The Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity (MASGD), founded in 2013, is an American support and advocacy organization for
LGBTQ
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
Muslims.
History
The Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity was launched in January 2013 in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
. The organization was formed by members of the
Queer Muslim Working Group, with the support of the
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
The National LGBTQ Task Force is an American social justice advocacy non-profit organizing the grassroots power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community. Also known as The Task Force, the organization supports act ...
. Several initial MASGD members previously had been involved with the
Al-Fatiha Foundation, including
Faisal Alam
Faisal Alam is a gay Pakistani American man who founded the Al-Fatiha Foundation, an organization dedicated to advancing the cause of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Muslims.
Alam arrived in the United States from Pakistan in 1987, a ...
,
Urooj Arshad,
Tynan Power, and Imam
Daayiee Abdullah
Daayiee Abdullah (born Sidney Thompson ar, داعي عبد الله) is an American Imam based in Washington, D.C. Abdullah is said to be one of five openly gay Imams in the world (the others being Muhsin Hendricks of South Africa, Ludovic-Moha ...
.
Co-founders include
Raquel Saraswati
Raquel or Racquel is a variation of the given name Rachel. Notable people with the name include:
Raquel
*Raquel (wrestler), Brazilian professional wrestler
*Raquel Alessi (born 1983), American former actress and model
* Raquel Naa Ayorkor Ammah ( ...
,
Yas Ahmed, Imi Rashid and
Sahar Shafqat.
In 2016, ''
The Advocate'' magazine named four MASGD steering committee members in its list of "21 LGBT Muslims Who Are Changing the World."
Mission
The mission of MASGD is to support, empower, and connect LGBTQ+ Muslims. The mission statement goes on to say: "In our work, we challenge root causes of oppression, including misogyny, racism, capitalism, and xenophobia. We celebrate gender and sexual diversity within Muslim communities and promote an understanding of Islam that is centered on inclusion, justice, and equity."
Retreat
The first project of MASGD was an LGBT Muslim Retreat. The first Retreat was held in 2011, under the auspices of the Queer Muslim Working Group. Since then, the Retreat has been held each May. In 2013, the Retreat welcomed a total of 85 adults, including both LGBTQ Muslims and their partners.
References
External links
Official website
LGBT political advocacy groups in the United States
LGBT Muslim organizations
LGBT religious organizations in the United States
2013 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)
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