An Open Letter to American Muslims on Same-Sex Marriage
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The following is reprinted with permission from Religion Dispatches.
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To Our Fellow American Muslims,
Hey there. It's two of your
brothers. We're writing to you about the Supreme Court's decision to legalize
gay marriage in all fifty states. The good news is that a whopping 42
percent of you support marriage equality, as do both of our Muslim elected
officials in the United States Congress. One even serves as vice chair of the
LGBT Equality Caucus! There are many
faithful gay and lesbian Muslims in the U.S. and we love and support all of
them.
At the same time, many of you are
scandalized by the ruling (we know because you keep tweeting about it), and
many more of you are equally perturbed but have chosen to keep it to yourself.
With all the rainbow-flag waving and self-congratulatory pats on the back this
country is giving itself right now, you don't need another reason for Americans
to dislike you.
Sure Rick Santorum and Mike
Huckabee can call the Supreme Court decision the precursor to the End of Days
and the final battle of Armageddon. But if you try saying something like that
on TV you may end up in Guantanamo. So you're staying quiet. You may not like
the Supreme Court's decision but you're willing to tolerate it.
We understand where you're coming
from. Being Muslim in America is not easy. On the one hand you're a part of
mainstream culture. You're a Warriors fan. You listen to Kanye. You watch Game
of Thrones. You even went to the office Christmas party and sang Silent
Night!
On the other hand, you want to stay
true to your faith and traditions: You go to the mosque and send your kids to
Islamic school, fast during Ramadan, and swap Turkey bacon on your BLT, all in
an attempt to establish a firm Muslim identity in a non-Muslim country.
But now that same-sex marriage is
legal in America, it's shaking up your faith. You're afraid of the future and
what this could mean for your kids. You recognize the growing acceptance of gay
rights, but personally you just can't bring yourself to embrace the shift. You
may feel okay with having gay acquaintances or coworkers. You may even agree
that being gay doesn't disqualify you from also being a Muslim. But privately,
you still feel like the LGBT community is a living contradiction to what you
were brought up to believe.
But here's the thing. When you are
an underrepresented minority--whether Muslim, African American, female,
etc.--democracy is an all or nothing business. You fight for everyone's
rights (and the operative word here is "fight"), or you get none for
yourself. Democracy isn't a buffet. You can't pick and choose which civil
liberties apply to which people. Either we are all equal, or the whole thing is
just a sham.
We Muslims are already a deeply marginalized
people in mainstream American culture. More than half of Americans have a
negative view of us. One-third of Americans--that's more than one hundred
million people--want us to carry special IDs so that they can easily identify
us as Muslim. We shouldn't be perpetuating our marginalization by marginalizing
others. Rejecting the right to same-sex marriage, but then expecting empathy
for our community's struggle, is hypocritical.
Think about the way people look at
your hijabi sister or your bearded brother when they walk through the mall.
Think about the grumbles and stares you get at airports. Think about the
vitriol that's spewed on you by your own elected political leaders. That's how
your LGBT brothers and sisters feel every day of their lives. Are you okay with
that?
We don't know about you, but our
faith teaches us to care for the weak and the marginalized, the poor and
dispossessed, those who are trampled underfoot, those who are persecuted--no
matter who they are, no matter what they believe, no matter who they choose to
love.
"Believers, stand firm for
God, be witnesses for justice. Never allow the hatred of people to prevent you
from being just. Be just, for this is closest to righteousness" (Quran
5:8).
It doesn't get any clearer than
that.
You may think LGBT rights is a new
conversation, something that's only recently come into contact with modern
Islamic thought, but trust us, it's
not. Challenging the status quo for the betterment of society is one of the
very foundations on which Islam was built.
No one is asking you to change your
beliefs. If you feel your faith tells you that homosexuality isharam,
fine. We disagree with your interpretation, but you're entitled to it.
Ain't America grand?
But if you can't find it in your
heart to accept gays on principle, think about the country you want to live in.
After all, the constitution that just ensured the rights of LGBT communities is
the same constitution that protects our mosques and community centers, that
keeps our Islamic schools open, that allows us equal rights and privileges in
the face overwhelming hatred and bigotry from our fellow Americans. You can't
celebrate one without the other.
That's why it's not enough to
simply "tolerate" the Supreme Court decision. Tolerating another
community only stirs up concealed fear toward the marginalized and apathy
toward the political process. As minorities we don't have the luxury to have
either of those emotions. We have to do more than tolerate. We have to embrace.
We have to fight for the right of others to live their lives as freely as we
want to live ours.
Bottom line is this: standing up
for marginalized communities, even when you disagree with them, is not just the
right thing to do, it's the Muslim thing to do. Remember that whole
God is merciful and compassionate thing? That extends to all people, not just
those who are straight.
Celebrate. Don't tolerate. Love
really does win.
Yours Truly,
Reza Aslan and Hasan Minhaj
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