“21 is how old I was when I repaired my relationship with Allah. I don’t mean this in the sense that I was angry at Allah, it was some Allah’s followers that I had the dispute with. Though I am still hurt by the way that they treated me, I now realize that I wrongfully took that out that anger on Islam. I don’t regret this journey though, because it made me the person I am today: queer, Muslim and proud. I went to an LGBTQ conference last year called Creating Change. At the conference there was a Muslim Caucus and being in that space was transformational for me. When people were talking about challenges they had faced reconciling their sexuality or gender identity with being Muslim, someone said, “God loves you and if you follow the path of love, justice and service nothing else matters”. I reflected a lot on those words, and I reflected on how I wanted to live my life. I realized that my love for humanity, my commitment to justice and service should shape my relationship with my faith and indeed nothing else should matter.” – Nowmee Shehab
Bio: Nowmee Shehab is a junior in the College studying Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies. She grew up in Bangladesh and moved to the United States when she was 16. On campus she is involved with Emory Pride, the Respect Program and the Center for Women. She loves spoken word poetry, cats and coffee.
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