He’s been condemned by other Muslim leaders, and some local imams have even refused to greet him. But Imam Daayiee Abdullah – believed to be the only openly gay imam in the Americas – is proud of his story.
He was born and raised in Detroit, where his parents were Southern Baptists. At age 15, he came out to them. At 33, while studying in China, Abdullah converted to Islam, and went on to study the religion in Egypt, Jordan and Syria. But as a gay man in America, he saw that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Muslims had unmet spiritual needs and he became an imam to provide community support.
“Sometimes necessity is the mother of invention. And because of the necessity in our community, that’s why I came into this particular role,” he told America Tonight about his journey.
His first act as an imam? Performing funeral rites for a gay Muslim who died of AIDS.
“They had contacted a number of imams, and no one would go and provide him his janazah services,” he said, referring to the Muslim body cleaning ritual. That pained him.
“I believe every person, no matter if I disagree with you or not, you have the right as a Muslim to have the proper spiritual [rites] and rituals provided for you. And whoever judges you, that will be Allah’s decision, not me.”
It’s one of the mantras he lives by in his work, even as others condemn him.
“The beautiful thing about God is that when you change your attitude, and say, ‘God, I need some help,’ and mean it sincerely, God is always there for you,” Abdullah told congregants one night during a regular sermon, known as a khutbah, at the Light of Reform Mosque in Washington, D.C.
He serves as the imam and educational director of the mosque, which he helped form more than two years ago to be a safe space for values and practices that other mosques may eschew.
During his service, women and men kneel side-by-side and women are allowed to lead prayers – actions that have sparked controversy even among American Muslims.
“We do not limit people by their gender or their sexual orientation, or their particular aspect of being Muslim or non-Muslim,” he told America Tonight. “They’re there to worship.”
The mosque’s congregants are diverse and represent a wide range of cultures, religious upbringings and sexual orientations.
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Read more: Al Jazeera
He is not a Muslim.He is an hypocrite.
The QUR'AN has always been above him and will continue to be above their powers and comprehension. The world should also take not of such devilish people because he is not the first and would not be the last. Thanks and keep it up @ Ahmed.
Am not surprised he's from the US. Why is the west pushing so hard for gay rights? Why impose it on other countries? Its surprising how people like him and that idiotic madman called anil chadhoury in the uk get so much airtime on the media…sounds to me like a deliberate act by western powers to stain Islam and entice hatred on it…well gud luck with that…I am very confident he will get followers (Muslims) and more support from the west just as many dilusional fake prophets and saints in the past. But one thing I can promise you is…U CAN NEVER ALTER THE QUR'AN TO FIT YOUR FETISH AGENDAS
He is not a muslim and his thoughts are not in accordance with Islamic ways
He is an impostor,trying to bring chaos to the umma,and further stroke the fires of hate against Muslims. As he said,God is the judge and he should make no mistake God WILL judge him.
He is an hypocrite