Illegal Citizens: Queer Lives in the Muslim World (2008)
American writer
Afdhere Jama (born 1980) is an American writer and filmmaker of
Somali origin.
Jama was born and raised in
Somalia. He moved to America when he was a teenager. Between the years 2000 and 2010, he was the editor of Huriyah. Jama identifies as queer and Muslim.[1]
In June 2016, after a shooting in Orlando, an article Jama had written in 2014 about LGBT Muslims was shared on social media.[2]
Huriyah
Jama was the editor in chief of Huriyah[3] (
Arabic: حرية,[note 1] "freedom"), an
LGBTMuslim magazine published between the years 2000 and 2010.[4] It was based in
San Francisco,
California. Huriyah used the slogan "Queer Muslim Magazine".
The magazine was first published in
Arabic and launched in
English in 2002, with a focus on both
LGBT and
Muslim issues in politics, arts, and spirituality.[5] It had a major interview every month, conducted by Jama, including of
Daayiee Abdullah and
Faisal Alam.
Political views
In 2006 Jama stated, "My main difference with the majority of Muslims is the belief that a Jewish homeland is an important progress for all of us, especially one in their ancestral land of Israel". He continued, "Muslims in the United States must decide whether they see groups like Hamas and Hizbullah as legitimate resistance or the cause of Muslim troubles in the region".[6]