Self-styled Muslim secular forum condemns remarks by Muslim community against Trans people

Kozhikode: The remarks made against the LGBTQIA+ community by some quarters from the Muslim community in Kerala, after a trans couple became the biological parents of a baby, have been called out by a group that identifies itself as the Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy (IMSD).

In a press release issued by the IMSD signed by 38 persons, including activist Teesta Setalvad and poet and former MP Javed Akhtar, the group condemned what they called the "concerted effort by the Muslim right-wing in Kerala" against the LGBTQIA+ community.

The statement termed Muslim organizations, including the Jamaat-e-Islami and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), as the Muslim right wing for the alleged critical remarks against the trans people made by persons allied to those organizations.

While the JI has not officially expressed its stance on the matter in the public domain, certain remarks made by individuals considered supporters of the organization were attributed to the organization and subsequently criticized on that basis.

“Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy strongly condemns the concerted effort by the Muslim right-wing in Kerala – including leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), and some Muslim-run websites – to ridicule, vilify, denigrate, and demonise Muslims who are part of the LGBTQIA+ community,” the press release read.

The IMSD also found the critical remarks from the Muslim community against the LGBTQIA+ community tragically ironic, as the Muslim community itself has been a victim of Islamophobia, yet conservative members among them turn against sexual minorities.

“It is a tragic irony that while the minority Muslim community in India is itself the target of rampant Islamophobia, the conservatives among them are hurling hate speech at the sexual minorities (minority within the minority),” it said.

“What perhaps added to the fervour of the self-appointed custodians of morality is the fact that Kerala’s Health Minister Veena George promptly congratulated the couple on the phone and directed the Kozhikode Medical College to provide all treatment for free. She also arranged for breast milk to be provided to the baby from the human milk bank,” they said.

The members of IMSD emphasized that, as targets of hate politics themselves, Muslims should be aware of the difference between free speech and hate speech. They pointed out that comparing homosexuality to paedophilia, using derogatory terms such as "a shame", "mentally ill", "worst kind of people", and "people in need of treatment" against members of the LGBTQIA+ community constitute hate speech, not free speech.

They further stated that the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the right to freely profess, practice, and propagate one's faith, should also guarantee the right of sexual minorities to express their identity and hold a Pride Parade publicly.

IMSD claimed that it is a forum of Indian Muslims committed to the values of democracy, secularism, equality and justice.