Liebfrauenkirche
Moselstraße 30
English Version
A Catholic service held at the Liebfrauenkirche in Mainz presented a memorable experience for the transgender Muslim Saira [name changed], whom we had the opportunity to talk to as part of our conversations with queer people with refugee experiences. In her home country of Pakistan, she was accustomed to oppression for her religious and queer identity, but here in Mainz, she was invited to attend a church service.
Saira came into contact with the Liebfrauenkirche through one of her friends, Jawad [name changed]. Like her, Jawad identifies as queer and also has refugee experience. Jawad is Catholic, regularly attends church services, and reports having received diverse support from members of the Liebfrauen community. He shares: “The church people are very loving. Yeah. So, the place is very good. And I accept it like a blessing.” The open acceptance was not taken for granted by him: “I am very surprised, that the LGBT are invited. In [the country he fled from], of course, you know it’s very prohibited.”
This openness extends not only to Catholic individuals. Saira tells us how she was invited to a Mass that took place around the time of Christopher Street Day: “They specially arranged one prayer,” Jawad adds, “for the LGBT community.” Saira continues: “and I was also invited and the pope [priest] was wearing a rainbow scarf and it really was good like ‘ok, this religion has so much welcoming’ and this is the exact thing that I am trying to start.”
Saira advocates for openness for queer people in the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, to which she belongs. As the German representation of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat writes on their website, it was founded in 1889 in India: „Die AMJ ist die einzige islamische Bewegung, die daran glaubt, dass der von allen Muslimen erwartete Reformer und Messias in der Person Seiner Heiligkeit Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas (1835-1908) von Qadian (Indien) bereits erschienen ist. Alle anderen Muslime warten nach wie vor auf diese Person“ [English: The AMJ is the only Islamic movement that believes that the awaited reformer and messiah in the person of His Holiness Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas (1835-1908) of Qadian (India) has already appeared. All other Muslims are still waiting for this person].
As Saira reports, in her home country Pakistan, practicing their faith is not only a major challenge for all Ahmadiyya Muslims—queer or not. Constitutionally, their community is not considered part of Islam, which has repressive consequences for Ahmadiyya Muslims:
“In our constitution it’s written that the Ahmadys – because I belong to Ahmadiyya community – and they have been kicked out of the Islam, but we still believe that we are Muslims. And according to law, if we claim to be Muslim in Pakistan, we are put behind the bars.”
Certain expressions, such as the greeting “As-salamu alaykum,” they cannot utter as they face punishment: “We cannot say that, because if we say that, according to laws, we can be put behind bars for three years or we have to pay some fine.”
In Germany, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat has had the status of a Körperschaft des öffentlichen Rechts since 2013. Members can practice their faith without persecution and threat of punishment. As Saira tells, there are now large communities in Germany. Mosques, prayer centers, and communities are spread throughout the country, with a strong concentration in the Rhine-Main area. However, for the Muslim woman, practicing her faith in the community with other believers still poses a challenge. While there are meeting points for communal prayers, as a transgender woman, she cannot pray with the other women:
“Because of my condition it is a little bit complicated because I’m a transperson, I’m a transgender, and I identify myself as a female. So, I do not want to pray with men. And because they raise questions, because not all of them are well educated and they do not know anything about like transgenderism and transsexualism. So, I have to face questions. That’s why I avoid it, because, uh, this is one of the reasons and the other reason is, that I want to go in the in the women’s place where I can be more comfortable and more expressive. So, and in the women places, they don’t allow me. So, it’s a kind of confusion in their mind. And that’s why it’s a little bit complicated for me. That’s why, if I want to pray, I pray in my house.”
The service at the Liebfrauenkirche showed Saira that openness and integration of queer people in religious communities can be practiced. She wishes for this to be the case within the Ahmadiyya community as well. Using scientific, religious, and social arguments, as well as narratives of positive experiences such as the service, she strives to foster understanding among Ahmadiyya members for the needs of queer believers:
“And so, my purpose is to make my community understand, because it’s a very strong community here in Germany because many of them fled from Pakistan and they have been accepted in Germany. They have been welcomed. And I just want my people to understand queer people and to make place for them. We are also human beings. We also have beliefs. So, I just want … I’m trying my best. And I also gave them the reference of this prayer that like ‘Christianity is accepting queer people, and they are accepting that it’s just something natural and it's not some disease, that has been proposed for so many years. […]. And I have had so many debates with them. And I’ve already invited them to talk on table and by giving so many arguments of like scientific arguments and religious and social arguments. So far, I have blown up the situation. And I believe that in some months or some years I’ll be able to make place for queer people.”
written by Jennifer Faltermeier
Ein katholischer Gottesdienst, der in der Mainzer Liebfrauenkirche stattfand, stellte für die Transgendermuslima Saira [Name geändert], mit der wir im Rahmen unserer Interviews mit queeren Menschen mit Fluchterfahrungen sprechen durften, ein einprägsames Erlebnis dar. Aus ihrem Herkunftsland Pakistan war sie Unterdrückung für ihre religiöse und queere Identität gewohnt, doch hier in Mainz wurde sie in die Messe eingeladen.
