EDITOR’S NOTE: In light of the recent tragic murder of Imam Muhsin Hendricks, we are reposting this interview with him from 2011, conducted by APRIL President Björn Krondorfer. The original can be found in a special issue of CrossCurrents (Vol. 61, No. 4), titled “Embattled Masculinities in the Religious Traditions.”
Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un (“Verily we belong to Allah, and verily to Him shall we return”)
By Muhsin Hendricks (with Björn Krondorfer)
“The Inner Circle [his organization] strives to elevate the consciousness of Muslims to a point where love and compassion supersede hate.”
Björn Krondorfer: Muhsin, you are residing and working in Cape Town, South Africa, as an Imam. You founded an organization called The Inner Circle, which empowers and supports gay Muslims and their allies. One website summarily states that The Inner Circle “strategically fights homophobia by creating awareness on issues of gender and sexuality in the Muslim community.” In your work, you want to counteract certain “orthodox interpretations of the Quran and the prophetic teachings” which force Muslims to decide “between Islam and their sexuality.” Please tell us about your current work as an Imam and about the community where you feel spiritually at home.
Muhsin Hendricks: I have never consciously planned to work as an Imam, as a leader in the community who serves his people. My intention with studying an Imam course was to get the necessary background knowledge in order to do my independent research on Islam and sexual diversity. However, I find myself doing my Imam work among the queer Muslim community, leading prayers for them, counseling them, and responding to their religious needs. This is all done within our organization The Inner Circle, which has become the mosque and social space for queer Muslims. It is very recent that The Inner Circle has started its own Friday Congregational Prayers for people who feel marginalized by mainstream Muslims. I am often called to do workshops on Islam and sexual diversity in different parts of the world, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, Indonesia, and Turkey. The need for the work I do stretches beyond the borders of South Africa.
BK: As Imam, you have asked questions about the inclusiveness and exclusiveness of sexual identities in the Muslim community. You have stated that within the non-heterosexual Muslim community, some have moved from accepting themselves as Muslims who are sexually diverse to a position that ponders the possibility of same-sex marriage. How controversial is such a position today? How much support do you get from your fellow Muslims?
MH: I have just recently gotten married myself. I have mentioned it to the media locally and internationally, and there was no backlash. This can be attributed to three things: either the community is ready to engage with sexual diversity, they do not want to make public their disgust for homosexuality, or they prefer to disengage for fear of being politically incorrect. However, I do not think that the Muslim community has the answers for homosexuality and therefore prefers to remain silent on the topic. I am speaking mostly about Imams. They would make a lot of noise about homosexuality in the mosques and in their own circles but very little in public. There are progressive Muslim scholars who accept homosexuality in Islam with substantiation, but they are also not vocal about it for fear of backlash from their communities. However, we have seen in the last few years more and more progressive Muslim scholars being vocal about their perception and interpretation of homosexuality within Islam. Most of these progressive scholars are women, though. The Islamic scholar who led my marriage ceremony was a woman.
BK: The Qur’an, as a sacred text, is divine revelation. It seems that any discussion about sexuality in Islam would have to be grounded within the authoritative power of the Qur’an. Is there room within Qur’anic reasoning to argue for same-sex unions? What surahs, or passages, would you rely on for strengthening your arguments?
MH: Yes, there are a few verses in the Qur’an that makes room for same-sex relationships. The Qur’an is clear. Take surah 30:21: “And among His Signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquility with them, and He has put love and mercy between your (hearts): verily in that are Signs for those who reflect.” So the Qur’an dispels the notion that two people settle together for procreation. Instead, the Qur’an mentions that they come together as a couple so that they may find tranquility between themselves. The terms for “mates” or “partners” in the Qur’an are not gender specific. In Qur’an 36:36, Allah says: “Glory to Allah, Who created in pairs (partners) all tilings that the earth produces, and partners from amongst yourselves and partners in other things of which they have no knowledge.” And here we can argue that if there were only heterosexual partners God created among human beings, He would have stated it, but it is clearly stated within the range of possible partners or pairs that we know about that there is also a diversity of partnerships among human beings.
