Europe's First Gay-Friendly Mosque Sparks Controversy

'Europe’s first gay-friendly mosque’ sparks controversy'

By Ben MCPARTLAND

A Muslim prayer centre, 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 criticised by religious leaders.

The opening of what has been dubbed Europe’s first gay-friendly mosque in Paris has been condemned by some of the city’s Muslim leaders for going “against the spirit of Islam”.

The new “mosque”, which opened on Friday in a small room inside the house of a Buddhist monk, has smashed a taboo in Islam by welcoming transgender and transsexual Muslims.

But the prayer room located in the eastern suburbs of Paris is not supported by any formal Muslim institution and many imams in France oppose it.

Against the rules of islam?

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FRANCE - ISLAM

One Muslim's fight to marry Islam with homosexuality

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.

'Radically inclusive mosque'

Accepting homosexual Muslims is not the only religious taboo the new mosque will break, with the usual rules on separating men from women also to be sidelined.

The mosque’s founder, French-Algerian gay rights activist and practicing Muslim Ludovic-Mohamed Zahed, will also encourage women to lead Friday prayers.

“It’s a radically inclusive mosque, a mosque where people can come as they are,” Zahed, 35 told Reuters.

Continues... http://www.france24...._medium=twitter

--France 24-- 2012-12-03

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