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. International Organizations & Resources
The following is a list of Muslim organizations that are LGBTQ+ focused or queer-friendly. While many of these organizations exist for community building, some also focus on advocacy or can help you in other ways. Included on this list are also queer-friendly masjids. The purpose of AIM is to consolidate the efforts of progressive Muslims and progressive Muslim organizations from around the world in order to counter radical, intolerant and supremacist attitudes and behaviors in Muslim communities. Location
International OrganizationContact
Email: info@aim.ngo AIM Contact Form What can they help me with?
Countering and Preventing Violent Extremism: AIM aggregates educational materials promoting theologically sound frameworks grounded in Islamic liberalism from member organizations whose work focuses on providing easily accessible progressive Islamic scholarship.Papers on Gender Rights and Equality
Is this a queer-led Muslim organization?
No; “AIM welcomes new members that have a proven track-record in advocating for the equal worth of all human beings, regardless of religious or sectarian affiliation, creed, age, race, ethnicity, nationality, political affiliation, gender, sexual orientation and gender identity, or (dis)ability.”
The el-Tawhid Juma Circle Unity Mosques are gender-equal, queer-affirming, inclusive Islamic mosque spaces. Location
Originally started in Toronto; Now has chapters across Canada plus Atlanta and Columbus in the United States. Contact
Email: info@jumacircle.com Facebook TwitterWhat can they help me with?
Unity Mosques are safe spaces for people to worship, commune, and just be. They are welcoming of everyone regardless of sexual orientation, gender, sexual identity, or faith background.Friday juma services in-person or over Skype.
Is this a queer-led Muslim organization?
Yes
Henna Space is an Organization for Queer Muslim Womxn and Queer Disabled folks working on the intersectionality of religion, sexuality, and disability. Henna Space is the home of radical acts of love and existence.Location
Virtual community | Based primarily in AfricaContact
Via FacebookWhat can they help me with?
Community for queer Muslim womxn and queer disabled individuals.
Is this a queer-led Muslim organization?
Yes
MPV advocates for human rights, social justice and inclusion around the world. They seek to reinvigorate the Islamic tradition of ijtihad (critical engagement and interpretation of sacred texts) and intellectual discourse.Location
Communities in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington DC, Atlanta, Columbus (OH), New York, Chicago, Boston, Minnesota and the Netherlands, with partner groups in Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Tunisia, Burundi, France, Germany, Malaysia, Norway, South Africa, Sudan, the Gambia, and the United Kingdom. Contact
MPV's LGBTQIA Resource PageYoutubeContact FormEmail: info@mpvusa.orgPhone: (323) 696-2678 Address: 1626 N. Wilcox Ave, Suite 702, Los Angeles, CA 90028What can they help me with?
Advocacy-focused group: MPV focuses on building progressive Muslim communities by creating opportunities for religious discourse, volunteer and community activities, and cultural events bringing together the arts, spirituality and social activism.They participate in civil discourse, engage with the media and government entities, and partner with both Muslim and non-Muslim progressive organizations.
Is this a queer-led Muslim organization?
Unsure; However, MPV endorses the human and civil rights of LGBTQ+ individuals. The organization is committed to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and supports full equality and inclusion of all individuals, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, in society and in the Muslim community
The Muslim LGBT Network is a campaign, advocacy and support group for LGBT+ Muslims and allies.Location
Virtual communityContact
Email: ejelkhan@hotmail.co.ukInstagramWhat can they help me with?
Advocacy group & virtual community
Is this a queer-led Muslim organization?
Yes
Ismaili Queers (IQ) is a global network of individuals who identify with LGBTQ+ orientations who have gathered together to form a community. We participate annually in the Toronto Pride parade, as well as several other Pride celebrations globally, which LGBT+ individuals and allies are encouraged to join. Location
Virtual communityContact
Email: ismaili.queers@gmail.comWhat can they help me with?
