Who are the allies of queer Muslims?

Abstract

This article aims to locate the forces inspiring the emergence of pro-queer religious activism in contemporary Indonesia to elucidate how and why Islamic values are mobilised by a minority of Muslim actors for the defence of sexual minority rights. Based on ethnographic research conducted between 2017 and 2018, the article introduces a range of stakeholders, including religious leaders, activists and Islamic scholars supporting LGBTIQ+ rights, as ‘allies’ of sexual minorities. I begin by exploring discussions around Progressive Islam to subsequently focus on my interlocutors’ own definitions of the term. Drawing upon interviews and participant observations at events bringing together religion, gender and sexuality, this article identifies three key forces behind pro-queer religious activism. These include previous membership of the Indonesian Islamic Student Movement (Pergerakan Mahasiswa Islam Indonesia), inter-faith dialogue, and the Gusdurian Network (Jaringan Gusdurian). Participation in these three groups emerges as a force shaping the allies’ conceptualisation of progressive Islam making pro-queer activism possible but not unavoidable.