Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity (MASGD) Resource Guide

MASGD has compiled a basic resource guide for LGBTQ+ Muslims. Each category provides a link to the organization’s website, a description of what services they provide, and includes annotations that specify if they are geared towards Muslim people of specific descent/identities (e.g. Black, South Asian, South West Asian, or North African) or if they have resources to accommodate our diverse and complex identities and experiences. 
**All included providers/services/resources have been minimally vetted in terms of quality of experience for LGBTQ Muslim people. Please note this list is not comprehensive and MASGD as an organization does not expressly endorse any of the following providers/services. This guide does not replace counseling or other forms of therapy and is simply offered as a community resource that we hope to build upon in the future. If there is a resource you are aware of that you don't see listed here, please contact us at hey@themasgd.org. 

Helplines and Hotlines

Inara Helpline

What is it?

a 100% queer & trans Muslim support line

What can they help me with? 

  • Emotional support by & for us LGBTQ+ Muslims
  • Trauma-informed peer support
  • No calls to emergency services
  • Full anonymity for callers and operators

Are they aware of issues affecting queer Muslims? 

Definitely
Cost: Free

Call 71-QTM-INARA

What is it? 

 A South Asian LGBTQ focused helpline run by a trained staff of volunteers. They include folks from India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Burma, the Maldives and Tibet, as well as diaspora/immigrant communities all over the world.

What can they help me with? 

  • Questions on gender, identity, coming out.
  • Dealing with family, culture, or faith.
  • Trying to find community in local areas.
  • Finding a good doctor, lawyer, or therapist.
  • Advice for a friend or family member.
  • Listening as callers work through things.

Are they aware of issues affecting queer Muslims? 

Given the huge presence of Muslims in South Asia, many of the volunteers are aware and can understand the intersections of Islam and queerness, as well as other complicated faith, sexuality and gender-based relationships.

Phone

(908)367-3374
Staffed by volunteers: Thursdays & Sundays 
8:00 - 10:00 pm EST (5:00 - 7:00 pm PST)
Contact form 
Cost: Free

What is it? 

GLBT National Help Center provides vital peer-support, community connections and resource information to people with questions regarding sexual orientation and/or gender identity.

What can they help me with?

  • GLBT National Hotline
  • GLBT National Youth Talkline 
  • SAGE LGBT Elder Hotline 
  • Private, volunteer one-to-one online chat, that helps both youth and adults with coming-out issues, safer-sex information, school bullying, family concerns and relationship problems
  • A transgender-specific online chat group for teens
 

Are they aware of issues affecting queer Muslims?

The GLBT National Help Center states that they are able to deal with all forms of discrimination concerning queer identity and intersections of faith and identity.

Phone

1-888-843-4564 (GLBT National Hotline)
1-800-246-7743 (GLBT National Youth Hotline)
1-888-234-7243 (SAGE | Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders)
Online chat 
Trans Teens online chat group 

Hours 

Monday-Friday 1pm-9pm PST (4pm-12am EST) 
Saturday 9am-2pm PST (12pm-5pm EST)
Cost: Free

What is it?

The Trevor Project is the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) young people ages 13-24.

What can they help me with?

  • Resources that include questions regarding gender identity and sexual exploration. 
  • Volunteers are trained to point callers towards resources within their local areas that are specifically geared towards their concerns and needs.  
  • They are a 24/7 suicide-prevention hotline and are quick to respond to phone calls.
  • They are also available for texts, chats  and even have a social networking site specifically geared to younger LGBTQ youth seeking support and advice.

Are they aware of issues affecting queer Muslims?

While they do not advertise specifically to queer people of color or queer Muslims, they can still very much guide you to mental health resources in your area that specifically work with Muslim, Arab and/or SWANA (South West Asian North African) queer and trans individuals.

Phone

1-866-488-7386
Online chat
Cost: Free

What is it?

Trans Lifeline is a non-profit dedicated to the well being of transgender people.

 What can they help me with?

  • Hotline staffed by transgender people for transgender people.
  • Trans Lifeline volunteers are ready to respond to whatever support needs members of the trans community might have.
  • They will only call emergency services with your expressed consent.
  • They are politically well-informed and aware of the range and diversity of issues affecting trans people of color.

Are they aware of issues affecting queer Muslims?

Trans Lifeline is committed to educating themselves around the concerns of transgender folks and have published a survey that may allow them to specifically think about the concerns of trans people who identify as Muslim. [View the survey]

Phone 

US: (877) 565-8860
Canada: (877) 330-6366
Cost: Free

What is it?

The National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network (NQTTCN) is a space for queer, gender non-conforming and trans therapists of color to build, resource, and support one another as clinicians and healers.

What can they help me with?

  • Provide a network of support for queer and trans people of color (QTPoC) seeking. transformative mental health resources rooted in social justice and liberation.
  • Supporting QTPoC to utilize their relationships and collective power to build capacity for healing in their communities. 
  • An easy-to-use directory that can point people to therapists in their local area.

Email

nqttcn@gmail.com

Cost

Costs are based on the individual therapists and their own resources.

What is it?

NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. The link above can point you to their page dedicated specifically to African American Mental Health resources.

How can they help me?

  • Toll-free NAMI HelpLine.
  • Free referral, information and support.
  • Services specifically geared towards people of color and LGBTQ people.

