Her immediate family knows about her sexual identity, but the extended family doesn't know (which is why she prefers to be interviewed without her last name). "For me the issue of visibility is important," she says. But she and Maikey stress that visibility does not necessarily require a gay pride march, but can be achieved by "creating a discourse in society."
-Indonesian film shows true face of Islam
As anti-Islam critics continue to deplore the noble religion, an Indonesian
movie comes to light to show the true face of Islam.
http://www.islamonline.com/news/newsfull.php?newid=105955
http://www.huriyahmag.com/fall/features.farid.htm
Indonesian-born scholar Farid Muttaqin speaks of Changes needed to Islamic view on homosexuality, in which he calls for a positive review and inclusive interpretation. Read on...
