SARAJEVO, November 16 (IIVQM)  –  After long negotiations with the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the necessary preparatory activities, the International Initiative for Visibility of Queer Muslims (IIVQM).
 

The group has become legally recognised and is registered as a non-governmental organisation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  As such, it is the first ever officially recognised queer Muslim society in a predominantly Muslim country (or a country where Muslims are not considered minority), as well as the only queer faith-based organisation in the Balkans.

IIVQM was founded in November 2004, by a group of young LGBTIQ activists from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Lebanon.  Its primary goal is to establish a faith-based dialogue between the sexual, gender and cultural minorities and the rest of our societies.

It aims at gathering queer Muslim scholars and activists who will speak out for the oppressed queer Muslim community, contribute to the creation and development of the LGBTIQ Movement especially in so called ‘Muslim countries’, and represent its interests in the international religious and human rights arena.

If you would like to find out more about IIVQM, how you can join or support the group, contact can be made by email to: iivqm.bih (at) gmail.com.