Are they aware of issues affecting queer Muslims?

Their emphasis is on helping you find the right mental health resources for your needs including your cultural, ethnic or faith based group.  While they do not talk specifically about Muslim or SWANA folks they have a page on the needs of Diverse Communities and a tip-sheet on how to find therapists that understand your cultural needs.

Phone

Call 1-800-950-NAMI (6264)
Monday-Friday 10am-6pm EST (7am-3pm PST)

Email

info@nami.org
Cost: Free

What is it?

A database of SF Bay Area Psychotherapists of Color that is constantly being added to, building a referral resource to help connect our communities to healing and mental health support.

What can they help me with?

Are they aware of issues affecting queer Muslims?

Yes, the directory includes a considerable number of people who can help queer Muslims deal with issues specific to their cultural and spiritual contexts.

Contact

No direct contact method

Cost 

These resources are not free but almost all therapists offer their services based on a sliding scale.

What is it?

Ebony is a black-focused magazine that has compiled a list of mental health resources for Black people organized by state.

What can they help me with?

  • Resources in each state that are equipped to help Black people receive culturally-competent mental health care.

Are they aware of issues affecting queer Muslims?

Not specified

Contact

No direct contact method 

Cost 

Directory is free; therapist fees vary.

What can they help me with?

  • MENTAL HEALTH: This article features many Culturally Specific Directories & Search Engines at the end of the article that one could look through when searching for a therapist with similar identities as them.

About

Article by Jeff Baker.

Location

Online Article Database

What is it?

A safe space for [feminine of center] middle-eastern queer womyn and trans minorities to share their personal stories, struggles, and triumphs of surviving modern day challenges unique to this demographic(s); in hopes of fostering compassion and understanding through community support among those who may share similar experiences and/or face similar challenges.


What can they help me with?

  • In-person meetings for people in the San Francisco Bay Area,  providing with a network of like-minded others and a strong base and supportive community. Their group of objective is co-create safe spaces for open discussions around those who share similar identities, stories and struggles.

Are they aware of issues affecting Queer Muslims?

Yes

Phone 

510-548-8283

In Person

Meetings at the Pacific Center in Berkeley [map]
2712 Telegraph Avenue 
Berkeley, CA 94705
Cost: Free

What is it?

A group for support, personal growth and belonging, exploring unique influences and ways of being, which are both gay and Middle Eastern. Meets twice a month in San Francisco.  

What can they help me with?

  • Resources for Arabs within the U.S. and more specifically the San Francisco Bay Area 
  • Group for men in the San Francisco Bay Area 
    • Develop healthy and emotional relationships with other men.
    • Find a sense of belonging and support.
    • Increase cultural understanding.
    • Make friends with men who share a similar cultural background.

Are they aware of issues affecting Queer Muslims?

Most definitely. While some queer gay and Arab groups tend to shy away from or have negative feelings toward faith, GMEM are open to discussions surrounding faith.

What is it?

For individuals in the Bay Area, this spot can be a great place to meet and discuss issues surrounding many aspects of queer life and diversity including being a queer Muslim in the U.S.  Their mental health meetups can help people interact with others going through similar issues and traumas.

What can they help me with?

  • Resources and information on how to connect with different queer groups.
  • Resources that are specifically focused on queer people of color, including several Muslim groups or groups with cross overs. 
  • In-person groups.

Are they aware of issues facing queer Muslims?

Yes. They can guide people to resources that can be even more specific.

Phone 

510-548-8283

Location 

2712 Telegraph Ave. 
Berkeley, CA  94705
[map] 
Cost: Free

Online Resources

The resources provided below are not for matters of urgency but can provide reading or viewing material that can aid in dealing with both issues of mental health and allow people to educate themselves on how to talk about queerness and faith.

 

Color Lines - Self Care

  • An online article put together to guide people of color through unsteady times when people are feeling the heat of the system.  This guide can help people on their journey to self care, giving simple but effective advice.

Transnational Queer Underground  

What is it?

A website dedicated to criticizing racism, classism, ableism, sexism, hetero/homonormativity and other forms of oppression by members using their preferred means of expression (drawing, writing, singing, painting, photos, comics, films, etc.) in order to connect with each other and exchange their ideas and experiences. Anonymous participation is permitted.

What can they help me with?

Muslims for Progressive Values (MPV) 

What is it?

MPV endorses the human and civil rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) individuals. They support full equality and inclusion of all individuals, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, in society and in the Muslim community.

What can they help me with?

  • Resources for/about LGBTQI Muslims, including articles, books, websites, videos  and more 
  • 14-part video lecture series by Imam Daayiee Abdullah that dismantles the religious justification for homophobia in Muslim communities with medical, social and religious history. 
  • Links to international LGBTQI organizations
  • Links to LGBTQI-supportive organizations in the U.S.

Are they aware of issues affecting Queer Muslims?

Yes

Email 

info@mpvusa.org 
Cost: Free
 

Text

Islamic Texts: A Source for Acceptance of Queer Individuals into Mainstream Muslim Society [PDF]

What is it?

Article by Imam Muhsin Hendricks that serves as a guide into both Qur’an and tradition.

What can it help me with?

  • Can help individuals come to terms with what their faith says about gender identity versus what individuals have been taught.