“Every gay person must come out.”

Muslim ethics treat sexuality as a private affiar. It is not ideal to wear one’s sexuality on one’s sleeve. The out and loud “proud to be queer” may make sense in Western contexts at the moment, where the LGBT rights movement arose against increasing draconian measures of the state. However, Muslim societies have largely tended to tolerate homosexuality in their societies so long as sexuality is kept a private affair. In some traitions, the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) is reported to have said, “A characteristic of the believer is that he does not concern himself with what does not conern him.” ¹ Coming out is continent upon various circumstances. For more information, please see our FAQs on Coming Out.