The Homophobia and Stigma Endured with being Gay, Muslim, and Living with HIV

Extraordinary article on three gay Muslim men living with HIV and the taboos encountered, which stifle dialogue within the Muslim community.

No statistics are available about the HIV infection rate among Muslims. Boyd points out that many men convert to Islam while in prison and may not be aware of their infection, and thus take the virus with them back to the community where they may transmit HIV to their partners, both male and female. In this case, silence does indeed equal death.

At the presentation, a social worker asked what could be done to open up lines of communication to the Muslim community regarding MSM and HIV/AIDS education and prevention. All three of the men shook their heads and said, “Nothing.” But then Jenkins theorized that perhaps one way to get a foot in the door would be to frame HIV and other STDs in terms of health disparities, minimizing the association with sex. People might respond better if they thought about it as a fight for health care equality.