“Here is what could have been.”
In September, a group of queer Muslims from around the world sat together (virtually) to daydream about the future.
The dreams were surprising. Throughout the three-day workshop, organised by the Delhi-based Queer Muslim Project and Bengaluru-based Fearless Collective, members of the community spoke of a would-be world where not only are contentious conversations civil, books unburnt and lynchings non-existent, but also one where messages are written in stars, rose petals are used as currency and political borders hold minimal significance.
“Home is defined by our relationships, not defined by territories we own. And we are all safe with shelter — these can most definitely coincide.” This quote is an anonymous one, from the pages of Queer Muslim Futures, a publication that collates all that was said and felt at the workshop. The pages are filled with similar lines, hinting at aspirations of physical safety, emotional freedom, social comfort, even outright fantasy and utopia.
Cultural archive
Published non-commercially by The Queer Muslim Project, it is available for free download through a Google Drive, for anyone who wants something to relate to. It is not as much a book as it is a compilation of thought bubbles, character sketches, honestly imperfect poems complete with lines that yell in capital letters, and fantasy lands etched out in fantasy-esque illustrations. As Maniza Khalid, who compiled and wrote it, says, “It would be nice to have some cultural archives to relate to. I have noticed that a lot of people emerging from Hindu families have rich cultural identity to rely on, including mythological characters with fluid gender identities.”
Even outside the queer conversation, she points out, impressive attempts are being made to explore Hindu myth and literature, simplify them for children, popularise them among youth. “In Islam, anytime someone tried to do so, it was vilified,” she says, citing as example the fatwas against Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses. Her words — “fog of erasure”, “censorship” and “obliteration” among others — speak of this bereavement and reiterate the attempt to synergise queer identity with Islam itself, something The Queer Muslim Project considers its raison d’etre. Read more via The Hindu