‘Europe’s first gay-friendly mosque’ sparks controversy - by Ben McPartland

A Muslim prayer center, which has been dubbed Europe’s first gay-friendly mosque, opened in Paris this week. Its founder described it as the first step in breaking “prejudices in Islam”, but it has been criticized by religious leaders.

Dalil Boubakeur, rector of the Grande Mosqueé in Paris, told FRANCE 24 that the opening of a new place of prayer for gay Muslims goes against the rules of Islam.

“The mosques that are already there accept everyone so creating one specifically for homosexuals is against the spirit of Islam. Worshippers go to a mosque to worship god, they don’t go to demonstrate their sexuality,” Boubakeur said. “This is an abuse of the definition of a mosque.”
Boubakeur argues that Islam’s rules on homosexuality were unambiguous.

“Homosexuality is condemned in 13 verses of the Koran. The only sexual relationship that is legitimate is between married men and women”, he said, though acknowledging that it is against Islam to be homophobic.

Abdallah Zekri, president of an organisation which monitors Islamophic attacks for the French Council of Muslims, also criticised the move. “We know that homosexual Muslims exist but opening a mosque (for them) is an aberration,” he said.

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Detroit News: Middle Eastern gays face cultural taboo - by Maureen Feighan

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Middle Eastern gays face cultural taboo - by Maureen Feighan

Barricaded in his bedroom after his parents found out he was gay two years ago, Bashar Makhay of Ferndale felt alone in the world. He was 19 and his Chaldean mother, an Iraqi Christian, was hysterical. He knew he needed to move out, but had nowhere to go. His mother said he could stay on one condition: He had to be normal.

Refusing to live in the closet, Makhay and a group of friends have started a Metro Detroit support group for gays and lesbians of Middle Eastern descent, offering support, socialization and awareness. The group called Al GAMEA -- which means "the gathering" in Arabic -- is one of the few of its kind in the nation. More than 600 people have signed up for Al GAMEA's -- pronounced Al ja-ME-uh -- e-mail mailing list. Its "Arabian Nights" bar nights regularly draw up to 200 people.