A gay mosque opened in canada

At Toronto’s Unity Mosque, everyone is welcome. The straight and the LGBT, the Muslim and people of all faiths - it’s all good here. "An intentional space designed to actually bring everybody into it.". Toronto's Unity Mosque offers a place of faith and refuge for queer Muslims. El-Farouk Khaki (left) and his husband, Troy Jackson, are co-founders of the Unity Mosque. Nestled in the heart of. A gay mosque opened in Canada 🏳️‍🌈where women lead the prayers, men & women pray together and the women can pray without sailing.

Why are we changing the rules set from the beginning?. A mosque in Toronto is creating a name for itself for mosque open to the LGBT community, as well as to people of all faiths. This article gives a glimpse into one of Canada's first queer-inclusive mosques. The el-Tawhid Juma Circle (eJTC) is an inclusive, compassionate Muslim community based out of Toronto’s Unity Mosque. After a month of planning, including creating a Facebook group that now has canada 1, members, Khaki held the first El-Tawhid Juma circle and Unity Mosque assembly at his office.

There Khaki met Rev. And while meeting in secret and having a closed Facebook open has made it difficult for other Muslims to find El-Tawhid, they plan on having a few events that are open to the public to gain some awareness and possibly some new members. The weekly Friday service in most mosques around the world sees a man give the call to prayer, another man give the khutbah sermonand rows of men sitting on rugs facing gay speaker.

Today is the International Day against Homophobia. The Jummah prayer wraps up, and the people move back into a circle to offer duas communal supplications.

Gay Mosque Toronto: a fusion of Islam and LGBT (18+).

Others join the service through Skype, broadcast via a laptop at the front of the room. He and her husband, Troy Jackson:. It took Samra Habib nearly a decade to find her way there. The result was the annual Peace Iftar, where people of all faiths and gender identities are invited to join Muslims in breaking their fast on a night in Ramadan.

The mosque has expanded to cities across North America, yet Khaki wants more. But, for example, in Calgary, the chapel wanders from one room to another for security purposes. The group also began receiving disturbing threats. How do you do that?

The unity mosque

Nestled in the heart of downtown Toronto, hidden in plain sight, is the Unity Mosque. What originally began as a small group in Toronto looking for a comfortable space to be themselves and practice Islam, has expanded to include chapters in a multitude of Canadian cities, including Calgary. South Asians face rising hate in Canada. In Iran and Saudi Arabia, gay sex can be punished by death, while fines, prison time and public floggings are punishments handed out in some other Muslim-majority states.

Just watch and chat with your Muslim friends. For him, coming out was a process of self-discovery beginning at One member was actually outed and was completely rejected by their family. El-Faruk Khaki, a migrant of Indian origin from Tanzania, became one of the founders of the chapel.

Their histories are as diverse as they are: each has a unique story of how they made it to Unity Mosque. Sadly, religion remains the main stronghold of the fight against gays. For example, women pray with men. Al-Fatiha also helped create an international community by hosting annual retreats and conferences for members around the world to discuss Islam through a queer lens.

Catholics in recent years have become more tolerant of the LGBT community, especially with the arrival of Pope Francis. All Posts. As such, many Muslims felt abandoned, and strove for unity among themselves in order to get the support they need. Samira Kanji, its president, says her father created the centre out of a desire to see women treated in the same way as men in the mosque. At Unity Mosque, the mixed congregation bows and prostrates in unison.