Some Just Enjoy the Rickshaw Ride

Dr. Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras was just your regular professor sort of guy, who (like anyone else) liked a little something-something on the side. Some of his students did not seem to stomach their professor's dalliances too well and set him up to be captured on tape having sex with a male rickshaw-puller. Professor Siras' situation is complicated by the fact that he teaches at Aligarh Muslim University, an all womens', Islam influenced college.

The school deems the mishap a "scandal that no institution of repute can overlook." Siras, who was on the verge of retirement, has since been suspended from the university. However, we at Queeristan are curious about what particularly defines this as a scandal-worthy.

- professor sex scandal (+1)

- older indian dude caught having sex (-2)

- pre-martial sex in India (+3)

- caught with a guy (+10)

- caught with a rickshaw-walla (+17)

- threat of an MSM professor at a womens' college (-5)

- above at a Muslim women's college in India (+12)

- sex act recorded by media who broke into his house (+43)

total: 79

Let's be honest, the "anal sex" factor only plays a supporting role in this scandalous/intriguing story. We seriously question the ethics of Aligarh's media news, there is so much going on that we cannot separate the absurdity from fact. Regardless, we hope that Siras can now enjoy his afternoon delights in peace.

The Al-Fatiha Foundation, one of the oldest Muslim LGBT communities, is revamping their website to better serve and connect their members. The site plans to debut later this Spring; in the meantime, Al-Fatiha is helping coordinate a historic survey of LGBT Muslims worldwide. The creators cite that,

"...this is the first survey of its kind. The results of this survey will tell us all about our community, our experiences and our concerns. The results will guide Al-Fatiha's educational and advocacy work on behalf of LGBTIQQ Muslims, and will be shared with the entire community."

Remember that all responses are anonymous and confidential, you can skip any questions that you wish -- your feedback will only strengthen Al-Fatiha's response to the community's issues and obstacles. Check out the survey, let your voice be heard!

UK vs. Sharia

The UK is currently looking to classify all Sharia beliefs as extremist. If the plan goes forward, those who strictly abide by the Islamic scripture will find themselves on the opposite side of British Law. The Guardian reports that the change would, "widen the definition of extremists to those who hold views that clash with what the government defines as shared British values." The government believes that by targeting hardline Muslims, the nation will be better able to combat terrorists.

What probably interests most of us is how this measure will effect Sharia's views on homosexuality. Islamic law does not beat around the bush when condemning same-sex love; many Muslims, from Mecca to Madrid, strictly enforce this social code. In a 2007 UK survey, 65% of the general population found homosexuality "acceptable", compared with a paltry 5% within the nation's Muslim communities. If Britain looks to classify all Sharia beliefs as extremist, the book's anti-gay sentiments will fall under the category.

While I disagree with several tenants of Sharia, I can't help but feel that the UK's plans carry a tinge of xenophobia. Such a law only expands the schism between "us" and "the other" -- that sort of isolation breeds more anger and resentment, I can only see more bad than good come from it.

MoC(k) Marriages

Take a look at this short film on marriages of convenience by Faisal Jahal. It was submitted for Link TV's online film contest, One Nation Many Voices. While Jahal is no Scorsese, M.o.C. offers an interesting look on this growing trend.

Weekly Mix Masala

Pune sees its first gay play-- Offbeat
Times of India

A look at the Highs (and Lows) of 2008 for South Asia
Global Voices

Forum on Islam and Homosexuality brings heated discussions from both sides of the table.
Beliefnet.com

As much as we at queeristan love NDTV for it's queer-friendly programming, it's facing heat in the Indian blogging community for infringing on free speech
Desi Pundit

Delhi woman demands alimony from gay ex-husband
Times of India

India not alone in suffering from dated Victorian "morality"
PinkNews

Trials begin in Punjab on possible HIV viral filter
Deccan Herald

15 South Asian NGOs unite to seek acceptance for sexual minorities.
Times of India

GLAAD publishes Media Reference Guide, 7th edition
GLAAD.org

Review: A Jihad for Love

Parvez Sharma's important documentary A Jihad for Love is receiving some well-deserved acclaim. After hearing buzz about this film for months, I was lucky enough to attend a screening, here in Chicago, at which Sharma fielded questions from a small but inquisitive audience.

