These are powerful stories. Of hurt, death and passion. But most importantly of forbidden love. In Illegal Citizens: Queer Lives in the Muslim World, Afdhere Jama records the lives of queer people in the Muslim world. And what makes the work stand out is the subjects themselves and the matter-of-factness with which the author tells their stories
Instead there are stories made poignant by history and the defiance of it. In Sudan, there is Omar and his lost lover Ahmed. They were united and separated by the battle that bled the East African country for years. Omar belonged to the Sudan Liberation Army that fought to liberate his village from the Janjaweed. One day, when he went to get water from a riverbank, he was beaten unconscious with a gun and taken prisoner by the Janjaweed. Omar later tells of the incident. “It does not make sense to anyone, but there was a tender feeling in that (the blow).” In captivity, Omar found love. The person who had hit him, Ahmed, apologised and explained that it was only part of a demonstration to the younger cadre. The two were attracted to each other and after a night of lovemaking, Ahmed helped Omar escape and returned to face the consequence. Omar has since quit the SLA and waits for Ahmed to return.
All stories are a revelation, but some are startling. For example, a couple in Bangladesh discover on their first night that both husband and wife are bisexuals. The two burst into laughter. The author beautifully brings out the couple’s playful acceptance of the situation and their tolerant way of dealing with it. Both have lovers outside their marriage — another bisexual couple — though they are deeply in love with each other.
People sometimes find unique solutions to their situations. In Tehran there is Hossein who has promised his father to stay back in a country intolerant of his sexuality. In return, his father will ask him no questions. In Lebanon, Fatima, who is a lesbian, has found a family and children she always yearned for with an Algerian man. In return, she plays the “perfect” wife.
These solutions extend to reconciling their sexuality with their religion. Like the Bangladeshi couple who requested their non-religious, Catholic lover couple to abstain from pork and alcohol.
The stories from India — of Soniya who finds love in the Aligarh University and of Mumtaz who moves to Bombay to fend for herself — are not extraordinary. But Jama’s stories give voice to women-who-love-women and the transgendered community, who are traditionally marginalised here.
The book is a must read for all those who delight in love stories.