Community: This website exists to support Shia Ismaili Muslims in the LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer/questioning and other sexual/gender identities) community, as well as our allies. As no official (or unofficial) support system currently exists for queer Ismailis, and the Imam has not expressed any guidance in this regard, it is hoped that this will provide an anonymous forum for discussion to help members of our community through these difficult issues.
Is this a queer-led Muslim organization?
Yes
Crisis Text Line serves anyone, in any type of crisis, providing access to free, 24/7 support via a medium people already use and trust: text.Location
United States, Canada, & UKContact
Text “HOME” to 741741What can they help me with?
MENTAL HEALTH: Access to a Crisis Counselor. Click here for more information on the process. The volunteer Crisis Counselor will help you move from a hot moment to a cool moment.
International Helplines are multiple helplines broken up by country.Location
International (Online: Tumblr)Contact
Check the website for hotline numbers. What can they help me with?
MENTAL HEALTH: hotlines that are specific to many issues, including depression, suicide, sexuality, easting disorders, violence, and more in both United States and Canada.Website database of additional resources related to mental health, including online forums and help guides.
Rainbow Railroad believes that governments around the globe should enact and enforce laws and policies that protect LGBTQI individuals and enable them to live in freedom and safety in their own country. However, until that day arrives, their organization is focused on providing solutions for LGBTQI people who need immediate assistance because they are facing a serious threat to their lives and safety.Location
International: United States & CanadaContact
Canadian Office: 401 Richmond Street West, Suite 360, Toronto, ON M5V 3A8US Office: 601 West 26th Street, #325-41, New York, NY 10001Email: info@rainbowrailroad.orgWhat can they help me with?
IMMIGRATION: Since 2006, Rainbow Railroad has helped more than 800 persecuted LGBTQI people from 38 countries travel to safety.They verify each case, learn about the circumstances of the individual facing persecution and determine how they can help.They determine effective routes to safety, and connect with local contacts who can provide pre-travel and logistical supportThey provide travel to their destination country and immediate, bridging post-travel support on arrival.In addition to our work supporting individual cases, they have monitored and responded to state-sponsored violence affecting the LGBTQI community.
Refuge Restrooms is a web application that seeks to provide safe restroom access for transgender, intersex, and gender nonconforming individuals. Users can search for restrooms by proximity to a search location, add new restroom listings, as well as comment and rate existing listings.They’re trans led and seek to create a community focused not only on finding existing safe restroom access, but also advocating for transgender, intersex, and gender nonconforming people’s safety.Location
InternationalContact
Refuge Contact FormWhat can they help me with?
Safe Restroom access in public spaces.
Trans Lifeline is a grassroots hotline and microgrants 501(c)(3) non-profit organization offering direct emotional and financial support to trans people in crisis - for the trans community, by the trans community.Trans Lifeline was founded in 2014 as a peer-support crisis hotline. The Hotline was, and still is, the only service in the country in which all operators are transgender. Because of the particularly vulnerable relationship transgender people have with police, it is also the only service in the country with a policy against non-consensual active rescue.Location
United States & CanadaContact
Hotline: 877-565-8860Address: 195 41st St #11253, Oakland, CA 94611-9991Office Phone: 510-771-1417Email: contact@translifeline.orgWhat can they help me with?
MENTAL HEALTH/INFORMATION: 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.Trans Lifeline’s Hotline is a peer support service run by trans people, for trans and questioning callers. Our operators are located all over the U.S. and Canada, and are all trans-identified. If you are in crisis or just need someone to talk to, even if it’s just about whether or not you’re trans, please call us. We will do our best to support you and provide you resources.
The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), formerly known as the (Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association (HBIGDA), is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, interdisciplinary professional and educational organization devoted to transgender health. Their professional, supporting, and student members engage in clinical and academic research to develop evidence-based medicine and strive to promote a high quality of care for transsexual, transgender, and gender-nonconforming individuals internationally. Location
InternationalContact
What can they help me with?
LEGAL: list of resources that leads to other organizations and focuses on legal and policy matters. Also includes resources related to housing and employment.HEALTH & MENTAL HEALTH: Use their new Provider Search to find a provider in your area.