(Ludovic-Mohamed Zahed, a French-Algerian homosexual Muslim, poses in front of Paris Mosque November 23, 2012. REUTERS/Charles Platiau)
Europe’s first gay and lesbian-friendly mosque opened on Friday in an eastern Paris suburb, in a challenge to mainstream Islam’s long tradition of condemning same-sex relationships.
The mosque, set up in a small room inside the house of a Buddhist monk, welcomed transgender and transsexual Muslims and seat men and women together, breaking with another custom where the sexes are normally segregated during prayer.
Its founder, French-Algerian gay activist and practising Muslim Ludovic-Mohamed Zahed, will also encourage women to lead Friday prayers, smashing yet another taboo.
“It’s a radically inclusive mosque. A mosque where people can come as they are,” said Zahed, 35, whose prayer space will be the first in Europe to formally brand itself as a gay-friendly mosque, according to Muslim experts.
