Queer Muslim Subjectivity

Identities of nonnormative genders and sexualities in Malaysia have recently transformed in tune with global developments. The particularity of a queer identity (i.e., an identity by people who do not feel that they belong to the cisheteronormative majority society in terms of their sexual or gendered orientation or identity) evolved in the Malaysian context only around 10–15 years ago. This can be traced by the growing visibility of local queer Malay Muslims in Malaysia, foremost through claiming a queer subject position in public space and on pilgrimage, given the importance of this spiritual journey for every believing Muslim. Yet the claiming of this position is in a reciprocal relationship with repression: state Islamic institutions aim to marginalize queer people in Malaysia. One main approach to reach their goal is to ambitiously pursue the idea of “rehabilitating” queer people through offering Islamic education programs that include pilgrimage packages. This article deals with recent developments of “queerness” as a subject position that is situated in a context of transnational self-awareness of LGBTQIA+, embedded in broader reconfigurations of subjectivation and selfhood in Malaysia. It thereby contributes to scholarship on queer identities in Islam.