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AL-FATIHA CELEBRATES 5TH ANNIVERSARY;
ANNOUNCES FUTURE PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES
Al-Fatiha Foundation, a US-based non-governmental organization
dedicated to supporting and empowering Muslims who are lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender, intersex and questioning (LGBTIQ), announced
today that it will celebrate its fifth anniversary on October 12,
2003. To mark the occasion, Al-Fatiha announced the inception of
three new programs and three major conferences for 2004, that will
galvanize the queer Muslim movement and bring further visibility to
the organization.
Al-Fatiha was founded on October 12, 1998 at the First International
Retreat for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Muslims, which
brought together forty people from five countries to Boston, MA.
After a three day retreat, with the theme "Al-Fatiha," which comes
from the first chapter of the Quran and translates to "The Opening"
or "The Beginning" in Arabic, participants at the retreat decided to
form an organization to formally address the issues facing Muslims
who are sexual and gender minorities. The theme of the retreat was
adopted as the name of the new organization and a movement for social
and religious change within Islam was born.
Since its inception in 1998, Al-Fatiha has held eight major
conferences and retreats, brining together hundreds of LGBTIQ Muslims
from around the world. Al-Fatiha, which was originally founded as an
international organization became a US-based entity in 2002, when
organizations and chapters in other countries became independent
groups.
Today, Al-Fatiha has grown to include nine chapters and social /
support groups in the United States, with another seven affiliate
chapters and sister organizations in three countries (South Africa,
Canada and the United Kingdom). Together, these chapters and
organizations form an international umbrella of groups working on
behalf of Muslims who are sexual and gender minorities.
To celebrate its fifth anniversary, Al-Fatiha announced today the
inception of three new programs to be launched in 2004.
The first program will be an asylum project, in which Al-Fatiha will
provide letters of support on behalf of asylum seekers from
predominantly Muslim countries. Already Al-Fatiha has provided more
than two dozen letters of support for asylees, both in the United
States and in other countries. These letters of support serve as
vital documents to asylum seekers who have fled both physical and
social violence from their families, religious communities and home
country governments. Al-Fatiha will work with organizations
including the Lesbian and Gay Immigration Rights Task Force and the
International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission to ensure that
asylees from predominantly Muslim countries are connected to pro-bono
and low-fee immigration lawyers and are able to access all pertinent
information to suppor their cases.
The second program to be launched in 2004 will be a series of
seminars and workshops geared towards lesbian, bisexual and
transgender (LBT) Muslim women. LBT Muslim women continue to face
extreme hardships, especiall in relation to their families and
religious communities. By holding a series of seminars and
workshops, Al-Fatiha aims to increase the participation of Muslim
women within the organization, while empowering LBT Muslim women. A
committee of women comprised of Al-Fatiha board members, chapter
coordinators and community members will be selected to help launch
the empowerment program and to create a program that is successful.
The last program is a collaboration of Muslim scholars and academics
who specialize in Quranic Studies, Islamic Law, Islamic
Jurisprudence, Gender, Feminism and Sexuality. The collective will
bring together experts in these fields who are from within the LGBTIQ
Muslim community, to create a booklet that will address issues of
Islam, sexuality and gender. This exciting venture will seek to
answer both theological and religious questions pertaining to
homosexuality, same-sex relationships, gay marriage, transgender
concerns and the Islamic perspective on these issues. Al-Fatiha will
coordinate the collaboration and the publishing of a final booklet,
that will be distributed to mosques across the United States. The
booklet will also be a resource for LGBTIQ Muslims who want to
reconcile their sexual orientation or gender identity with their
faith.
Al-Fatiha will also hold three major conferences in 2004.
In February, Al-Fatiha will also hold the Third North American
Conference for LGBTIQ Muslims & their Allies in Los Angeles. Exact
dates will be confirmed and announced soon.
In August 2004, Al-Fatiha will hold a one day conference in New York
City. Preliminary plans are also underway to hold an international
conference for queer Muslims & their allies, in Johannesburg, South
Africa in September 2004.
Al-Fatiha continues to be an all-volunteer run organization with no
formal funding. The organization received a $10,000 grant in April
2003 from the Richard Nathan Anti-Homophobia Trusts, administered by
the Funding Exchange. The organization relies solely on the support
of individual donations, membership dues, organizational sponsors and
advertisers.
Al-Fatiha has received wide media coverage since its inception. The
organization and its members have been featured in almost every major
gay and lesbian newspaper and magazine in the United States, and
articles about the organization and its programs have been featured
on BBC World Television, BBC World Radio, The New York Times,
Reuters, The Associated Press, The Washington Post and The San
Francisco Chronicle.
---------------------------------------------------------------
PRESS RELEASE Al-FATIHA FOUNDATION
Media Contact:
Faisal Alam, founder & director
US Cell - 202-271-0067
Email: gaymuslims@yahoo.com
Al-Fatiha Foundation is dedicated to Muslims who are lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender, intersex, questioning, those exploring their
sexual orientation or gender identity, and their allies, families and
friends. Al-Fatiha promotes the progressive Islamic notions of peace,
equality and justice. We envision a world that is free from
prejudice, injustice and discrimination, where all people are fully
embraced and accepted into their faith, their families and their
communities. Founded in 1998, Al-Fatiha Foundation is a registered US-
based non-profit, non-governmental organization.
"Always forgive your enemies...nothing annoys them quite so much." Oscar Wilde
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