Every Ramadan, the Toronto-area MMW contributors try to have an iftaar. This started a few years ago when our wondrous Editor-in-Chief, Krista, invited us all to her parents’ home.   It was the first time I met Amina in person. I remember sitting in my car some three Ramadans ago and both of us just […]

This post was written by guest contributor Fakhra Hassan (@DragittotheTop). “Fatness and obesity in Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans (LBT) women are a result of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) – self-inflicted abuse on the body in order to shun any unwanted sexual attention or emotional interest from people,” said Dr Pinar Ilkkaracan of Turkey, at the […]

Discussions on LGBTQ inclusion in Muslim communities are one of those things that make my blood boil because in my community, as in some others, Muslims who support same-sex unions and condemn homophobia tend to be disregarded. For many Muslims, the recognition of Muslims who may identify as queer or trans poses a challenge to […]

This was originally published at Cycads. Once a week, I meet with people studying gender in the Middle East and we talk about the assigned articles we’ve read during the week. Last week, it was about sexuality and homophobia. Emerging from our discussion on LGBT rights in the Middle East (particularly in Lebanon and Palestine) […]

This post was written by Cycads and originally appeared on her blog. ‘Animalistic lust’ (nafsu buas) is a common spice in Malay tales of adulterous wives, transgender paramours, and homosexual men and women. ‘Animalistic’ or ‘buas‘ here is a blanket term for all that is unbridled and transgressive. Though derived from the Arabic word to […]