BK: How central a role does the Qur’an and Hadith play for your arguments and your own spiritual development?
MH: I do see the Qur’an as the direct word of God. It is the constitution by which I regulate my life. I have studied the Qur’an extensively and I do not find, in my interpretation, any conflict with human rights and human dignity. However, I cannot say the same about Hadith. Often I find Hadith contradicting the Qur’an, and so I do prefer to adhere to those Hadith that complement the Qur’an and discard those who contradict it. I was brought up to believe that the Qur’an holds answers to all aspects of life. Although I hold this as true, I do not think that I would have been blessed with its hidden treasures without the difficult times I was made to experience and overcome. The Qur’an has become alive in my life experiences.
BK: In Islamic hermeneutics, ijtihad is one tradition with which Islamic scholars can approach and interpret Qur’anic sources. Can you say a few words about the importance of ijtihad for your understanding of the Qur’an with respect to issues of sexual diversity?
MH: Ijtihad (independent reasoning) is a lost treasure of the Muslim community. With the advent of Islamic schools of jurisprudence in the latter part of the first century (AH), we see these schools of thought being formulated and thereafter followed strictly. It was after the formation of these schools that ijtihad became something that only selected scholars with specific knowledge of Qur’an and Hadith could do. Religion was structured in such a way that it prevented the ordinary person from making religious inquiry or changes. One was forced to accept one of the four major schools of thought; otherwise, one could be branded as out of the fold of Islam. The problem that this has created in the twenty-first century is that it has left the community with very little free thought around many social issues such as abortion, adoption, homosexuality, marriage, or artificial insemination. My question is always: If at some point, almost one hundred years after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, some scholars made an independent study of Islam and arrived at their understanding of Islam through independent reasoning, then what stops us from using our own intellect, especially in a technologically advanced era that demands intellect?
BK: Muhsin, earlier you alluded to the fact that you found the hidden treasures of the Qur’an because of difficult times in your life. Although one can easily imagine the kinds of hostile attitudes toward openly gay men, whether Muslim or other religious belongings, can you share with us some of the recurring themes in such harsh and, perhaps, traumatizing moments? How, in these moments, has your religious tradition provided you sustenance?
MH: I guess on a question like this, volumes can be written. It is not possible for me to draw on individual incidences in which the Qur’an became my guiding light. I am fasting quite often in addition to the fasting of Ramadan. Fasting has always calmed me and kept my intellect sharp. When I fast, things become clearer. I am not sure if this can be attributed to the fact that less brain power is used to digest food, and so we seem to have more brain power to delve into a higher consciousness. Hence, when I read the Qur’an while fasting, it seems to be a good combination as I seem to tap into the hidden meanings of the Qur’an. I do not want to mislead the reader into thinking that this is as mysterious as the Mayans, but rather to understand that the hidden meanings I am talking about are merely deeper Qur’anic reflections with an approach to the Qur’an that is seeking guidance through a calm, passionate, and compassionate approach. The Qur’an can be interpreted in so many ways; it depends with what mindset it is approached. It was during the last few days of my sixty-day fast in 1996 that I had the courage to come out and reveal my sexual orientation publicly.
BK: Islam distinguishes between the dar-al Islam, the abode of peace, and dar-al harb, the abode of conflict. Does this distinction apply to your understanding of the role of The Inner Circle vis-à-vis mainstream orthodoxy? In other words, do you think that your detractors look at The Inner Circle as anathema, as contributing to the adversity to Islamic identity that characterizes dar-al harb?
