Pride Week: At the Crossroads of Faith and Indentity

By Broadside Staff Writer Erica Terrini

As the events hosted by George Mason University’s Pride Alliance carried on through the week, beginning on Monday, March 24, there were various topics to be discussed and new perspectives to be gained. This was particularly true for one of the first events of the week entitled “At the Crossroads of Faith and Identity.”

The forum was held on Tuesday, March 25, at 4:30 p.m. in the Bistro within the Johnson Center. Initially, there were three speakers scheduled to appear for a brief presentation and lead discussion with a question and answer session to follow and wrap up the event.

The three main speakers for the event included Imam Daayiee Abdullah, a member of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Religious Leadership Roundtable. He has a Master’s degree in Islamic Law where he began to deal with sexual orientation in Islamic law. The next speaker was Ben Masters, a co-chair for Pride Alliance and undergraduate junior at Mason with an intended major of Conflict Analysis and Resolution and Rabbi Sarah Meytin, Assistant Director at the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington. Meytin could not attend due to illness.

Abdullah began the forum by providing a brief personal background, ultimately, how he came to find, identify with and practice the Muslim religion.

“I was exposed to a wide array of beliefs, which gave me an opportunity of how people related to God,” Abdullah said.

After Abdullah spoke, Masters proceeded with his own experience with his own religious affiliation to the Presbyterian denomination of the Christian church.

“My father is a minister…I always had a church to go to and my father instilled a value of holding faith, but also questioning this faith,” Masters said.

Both Abdullah and Masters then continued to carry the conversation, which was then directed specifically to the topic of balancing sexual orientation and religion. This largely pertains to social aspects affecting and in turn being affected by religious aspects, which was a proper introduction topic for Abdullah to bring the audience’s attention to a theory of culture and theology being intertwined and integrated in today’s society.

Abdullah noted that the laws go according to religion in many cultures and there is a “social expectation” strong bond that must be considered before decisions are made. Considering this integration Abdullah spoke about finding balance, not just with sexual orientation and religion but also with any aspects of religion that may go against the normality’s enforced by society’s bounds.

“We all have to struggle and we should question,” Abduallah said. “This doesn’t mean you question everything, but you question the things that don’t make sense.”

As for Masters’ perspective on the relations between social sentiments and religion and his ideas on how to balance the two, he felt it is important to acknowledge the differences within us and attempt to bridge them through religion.

“Learning theology is like learning a language,” Masters said. “You look at what languages people use to define a presence of peace and love within their lives. We’re given different languages to tell people where we are in our lives.”

One topic that came up was different quotations from either the Bible or the Qu’ran that are widely believed to condemn homosexuality. Both Abdullah and Masters made it known that these passages from the texts were not directed to sexual orientation but to the actions of man himself. As Abdullah and Masters continued the forum, there was this idea of establishing concrete relationships as they encouraged others to do.

“As a Muslim, I still have standards. In our relationships we have to be forgiving but stand up for our standards,” said Abdullah. “We must work towards a harmony, work towards an understanding, work towards a relationship.”

With the concluding thoughts of both speakers, the floor was opened for discussion and questions. Many members within the audience shared the same enthusiasm for the message the speakers emitted.

“It was nice to get an insight to the Islamic and Christian faith and gender identity,” said Alex Gant, co-chair for Pride Alliance and undergraduate senior and history major. “It assured me in my own path and that religion is not something to be afraid of.”

The forum tackled a prominent and relevant issue that a wider audience through out the world can relate to.

“I have an independent Christian identity,” said Masters, “and it’s not that I am gay and Christian.”