Living Out Islam: Voices of Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Muslims

by Scott Siraj al-Haqq Kugle

2015 Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award presented by the Stonewall Books Awards of the American Library Association


Muhsin is one of the organizers of Al-Fitra Foundation, a South African support group for lesbian, transgender, and gay Muslims. Islam and homosexuality are seen by many as deeply incompatible. This, according to Muhsin, is why he had to act. “I realized that I’m not alone—these people are going through the very same things that I’m going through. But I’ve managed, because of my in-depth relationship with God, to reconcile the two. I was completely comfortable saying to the world that I’m gay and I’m Muslim. I wanted to help other people to get there. So that’s how I became an activist.”







Living Out Islam documents the rarely-heard voices of Muslims who live in secular democratic countries and who are gay, lesbian, and transgender. It weaves original interviews with Muslim activists into a compelling composite picture which showcases the importance of the solidarity of support groups in the effort to change social relationships and achieve justice. This nascent movement is not about being “out” as opposed to being “in the closet.” Rather, as the voices of these activists demonstrate, it is about finding ways to live out Islam with dignity and integrity, reconciling their sexuality and gender with their faith and reclaiming Islam as their own.

Genres: Religion, LGBT, Islam, Nonfiction, Queer, Transgender, Lesbian

275 pages, Hardcover

First published December 6, 2013

About the author

Scott Kugle joins the Department of Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies in Fall 2010. He received his PhD from Duke University in 2000 in History of Religions after graduating from Swarthmore College with High Honors in Religion, Literature, and History. His dissertation, In Search of the Center: Authenticity, Reform and Critique in Early Modern Islamic Sainthood, examined Sufism in North Africa and South Asia. His fields of expertise include Sufism, Islamic society in South Asia, and issues of gender and sexuality. He is the author of four books and numerous articles, including Sufis and Saints' Bodies: Mysticism, Corporeality and Sacred Power in Islamic Culture (UNC Press, 2007) and Homosexuality in Islam: Critical Reflection on Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Muslims (Oneworld Publications, 2010). He conducts research in India and Pakistan; his research languages are Arabic, Urdu, and Persian. Before coming to Emory, Kugle was an Assistant Professor of Religion at Swarthmore College and, most recently, a research scholar at the Henry Martyn Institute for Islamic Studies, Inter-Religious Dialogue, and Conflict Resolution in Hyderabad, India.

Reviews

[Sawdah Jaulim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though I fully understand the LGBTQIA community, I was still undecided about my thoughts or where I stand when it comes to Muslim LGBTQIA.
But this book helped. Immensely.

I have an anecdote. I enrolled for Loreto College of Port Louis but I couldn't get in unless I remove my scarf (hijab). 15yrs ago. Hello.
A friend from another faith told me: "Look, I don't know why you wear this, I myself will not even if you pay me, and I don't understand why your religion even asks you to do so. But if because of this you are not allow to do what you want, I will fight for you and for this (hijab), even if I don't get it.

This made me think, omg. This is so sweet. You don't need to fully understand nor adhere to a principle or an idea to support a friend or a fellow Human Being. You do you, I do I, but we need to get the same rights to pursue our dreams, our goals. And I speak of understanding your brother or sister in Islam, not the cause per say (my belief so far because "The Quran is pretty explicit in its condemnation of the act, and we have a long tradition of jurisprudence that defines it as unlawful.

This book however, is a mind opener. A window into their world. The Muslim LGBTQIA world, where Faith is at the center. Here, we look at interviews of 15 activist, gay, lesbian, and transgendered Muslims, living in countries with democratic institutions and social systems with a secular separation between political rule and religious belief, as they attempt to find ways to Live Out Islam with dignity and integrity, reconciling their sexuality and gender with their faith and recreating and reclaiming Islam as their own.

Though the author says: "This book is not only for Muslims. It is also for observers who want to understand Muslims as they wrestle with issues." I say this book is precisely for Muslim, to have an understanding and compassion towards their community and also to regain that long lost virtue called Humility.

Chapter 1 was sweet and full of compassion. But, brace yourself for chapter 2 and 3, they may turn your inside upside down. #violence #depression #despair #familybetrayal #patriarchy. Their struggle is of Psychological, Social, Political and Spiritual dimensions but their aspirations are grounded in the same human hopes that we all share - Security, Health, Self-sufficiency, Love and perhaps even Salvation.

Quote: A Muslim is a brother to a Muslim. Let one not oppress another or betray him. Whoever sees the need of his brother, God sees to his need. Whoever relieves a Muslim from dis-tress will be relieved by God from distress on the day of resurrection. Whoever protects a Muslim will be protected by God on the day of resurrection. The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

Then there is this:
O people, We created you . . . [as] different tribes, so that you should come to know one another, acknowledging that the most noble among you is the one most aware of God (Q 49:13)
All this time we were reading this verse in regards to people of other faith. But they (muslim LGBTQIA) read it as being different altogether. And those who have faith still needs to come to know one another.

