Muslim, gay, and making no apologies
i'm wondering if the last part i quoted is a mistake in editing or if he doesn't think being proud is that important. maybe just wants acceptance.
<He was born inside the public library of Rabat in Morocco where his dad worked as a janitor and where his family lived until he was 2. For most of his childhood, he hid his sexuality as best he could, but his effeminate demeanor brought mockery and abuse, even as it would later become a source of artistic inspiration.
bout eight years ago, the author Abdellah Taia, now 40, came out to the Moroccan public in his books and in the news media, appearing on the cover of a magazine under the headline "Homosexual Against All Odds."
It was an act that made him one of the few to publicly declare his sexual orientation in Morocco, where homosexuality is a crime. The hardest part, he recalls, was facing his family. They probably always knew, he said, they just never talked about it. Still, it took years to overcome the rifts.
"They cried and screamed," said Taia, who now lives in Paris. "I cried when they called me. But I won't apologize. Never."
The author says he considers himself Muslim because he is very spiritual, and he believes that freedom has existed in Islam through those such as the Arab philosopher Averroes and the Iranian poet Rumi, and in works such as "1001 Nights."
"I don't want to dissociate myself from Islam," he said. "It is part of my identity. It is not because I am gay that I will reject it. We need to recover this freedom that has existed in Islam."
Today, he has patched up relations with most family members, though there are still awkward moments. His older brother, always cold and distant, remains estranged, a point of particular pain for Taia. The brother was worshiped by the entire family not only for his charisma but because he saved them from poverty when he took several government jobs before marrying at the age of 35.
His mother died shortly after Taia came out, and he now has a cordial relationship with his sisters. He has over 40 nieces and nephews who symbolize a new more open-minded generation of Moroccans - they often post messages of encouragement on his official Facebook page.
Still, Taia finds it very difficult to go home.
"I can't talk to them," he said. "I am just a human being. They were ashamed of me. I always felt they were. I don't want them to be proud of me. And anyway, they're not." >
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Muslim-gay-and-making-no-apologies/articleshow/33700835.cms
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