{"id":11986,"date":"2022-09-18T20:38:37","date_gmt":"2022-09-18T19:38:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/?p=11986"},"modified":"2023-02-09T16:25:02","modified_gmt":"2023-02-09T16:25:02","slug":"homosexuality-as-haram-queer-muslims-are-struggling-to-strike-a-balance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/homosexuality-as-haram-queer-muslims-are-struggling-to-strike-a-balance\/","title":{"rendered":"Homosexuality as haram: Queer Muslims are struggling to strike a balance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Already being forced to cope with the demons of Islamophobia within the LGBTQIA+ community, how are queer Muslims juggling their faith and identity at the same time?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As reporter Clark Kent dashes into a telephone booth, hastily removes his glasses and dons a bright red cape, he transforms into Superman and saves the world from rogue villains. While his superhero avatar is enchanting to millions of people, for Deenah-al-Aqsa, this is the story of her life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A journalist during the day, as soon as the clock strikes past 5, she becomes a queer Muslim activist known only by a voice behind the screen and a photograph with the silhouette of a hijab, which she uses as her display. To Deenah, her identity feels like a double-edged sword where she exists both publicly and anonymously, but the fear of being outed to her family forces her to remain behind the pseudonym. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy identity is a very private thing, which is how I like to keep it. It can be a bit tricky. If I’m sending invoices, it is going to have my real name on it. I have to add a caveat and say, ‘Can you make sure that it\u2019s kept confidential and isn’t publicised in any way?’ It’s hard, it can expose me. I feel a lot of pressure,” she says, mentioning that she has had to hire out rooms while conducting interviews so that she isn’t overheard by her family members. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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