“My Existence is not Haram”: Intersectional Lives in LGBTQ Muslims Living in Canada

ABSTRACT

Little is known about the lived experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered and Queer (LGBTQ) Muslims living in Canada. Using an intersectional theoretical perspective and a qualitative methodology, this paper examines key themes emerging in the stories of six LGBTQ Muslim women and men living in Canada. The key themes emerging in this research were the tension between perceived family obligations and religious values, the ambiguous relationship with Islam, and coping with mental health issues. The research points to the importance of understanding such experiences as occurring in a matrix of identities and processes, as postulated by intersectionality theory.

KEYWORDS:

• Muslims
• LGBTQ
• Canada
• intersectionality
• qualitative
• Islam
• family
• sexuality

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Throughout this paper we refer to our respondents as a set of cases, since they do not constitute a sample in the usual statistical sense of the term. See Small (2009) for a detailed discussion of this issue.

2. The term “haram” means forbidden by god.