The article, “Gay Muslims Pack a Dance Floor of Their Own” by Nicholas Kulish, is about gay Muslims in Berlin, who escape from their troubles at the club SO36 on a night the club calls “Gayhane.” These Muslims, mostly Arab and Turkish, have a hard time living in Europe because they are often looked at as terrorists because of past events and present fears and are degraded by Europeans who look at them as foreigners. It is even harder for a Muslim to be gay because of religious values that prohibit this. Many of the gay, lesbian, and bisexual Muslims at the club did not want their names published in the article because they were afraid their families might find out about their sexual orientation. The music played is a mixture of music from many different cultures, but intentionally has no religious value. There is special attention given to eliminating Islamic aspects from the club, although many of the participants are conservative Muslims. This article represents the hardships Muslims have in Europe because they are religiously profiled as criminals. This is not only a problem Muslims have in Europe, but it is also one present in America because of previous terrorist attacks. It is a difficult problem to eliminate, but it should be done because it is not fair to make peoples lives more difficult than they need to be solely based on their religion. This article also shows the religious restrictions on gay Muslims because of their sexual orientation. I think the author supports this nightclub because Kulish says that the club is “an all-too-rare opportunity to merge their immigrant cultures and their sexual identities.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/01/world/europe/01berlin.html?_r=1&ref=europe&oref=slogin
January 10, 2008 at 12:46 pm |
Along with the “criminal profil[ing]“, gay Muslims must face persecution from there religion for being gay. Their lives must be really challenging, but this article makes this club seem like a place where they can just relax. That’s great for these people who are persecuted on so many levels.
January 11, 2008 at 4:38 pm |
From a religious perspective, I think that preferring the same sex is contradicting the values of their religion, however, they might not follow Islam to begin with if they weren’t born into religiously devout families who forced them to follow certain beliefs. Still, I think tht religion is up to the interpretation of every individual, and if they still believe in many other Islamic values, then it should be accepted by their families and society that they can be both gay and muslim. Secondly, I think that there should be more of these night clubs where gays can feel comfortable with people who they can relate to more. With regards to being less profiled by society, I don’t know if that will change soon, because we are still in the midst of a war, and people still have their prejudices, and usually carry those prejudices for a long time. These night clubs do seem to give a bit of light to the situation though.
January 13, 2008 at 7:54 pm |
I have never really thought about gay Muslims before. Knowing how radical Islam can be, since every religion is radical to some degree, the life of a gay Muslim must extraordinarily difficult. This club sounds like a retreat from hiding ones sexuality and a place that a gay man or women can embrace their true self, regardless of Muslim stereotypes and gay persecution.
January 13, 2008 at 9:03 pm |
Like Daniel, the hardships a gay Muslim must face never really crossed my mind. I have thought about how difficult a Muslim’s life can be at times, as well as a gay man or woman’s life, but never before both a Muslim and a gay man or woman. It must be really hard to be both a Muslim and a gay. Not only will some people treat you incredibly unfairly because you are a Muslim and they fear you are a terrorist, but some will also treat you incredibly unfairly because you are gay. I am glad this nightclub offers this single night called “Gayhane”. It gives these people who lead such a hard life a chance to simply have fun and forget their troubles along with people who experience the same difficulties as they do.