A Jihad for Love follows a series of queerly-inclined folks of various nationalities (South Africa, India, Turkey, France...) as they attempt to confront the seemingly irreconcilable conflict between their Islamic faith and their same-sex desires. Some offer revised interpretations of the Qur'an, some hope to emigrate to escape social (and sometimes political/legal) dangers, and still others are wracked by guilt and shame about their sexual preference.

Sharma's decision to film subjects in a variety of national contexts highlights the immense diversity in beliefs and practices across the Muslim community. Ultimately though the film fails to fully interrogate the profound importance of Islam in these peoples' lives; we get that Islam is important to them, but not exactly how faith functions in daily life and in the formation of identity. Islam (and more broadly, Religion) is portrayed as a given--a static, stable system of belief that exists as is; a force with which it is possible to argue, but rarely to refashion.

Nonetheless, the film packs a substantial emotional wallop in its presentation of complex, intelligent people struggling to (re)define themselves. At its core A Jihad for Love opens up a space for insightful discussion, no small feat for a small-budget documentary released in an era defined by severe anti-Islamic rhetoric.

Headless Homosexuals

Interesting article written by Joe Kaufman, founder of the (slightly racist) group Americans Against Hate (AAH).

"Is the beheading of homosexuals an Islamic religious duty or an independent political act? This is a question currently being posed on Islam Online (IOL), a website popular to the English and Arabic-speaking Muslim community. Given IOL’s violent anti-homosexual history, the answer may surprise you...."

FrontPage Magazine

Queer Muslims in Chicago! This Saturday...

Poets/writers/activists sarwat rumi & imi rashid have teamed up with Insight Arts to co-found "Akabaka Productions." Akababa Productions will host programs for queer women and genderqueer people of color at the Center for New Possibilities in Rogers Park. "Akabaka" is Bengali for "zig-zag" and is the term sarwat and imi have chosen to describe queer people. The first programming event "akabaka salaams" is geared towards building awarness and community for queer Muslim women of color. There will be a film screening, and in the words of imi, it will be

"followed by a discussion on how to build trust and awareness in the midst of rampant homophobia within the Muslim community. We [sarwat and imi] don't know of too many queer Muslims ourselves, and so we're hoping that this event, and the ones that follow, will hold a safe space and supportive environment for those who need it."

Light Snacks Provided!!
July 19th, 4-6pm, 1505 W. Morse Ave next door to the Common Cup
Event is FREE!

Weekly Mix Masala

A Mumbai Pride march is being planned for August 16th! More information at Queer Azaadi

Following the example of India's 18th-century Mughal rulers, who used castrated men or hermaphrodites to guard their harems, the government of Bihar plans to post eunuchs as guards in girls dormitories, colleges and hospitals.
Globeandmail.com

Glad to be gay (but a bit shy about it) - Indians are more afraid of their relatives and friends finding out than they are about the law
Economist

Indian Penal Code Section 377 FAQ - all nicely summed up
Nonstop Goli Blog

Nepalese army 'sacks' lesbian for misconduct.
BBC News

But hey, Nepal is also hosting the first South Asian LGBT workshop! Two steps forward, one step back.
The Advocate

Uh oh. Actor-director Sajid Khan, from the show Sajid's Superstars annoyed actor Ritesh Deshmukh by asking if he is gay.
Yahoo India

More Deportation Dilemmas: Azerbaijani Muslim poet's request for asylum in Britain has been rejected
Therion

Irshad Manji on honor killings
Huffington Post

Muslim woman implements her innovative concept of an all-woman jamaat (a court-like assembly)
Times of India

It appears that British marriage registrar Lillian Ladele has won her religious discrimination claim following her refusal to perform civil partnership for a gay marriage
Usefully Employed

Okay guys, let's drown out this crowd with our own people - Anti-gay pride parade in Brooklyn, August 31
Gay City News

Choreographer Nakul Dev Mahajan exposes Bollywood-style dancing to the world on the hit show So You Think You Can Dance. This guy is going to go far!

