"In The News Today..."

March 2, 2013
By Niraj Warikoo

A conference for gay and lesbian Muslims continues today in Detroit with discussions about homosexuality and Islam.

Called the Queer Muslim Gathering, the event is hosted by Kick, an African-American gay and lesbian group based in Detroit, and Muslims for Progressive Values. The gathering features Imam Daayiee Abdullah of Washington, D.C., a gay Muslim leader who grew up in Detroit.

"We feel it is important for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered) Muslims to be included as equals into the straight Muslim society," said Abdullah, director of LGBT outreach with Muslims for Progressive Values, based in Los Angeles.

Abdullah, who grew up as a Southern Baptist and converted to Islam, is the religious leader of Light of Reform Mosque in Washington, D.C., which has gay members.

He said he wants to empower gay Muslims, "to educate them on their Islamic rights, to debunk homophobic theories."

The conference, which started Friday with a meet-and-greet, will feature workshops today. Topics to be discussed at the conference are homosexuality and the Quran, how to develop prayer spaces for gay Muslims and what is halal, or legally permissible in Islam.

Curtis Lipscomb, executive director of Kick, said the conference is trying to "promote an egalitarian Islam where all are welcome regardless of race, denomination or sexual orientation."

"We confidently believe that in the next 20 years, this Islam will be the norm in America."

The conference is the latest event in metro Detroit dealing with gays and Islam. In January, Faisal Alam, a gay Muslim leader from Atlanta who founded the gay Muslim group Al-Fatiha, spoke at the the University of Michigan-Dearborn.

Al-Gamea, a gay and lesbian Arab-American group in Hazel Park that was founded in 2004, also has ongoing events.

Abdullah said that the antigay views among some Muslims and others are rooted in what he believes is misguided "cultural interpretations" rather than the truth of "God's message to all of humankind."

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