Against all odds Mosque for gays to open in France
Wednesday, 21 November 2012
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AL ARABIYA -
An Algerian homosexual man is planning to open a “mosque for gays” in
France by the end of the month, which sets to be a place of worship for
Friday prayers at first, then will hold same-sex Muslim marriages.
Mohammed
Ludovic Lütfi Zahed, an Algerian Muslim living in France who is married
to his gay partner, has been trying to open the mosque for homosexuals.
The
couple risks the ire of the French Muslim community. Long-battling with
stereotypes and discrimination, the Muslim and Arab world’s gay
communities has maintained it has been vilified by public opinion, where
homosexuality has been viewed a religious, cultural and even political
taboo.
“In normal mosques, women have to sit in the back seats
and wear a headscarf and gay men are afraid of both verbal and physical
aggression. After performing the Hajj, I realized that a mosque for gays
was a must for gay Muslims who want to perform their prayers,” Zahed
told Turkey-based newspaper Daily Hürriyet this week.
He said:
“After my first night with a man, I realized that I was gay. I have
found out that I had been pushing down my feelings with the help of
Islam,” he said.
Asked how Zahed will set up a mosque for the
Muslim homosexual community, he said: “We will use a hall in a Buddhist
chapel, which will be opened on Nov. 30,” adding that in the new mosque
women and men would be able to perform their prayers together in the
same space.
More than 100,000 people turned out Saturday across
France for rallies against government plans to approve same-sex marriage
and adoption, as police clashed with counter-demonstrators in one city.
Marriage
In April, the couple tied the knot in France with the blessing of an imam.
Zahed
and his South African partner Qiyam al-Din, were reportedly married in
accordance to the Shariah (Islamic law) in the presence of a Mauritian
imam named Jamal who blessed their union on February 12, 2012, according
to a report in Al-bawbaba on April 2.
The two were previously
able to marry in South Africa under the country’s same sex marriage
laws, which also permits gay couples to adopt but France does not
recognize same sex unions.
Zahed shared his story with France 24 TV, telling the channel how he met Din
last year at a convention on AIDS in South Africa.
“I
was in the lecture hall when an imam, who incidentally is gay himself,
introduced me to Din. We discovered we had a lot in common and a mutual
admiration was cemented. I stayed on after the convention for two
months, deciding to get married, since South African laws were more
friendly [to same sex unions],” he said at the time.
After the
wedding that was organized by Din’s family, the couple decided to return
to France and settle down in a Parisian suburb, hoping that the French
government would recognize the legality of their marriage.
But the French authorities refused.
Zahed,
who has his family’s blessings for the marriage, says that he faces
more obstacles with the French law than discrimination from Muslims.
Although
his legal settlement was still pending, Zahed decided to make his
wedding a family affair, with his trusted Mauritian imam in tow. The
marriage took place in a modest house in Servon on the outskirts of
Paris, and was attended by his parents and few close friends.
“Being
married in front of my family, was like a new start of life for me, I
could have never imagined such a day would come, seeing the joy in my
parents’ eyes after they had battled with my sexuality and tried with
all their might to change the course of my sexual orientation,” he said.
Against all odds Zahed was diagnosed with AIDS at the tender age of 19, but the
illness gave
him a new purpose in life and drew him closer to religion.
“I
turned to worship and prayer to [battle] the situation; I became
religious, and I performed Umra then Hajj twice, seeking a simpler,
normal life.
Despite the threats that I get by phone or from the
Internet, as well as, my struggle with the negative views that I get
from Arabs and Muslims alike, today I feel more comfortable in my own
skin,” he said.
Zahed wants to pursue his doctoral studies in
Islam and homosexuality and he also heads an organization that
researches issues relating to Islam and homosexuality. He said his
absolute priority is to get a legal permit for his new spouse to stay
and work in France.
The couple does not intend to travel to an
Arab or Muslim nation for fear of being discriminated against. “We want
to stay in France, because my husband really likes this country.
However, if it becomes impossible for him to stay, we will return to
South Africa to live,” Zahed told France 24.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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