Maryam wanted a religious solution to her gender issue. In 1975 she started writing letters to Ayatollah Khomeini, who was living in exile in Iraq. She knew she was a woman, she knew she was living in the wrong body and she knew she could fix this. She went to Paris in 1978 to meet Ayatollah Khomeini in person (who was visiting France) as she couldn’t travel to Iraq because of the travel ban for Iranians at the time.

Homosexuality is anathema to Islam – or so the majority of both believers and non-believers suppose. Throughout the Muslim world, it is met with hostility, where state punishments range from hefty fines to the death penalty. Likewise, numerous scholars and commentators maintain that the Qur’an and Hadith rule unambiguously against same-sex relations.

This pioneering study argues that there is far more nuance to the matter than most believe. In its narrative of Lot, the Qur’an could be interpreted as condemning

The “Sex-Reassignment Surgery” is a solution that besides behavioral therapy has been suggested to people suffering from gender identity disorders in recent years. In Iran, this trend has become more popular over the past years due to the inclination to reach to the goal rapidly with less effort and also the surgery has attracted many patients with the problem. Religious clerics have tried to determine the religious doctrines for this practice and as a result a group of them favor an absolute permission while others choose prohibition and some of them favor a middle path. The aim of this study was to determine the religious doctrines for Sex-Reassignment and legitimate treatment for GID.

 Inclusivity, Diversity, and Human Rights Leyla H. Tajer (PhD) Abstract: This study offers valuable insights into the perspectives on homosexuality withing Shia Islam, focusing on prominent scholars and selected social activists. Arash Naraghi (b. 1966), among the first Shia scholars to engage with the topic, initially approached it from a secular viewpoint and later sought reconciliation with Islamic teachings. Mohsen Kadivar (b. 1959), a Neo-Traditionalist within Shia Islam, displayed an evolving position, moving from considering homosexuality sinful to a more moderate approach. Akbar Ganji (b. 1960), advocating for human rights, passionately supports minority rights, including those of homosexuals. Conversely, Abu al-Qasim Fanaii (b. 1959) approaches the issue from a social ethics standpoint, advocating equal rights for homosexuals, regardless of moral acceptance, prioritizing ethics over religious interpretations. These divers’ viewpoints reflect the evolving nature of discussions on homosexuality within Shia theology. The study raises a question: Do theses scholars consider LGBTQ rights comprehensively or solely focus on male-male relationships? This exploration highlights the significance of inclusivity and diversity in addressing LGBTQ rights and Shia Islam, promoting further dialogue and understanding between religious teachings and LGBTQ individual’s rights. The perspective of Shia Islam on LGBTQ remains inconclusive. Like other Muslims and followers of Abrahamic religions, they are at the beginning of their journey and need time to reach a theory widely accepted by the majority.

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Laura Dean

BEIRUT, Lebanon—Two forbidden passions, not a love triangle but a pentagon, murderous militias, acid poisoning, an indecent proposal—the stories of five gay and lesbian Iraqis’ escape from their home country sound like the stuff of tawdry melodrama. And yet it all happened.

religion and homophobia as well as on Islam and violent radicalism has been a continuous issue in the transgender discussion (Shah, 2016). Also, the scholarship on how Trans-individuals conceptualize or enact religiosity and Islam is very limited. This paper will analyze the dynamic relation between Islam and transgenderism with a special reference to sharia law. Islam doesn't have a clear law for transgender. Consequently, Muslim countries do not follow any homogenous law, rather the national culture and politics influence the transgender legal system in the Islamic world. This article will explore the dynamic aspect of sharia law about transgenderism with a focus on hijra in Bangladesh. Hijra is identified as transgender individuals in Bangladesh. Hijra refers to the non-gender conforming individuals who are typically born as male or intersex and tend to perform, what is considered to be femininity. This article will also address the asymmetrical power relations to construct the reality of the 'Trans' as well as the cultural perception of hijra in Bangladesh.

