What Does It Mean to Be a ‘Good Muslim’?
On embracing my queerness in Islam
“Why do you call yourself Muslim?” my younger brother Bilal asked, upon learning that I would be releasing a queer Muslim memoir. It’s a question I get asked often. Not just by my kid brother who loves and celebrates every part of me, including the fact that I’m a queer woman, but also by folks who encounter, in the news and on their newsfeeds, the version of Islam devoid of humanity. The version of Islam where civilian lives are taken in the name of Allah. Daughters killed for the sake of honor killing. LGBTQ rights violated because being queer is haram, they say.
The reality is, this identity defines who I am. It shapes the way I see the world and how the world sees me. It’s one of the only absolutes in my life. It’s a lens through which I see myself and everything around me: politics, mental health, gender, fashion, art—and my relationships. It informs most everything in my life.
I refuse to strip myself of an identity that shapes me to the core. I refuse to try to justify my right to exist by citing verses of the Quran that might hint at validating my existence. I am because I exist. Like an open sky, majestic mountains and lightly dewed leaves on a crisp spring morning, I am a creation of Allah. My personal protest is daring to take up space as a queer Muslim…
