Muslim Lesbians are Lovely

Muslim Lesbians are Lovely

By

evemurphy





Documentary filmmakers have long wrestled with
the need to obscure the identities of gays and
lesbians to avoid unpleasant consequences like
job loss or a falling-out with family.

Parvez
Sharma, a New York director, has been worried
that much worse could await the Muslim
homosexuals profiled in his forthcoming "In the
Name of Allah," if ever they were identified.


For some, imprisonment or torture is a
possibility, Sharma said. That such pressure is
building around a project still more than a year
from completion is the best measure of a perhaps
widening gulf that separates an increasingly
open attitude toward gay and lesbian life in
many Western countries from that of
predominantly Muslim ones. With backing
primarily from European television broadcasters,
including Channel 4 in Britain, Arte in France
and ZDF in Germany, Sharma set out nearly two
years ago to examine how homosexual Muslims
around the world reconciled their faith with
their sexual orientation. "It challenges the
idea that there are no Muslim gays or lesbians.


Some scholars interpret the Quran as suggesting
that there is no condemnation of homosexuality,
while others read Muslim scripture as indicating
that homosexual acts should be punished with
death. Documentary filmmakers have long wrestled
with the need to obscure the identities of gays
and lesbians to avoid unpleasant consequences
like job loss or a falling-out with family.