In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, Most Gracious

Al-Fatiha Foundation

proudly presents

Our Individual Lives; Our Collective Journey

A One Day Conference for

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender,
Intersex, Questioning Muslims & Their Allies

Saturday, August 9, 2003

The New York City LGBT Community Center

New York City, New York

sponsored by Al-Fatiha Foundation USA and Al-Fatiha New York City

 Program of Events
9:00 am 10:00 am Registration & Light Breakfast

10:00 am 10:10 am Recitation & Translation from the Holy Quran Aamer Ibrahim & Saadia Yacoob

10:10 am 10:45 am Welcome & Introductions Faisal Alam

10:45 am 11:00 am History of the Queer Muslim Movement Faisal Alam

11:00 am 12:15 pm Plenary Session: Our Individual Lives Challenges Facing Queer Muslims in the
United States pre & post 9/11
Moderated by Mubarak Dahir. Speakers: Ramzi Zakharia, Khalida, Atif Toor, and Urooj Arshad

12:15 pm 12:20 pm - Break

12:20 pm 1:35 pm Plenary Session: Hidden Voices Organizing Around LGBT and Gender Issues in Muslim
Communities
Moderated by Scott Long. Speakers: Alyson Kozma, Ariel Herrera, Saadia Yacoob, and Ayaz
Ahmed

1:35 pm 2:15 pm Lunch On site

2:00 pm 2:15 pm - Salaat-ul-Zuhr (Mid-Day Prayers) led by Aamer Ibrahim

2:15 pm 3:30 pm Parallel Sessions in Norman White Building (across the street from the LGBT Community Center)
Immigration & Asylum in a Post 9/11 World Room A
Moderated by: Pradeep Singla. Speakers: Saurav Sarkar, Adam Francoeur and Vickie Neilson

Being an Ally for LGBTIQ Muslims Room C

Moderated by: Chris Ramirez and Sarah Abdullah

The Sufi Path as a Point of (Re-) Entry into Islam for GLBTIQ people Room D
Moderated by: Khalid Hussain (Ron Squibbs)

Thematic and Contexual Readings of the Story of Lut (Lot) Assembly Hall, Room 101
Speakers: Imam Daayiee Abdullah and Rabbi Steve Greenberg

Clips of In the Name of Allah and Discussion with the Director Room B
Speaker: Parvez Sharma

3:30 pm 3:45 pm - Break

3:45 pm 5:00 pm Plenary Session: Our Collective Journey Looking Towards the Future;
Our Role in the Progressive Muslim Movement; Our Path to Justice and Liberation
Moderated by Faisal Alam. Speakers: Saadia Yacoob, Aamer Ibrahim , Shaffiq Essajee, and Khalida

5:00 pm 5:30 pm Closing

5:30 pm 5:45 pm Salaat-ul-Asr (Afternoon prayers) - led by Saadia Yacoob

5:45 pm 6:15 pm Screening of In the Name of Allah Norman White Building Room B

7:30 pm 9:30 pm Community Reception & Award Ceremony

Recitation of the Quran - Altaf Tadkod & Saadia Yacoob

Remarks by Imam Abdullah
History of the Queer Muslim Movement Faisal Alam
Award Presentation to the Gay and Lesbian Arab Society
Remarks by Ramzi Zakharia
Salaat-ul-Maghrib led by Imam Abdullah
Entertainment & Performances
 Bios of Speakers & Presenters

Sarah Abdallah is currently an administrator at New York University working in the Office of Student Activities. Her man
responsibilities include advising student organization in various categories, Womens, LGBT, and Religious, Cultural and
Political and more specifically Arab and Muslim organizations. She also coordinates Leadership Foundations Track and
Leadership Weekend. She is an active member of NAAP (Network of Arab-American Professionals in NYC) the aim of the
group is to educate and empower the Arab community and beyond in the areas of cultural/social, education and politics.
She is also a member of ADC (Arab-Anti -Discrimination Committee) and AAI (Arab- American Institute).

Imam Daayiee Abdullah is a 49 year old, Black-American, 18-year convert to the Islamic faith, is a scholar of Arabic
Language and Literatures, Middle Eastern and North African Studies in comparative legal system, a specialist in Shari'ah
Sciences/Quranic Interpretation. He has lived in several Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian Muslim countries as a
student and ex pat worker. Abdullah has written on such topics as "A Homosexual Positive Interpretation of the Lut Story in
the Holy Quran"; "The Need for Homosexual Marriage in Islam"; and "Homosexual Caricatures in the Holy Quran, Arab and
Islamic Literatures." Currently Moderator for the Muslim Gay Men Discussion Group (serving 450 members worldwide), and
member of the Board of Directors of the Al-Fatiha Foundation for LGBTIQ Muslims.

