‘There’s a place for gays in Islam,’ Moroccan filmmaker says

Washington- In a recent interview with France 24 English, Morocco’s sole openly homosexual writer/filmmaker, Abdellah Taia optimistically foreshadows Moroccan society in the future, stating, “Morocco is actually ahead of other Arab countries when it comes to homosexuality, because at least the issue has been debated in the press.” He also said that “there’s a place for gays in Islam. As he awaits Morocco’s approval to release his first film, ‘Salvation Army’, he discusses growing up in Morocco as a homosexual and his lasting connection to his homeland.

Salvation Army, Taia’s autobiographical film about growing up gay in Morocco, chronicles the obstacles that Taia faced to finding his true self while living amongst a society that shunned his sexuality, and a government that punished it. In his piece for the New York Times in 2012, Taia describes the moment when he could no longer suffer the rebuke from his peers, family, and neighbors and, before physically leaving Morocco to live in Europe, he mentally escaped from his situation. He acknowledges his difficult childhood as merely a memory: “Today I grow nostalgic for little effeminate Abdellah. He and I share a body, but I no longer remember him. He was innocence. Now I am only intellect. He was naïve. I am clever. He was spontaneous. I am locked in a constant struggle with myself.”

Today, Taia is hopeful that his symbolic return to Morocco via his film will help re-affirm the attachment that he has to his homeland. He feels that, although some Moroccans may use Islam in the government to perpetuate reproach of lifestyles that are different from traditionalism, he still maintains a strong connection to Islamic culture—Islamic philosophy, sociology, and poetry in particular. To Taia, the idea is natural, “of course there’s a place for gays in Islam.”

But mostly, Taia wants to turn Morocco into a place where young people feel free to express themselves openly and without societal or criminal consequences. He stated, “I definitely feel a connection to my homeland, and will for the rest of my life. I lived in Morocco for 25 years. I feel attached to the land there, the sky. Morocco is inside of me: its culture, its violence, its folklore. At the same time, I am aware that in Morocco, I was prevented from becoming what I am today, from feeling free. And I see that people over there are still suffocating. But that doesn’t take away from the very strong emotions I still have for the country.”

The film, which was shown recently at the Venice Film Festival, represents Arab cinema’s first gay protagonist and is currently under consideration by the National Centre for Moroccan Cinema to be released in Morocco.