Constructing an alternative pedagogy of Islam: the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Muslims

Abstract

There is growing media interest in how lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) Muslims negotiate their seemingly incompatible religious and sexual identities. Thus, there is a need to investigate how some LGBT Muslims utilise Islam as a resource for alternative pedagogical strategies to reconcile their personal beliefs and values. Their strategies are especially significant given the prevalence of dominant Islamic teachings that forbid or condemn homosexuality and/or LGBT identities. This article draws upon qualitative research to illuminate how some members of Imaan, an LGBT Muslim group based in Britain, developed an educational tool to impart pro-LGBT interpretations of Islam. It then shows how this strategy enabled these LGBT Muslims to engage in wider dialogue to advance more inclusive interpretations of Islam. In this way, this article suggests that alternative pedagogies are part of a wider response by some Muslims towards the politicised spotlight on Islam, particularly regarding gender and sexuality.

Keywords:

• Islam
• lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Muslims
• pedagogy of the oppressed
• religion as cultural resource
• ethnography

Notes

1. Translations of the Qur’an are based upon Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall. 2005. The Meaning of the Glorious Qur’an, Islamic Dawah Centre International: Birmingham.

2. I use pseudonyms for all participants.