Imam In U.S. Mosque: Islam Does Not Ban Homosexual

[peterd]

Several reports have been published recently on observant Muslims, most of them living in the West, who are openly gay and believe that there is no conflict between their religious faith and their homosexual lifestyle. A young Muslim of Algerian origin has opened a mosque in Paris where Muslim gays and lesbians can pray and even marry, and where women worship alongside men and are not obliged to wear a head scarf.[1] The liberal website Elaph published an interview with Daayiee 'Abdallah, the imam of the Nour Al-Islah ("Light of Reform") mosque in Washington DC. 'Abdallah, a declared homosexual who is married to a Muslim man, rejected the prevalent view that Islam forbids homosexual relations, and expressed his hope that the Arab Spring would bring about an improvement in the situation of gays in the Arab world. Conversely, Kuwaiti cleric Nabil Al-'Awdi condemned "the spread of homosexuality which threatens Muslim youths everywhere," and also lambasted homosexuals for "demanding that Muslim clerics issue fatwas sanctioning gay relations."[2]

The following are excerpts from the interview with Daayiee 'Abdallah:[3]

www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/6962.htm