Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

altmuslim

Home
Muslim
Working with LGBTQ & Other Allies – Moving Beyond the Kumbaya in Interfaith Work

Working with LGBTQ & Other Allies – Moving Beyond the Kumbaya in Interfaith Work

Last updated on: February 17, 2017 at 12:00 am by Guest Contributor

Working with LGBTQ & Other Allies – Moving Beyond the Kumbaya in Interfaith Work 2017-02-17T00:00:34-04:00 Guest Contributor

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA – 2016/07/03: Muslim woman and Canadian woman marching in the 36th Pride Parade celebration. (Photo by Roberto Machado Noa via Getty Images)

By Eman Hassaballa Aly

Imagine soft harmonious music playing right now. We’ve been doing interfaith work for a long time now especially in the past several years since 9/11. And, it’s been great. It has created a great connection with people of other faiths, and it’s been a fantastic way to get to know each other and each other’s religions and talk about all the things we have in common.

It’s been fun to share food, and see how some Americans can’t handle spicy food, and how everyone loves hummus. It’s been … *cue record scratch*

Stop. Full stop.

Shit has hit the fan folks. We are in a crisis with the Trump presidency, its administration and the #MuslimBan and other executive orders. And, if we don’t do something now, it’s not going to be okay. People are already doing a lot: Women’s March, fighting the #MuslimBan, SwingLeft and so much more. This is the time for us to work together with other communities and stand up for each other.

This isn’t the time to wonder who or what groups we should be working with and which ones jive with our faith teachings. This is not the time when we should be arguing about what’s more important or who are our enemies. And, it’s definitely not a time that we should be sitting on our behinds and doing nothing in our interfaith work and dialoguing.

It’s time to get things done. Sometimes we have the luxury to think about and prioritize what needs to be done, but other times the situation is so dire that we just have to act. We are unfortunately in the latter situation. No doubt, we will make mistakes and take missteps, but the urgency of the matter pushes us to bring our best selves forward.

So what am I trying to say here is …

It’s time to move beyond the holding hands and singing kumbaya. It’s time to make alliances with folks we don’t typically ally with. It’s time to have difficult conversations about difficult subjects. It’s time to recognize who has stood up for us and stand up for them as well, even if we don’t align theologically — we align as humans. It’s time to really be honest about how we can improve and where we failed. It’s time to say sorry for being not so nice to one another. It’s also time to stop criticizing people openly and so frequently.

This means working with LGBTQ groups and Jews. We’re not going to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but there is plenty that we can work on here in the States. The ISNA and AJC partnership called Muslim-Jewish American Council is a good start.

In Chicago, I proudly sit with a group called the Trust Collective. They’re LGBTQ, Latinx and Muslims who came together after the Orlando Pulse Nightclub shooting to support one another. They’ve issued statements and shown support to American Muslims since then, and I really think we’re going to do some amazing work together, God willing.

There is no compulsion in religion. God clearly states that in the Quran. Especially if the people that we are working with aren’t even Muslim. I get it — sodomy is prohibited in Islam. But, that doesn’t mean that we can’t or shouldn’t work with groups who may engage in activities that are strictly prohibited.

Many of our Christian and Jewish colleagues drink alcohol!! Where’s the outrage? Where are the open letters with the subtle outcries against these things that don’t allow us to remain committed to “non-negotiable teachings of Islam.” Seriously? The only sin in Islam that is “non-negotiable” and God will never forgive is associating partners with God (aka shirk). Everything else is negotiable (aka forgivable).

It’s time to understand there are many paths that lead to God, and they all can be right, even if it’s not right for you. And, it’s not time for all of us to try to shut down all other paths to God but our own. This isn’t the time for that, nor was it ever. But now more than ever, we must stop doing that.

Who knows what the next four, eight or 100 years will present to us. This is the time for our himma (resolve) to remain high, honest and sincere. What counts in the end if the effort that we will make, that is ultimately what God is going to judge us on. We may not see the fruit of our labor in our lifetimes, but that’s not even the point. Personally, I’d like to see all my fruit in the hereafter.

Eman Hassaballa Aly is a digital communications professional and a trained social worker. She works on the national level around crisis planning and communication. Her passions lie in and around digital media. Mangoes and passionfruit are proof to her that God exists. She recently spoke at the Women’s March in Chicago.

Previous Post

February 10, 2017

On Black Suffering and the Legacy of Liberating Black Spirituality

Next Post

February 20, 2017 On Black American Muslim Contributions to the Fabric of Our Society

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 2012 Elections 30 Dayd 30 Writers (2017) 30 Days 30 Writers 30 Days 30 Writers (2015) 30 Days 30 Writers (2016) 30 Days 30 Writers (2018) 30 Days 30 Writers 2017 Ali Asadullah Ali Eteraz Alper Bilgili Arthur Richards Asides Asma Uddin Black History Month Briefings Charles Turner Commentary Cyrus McGoldrick Eman H Aly Fatimah Popal Hajj Hajj and Dhul Hijjah Hesham Hassaballa Hisham Hellyer Ibrahim Abusharif Inas Younis Irfan Yusuf Jalal Baig Junaid Afeef Laila Alawa Laila Alwala Mas'ood Cajee Muqtedar Khan Nakia Jackson Newsmakers Parvez Ahmed Podcasts Rabia Chaudry Rafia Zakaria Ramadan Reviews Safiyyah Ally Saud Inam Shahed Amanullah Svend White The Opinionated Oncologist Visions Wajahat Ali Zahed Amanullah Zahir Janmohamed Zainab Khan

Select a Month November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: Joshua made the sun stand still over Gibeon to give Israel more time to defeat their enemies.

Select your answer to see how you score.

TRUE FALSE