Now, having read this, gives me no authority to speak on behalf of the Muslim LGBTQIA community, but I do believe it is a good start for constructive conversations.

[Adrian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much needed representation coming from inside the queer muslim community rather than by an untouched observer.

[Naeman Mahmood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative interviews about the ups and downs of being both queer and Muslim. Perhaps the best introductory book into Queer Islam I could recommend people. Unfortunately the strife illuminated in the interviews are quite common, but they shed light on the violence this community faces, particularly from families and their own minority communities in Western Democracies.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

I know that it was published in 2014 but still. I didn't finish it because Kugle as a gay man doesn't really know what it's like being trans and has the need to be nosy cis person. There's no value in deadnaming people except for Trans Women Exclusionary Radical Pseudo-feminists or nosy cis people.

Second thing that I hated was that instead of giving voice by quoting people, the author chooses to paraphrase them. From what I understood the people in the book he is talking about are mostly non-white, so he as a white guy should've boost them, not talk over them.

[Oz Paszkiewicz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I get a weird vibe from this book. It's hard to explain. Besides being exceptionally dry, academic jargon, it feels like Kugle has a specific bias. Throughout my reading, I found myself wondering what made Kugle an authority on the topic of both Islam and queerness (a word he rightfully decides not to use because he did not have the opportunity to interview anyone other than gays, lesbians, and transgender folk.) Kugle received his PhD in History of Religions from Duke and his first degree in Religion, Literature, and History from Swathmore College. Additionally, he has an impressive 24 page CV of publications and teaching experience. He's careful when he speaks about religious extremism, but I can't help but think that he finds Sufiism or Mysticism to be a superior way of practicing Islam. I can't prove it, and it might be in my head, but it gave me the icks.

The only explicit problem I had with this book is when Kugle discusses Fatima, a Trans man, and repeatedly misgenders him. The very first sentence of Fatima's interview says, "Fatima was raised as a woman but has always felt that he is a man. For this reason, this interview refers to Fatima as "he." Why does Kugle feel the need to justify using Fatima's correct pronouns? And then why does he still mess it up? The book was published in 2014 which was around the time that queer issues were being attacked. They weren't as in-the-spotlight as they are now in 2023, but it's not difficult and he's obviously a scholar.

There were some other things that irritated me (like the use of the word 'Transsexual') but I have to remember that the people interviewed lived in the UK, Canada, the Netherlands, and the Republic of South Africa, and I can't say for certain that 'no one says that anymore.' Obviously, this book isn't bad, it won a Stonewall award. I'm grateful it exists and hope it inspired for research, but it is what is it. I think, at the end of the day, I'm just not sure who this book is for.

[hunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love reading people find their queerness through religion and still have strong faith. growing up religious (christian), i found myself alienated and turned off from religion. it makes me happy to know gay and transgender folks still find comfort and strength in their faith.

the biggest issue i had with the book was kugle’s misgendering of fatima, a trans man. halfway through his section in the book, she/her was being used and i was so confused. especially since kugle explained he used he/him pronouns.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Case studies on lived religion by a minoritarian group organised around different modes of activism. Disappointed by the lack of citational references to Asad and Mahmood's work on secularism and agency which are briefly mentioned in the introduction. More work on the reader to tease out these theoretical links, but the author does well to seamlessly shift between the voices of interviewees and their own.

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compelling collection of interviews / qualitative research with a small but meaningfully chosen set of Islamic people who are lgbtq. Thoughtful presentation and analysis by someone who is part of the community himself.

[S.J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

[Allison OC · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well presented academic read ... Very much of the mid 2010s

[Ify · Rating 4 out of 5]

Remarkable collection of stories from lesbian, gay, and transgender Muslims who have struggled and found many different ways to be true to their sexuality, gender, and religious identity. Hearing these stories helped give me a deeper appreciation of the important work gay, lesbian, and transgender Muslim activists are doing in their communities to overcome the "spiritual wounds" inflicted by those who claim to love us or by ourselves. I could see some common threads in my own experience, particularly for those who identified as deeply religious, and some experiences so very different from my own. This book highlights the personal stories and experiences of lesbian, transgender, and gay Muslims, which were largely absent from Kugle's more scholarly work Islam and Homosexuality, the two books should be read together. I would have liked to see more diversity amongst the interviewees.

[willowdog · Rating 3 out of 5]

A look at and interviews with at 15 'activist', gay, lesbian, and transgendered Muslims, living in countries with democratic institutions and social systems with a secular separation between political rule and religious belief, as they attempt to find ways to live out Islam with dignity and integrity, reconciling their sexuality and gender with their faith and recreating and reclaiming Islam as their own.

[jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

These are only stories of LGBTQ Muslims connected to activist organizations in the US, UK, Canada, Netherlands, and South Africa.

[Ruq · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read.

[Mills College Library]

297.08664 K959 2014