VICE: Have Queer Muslims Gained Acceptance In Their Communities Since The Pulse Shooting?

This past June, after Omar Mateen, a Muslim man, gunned down 49 patrons of Orlando's Pulse gay nightclub, leaders of prominent American Muslim organizations issued a statement unequivocally condemning the attack. They declared their commitment to "our shared humanity," despite "differences in faith or lifestyle," and the "cherished political right" of Americans to "pursue happiness as each one sees fit."

Others went beyond such qualified language: "For many years, members of LBGTQI community have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the Muslim community against any acts of hate crimes, Islamophobia, marginalization and discrimination," wrote Nihad Awad, the executive director of the Council of American-Islamic Relations. "Today we stand with them shoulder-to-shoulder[...] Homophobia, transphobia, islamophobia are interconnected systems of oppression, and we cannot dismantle one without dismantling the other."

Homophobia is widespread within many Muslim communities; Muslim LGBTQ activists, who have struggled for years to bring attention to the issue, were encouraged by the support expressed after Pulse, hoping the tragedy might spark an increased commitment to addressing the struggles of queer Muslims. Ani Zonneveld, founder of Muslims for Progressive Values (MPV), a pioneering human rights organization in the fight for LGBTQ Muslim rights, called the shooting "a moment for the traditional Muslim communities to put their money where their mouth is." With American Muslims supporting LGBTQ rights in increasing numbers—a 2014 Pew Research poll found that 45 percent of American Muslims accept homosexuality, up 7 percent since 2007, and 42 percent support gay marriage—the time seemed ripe for change.

This July, MPV launched the No to Homophobia campaign, calling on prominent imams and other representatives of faith-based institutions, such as schools, mosques, and universities, to "pledge to eradicate all homophobic teachings in my community and in the religious institutions I am affiliated with, and [to] affirm the dignity of LGBT individuals."

But the outcome was underwhelming. Zonneveld told me, "We wrote [emails] to Hamza Yusuf"—a co-founder of the prominent Muslim liberal arts college Zaytuna College—"and several prominent imams directly and didn't get a response. We know that they opened it; one or two opened it several times. The only ones who have responded to our emails have been chaplains and policy makers."

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