In America, they aren’t thrown from the roof of a tall building.
Via The Daily Beast
Mu’min Marcos Arquero Castenada is an openly gay Muslim fasting in this Islamic holy month of Ramadan. He ululated when he heard the Supreme Court legalized same sex marriage nationwide on Friday, then he went to his Oakland mosque to do his Friday prayers in celebration.
The Sufi sheikh at Masjid Al Iman mosque welcomed Castenada with open arms, he said. The Filipino-American says he sees no contradiction between his faith and homosexuality, although homosexuality is illegal on religious principles in several Muslim countries, including Iran and Saudi Arabia.
“My experience of Allah (God) is so deep and meaningful,” said Castenada, a family and marriage therapist. “There are many things we are still discovering in Islam.”[…]
Ahmed Ansari, a technical consultant in Los Angeles, said the scriptures can be interpreted in various ways and as a Muslim, he sees no conflict between his faith and homosexuality. “With any scripture, the believer decides how to interpret it, and it is the malleability of religion that affords me that right to interpret these actions through my own moral lens.”
Gay marriage should’ve been legalized long ago, he said.
Ansari congratulated his lesbian boss when he heard the news and said he was going out to play volleyball on the beach with gay friends after work.
Gay Muslims were relieved and excited to hear others Muslims supporting the Supreme Court decision. This acceptance was a welcome change in a community that often shuns them. Some gays leave the faith as a result.
Nemat Sadat, a gay Afghan-American and LGBT activist in New York, said he couldn’t reconcile his religion and sexuality so he calls himself an ex-Muslim. But he’s keen to continue fighting for gay rights among Muslims worldwide.