COMING OUT MUSLIM

coming out muslim: Radical acts of love

is a groundbreaking piece of theatre presenting stories of Muslims who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ) and how they are navigating the intersection of faith and sexuality. In 2016 Muslims for Progressive Values partnered with two Muslim women to write, produce, and perform the theater piece, which shared their experience of being queer and Muslim and the difficult process of examining, reconciling, and ultimately accepting their queerness alongside their Islamic faith.

The show, which featured Terna Tilley-Gyado and Wazina Zondon and was directed by Ramy El-Etreby, went on a successful four city tour across the United States. The first performance took place on Friday, April 8th, 2016 at 8pm at The Pico Union Project.

Background

The reality is that there are Muslims throughout the world who also recognize themselves as LGBTQ, but many are unseen. Muslims are often forced to hide their queer identity out of fear of being judged, shunned, or physically threatened. For those living in Muslim-majority countries, the government might consider homosexuality a crime punishable by imprisonment or even death.

For many people, living openly and honestly as a queer person is a real challenge. The intolerance and hateful rhetoric LGBTQ people encounter can be very disturbing. Queer Muslims who want to practice their faith find it difficult to do so when religious leaders continue to shame them. Many queer Muslims wrestle with internalized shame and repressed emotions, which can have an adverse effect on one’s mental and physical wellbeing. Navigating all of this can also significantly impact one’s relationships, such as with Allah, Islam, other Muslims, friends, lovers, and most importantly, themselves.

The stories Coming Out Muslim told range from tales about other people’s theories about where queerness comes from, the gifts of being queer and Muslim, the tension between one’s culture and religion, and love—romantic and spiritual.