I feel like enough has already been said about the revelation of the blogger behind A Gay Girl in Damascus turning out to be a married white American in Scotland...the treachery, the implications it may have for the gay community within Syria and regionally, the betrayal felt by those who had closely followed and supported "Amina" in her struggles and activism.
But amidst the flurry of comments, articles, and op-eds on the subject, I was surprised not to see one particular film mentioned at all in the past few weeks following the news of "Amina's" detention and later the pandora's box of Tom MacMaster's self-outing.
A few years ago I saw the documentary A Jihad for Love, a film with a wide scope, from public shaming and detention of a mass of gay men in Egypt, the persecution and flight of a group of gay Iranians into more liberal Turkey, (because, as Ahmadinejad will be happy to inform you, there are no homosexuals in Iran...) a Turkish lesbian couple and gay communities throughout India, Pakistan and elsewhere.
But just as interesting, if not more so (only because I think the travails of the gay community in the ME have received greater attention of late) is the plight of open homosexual Muslims living in the West.
A Jihad for Love focuses strongly on the story of an imam in South Africa, a family man, who has been open with his community about his sexuality and appears to be predominantly persecuted for it by total strangers. Callers on a radio talk show proclaim he should be stoned. Meanwhile, his two young daughters tell him they're proud of him for living his life honestly and in the fullness of his faith. What would normally tear a person down provides him with the motivation to speak out as a voice for Muslims who wish to embrace their identities as mutually inclusive...And there are more stories of those who've fled to Europe, of American-born Muslims and their own tragedies, joys and struggles.
MacMaster's dishonesty shouldn't further marginalize people who don't have the security of living openly in their own countries; but hopefully his acts will continue to serve as a catalyst for social debate and the s
Daniel Nassar closed his piece for Foreign Policy with the appeal to "listen to the sounds of the real struggle from real people. But don't lose your trust with those trying to create a real movement in Syria's LGBT community -- we need your help now more than ever" -- This film is one way to do that and discover a global picture of Muslim LGBTs, and hopefully create a more open forum for these voices as well.
But amidst the flurry of comments, articles, and op-eds on the subject, I was surprised not to see one particular film mentioned at all in the past few weeks following the news of "Amina's" detention and later the pandora's box of Tom MacMaster's self-outing.
But just as interesting, if not more so (only because I think the travails of the gay community in the ME have received greater attention of late) is the plight of open homosexual Muslims living in the West.
A Jihad for Love focuses strongly on the story of an imam in South Africa, a family man, who has been open with his community about his sexuality and appears to be predominantly persecuted for it by total strangers. Callers on a radio talk show proclaim he should be stoned. Meanwhile, his two young daughters tell him they're proud of him for living his life honestly and in the fullness of his faith. What would normally tear a person down provides him with the motivation to speak out as a voice for Muslims who wish to embrace their identities as mutually inclusive...And there are more stories of those who've fled to Europe, of American-born Muslims and their own tragedies, joys and struggles.
MacMaster's dishonesty shouldn't further marginalize people who don't have the security of living openly in their own countries; but hopefully his acts will continue to serve as a catalyst for social debate and the s
Daniel Nassar closed his piece for Foreign Policy with the appeal to "listen to the sounds of the real struggle from real people. But don't lose your trust with those trying to create a real movement in Syria's LGBT community -- we need your help now more than ever" -- This film is one way to do that and discover a global picture of Muslim LGBTs, and hopefully create a more open forum for these voices as well.
