Ludovic-Mohamed Zahed (born 1977) is a French-Algerian

imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...

. An openly gay Muslim, Zahed is the founder of an Islamic prayer room in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, with the goal of accommodating the

LGBT ' 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 ...

and feminist Muslim communities. He also founded the LGBT Muslim association HM2F, and manages the Calem Institute in Marseille.

Biography

He was born Mohamed Zahed in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

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, in 1977. Growing up between Algeria and France, he reported having felt "part boy, part girl" as a child. As a teenager, he struggled recognizing his own homosexuality while briefly involving himself in the

Salafi movement The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a reform branch movement within Sunni Islam that originated during the nineteenth century. The name refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (), the first three generati ...

; at the end of his teenage years, he rejected both Salafism and Islam and followed

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

instead. He acquired French citizenship at the age of 20, changing his first name to "Ludovic". At the age of 21, he decided to

come out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

to his family, getting mixed reactions. He later followed Islam again, and in 2010 founded the organization HM2F, ''Homosexuel(les) musulman(es) de France'' (Muslim Homosexuals of France). In November 2012, Zahed set up an "inclusive" Muslim prayer room in Paris, which has been described by the press as "Europe's first gay-friendly mosque". In 2019, he opened the Calem Institute in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

, which includes a prayer room and aims to raise awareness of progressive values (such as

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 33 ...

and feminism) within the Muslim world.

Personal life

Zahed is

HIV-positive The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause AIDS, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the ...

, having contracted the illness as a teenager. In 2011, while same-sex marriage had yet to be legalized in France, he

legally married Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

a South African man in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. They later moved to France, and were united by another, religious marriage ceremony (having no legal value in France) performed by an imam in 2012. In June 2019, Zahed gave an interview to ''Agenda'', the

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

of the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...

, regarding his experiences after his coming out as a homosexual man.

Political views

Ludovic-Mohamed Zahed has described himself as a " progressive Muslim" who argues that believers should "question institutional dogma" and insists that "neither

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...

misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practiced fo ...

respect Islamic ethics". Through his works, he has voiced his concerns for the Muslim community in France, and LGBT Muslims in particular, who according to him, are facing both threats of

homonationalism Homonationalism is often seen as the favorable association between a nationalist ideology and LGBT people or their rights,

and religious fundamentalism. In France, he has openly stood in favor of

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

Controversies

The opening of a Muslim prayer room by Zahed in Paris, which he described as more "inclusive" to LGBT believers, was met with mixed reaction from the rest of the Muslim community in France; a spokesman for the

Grand Mosque of Paris The Grand Mosque of Paris (french: Grande Mosquée de Paris), also known as the Great Mosque of Paris or simply the Paris Mosque, is located in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, 5th arrondissement and is one of the largest mosques in France. There ...

stated that the prayer room did not belong to the Islamic community. In 2014, two Muslim Iranian women were married by Zahed in a religious ceremony held in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, which prompted a group of Algerian Salafists to demand that Zahed be stripped of his Algerian citizenship.

Publications

* ''Homosexuality, Transidentity, and Islam: A Study of Scripture Confronting the Politics of Gender and Sexuality'' (2019), translated by Adi S. Bharat, Amsterdam University Press. * ''LGBT Musulman-es: du Placard aux Lumières, face aux obscurantismes et aux homo-nationalismes'' (2016), Des Ailes sur un Tracteur. * ''Queer Muslim Marriage: Struggle of a gay couple's true life story towards Inclusivity & Tawheed within Islam'' (2013), CALEM. * ''Le Coran et la chair'' (2012), Éditions Max Milo. * ''Révoltes extraordinaires: un enfant du sida autour du monde'' (2011), L'Harmattan.

References