Faisal Alam
Born
Washington D.C., United States
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Speaker, Writer, Activist
Known forFounded the Al-Fatiha Foundation

Faisal Alam is a gay Pakistani American man who founded the Al-Fatiha Foundation, an organization dedicated to advancing the cause of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Muslims.[1]

Alam arrived in the United States from Pakistan in 1987, at the age of ten, and resided in the rural middle-class town of Ellington, Connecticut. In 1997, he started an email listserv for LGBT Muslims that led to the founding of Al-Fatiha in 1998.[2] He served as its President from 1998 until stepping down in 2004.[3] In 2011, Alam and other LGBTQ Muslim activists were invited by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force to form a Queer Muslim Working Group to evaluate the needs of the LGBTQ Muslim community. Alam was instrumental in bringing together a diverse group of seasoned leaders to undertake this project. In 2013, the Queer Muslim Working Group launched a new organization: the Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity (MASGD).[4]

He is a former member of the Advisory Committee of the LGBT Program at Human Rights Watch.[2]

Media Mentions

"21 LGBT Muslims Who Are Changing the World." The Advocate. December 20, 2016. Web [5]

References

  1. ^ "Faisal Alam Profile". The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Religious Archives Network. 2006-07-18. Archived from the original on 2008-04-16. Retrieved 2006-12-21.
  2. ^ a b "Hidden Voices - The Lives of Queer Muslims". Wolfman Productions. Archived from the original on 2006-12-30. Retrieved December 21, 2006.
  3. ^ "Faisal Alam Steps Down As President of Al-Fatiha". UK Gay News. August 14, 2004. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved December 21, 2006.
  4. ^ "The MASGD". Archived from the original on 2014-08-05. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
  5. ^ Jacob Ogles (20 December 2016). "21 LGBT Muslims Who Are Changing the World". The Advocate. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
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