Ayaz Ahmed was born and raised in inner city Lahore, Pakistan. He lived and studied in inner city Johannesburg, South
Africa in the 90s and currently lives in inner city New York.

Faisal Alam is a 26 year old, queer Muslim activist of Pakistani descent. He is the founder & director of Al-Fatiha
Foundation, a US-based organization dedicated to queer Muslims. Under Faisal's leadership, Al-Fatiha has grown to
include eight chapters in the United States. Al-Fatiha has received wide media coverage since its inception in 1998 and has
been featured in national and international newspapers and magazines. Faisal was honored as a "Young Visionary Under
30" by the Utne Reader in 2002 and named as a "Founding Father" by OUT Magazine in 2001. He currently works in the
field of HIV/AIDS and resides in Washington DC.

Urooj Arshad is a 27 year old queer identified Fashionista from Washington D.C. She currently works at National Youth
advocacy Coalition (NYAC), an organization that advocates for and with LGBTQ youth in an effort to end discrimination
against these youth and ensure their physical and emotional well-being. She was born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan and
moved to the states in 92. She loves to travel (especially to New York) and shop for fabulous accessories.

Mubarak Dahir was born in Jerusalem to a Muslim father and a Southern Baptist mother; Mubarak Dahir is a freelance
journalist currently living in New York City. Since September 11, he has reported extensively on GLBT Muslims in America,
post 9-11. He has also traveled extensively, reporting on the frontlines of GLBT conflicts in such places as Egypt, Saudi
Arabia, India and Morocco. He currently writes a column carried by more than 40 GLBT newspapers around the country.

Shaffiq Essajee is one of the first members of Al-Fatiha and has in the past served as both a board member and the
treasurer of Al-Fatiha foundation. He lives in New York City, where he works as a pediatric aids physician. Shaffiq was born
and raised in Kenya and in 2001 he built Kenya's first free AIDS clinic for women and children. The clinic serves a largely
Muslim population of about 300 families living with HIV.

Adam Francoeur is the program coordinator for the Lesbian and Gay Immigration Rights Task Force. Adam received his
B.A. from the George Washington University, Washington, DC, in international affairs. He worked for immigration attorneys
Richard S. Bromberg and Elizabeth H. McGrail formerly, and assisted them in preparing asylum claims-based on sexual
orientation, violence against women act (VAWA) petitions, naturalization and green card applications and non-immigrant
visa petitions.

Rabbi Steven Greenberg is a Senior Teaching Fellow at CLAL, the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership.
Steve received his B.A. in Philosophy from Yeshiva University and his rabbinical ordination from Rabbi Isaac Elchanan
Theological Seminary. He has developed and coordinated many of CLAL's innovative Judaic training programs for
communal lay and professional leaders. In 1996 he was awarded the prestigious Jerusalem Fellowship and spent the
following two years in Jerusalem studying educational policy issues and researching rabbinic attitudes toward
homosexuality. While in Israel Steve met and helped a group of Israeli gay activists realize a dream, the founding of the
Jerusalem Open House, Jerusalem's first gay and lesbian community center advancing the cause of social tolerance in the
Holy City. Steve is currently the Educational Advisor to the Open House. During the same period, he met filmmaker Sandi
Simcha DuBowski and became involved in Trembling Before G-d, a documentary about Orthodox gay Jews. Along with the
filmmaker Steve has coordinated an educational outreach project using the film and has traveled worldwide conducting
hundreds of post-screening dialogues. He has recently finished a book, Wrestling with God and Men: Homosexuality in the
Jewish Tradition, which will be published by the University of Wisconsin Press (Spring 2004).
Ariel Herrera is a Filipino American queer activist based in New York City. He is the national field organizer for OUT front,
Amnesty International's program on LGBT human rights. He is also the political chair of the Gay Asian & Pacific Islander
Men of New York (GAPIMNY) and a Steering Committee member of Queers for Economic Justice.

