DD's lgbt q friend wants to attend masjid

[farah1983]

Daughter (for privacy i wont say which area but we are in the uk and she is a young adult living at home with me) brought over a friend...

Shed been telling me about this friend for months now. I first assumed this friend was a non Muslim male based on the English neutral name and the fact that she called this person ' he' however she then mentioned that this friend was Muslim (this was when she told me that this person told her to ask me if I was alright after the bombing Iran... we are sunni but we have shia relatives with ties to Iran so we were disheartened at the news). She said that ' he' is a revert and I was fully supportive of that no judgement, when she mentioned that this person has unsupportive family I assumed she meant because of the fact that 'he' is a revert. i did really feel sorry

I met this friend for the first time a few days ago on the weekend and the hips, female voice , blond thin wispy hair on the face stood out to me. I didn't want to assume malice so afterwards I asked her if the person is intersex or has a medical issue and she said no ' he' is a transgender.

She has mentioned that ' he' will try to join a local masjid. my cousin owns one locally and the one my daughters friend wants to visit isn't that one luckily but its one where members of the local community who i know go to.I feel as if it would be disrespectful for this person to go ? I would be 100% fine with finding her female spaces if she were to come to me to ask but I think its both disrespectful to my faith and the space (for example I'd never try to pray with men, of course unless in my own home where its always permitted, I know there's some female section masjids its not my personal preference but it can be a middle ground for this person), and it also may be dangerous for her to attend. most of us muslims don't agree with lgbtq but are respectful and aren't hostile. that being said some people may give this person a hard time and i dont know if this person knows that

Im thinking of consulting my relative about this but im not sure. sisters what would you do in this situation. Its not really my business I know that but if this person does try to join a masjid here then it may be an issue

Is there a liberal/progressive masjid in the area that this person could attend, where women and men pray together?

i imagine it exists somewhere in the country but i dont think theyd be common, in the area at least.

You have to remind your daughter of the situation, that it would be very distressing for the mosque’s usual worshiping community and for her friend. A revert probably should show more respect, or their commitment is of little value.

And advise your daughter she needs to educate her friend.

In London, there's something called the Inclusive Mosque Initiative that might be able to help.

But yes, it sounds as if your daughter might need to have a kindly word with her friend...

Jzk, This is what I was thinking but was unsure if I was being too judgemental

i believe there is a Muslim mixed praying group in Oxford this group had a women leading Friday prayers (not the established mosque)

It’s really important that we all remember that other people’s beliefs and values are as important to them as ours are to us. So whatever we want to be the case, we can’t make other people collude with us. I’m Christian. I can’t make atheists pray before meetings or come to church.
What we can do is seek out sympathisers, so DD’s friend needs help to find a worshipping community that can accommodate her.

I'll definitely keep that in mind. I don't want this person to feel shunned/unwelcome to practising Islam either