French Muslims join opposition to same-sex marriage

By Tom Heneghan, Reuters/NBC - January 7, 2012

PARIS — French Muslims have begun joining a mostly Catholic-led movement against same-sex marriage, widening opposition to the reform that the Socialist-led government is set to write into the law by June.

Fifty Muslim activists issued an open letter on Monday urging fellow Muslims to join a major Paris protest against the law on Sunday. That followed a similar appeal last Saturday by the influential Union of French Islamic Organizations, or UOIF. [Read Full Story]

Photo by Thibault Camus, AP

‘Europe’s First Gay-Friendly Mosque’ Sparks Controversy

By Ben McPartland, France24.com - December 5, 2012

The opening of what has been dubbed Europe’s first gay-friendly mosque in Paris has been condemned by some of the city’s Muslim leaders for going “against the spirit of Islam”.

The new “mosque”, which opened on Friday in a small room inside the house of a Buddhist monk, has smashed a taboo in Islam by welcoming transgender and transsexual Muslims.

But the prayer room located in the eastern suburbs of Paris is not supported by any formal Muslim institution and many imams in France oppose it. [Read Full Story]

Gay-friendly 'Mosque' Opens in Paris

By Robin Banerji, BCC World Service - November 30, 2012

A prayer room described as Europe's first gay-friendly mosque is opening on the outskirts of Paris.

The new centre is run by Ludovic-Mohamed Zahed, a gay Islamic scholar, married to a gay man, and the founder of Homosexual Muslims of France.

Mr Zahed regularly attends the Grand Mosque in Paris, but says he wants to create a more "inclusive" place for gay, lesbian and transgender Muslims. [Read Full Story]

Photo by Reuters

France to Open World’s First ‘Mosque For the Gay Community’

By Sam Webb, Daily Mail - November 28, 2012

A French-Algerian homosexual man is planning to open a 'mosque for gays' in France and hopes to eventually conduct same-sex Muslim marriages.

Mohammed Ludovic Lütfi Zahed, an Algerian Muslim living in Paris who is married to his gay partner, hopes to open the doors by the end of the month, according to the Jersualem Post.

Mr Zahed says the mosque, situated in a Buddhist chapel in Paris, will also break another Islamic taboo by refusing to segregate women and men. [Read Full Story]

Photo by light-dark.net

LGBT Post: Queering the Qur’an

By Michael Muhammad Knight, Bikyamasr - November 15, 2012

From Vice.com:

Not a week of my life goes by without me receiving a message from either a gay Muslim seeking reconciliation between faith, heart, and body, or a gay non-Muslim who is considering converting to Islam, but wonders whether Islam can ever allow a place for him or her. There are a few approaches that one could take to answer these questions, and I’m not really qualified to employ any of them, but here we go. [Read Full Story]

Photo by Benson Kua