Saira kam über einen ihrer Freunde, Jawad [Name geändert], in Berührung mit der Liebfrauenkirche. Auch Jawad identifiziert sich als queer und verfügt ebenfalls über Fluchterfahrung. Anders als Saira, ist er katholisch, besucht immer wieder Gottesdienste und berichtet, schon vielfältige Unterstützung durch Mitglieder der Liebfrauengemeinde erhalten zu haben. So erzählt er:
„The church people are very loving. Yeah. So, the place is very good. And I accept it like a blessing.“ Die offene Aufnahme war für ihn keine Selbstverständlichkeit „I am very surprised, that the LGBT are invited. In [Land aus dem er geflohen ist] of course, you know it’s very prohibited.”
Diese Offenheit bringt die Gemeinde nicht nur katholischen Menschen entgegen. Saira erzählt uns wie sie zu einer Messe eingeladen wurde, die in der Zeit um den Christopher-Street-Day stattgefunden hat: „They specially arranged one pray,“ Jawad ergänzt „for LBGT-Community“. Saira berichtet weiter: “and I was also invited and the pope [priest] was wearing a rainbow scarf and it really was good like ‚ok, this religion has so much welcoming’ and this is the exact thing that I am trying to start”.
Saira setzt sich für Offenheit für queere Menschen in der islamischen Gemeinschaft der Ahmadiyya Muslim*innen ein, der sie zugehörig ist. Wie die deutsche Vertretung des Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat auf ihrem Internetauftritt schreibt, entstand sie im Jahr 1889 in Indien: „Die AMJ ist die einzige islamische Bewegung, die daran glaubt, dass der von allen Muslimen erwartete Reformer und Messias in der Person Seiner Heiligkeit Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas (1835-1908) von Qadian (Indien) bereits erschienen ist. Alle anderen Muslime warten nach wie vor auf diese Person.“
Wie Saira berichtet, stellt in ihrem Herkunftsland Pakistan nicht nur die Glaubensausübung für alle Ahmadiyya Muslime – ob queer oder nicht – eine große Herausforderung dar. Verfassungsrechtlich wird ihre Gemeinschaft nicht als dem Islam zugehörig betrachtet, was für die Ahmadiyya Muslime repressive Konsequenzen hat:
„In our constitution it's written that the Ahmadys – because I belong to Ahmadiyya community – and they have been kicked out of the Islam, but we still believe that we are Muslims. And according to law, if we claim to be Muslim in Pakistan, we are put behind the bars.”
Auch bestimmte Ausdrücke, wie die Grußformel „As-salamu alaykum“ können sie nicht äußern da ihnen Bestrafung droht: „We can not say that, because if we say that, according to laws, we can be put behind the bars for three years or we have to pay some fine.”
In Deutschland hat die Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat seit 2013 den Status einer Körperschaft des öffentlichen Rechts. Angehörige können ihren Glauben ohne Verfolgung und Strafandrohung ausüben. Wie Saira erzählt gibt es inzwischen große Gemeinschaften in Deutschland. Über das ganze Land verteilt befinden sich Moscheen, Gebetszentren und Gemeinden, mit einer starken Konzentration auf das Rhein-Main-Gebiet. Doch für die Muslima stellt die Glaubensausübung in der Gemeinschaft mit anderen Gläubigen noch immer eine Herausforderung dar. Zwar gibt es Treffpunkte für gemeinsame Gebete, doch als Transgenderfrau kann sie nicht mit den anderen Frauen beten:
„Because of my condition it is a little bit complicated because I'm a transperson, I'm a transgender, and I identify myself as a female. So, I do not want to pray with men. And because they raise questions, because not all of them are well educated and they do not know anything about like transgenderism and transsexualism. So, I have to face questions. That's why I avoid it, because, uh, this is one of the reasons and the other reason is, that I want to go in the in the women's place where I can be more comfortable and more expressive. So, and in the women places, they don't allow me. So, it's a kind of confusion in their mind. And that's why it's a little bit complicated for me. That's why, if I want to pray, I pray in my house.”
Der Gottesdienst in der Liebfrauenkirche zeigte Saira, dass Offenheit und Integration queerer Menschen in Glaubensgemeinschaften gelebt werden können. Dies wünscht sie sich auf für die Ahmadiyya in ihrem Umfeld. Mit Hilfe von wissenschaftlichen, religiösen und sozialen Argumenten, aber auch mit Erzählungen über so positive Erfahrungen wie dem Gottesdienst, versucht sie bei den Ahmadiyya Verständnis für die Bedürfnisse queerer Gläubiger zu schaffen:
“And so, my purpose is to make my community understand, because it's a very strong community here in Germany because many of them fled from Pakistan and they have been accepted in Germany. They have been welcomed. And I just want my people to understand queer people and to make place for them. We are also human beings. We also have beliefs. So, I just want … I'm trying my best. And I also gave them the reference of this prayer that like ‘Christianity is accepting queer people, and they are accepting that it's just something natural and it's not some disease, that has been proposed for so many years. […]. And I have had so many debates with them. And I've already invited them to talk on table and by giving so many arguments of like scientific arguments and religious and social arguments. So far, I have blown up the situation. And I believe that in some months or some years I'll be able to make place for queer people.”
verfasst von Jennifer Faltermeier