Old Gold: Gay Muslims Documentary

I was lucky enough to catch the last half of the documentary Gay Muslims on the Sundance Channel today. This documentary, from 2006, delves into the lives of gay Muslims in the UK, some who are out and some closeted, with their faces unrevealed. What struck me, which Sandip Roy actually discussed in his article, was the overwhelming importance of "family" in the lives of the people interviewed. With any gay person, it is family that is the issue when coming out, as compared to the larger community. But I feel in the South Asian community, family tends to hold more weight, sometimes to a suffocating degree. In the documentary, it was the families that held power and leveraged that power against the members that came out. One man was estranged from his entire family, including his three children who were being sent to Pakistan to be raised by others. For others, it was of utmost importance to prove to their family that they could be good sons and daughters, good Muslims, "despite" being gay, with one girl promising her mother she would no longer be gay.

The makers of the documentary were also able to interview a set of parents who hadn't accepted their son (yet)* and an imam speaking to the man who was estranged from his family. For the parents, a common theme was how the wider Muslim community would react. For the imam, it seemed as if he was not as judgmental, but he still condemned homosexuality as a crime and should not be embraced. In fact, almost following the imam's idea, a spokesperson of the British Muslim LGBT group declared that homosexuality, while not against Islam, should not be shown off or embraced because of the requirement of modesty in Islam.

While I can't give a whole synposis and can only offer a few opinions from the brief chunk I watched, I definitely can say its a worthwhile movie to watch especially as a precursor to the upcoming A Jihad for Love. Watch a clip here.


*this is a hopeful "yet" added by yours truly

Weekly Mix Masala

List of religions & their positions on homosexuality (doesn't include Sikhism though!)
SignOnSanDiego.com

Another list - this one an English language South Asian LGBT bibliography
Columbia University

"Homosexuals seek social networking sites support"...whoa oh oh! We were totally the first on this trend - check us out on facebook
Zee News

Tale of an Indian Lesbian (fiction)
SAMAR Magazine

There are 9 countries that have the maximum death sentence for same-sex relations; Pakistan and Iran are 2 of them. There are 10 countries that have the maximum sentence for life imprisonment for same-sex relations; India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, and Nepal (hopefully that will change soon) are 4 of them - the other 6 have large South Asian populations.
Pink News

Scroll down to watch the documentary Voices from Nepal, where Scott Long of HRC records stories of LGBT people working for change in Nepal
In The Life

Kinda like the pharmacists who refuse to give birth control, a registrar in UK refuses to conduct civil partnerships
Islington Tribune

First Generation Kids: Rejoice?

You know you're movin' on up when your demographic is covered by Salon.com. In light of the California Supreme Court decision to allow gay marriage, Sandip Roy discusses, albeit, tongue-in-cheek, of the possible scenes that may take place in immigrant families. Traditional Hindu ceremonies, with an "untraditional" couple. Arranged marriages, boy looking for boy (In fact, the last paragraph of his article echoes an earlier queeristan post). Since he focuses on the intense pressure for marriage in immigrant communities, particular Asian ones, his outlook for the future is generally sunny. With one and four Californians being immigrants, he suggests that it's the immigrant community that gave the final push for acceptance of gay marriage, because immigrant parents are tired of waiting around for their gay sons and daughters to get married. But has the immigrant community really turned a social corner? It wasn't too long ago that Satender Singh (a Fijian immigrant himself) was beaten to death in Sacramento by two Russian-speaking men. It’s largely believed to be a hate crime and Singh's death has become a symbol for the increasing amount of friction between the Sacramento gay community and socially conservative immigrants. So are our parent's generation and newly minted immigrants really comfortable with homosexuality? Or is it the majority, 3 out of 4 non-immigrants, that give California its gay-friendly reputation? In any case, it appears that at least the California Sikh and Muslim communities appear to be liberal as they were one of the first to release condemnations of Singh's beating. But I don’t live in California or Massachusetts. Desis living out there – what do you think?

Muslims Found to be Most Conservative

A recent Gallup poll quantified what we pretty much already knew: the Muslim community can be very conservative. Check out the results below.