This essay explores the ways in which emerging religious understandings of sexual reassignment surgery (SRS) have potential for new work in comparative ethics. I focus on the startling diversity of teachings on transsexuality among the Vatican and leading Shia clerics in Iran. While the Vatican rejects SRS as a cure for transsexuality, Iranian clerics not only support decisions to transition to a new sex, they see it as necessary in some cases given the gendered nature of the moral life. In this essay, after describing the practical justification for sexual reassignment surgeries in Iranian fatwas and the emerging official Vatican position on transsexuality, I explain how these divergent positions are based on different semiotics of sex and gender that reflect specific ontological views of the human body.

The attitude of Islamic scholarship and law with regard to the issue of transgender sex-reassignment surgery is still an important subject for Muslim transgender people. This operation was mostly regarded as sinful, thus prohibited (haram) in Islam by both Sunni and Shi'a traditional scholars. But in the late 1980s, sex-reassignment surgery was legalized (made halal) in shari'a and/or in state law by the fatwas of Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran and Sheikh Muhammad al-Tantawi in Egypt. It seems that these fatwas should initially be considered as an indication of Islamic tolerance toward transgender Muslims. This article explains how the transgender Muslims’ situation prompted the fatwas on sex-reassignment surgery and, therefore, how the fatwas, ultimately, expanded the scope of Islamic tolerance. The paper analyzes the main juridical reasons behind Khomeini and Al-Tantawi issuing such progressive fatwas through their classical methodology of understanding the Islamic concept of ijtihad. Following the same methodology, the article, as further discussion, offers to open up an Islamic debate over similar and related cases, such as homosexuality and bisexuality, aiming to improve Islamic tolerance or acceptance of these phenomena.

The relationship between sex, gender, and sexual orientation-particularly within Islamic contexts-presents complex global challenges. In many Western societies, confusion between biological sex and socially constructed gender has led to identity conflicts. Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) identities are based on sexual orientation, while transgender identities focus on gender, often intersecting with diverse sexual preferences. This overlap complicates the understanding of gender dysphoria and creates tensions between transgender individuals and the broader LGB community. Iran offers a distinct approach by classifying transgender identity as a psychological condition, separate from LGB identities. This perspective underscores how cultural and psychological frameworks shape societal attitudes toward gender variance. By analyzing literature, official documents, and media, this study explores the evolution of LGB and transgender identities in Iran and the West. Despite differing cultural norms, both contexts often blur the boundaries between biology and culture, leading to persistent misconceptions and exclusion. The study highlights the need to question prevailing social norms and calls for further qualitative research, especially on the post-transition experiences of Iranian transgender individuals, to inform more inclusive and culturally aware global policies.

In this new series of articles, we introduce you to “Voices – Members of our community”. Each article published is a testament of a personal journey growing up as an LGBTQI+ person. Through visibility and sharing of our own personal stories we will grow stronger as a community. The stronger our voice, the greater the positive change we will make.

Written by J. White.

I write pseudonymously for a whole host of reasons, not least of all the newfound desire to be sensitive to the wants and needs of my dear, Muslim parents. I also write pseudonymously so as not to incriminate myself, because God knows I’ve never held rules (read: laws) in high esteem. Rather than skirt around the more, uh, controversial details of my past, I’d rather be as forthcoming and earnest as possible, even if it means forgoing my name. 

Thank you, sincerely, for reading.

Truthfully, it was not until rather recently that I really was able to understand the extent and prevalence of anti-Shia bias in the many spaces, relationships, and academic work I occupied and engaged in. The microaggressions, exclusion, erasure, dismissive attitudes, or blatantly anti-Shia remarks were so normal, latent, casual, and consistent that I did not even realize the extent of the trauma and anxiety I was carrying as a result of it.

This reflective article discusses the work of openly gay Muslim scholar Scott Kugle, particularly his book Homosexuality in Islam. Kugle offers a reinterpretation of Islamic texts—especially the Qur’an and hadith—arguing that traditional condemnations often reflect cultural biases introduced after the Prophet’s time, not the ethical core of the Qur’an itself  . He emphasizes that same-sex acts are condemned only when they are exploitative or violent, not when they’re consensual and grounded in dignity  . Kugle also challenges the reliability of certain hadith historically used to punish queer identities, encouraging more ethically grounded and justice-centered interpretations  .