Openly Gay Imam Creates Online School for LGBTQ-Friendly Islamic Philosophy
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/33734-openly-gay-imam-creates-online-school-for-lgbtq-friendly-islamic-philosophy
Truth Out, November 22, 2015, Eleanor J. Bader
[Daayiee Abdullah] became even more outspoken, advocating not only religious access for people with HIV and AIDS, but also [. . .] full acceptance of LGBTQ people in Muslim communities,[. . .]. His positions, he says, are firmly rooted in the Quran, and he references the earliest Chinese and Arabic translations to support his assertions - books he's read in their original languages.
[. . .] criticism has neither silenced him nor kept him from contesting homophobic, racist or sexist commentary.
In fact, they've inspired him to establish the MECCA Institute, an online school and think tank that will, by the fall of 2016, offer classes in modern-day explication of Islamic philosophy and tenets. Among the institute's goals is countering fundamentalist dogma [. . .] so that contemporary Muslims have the tools they need to practice a socially relevant, open-minded faith, regardless of whether they live in secular, multireligious or traditionally Muslim countries.
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http://www.mecca-institute.org/