Khalid Hussain (Ron Squibbs) is a dervish in the Nur Ashki Jerrahi Sufi Order, whose headquarters is at Masjid Al-Farah
in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan. He developed an interest in the Sufi path in 1991, then met and was
initiated by Javad Nurbakhsh, Master of the Nimatullahi Order in 1992. Unsure whether it would be safe to be out in that
order, he left the Sufi path to explore other traditions for a period of years. After discovering Queer Jihad and Al-Fatiha
online in 1998, his contact with queer Muslims encouraged him to resume his exploration of the Sufi path. He worked
initially with Kabir Helmisnki of the Threshold Society and eventually found his way into the Nur Ashki Jerrahi Order, in
which he took hand in 2000. He moderates a discussion group for GLBTQ Sufis at Yahoo.

Aamer Ibrahim is a 28 year-old gay Muslim man residing in Atlanta, Georgia. He had the privilege of meeting Faisal soon
after the lgbtiq Muslims' listserv was established in 1997. Aamer looks forward to the synergies of sharing our (queer and
ally) life experiences with each other, with the hope of increasing spirituality and justice for all persons. Aamer is currently
co-Coordinator of the Al-Fatiha Atlanta Chapter and is in the medical services profession. He welcomes remaining in touch
via e-mail: family_10@hotmail.com

Khalida is a 24 year old student in Philadelphia, PA finishing up a degree in Sociology. She will be attending law school in
2004; working towards a degree in international law. Khalida is a coordinator of Al-Fatiha Philadelphia and is a former
board member of Al-Fatiha Foundation USA.

Alyson Kozma is the Coordinator of the Womens Human Rights Program at Amnesty International USA. An activist and
organizer around a number of progressive, feminist and queer issues, her recent efforts have concentrated on violence
against women, women on death row, identity-based discrimination and integrating a human rights perspective into US-
based feminist advocacy. She has worked with the Feminist Majority Foundation, the Family Violence Prevention Fund and
various state and local feminist and human rights NGOs. She holds a Masters Degree in Womens Studies from the
George Washington University.

Scott Long - For over a decade and on several continents, has documented and advocated against human rights violations
based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and HIV status. For five years he lobbied the United Nations on sexual rights
issues; his work led to UN human rights mechanisms agreeing to take up gay and lesbian concerns. As Program Director
of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), he edited or co-authored reports on gay and
lesbian parenting and on the use of sexuality to target women's and feminist organizing. He is the author of Public
Scandals: Sexual Orientation and Criminal Law in Romania, a report by Human Rights Watch and IGLHRC, and of More
than a Name: State-Sponsored Homophobia and its Consequences in Southern Africa, also for Human Rights Watch and
IGLHRC. Since joining Human Rights Watch, he has completed Days of Silence, Nights of Fear: Entrapment and Torture in
Egypts Crackdown on Homosexual Conduct, an HRW report scheduled for release in late summer 2003. He holds a Ph.D.
from Harvard University, and has taught at the University of Budapest, as well as holding a Fulbright lectureship at
the University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

Victoria Neilson is the legal director for the Lesbian and Gay Immigration Rights Task Force (LGIRTF). Ms. Neilson
received her juris doctorate from the City University School of Law and her bachelors degree from Harvard University. She
is the former Litigation Director at the HIV Law Project in New York, where much of her practice focused on representing
under-served immigrants, including litigating numerous successful asylum applications for lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender ("lgbt") and HIV-positive immigrants.

Christopher Ramirez is the Student Organizing Director at the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), a
national education organization working to end anti-LGBT bias, harassment and discrimination in America's K-12 schools.
Still not quite a New Yorker, although he lives in Brooklyn when not traveling, he is originally from Central Illinois with ties to
Albuquerque, Nashville and Washington, DC. His community organizing and facilitation experience come from work at
national organizations Break Away, YouthAction and LLEGO: the National Latina/o Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender Organization - as well as grassroots organizing with health and labor issue as well as queer and people of
color communities.

Saurav Sarkar has been employed at Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund as a Community Organizer (he
is not a lawyer) since May of 2002. In that capacity, he has been working to provide members of Asian and other
communities affected by post 9-11 immigration policies with access to legal services and information, to advocate for
individuals and communities, to build public awareness, and to create spaces for individuals and communities to empower
themselves. He also served on the Steering Committee of SALGA (South Asian Lesbian and Gay Association of New York)
from 2002 to 2003 as a co-facilitator of the Community Organizing / Social Justice Committee.
Parvez Sharma (Producer/ Director-In the Name of Allah) grew up in India and has been educated in the UK and the US,
where he currently lives. He has most recently taught at American Universitys Department of Anthropology and its School
of Communication in Washington, DC. Parvez has previously worked as a broadcast journalist and as a print journalist for
several premier Indian media. Parvez has spoken internationally on distinguished panels on issues crucial to LGBTQ
communities in a South Asian context. Parvez got his bachelors degree in English Literature from Presidency College,
University of Calcutta (India). His first Masters degree is in Mass Communication (Film and Television) from Indias premier
MCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia University. His second Masters is in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Wales College
of Cardiff, UK. His final Masters is in Film and Video from American Universitys School of Communication. With his wide
range of experience in film and television spanning three continents (Asia, Europe, and North America), Parvez hopes to
bring a rich cultural perspective and an honest and skillful depiction to this film and to the courageous and exemplary
journeys it documents.

