Extremely queer muslims

Anaitze Agirre Larreta SOS Racismo Gipuzkoa – GRC LMI-UVIC[1]

Raúl Martínez Corcuera Universitat de Vic (UVIC-UCC)– GRC LMI-UVIC

… a grew up in a way where we didn’t talk about sexuality at all. So if I happened to –if a grew up to be a straight person, I probably didn’t talk about my sexual orientation as openly either. You know, my parents it was kind of a Don’t ask don’t tell.

Don’t ask don’t tell. A tacit pact that heteronormative hegemony imposes on the LGBTQ + community. And if you tell it, let it be a stereotyped, tragic or exotic story.

Young people and adolescents, today in any Western country, grow up in that environment of Do not ask, do not tell. Young people and adolescents probably marked and oppressed by an environment that is said to be respectful of sexual and gender diversity.

Now during the celebration of Pride, remember that there is a widespread opinion that already denies that there are grounds for struggle: everything is achieved in terms of rights and freedoms… you can even get married!, what more do you want?!

A report from the Spanish Ministry of the Interior records that, in 2016, hate crimes against LGBTQ + people increased by 36.1% compared to 2015.

Let’s retorn to the initial quote of this article. It is a response from Wazina, who presents herself as queer and Muslim. The question is posed by Dylan Marron, youtuber and activist who, a year ago, produced ‘Extremely queer muslims’. He realized a series of interviews with Muslim and LGBTQ +. The aim? In order to make visible the existing diversity in that community to avoid the unique, prejudiced and ethnocentric look: they are racist. That which assumes that freedoms in terms of equality and diversity are achieved in the West and that oppression comes from other places, other cultures: How are you accepted into the Muslim community? Ask Dylan Marron to Wazina, so she can tell it in the first person.

Are we looking for more surprising answers?

Muneer, happy to be gay and muslim. Islam doesn’t hate lgbtq people more than christianisty hates lgbtq people… it’s people who hates lgbtq people, says to Marron.

There are 1.7 million Muslim people in the world. Understanding the existence of diverse people and with multidimensional identities, as Muneer says, delegitimizes the arguments that pretend to maintain the hate speech and Islamophobia.

A Canadian woman of Palestinian origin married to a Jew ? I am a current event! says ironically Eman. This is another of the interviewed by Marron.

Izzaddinne is a trans guy and feminist who says without blushing We (muslims) are not a monolith. The anti LGBTQ sentiment stem from the idea of pratriarchy wich is all over the world refeers.

Diversity of looks: different, crazy, funny…

All these looks are interviews of Dylan Marron on his YouTube channel.

Promoting an inclusive look towards diversity, this communicator is the target of haters. From the anonymity of the Internet, haters abuse and attack people from vulnerable groups. And without consequences…

We like Dylan Marron. He uses social networks to confront hate speech and haters in a positive, kind and respectful way. But, fundamentally, he uses social networks to give voice and humanize the people subjected to violence.

To conclude, the words of Izzaddinne: “Having your identities being pitted against each other is prevalent to me. The reallity is, we’re all opressed under the same system”

[1] The Learning, Media & social Interactions Group is an interuniversity research center specialised in the field of Education, Audiovisual Communication and Social Actions, recognized by the Catalonian Authority (2017 SGR379). +info… http://www.lmi-cat.net/en