Faisal Alam

Faisal Alam is a gay Pakistani American who founded the Al-Fatiha Foundation, an organization dedicated to advancing the cause of gay, lesbian, and transgender Muslims.

Alam arrived in the United States from Pakistan in 1987, at the age of ten, and resided in the rural middle-class town of Ellington, Connecticut. In 1997, after a failed engagement to a Muslim girl while he was attending Northeastern University, he started a Yahoo! Group for LGBT Muslims that quickly became very popular. He founded Al-Fatiha in 1998 and served as its President until stepping down in 2004. He is a member of the National Religious Leadership Roundtable and the LGBT Program of Human Rights Watch.

Faisal Alam is a queer-identified Muslim activist of Pakistani descent. He is the Founder & former Director of Al-Fatiha, a US-based organization dedicated to supporting and empowering Muslims who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and those questioning their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Faisal began the first internet-based email discussion group (listserv) for LGBT Muslims in November of 1997 (when he was 19 years old) which marked the first time that LGBT Muslims could discuss issues of concern in a safe environment. The listserv eventually led to the first gathering for LGBTQ Muslims in October of 1998 in Boston, where Al-Fatiha was founded. At the formation of Al-Fatiha, Faisal was 20 years old. Since Al-Fatiha's inception, Faisal has traveled across the United States and around the world (including London, Cape Town, New Delhi, Karachi and Bangkok) to meet with LGBTQ Muslims and to engage in conversation and to network to create a global movement for liberation and equality for Muslim sexual and gender minorities.

Since its inception 8 years ago, Al-Fatiha has grown to include eight chapters in the United States with another seven affiliate chapters in three countries (the United Kingdom, South Africa and Canada).

Al-Fatiha has 700 members in the United States. In the eight years of its formation, the organization has provided resources and information to more than 3,000 people around the world. The organization has held seven conferences and retreats in three countries that have brought together hundreds of LGBTQ Muslims & their allies. Al-Fatiha's mission is to provide support and to empower to LGBTIQ Muslims who are trying to reconcile their sexual orientation or gender identity with their religion (Islam). Al-Fatiha also advocates on behalf of the LGBTIQ Muslim community in immigration, refugee, and asylum cases, and in the HIV/AIDS and human rights movement. Under Faisal's leadership and as an all volunteer-run organization, Al-Fatiha continues to serve as a crucial resource for those that are struggling with issues of sexuality, gender identity, and faith.

Faisal is the youngest member of the National Religious Leadership Roundtable (NRLR), an interfaith network of more than fifty lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender leaders in the United States. He currently serves on the board of Al-Fatiha as its Membership Coordinator and Secretary. Faisal is also an advisory committee member of the LGBT Program at the Human Rights Watch. He is a former advisory board member of the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California and a former advisory board member of the Families of Color (FOC) network for PFLAG National (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), and a former national advisory member of the Fellowship for Reconciliation LGBT Network.

Faisal has spoken at dozens of events including LGBT interfaith services, inter-religious LGBT panel discussions, at synagogues and churches. Additionally he has presented on Islam and Sexuality at more than thirty universities and colleges across the country, including Brown University, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Michigan, Bates College, New York University, Oberlin College, Williams College, University of Louisville, University of Colorado and . He has also been a keynote speaker at major events including: Youth Pride Day in Washington, DC (April 2000), the Millennium March on Washington (April 2000), and the San Francisco Pride Parade & Festival (June 2001). Faisal has been featured as a plenary speaker at conferences including Creating Change (sponsored by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force - November 2001), Amnesty International (Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference – 2001 & Mid-West Regional Conference – 2001), and the University of California system-wide LGBT Conference (February 2003).