Dye me like a Sunset • You are not "Damned": Religion and Sexuality

You are not “Damned”: Religion and Sexuality

I just got a very long and desperate message from a fan I deeply appreciate, so I wanted to type this up for anyone who has— and is— struggling with the problem of consolidating religion and their sexuality.

Before we even begin talk on religion, let me first say this:
The person and/or people you choose to love does not determine if you are a good or bad person.
You are not damned.

I want all of my fans and followers to really, truly tell themselves that.
Repeat to yourself:

I am not going through a phase
I am not a bad person.
I am not a sinner.
I can be religious and gay at the same time.

Accept yourself.
Don’t try to come up with excuses for why you feel this way, don’t let people tell you your sexuality is a disease, don’t let them try to “fix you.”

Once you’ve accepted yourself, do research on your religion.
Don’t let the word of mouth pollute your heart with hateful words that might not be there.
Every religion, above all, preaches peace and love.

Peace.
And.
Love.

So when someone is hateful towards you and who you love, isn’t that, in essence, going against religion?

You’re LOVING someone. You are not a killer, you are not a rapist, you are not a sexual deviant.
You. simply. love. someone.

Who are they to tell you what God believes? What God likes and dislikes?
Who are they to judge? Judgement is reserved for God, and God alone.

People can justify their hate all they want, but I swear to you, doing research and actual, comprehensive reading can help you really poke holes in their argument.
Not that I’m promoting you to argue with people, but sometimes it’s necessary.

Because human rights should be fought for.
Human acceptance should be fought for.

Fight for yourself with knowledge.

Find other gay or queer religious people. Because they DO exist.
It’s out there. There are countless blogs and studies and discussion of people who are going through the same thing as you.
Find them, and learn from them. Become one of them, and continue to research.

I post many articles about Homosexuality and Gender Divergence within Islam, and I’m sorry for my followers who are not Muslim, for I haven’t researched much on how the Bible or Old Testament (or any other religious text/ideal, etc) may work in support of who we are.

I will say this, however:
When I accepted myself as being gay, I became more religious.

Before, I was afraid to immerse myself within religion, because the feelings I had hidden away inside myself for so long.
I felt I was wrong, twisted, perverted, sinful, that I could change.
Nightmares plagued me until I couldn’t sleep, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think… in fear of eternal damnation and angering God.
I was afraid to pray, afraid that God would see me and my dark secret.

But one day, it struck me.
After years of hiding this part of myself away from myself, I decided to do research. I read and read and read so many articles and religious debates among other Muslims, discovered the existence of books such as “Homosexuality in Islam,” talked to Christian friends of mine who supported gay rights using passages from the Bible, and attempted to find the same for Gay Muslims.

And I realized…yes, I can be religious and gay.

And I realized….
My sexuality brought me closer to God.