Atif Toor is a graphic designer who has been active in South Asian and LGBTQ organizing for the past 11 years in the New
York Area. He has been a member of SALGA, the South Asian Lesbian and Gay Association since 1992 and is a founding
partner of Sholay Productions, an event management company focusing on events for South Asian, People of Color, Arts
and LGBTQ communities.

Saadia Yacoob is a founding member of Progressive Muslims Network - D.C. Born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan, she
has been living in the U.S. for 7 years. She is currently the DC Organizer for United for Peace and Justice. Saadia has
been an avid gender activist in the Muslim community for many years. In the future, she aspires to join her fellow Muslim
activists in their struggle against gender apartheid, and in developing an egalitarian understanding of Islam, in order to
better the lives of Muslim women around the world.

Ramzi Zakharia is one of the founders of the Gay and Lesbian Arab Society (GLAS). He is an Arab American activist
based in New York City. In addition to his involvement in the Gay community, he is also politically active in various
community organizations such as ALWAN, the Arab cultural center of New York City, and the Arab American family center.
Ramzi also publishes Ahbab, the queer Arab web site (www.glas.org/ahbab) and his own weblog, Ramzi's World at
www.ramziz.com. On the personal side, Ramzi and his partner will be celebrating their 10th year together in September.

** THANK YOU * SHUKRAN ** JAZAKULLAH KHAIR ***

To all of our speakers & presenters

To all of our volunteers & community hosts
To all of our advertisers

To our sponsors:

* GLSEN (The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network)

* OUTfront Amnesty International USAs Program on LGBT Human Rights

* The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Community Center of New York City
*********************************************************************************

Somayyah Siddiqui a life full of energy and spirit a

young soul taken away too soon

This conference is dedicated to Somayyah Siddiqui, an amazing ally and friend

to the queer Muslim community. Somayyahs life was a gift to this earth and she
brought only light and love into the lives of those that she touched. Somayyah
was a member of Al-Fatiha Philadelphia and worked for a number of years in the
queer movement and in the field of HIV/AIDS. Somayyah we miss you dearly
and think of you every day. We know that you are in a place where you can
shower us all with your love. May Allah (swt) grant Somayyah peace and bless
her with the fruits of Jannah (Paradise). Aamin.

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 Teaching & Poem by Rumi

"It is said that after Muhammad and the prophets revelation does not descend upon anyone
else. Why not? In fact it does, but then it is not called 'revelation.' It is what the Prophet
referred to when he said, 'The believer sees with the Light of God.' When the believer looks
with 'The believer sees with the Light of God.' When the believer looks with God's Light, he
sees all things: the first and the last, the present and the absent. For how can anything be
hidden from God's Light? And if something is hidden, then it is not the Light of God. Therefore
the meaning of revelation exists, even if it is not called revelation."

Rumi's Divan of Shems of Tabriz

At every instant and from every side, resounds the call of Love:
We are going to sky, who wants to come with us?
We have gone to heaven, we have been the friends of the angels,
And now we will go back there, for there is our country.
We are higher than heaven, more noble than the angels:
Why not go beyond them? Our goal is the Supreme Majesty.
What has the fine pearl to do with the world of dust?
Why have you come down here? Take your baggage back. What is this place?
Luck is with us, to us is the sacrifice!...
Like the birds of the sea, men come from the ocean--the ocean of the soul.
Like the birds of the sea, men come from the ocean--the ocean of the soul.
How could this bird, born from that sea, make his dwelling here?
No, we are the pearls from the bosom of the sea, it is there that we dwell:
Otherwise how could the wave succeed to the wave that comes from the soul?
The wave named 'Am I not your Lord' has come, it has broken the vessel of the body;
And when the vessel is broken, the vision comes back, and the union with Him.

From Rumi & Sufism