Nur Warsame, an openly gay imam, plans to open up Australia's first LGBTQ+ friendly mosque within the next year in solidarity with the Muslim LGBTQ+ community.
Warsame told The Independent that he aims to help gay Muslims who have "nowhere to turn" by transforming a building in Melbourne into a "safe house" for the community, which will also serve as a place of worship.
"I have been dealing with young people who have been excommunicated from their families," Warsame said.
"That is when you have a problem."
Warsame said that the plan has been a work in progress for four years.
"We have had some support from the state government but bureaucracy and intentions are never the same. But I am optimistic, I hope to have it achieved this year," he said.
Having served as an imam since 2001, Warsame used to lead a mosque in Melbourne and came out as the country's first openly gay Muslim leader in 2010. Subsequently, he was cornered out by the community after speaking publicly about his sexuality.
Many think the phrase "Muslim Queer" is an oxymoron, as the two words seem mutually exclusive
Many Muslim queers >find themselves marginalized in their communities, pushed to choose between one of two attributes, Muslim or queer, instead of embracing them both.
This comes as a result of lack of tolerance for the LGBTQ+ community in general, emboldened by strict interpretations of scripture, anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, and long-standing cultural and societal norms.
Some Muslims bully queers into believing they have no place in Islam and are destined for hell.
But, Muslim queers have been slowly standing their ground, fighting for their right to peacefully coexist in society.
"I do identify as Muslim. At the core I'm Muslim," Lebanese artist Yara El Safi >once told StepFeed.
"I'm queer, Arab, Muslim, but Muslim comes first."
Gay marriages in Australia became legal in December
In December, Australia made international headlines after becoming the 26th country in the world to legalize same-sex marriages, according to CNN.
Following the passing of the law, the country required couples to give a month notice for weddings to be held.
On Tuesday, for the first time ever, a number of same-sex couples tied the knot legally.