A recent survey has found 0% of American Muslims identify as gay or lesbian.
The ISPU research interviewed 804 American Muslims.
They found not one identified as gay or lesbian.
Around 4% identified as bisexual and 2% said they were ‘something else’. Another 2% refused to answer the question’.
There are, of course, LGBTI people who identify as Muslim in the United States.
interviewed members of progressive mosques, like Masjid al-Rabia.
The mosque is intended to be women-centered, anti-racist, LGBTI affirming, and welcoming to many Islamic traditions.
Muslims for Progressive Values have eight ‘inclusive communities’ in the United STates.
Berkeley’s Qal-bu Maryam Women’s Mosque, described as the ‘first all-inclusive’ place of worship, opened in 2017.
Liberal Muslims say a future also looks good for LGBTI people of the Islam faith.
Dalia Mogahed, director of research for the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, said there is a ‘huge division’ right now.
‘There are a lot of different opinions and, frankly, there is a lack of space to discuss it,’ she said.
‘When you have a community that is so under the microscope and being subjected to litmus tests for civility and tolerance, people become afraid and self-censoring.’
And when asked about the 0% statistic, Mogahed said it can be read a different way.
If 92% of American Muslims identified as straight, she said, then the remaining 8% may be lesbian or gay, even if they’re reluctant say so.
‘The fact that there is a segment of Muslims who identify as something other than straight means that, even though they may not be acting on that inclination or orientation, they have negotiated a space where they can still be Muslim,’ Mogahed said.
‘There is enough space within the theology to be able to do that.’
