02 | Hafiza Ameera Khan on Queer Islamic History and Building Community

Queerful

Queerful is a podcast about the power of stories and the creativity of the LGBTQ+ community. Hosted by Benjamin Rose (they/them), each episode features ordinary humans who are changing the world in the most queerful ways.

In this episode, Benjamin Rose interviews Ameera (she/her/hers) about her coming out journey, queerness within Islam, and building community.

Ameera Khan is a Bengali-American Muslim whose Islam is informed from a myriad of sources, including theological training in the completion of her Hifz, or memorization of the Quran, and both traditional and progressive Muslim perspectives. She is informed by Sunni, Sufi, anti-patriarchal, and liberation theology-oriented traditions within Shari'a, Quran, Hadith, and Islamic History. This includes properly interpreting dominant narratives around commonly cited Islamic excuses for homophobia and transphobia, including the story of the people of Lot.

Ameera joined the Muslim Youth Leadership Council as a Youth activist in 2018 to learn how empowered queer and transgender Muslims are reclaiming their narrative across the country. She has held numerous workshops surrounding the topic of reclaiming Queer Islamic History, broadening the narratives of who is considered a Muslim or a Vessel of Divinity and Wisdom. She has also organized conferences, most recently the Muslim Youth Leadership Council's 1st Virtual Conference on May 2nd and 3rd, 2020, which drew virtual attendees from across the globe. In her professional life, she typically works as DevOps Engineer.

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LinkedIn: Ameera Khan