Toronto’s queer Muslims are cultivating spaces where their identities can co-exist

[rug]

El-Farouk Khaki, co-founder of Unity Mosque, Toronto’s first LGBTQ mosque for the Queer-Muslim community, prays on Friday June 17 for the victims in the Orlando shooting. (Mark Blinch for the Globe and Mail)

ALEX MIGDAL
The Globe and Mail
Published Friday, Jun. 17, 2016 6:14PM EDT
Last updated Monday, Jun. 20, 2016 6:04PM EDT

The day after the Orlando gay nightclub shooting, Lali Mohamed and El-Farouk Khaki were walking past Church and Wellesley when they noticed a white man wearing an anti-Muslim t-shirt.

“It’s not Islamophobia if they really want to kill us,” it read. Crowds ignored the man as he walked along the street, smiling.

In the heart of Toronto’s gay village, Mr. Mohamed and Mr. Khaki felt quietly persecuted. They were part of the LGBTQ community reeling in the wake of a massacre rooted in homophobia. But they were also Muslim, a faith vilified because of the shooter’s radical views.

The Muslim community’s small but tight-knit queer circle here is grappling with a new-found visibility in the wake of an unspeakable tragedy. It’s ignited hope for a wider dialogue about the confluence of two misunderstood identities. It’s also made queer Muslims more vulnerable to homophobia and Islamophobia, sentiments that still fester in the city.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/torontos-queer-muslims-cultivating-spaces-where-identities-can-co-exist/article30511857/

[uppityperson]

1. Best wishes to them.

[welivetotreadonkings]

2. Sadly these Muslims are often overlooked...

It's unfortunate that so many people, even some who are otherwise progressive, have tendencies to characterize the majority of those in Islamic communities as extremists and bigots.

[rug]

4. You must have been reading this Group closely.

Welcome to DU.

[mwrguy]

3. Peace be upon them