Moral issues divide Westerners from Muslims in the west

The Dutch vs Islam, part III?

Introduced in 2006, the Dutch's 'Integration Test' allows the government to weed out immigrants that they feel are not ready to be integrated into liberal Dutch culture. Considered an essential introduction, the test involves watching a video containing homosexual men kissing and topless women on the beach! According to a government spokeswoman, "the law is intended to ensure that immigrants are better prepared to integrate. They will have more chance of succeeding if they know the basics of Dutch language, history and culture before they arrive."

As if the test itself weren't controversial enough, immigrants from Western nations are exempt from taking it. "The impact ... has fallen primarily on those wanting to join family members from two of the three largest non-Western migrant communities in the Netherlands — Moroccans and Turks," the Human Rights Watch said. So, in essence, the test targets conservatives from primarily-Muslim countries that can not tolerate the video. But homophobic, nudity-fearing, conservative Christians from western countries can immigrate freely, without their values being tested. Hmm.. sounds like prejudice to me.

Rights group critisizes Dutch immigration policy as discriminatory

Weekly Mix Masala

Its hard our there for a prince -- an interview with Manvendra Singh Gohil
Out.com

New York Times review of A Jihad for Love
NYTimes

Online Survey: Who's the gay pick for the hottest in the IPL?
Questionnaire

Sizzling Pakistani model, Emmad Irfani, featured on Queerty's 'Morning Goods'
Queerty

Gov't divided over law governing gays -- Naz Foundation's case garners press attention
NDTV

Tragic end for lesbian couple tormented by family pressure
PinkNews
EDGE Boston

UK grants Mehdi Kazemi asylum
CNN
Queerty

South Asian Bar Associaton of Northern California lauds California judgement on marriage
IndiaPost.com

Indian men may claim to have a healthy sex-life, but a new international survey claims that orgasm often eludes them.
NDTV

MAP raises awareness of HIV/AIDS in API community -- a look at being South Asian, gay, and HIV+
Bay Windows

Out in India: A Family's Journey will be showcased at the 2008 SF International Film Festival
Bay Area Reporter

Gambia President announces that gay men and women must leave the country in 24 hours
Gays Without Borders

Props to fellow bloggers pass the roti on the left hand side and Sepiamutiny for their posts on Section 377

In a theater near you (hopefully!)

||Jihad (جهاد‎)|| an internal strife or struggle

||Love|| a feeling of profound, personal attachment

Parvez Sharma's A Jihad for Love has garnered quite a buzz these past few months. Sharma has traveled over the Muslim world exploring the intersection of Islam and homosexuality. The documentary enters twelve countries and films in nine languages; the diverse stories reflect the complexities and struggles of queer voices in Muslim nations. Check out the film's trailer:



We've been antsy about release dates after Sharma confirmed that he found a distributor. Well, fellow Queeristanis, the wait is over, A Jihad for Love will be hitting several cities all over America in the coming summer. Check out the dates below, it's a documentary you won't want to miss!

Philadelphia, PA

Equality Forum May 2, 2008

Miami, FL

Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival May 3, 2008

Great Barrington, MA

Berkshire Film Festival May 15 - 17, 2008

Boston, MA
Boston Gay & Lesbian Film Festival May 18, 2008

Pleasantville, NY

Jacob Burns Film Center May 20 & 23, 2008

New York, NY
IFC Film Center May 21 - June 4, 2008

Norfolk, VA

Naro Cinema June 18 - 22, 2008

Houston, TX
Angelika Houston June 20 - 26, 2008

Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Sunrise Cinemas Gateway June 27 - July 3, 2008

