Hundreds of queer people and allies gathered on March 12 at the close of a cool, rainy day to break their fast, honoring the traditions of the holy month of Ramadan with reflection, prayer, heaping plates of food, and even some drag.
For the past decade, queer and trans people of Muslim faith, along with their allies, have held an LGBTQ+ Iftar at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center in Manhattan.
The event was born in 2017 during a time when Muslim, immigrant, and queer communities were increasingly being targeted, explained Mohamed Q. Amin, the founder and executive director of the Caribbean Equality Project, one of the founding organizations. The first edition of the event was held “in defiance of the Trump administration’s Muslim travel ban and in remembrance of the Pulse nightclub victims,” Amin said.
A decade later, “this event has remained a vital sanctuary where LGBTQ+ Muslims can fully embrace our intersectional and multicultural identities,” he said.
“It is a community where I can be all of my intersectionalities: being South Asian, being Indian, being Muslim and being gay,” said Mohammed Shaik Hussain Ali, a board member of the South Asian Lesbian and Gay Association of New York City. “Other places that I go to are pieces and parts of it; either three of me can be there, or two of me can be there. But here is one place where I can have all four of myself present at the same time.”
Other event organizers included the Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity, Tarab NYC, and the NYC Commission on Human Rights.
Ali has participated in the Iftar for the past six years, starting on Zoom during the COVID pandemic, and this year he led his community in prayer.
The year’s theme, A Decade of Ummah — meaning community for Muslim people — honored the past 10 years of coming together.
Every table at the sold-out dinner was set with water and dates, which are traditionally eaten at sundown, along with an LGBTQ-inclusive prayer guide.
“It can be easy to get far away from this kind of community, because when you’re queer, you immediately feel like they’re never going to accept me,” Tanima Hasin, who updated the guide along with Jerin Arifa, told Gay City News. “It was kind of a way to bring us together.”
Rezwan Ahmed, who has attended the Iftar for the past three years, celebrated having the “freedom to show up and represent queer Muslims.”
“I think it’s all about resistance, existing within a religion, being part of a religion that denies your existence,” Ahmed said. “To show up and say that we are religious, we are spiritual, and yet we’re here, we’re queer, you can’t ignore us, is empowering.”
He is particularly excited to be celebrating Iftar now that New York City has its first Muslim Mayor, Zohran Mamdani, who didn’t attend the celebration but sent a brief video message.
“I think it’s very beautiful that we get to have this very open and inclusive space, especially when the LGBTQ community and the Muslim community is constantly under attack,” said Brandon, who also attended for the third time. “It just feels really great to have a safe space and a community to have your back.”
After a dinner of lamb, chicken, and falafel, with hummus, tabouleh, and mujadara on the side, and baklava for dessert, the festivities continued as queer and trans singers, dancers, and drag artists raised the room’s spirits even higher.
“There’s so much stress in the world, so many things going on that make it challenging, so I think it’s really important to have opportunities for joy,” said Carla Smith, The Center’s CEO. “To be able to have LGBTQ Muslims celebrate their faith, their identities, all in one space, in a safe environment and experiencing joy, especially in this moment, is critical and heartwarming.”
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