MH: Your question is loaded. Which Islam? Whose Islam? Who made this distinction between a dar-al Islam and a dar-al harb, and when was it made? Are these Qur’anic concepts? What does a dar-al-Islam look like? Is it an abode of peace, when “broken wings” of society get eliminated in order to keep society “pure”? Or is an abode of peace a place of safety, in which one is allowed, to be as you see yourself without causing harm to others? The Inner Circle, too, is in a constant battle, a dar-al-harb on its own, in which one fights for the rights of marginalized Muslims based on sexual orientation and gender. One also fights for the right to belong in a dar-al Islam, which I personally do not believe exists yet anywhere on this earth. Dar-al Islam is a constant striving toward a desired state of community, and one cannot create a desired state of community by elimination. It goes contrary to every prophet of the Islamic mission, which is to bring individual souls to a point of self-actualization. The Inner Circle will always be seen by Orthodox Muslims, who seek an idealistic dar-al Islam, as anathema until they expand their understanding of the concept. Dar-al Islam cannot be established without an acceptance of the divinely intended diversity among people who, when living peacefully among themselves in their multiplicity, constitutes dar-al Islam.
BK: As you continue working in South Africa and also traveling around the world, are you Uniting up with queer networks of other religious traditions? Are you seeking and engaging the issue of sexual diversity also in interreligious settings?
MH: This has increasingly become part of The Inner Circle’s work. We see the similarities in the struggles of queer Jews, Christians, and Muslims with patriarchy as the common enemy. We often engage in interfaith dialogue internationally, and in South Africa, we often host a Trans-Faith service during Cape Town Gay Pride Week. The involvement at this level has brought forth an understanding of the similarities, in which, for example, the story of Sodom and Gomorrah has been interpreted. It also brings forth how such stories are being demystified by progressive thinking believers.
BK: The ummah, the Islamic ideal of a perfect human community, is an important aspiration for Muslims worldwide. As you are looking ahead, say ten years from now, where would you like the Muslim community to be in relationship to the work of The Inner Circle? What is a realistic expectation? If you were allowed to dream, what would be an ideal situation?
MH: The common misconception about The Inner Circle is that it strives to make homosexuality acceptable to all Muslims. On the contrary, The Inner Circle strives to elevate the consciousness of Muslims to a point where love and compassion supersede hate. When this happens, many things in the Muslim community will start to take shape. The Inner Circle is creating this consciousness through its work around sexual orientation and gender, but there are other progressive Muslim organizations that are doing similar work through other avenues. There is a growing need for change in the Muslim community. Dialogue and discussions around these changes were made possible through modern technology such as the Internet. I see the Muslim community expanding in its understanding of Islam as a compassionate faith in the next ten years, but this expansion will not happen through our traditional Imams. Rather, it will happen through scholarship that is brave enough to reopen the doors of ijtihad.
BK: Muhsin, I thank you for willingness to share your thoughts on Islam and for your commitment to question and expand the faith so that diversity finds its rightful place within the community of believers.
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Imam Muhsin Hendricks
Muhsin Hendricks was an Islamic Scholar with a background in Classical Arabic and Islamic Studies obtained at the University of Islamic Studies, Karachi Pakistan (1990-1994). He was Imam (religious leader) by profession and also a human rights activist focusing on gender and sexual diversity in Islam. He has done independent research on Islam and sexual diversity, an area that does not often get explored in the Muslim world. He has also delivered many papers and facilitated workshops on Islam and Sexual Diversity to many organizations in South Africa, USA and Europe.
Muhsin Hendricks was elected by Echoing Green out of 970 international applicants as one of the top 10 social entrepreneurs of 2006. He has won many community awards for personal sacrifices and outstanding courage within his community. Muhsin Hendricks also featured in the documentary “A Jihad for Love” which explores the lives of Muslims who are queer. Muhsin Hendricks, regarded as the first openly gay imam, was also the spiritual backbone of the documentary and the Director of Education for the documentary’s International Muslim Dialogue Project.
Muhsin Hendricks is also the founder and director of The Inner Circle (founded in 2004), the largest formal organization for Muslims who are queer in the world and also the only organization that has a strong public education and training program in Islam and sexual diversity.