Brookline, MA
Coolidge Corner Theatre June 27 - July 3, 2008

San Francisco, CA
Frameline Film Festival June 28, 2008

Los Angeles, CA
Outfest July 10 - 21, 2008

Columbus, OH
Wexner Center for the Arts July 25 & 26, 2008

Los Angeles, CA
Laemmle Sunset 5 August 1 - 7, 2008

Palm Springs, CA
Camelot Theaters August 1 - 7, 2008

Denver, CO
Starz Denver August 1 - 7, 2008

San Diego, CA

Landmark Ken August 8 - 14, 2008

San Francisco, CA
Landmark Lumiere August 22 - 28, 2008

Berkeley, CA
Landmark Shattuck August 22 - 28, 2008

Washington DC
Landmark E Street September 5 - 11, 2008

Berkeley, CA
JCC of the East Bay September 18, 2008

Official Site

Parvez Sharma's Blog

Weekly Mix Masala

• Trikone's Kulture Kulcha 2008. Tonight, Friday May 2nd! Trikone, San Fransisco
• Ethnography Gone Wild: a review of Parmesh Sahani's Gay Bombay Tehelka
• LGBT film festival, Boston. Screening several South Asian films, including A Jihad for Love
• Parvez Sharma, of A Jihad for Love, blogs about his journey as he screens the film globally Director's Blog
• A review of gay, Hindu, hip-hopper D'Lo and Ramble-Ations:A One D'Lo Show Asian American Press
• Irshad Manji vs. Ayaan Hirsi NYTimes, Jezebel
• A story covering the journey of a couple as a the husband transitions to female NYTimes
• And a debate whether it really is a sign of a good marriage that the couple is still together Jezebel
• Meanwhile, a prize racehorse refuses to mate with the ladies. Maybe he's just gay? NYTimes
• Young gay marriages in the US (well, Massachusetts at least ) NYTimes (Is it like LGBT month at the Times or something?)
• Andrew Sullivan + Obama's approach to the American LGBT movement The Daily Dish
• A symposium cancelled due to concerns from psychiatrists & activists that ex-gay's views would be propogated and considered healthy Queerty

Weekly Mix Masala

BREAKING NEWS: Many dead in Sir Lanka bus blast
BBC News

Transsexuals vie to win first-ever trans pageant in Kolkata!
Hindustan Times

Alarming trend continues with MORE Queer Crime: 30-year-old married man arrested for the murder of a man who refused to pay him after sex
India eNews

"I am coming out as a Muslim man. My gay identity is secondary." -Parvez Sharma
Advocate.com

A South Asian theater group at Harvard University pushes the borders with a new play, involving queer issues, interracial relations, and the word 'vagina'!
India New England

Controversy over Cricket cheerleaders: are they making the sport flashier or trashier?
BBC News

Ignorance is Bliss?

As of April 2007, all Bristol (UK) schools are legally required to deal with homophobic harassment as part of the school curriculum. To comply with this requirement, some schools in the Bristol area brought in books dealing with homosexuality, including a story about a king that could not find the right princess so he finally settled with a prince (sounds like a cute story to me). However, a recent outcry by parents has temporarily suspended this portion of the curriculum while the city council and the parents reach a compromise. The parents come largely from the Muslim community.

On hearing the term "Muslim parents," the immediate assumption is that a largely conservative community (again, an assumption) wants to circumvent any implication that homosexuality is acceptable. When explaining their problem with the curriculum, the community development officer of the Bristol Muslim Cultural Society prefaced his comments with "“In Islam homosexual relationships are not acceptable..." However, he went on to explain that the parents had no say in the curriculum and on top of everything, their children are coming home asking questions about same-sex relationships when the parents haven't even broached the possibility of hetero relations.

Now here is my question: Do you think that the primary school age is too early to deal with different forms of sexuality or is this an irrelevant concern? As a child growing up in Kansas, I was one of the few kids "of color" in my school. Part of our 1st grade curriculum was to talk about the civil rights movement. As 6 year olds, most of us were too young to notice any differences, let alone race (this is a perfect example of race as a social construct). But suddenly we're told that "back in the day, lighter people didn't like darker people, and finally a dark leader (MLK) was shot." Whatever they did, it backfired, and suddenly in recess, all the kids were divided as "dark and light." Being the darkest person in class, I was the obvious inferior. So my past experience tells me not to create social divisions in minds where none exist....How do y'all feel about this?

Anti-homophobia books removed from schools

Gay in the UK

The British sure do have a fascination with us! Check out this segment about a gay Sikh man living in the UK.



Also, broadcast on Channel 4 in 2006 (and recently posted online) is a segment that looks into the lives of Muslim gays in the UK.