Queer Muslims Find Community Through Ramadan |
One night during Ramadan each year, more than 100 queer folks find their way to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center tucked away in New York City’s West Village to break their fast. The iftar, which marks the end of the day’s fasting, draws in folks from all across the Eastern Seaboard and as far as California—all of whom want to celebrate the intersection of Muslim and queer culture.
Amid escalating anti-immigrant sentiment and policy in the U.S., some queer Muslims have voiced feeling ostracized from their communities and faith traditions. But this year, during Islam’s holiest month, New York City’s LGBT Community Center marked a major milestone—the tenth anniversary of its annual iftar, where queer Muslims can celebrate their culture and break their fasts in the safety of their community.
“Over the past decade, this event has remained a vital sanctuary where LGBTQ Muslims can fully embrace our intersectional and multicultural identities,” Mohamed Q. Amin, founder and executive director of the Caribbean Equality Project, said at the event. “At a time of rising violence against immigrants and continued efforts to erase transgender and queer people from public life, creating and protecting sacred spaces like this has never been more urgent.”
In the event’s central room, a dozen tables welcomed guests as speakers from the Center and its partner organizations introduced the event. Then, the iftar began at 7 p.m. with the azan, or call to prayer. But unlike the traditional azan, where men lead the service, a queer woman—community organizer and educator Fazeela Siddiqui—led the LGBT Center’s azan. Canned water tabs popped and echoed across the hall as the group broke their fast together over bowls of dates.
In another of the event’s three rooms, the crowd was entertained by speakers, drag shows, belly dancing, and spoken word poetry over a hot, halal meal sourced from local Muslim restaurants and vendors. A gender-neutral prayer space was set up in a separate room.
This year’s theme was “A Decade of Ummah,”which the Center defines as “the global community of Muslims bound together by faith or culture,” and featured performers from the last decade of its iftars.
“Our ummah, our community, continues to guide us in building futures grounded in queer courage and collective power,” Amin said. “Ten years on, the LGBTQ community iftar stands as a living expression of repair, resilience, and love, an evergrowing ummah that nourishes body and spirit. And to every queer and trans Muslim whose life is endangered by war, imperialism, genocide, and criminalization, we honor your existence........