Unthinkable even five years ago, gay Muslim performers are now appearing on London’s excitingly diverse gay scene. David McGillivray talks to two of them…
ASIFA LAHORE
Asifa performed at club Urban Desi and Club Kali before entering this year’s Drag Idol. She reached the final, coming third and will host Habibi, a new Arabic/Turkish club night, starting on 28th September…
“I was born in Pakistan and came to London as a baby. I’m very much a product of multicultural Britain. The first kind of thing I remember in the 80s was being attracted to Margaret Thatcher and Benazir Bhutto. I was very drawn to feminine political figures, beauty on a grand scale if you like.
“I’m very proud to be a Muslim. Islam was the centre of my world really. My community was based around the mosque and that was an integral part of my upbringing. When I was growing up I realised my homosexual feelings went against this. It’s an extremely confusing time. I remember there was this one time at the mosque, when I was doing Friday prayers. I felt so guilty being there because I felt there was something wrong with me. I was having sexual feelings for the men doing their prayers! I felt very isolated because I felt I was the only gay in the Asian village.
“Homosexuality is condemned in the Koran but it describes it as lust and rape. I don’t identify as being a lustful person. Today I’m happily married. I’m in a civil partnership with another Muslim man. My mum came and gave me away. It was probably the most beautiful experience of my life. There were some bits of the gay scene I didn’t identify with because I wanted to settle down and to commit myself to one person. I believe in gay marriage because I’m a Muslim! My stage act is based around being a Muslim in the gay world today.
“People say I’m original but I’m doing stuff that people have been doing for hundreds of years in Pakistan and India. I’m glad I can represent not only my community but multicultural Britain. Now wherever you go the LGBT community is so integrated. I think we’re lucky to be in a city where we can celebrate that.”
ALP HAYDAR
Former TV actor Alp switched to mainstream cabaret and later video promo work. Now he combines cabaret and video in his one-man gay shows. Alp Haydar’s Erotic Adventures in Atlantis is at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern’s on 2nd August as part of the ‘Hot August Fringe’…
“I’m Turkish Cypriot but I identify as British first and foremost. I’d say British Turk to make things simple for people. The Cypriot identity is quite a confusing one. A lot of my work comments on socio-political things while I take my clothes off.
“Sharia Law, who’s the character of my mother, is funny. I think she represents oppression, whether it’s something as simple as conservative parents or on a deeper level oppressive government. In each show she goes to a new extreme to correct me, initially an arranged marriage, then electric shock therapy, and gender reassignment surgery. There’s a lot of truth there in terms of the difficulties I’ve experienced.
“I don’t identify any more as Muslim. I’m from a Muslim background. My mother certainly forced a lot of that on to me. Because that was potentially harmful for a gay guy who was trying to understand the way he was, it’s something I feel I have a right to make commentary on. Islam maybe works in Saudi Arabia but, for me growing up in London as a second generation immigrant, the Islamic mindset didn’t help me in terms of exploring what I was feeling. On every turn I was ill, or a sodomite, as opposed to a young man who had an attraction to men. It was such a dirty sickness. I’d never say it was any worse than for a young Irish Catholic. But Islam was my demon; it was used as my bogeyman. So I guess I might still be trying to get away from that or destroy that monster.
“How do I get on with my family? It’s very easy to go and sit in the living room and be given tea and politely skirt issues of, ‘When are you going to settle down?’ because in my mind I’m on YouTube and I’m humping a dolphin and my mother’s the main villain.”
