(ANSAmed) - PARIS, APRIL 10 - An imam has blessed the union of a
same-sex Muslim couple in France. Several media, including
France 24 and Al Arabiya, report that Ludovic Zahed Mohamed and
his partner Qiyam al-Din Qiyam were not allowed to get legally
married in France, but that they still received the blessing of
the imam in the mosque of Sevran in February.
Ludovic Zahed Mohamed, a Frenchman of Algerian origin, and his
South African partner Qiyam al-Din reportedly got married in
line with the sharia (Islamic law) in the presence of Jamal, an
imam from the Mauritius islands. Jamal has blessed the union,
following exactly the same rites that are performed at the
marriage of heterosexual couples. Christian and Jewish prayers
were said as well during the ceremony, in honour of the couple's
Jewish and Catholic friends. They also had a civil wedding
ceremony in South Africa, where same-sex weddings are allowed
while France does not recognise this type of union.
Ludovic Mohamed Zahed, a practising Muslim, has recently
published a book, 'Le Coran et la chair' ('The Koran and the
Flesh'), an attempt to reconcile Islam and homosexuality.
''Today I am convinced that if the Prophet Muhammad were still alive, he would celebrate gay weddings,'' writes Mohamed in his book that was published in France on March 29. The man, born in 1977, has also founded an association for the defence of homosexual Muslims in France (HM2F).
The socialist candidate for the presidential elections that will be held in April and May, Francois Hollande, leading in the polls, has made marriage and adoption for same-sex couples part of his programme.
''Today I am convinced that if the Prophet Muhammad were still alive, he would celebrate gay weddings,'' writes Mohamed in his book that was published in France on March 29. The man, born in 1977, has also founded an association for the defence of homosexual Muslims in France (HM2F).
The socialist candidate for the presidential elections that will be held in April and May, Francois Hollande, leading in the polls, has made marriage and adoption for same-sex couples part of his programme.
