Muslims and queers united

The president of Samtökin ‘78, The National Queer Organization in Iceland welcomes the chair of the Association of Muslims in Iceland attitude towards gay marriages. He says the two group face similar adversity in their fights and hopes to establish good contact with the Muslim congregations.

“I am delighted that this is his opinion,” says Hilmar Hildarson Magnúsarson, president of Samtökin ‘78, The National Queer Organization in Iceland. Refering to an interview last week with Ibrahim Sverrir Agnarsson, the chair of the Association of Muslims in Iceland who said that if asked he would assist gay Muslims couples to marry.

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Hilmar Hildarson Magnúsarson, president of Samtökin ’78.

He agrees with Ibrahim Sverrir on there being some similarities between the status of Muslims and queer people in Iceland. “I am not a member of the Association of Muslims in Iceland but we have through the years found similarities between our fight and theirs, and also that of African-Americans in the United States or women’s liberation, for that matter. Many things unite groups that face adversity and I believe there are, without a doubt many similarities in experience.”

For example Hilmar sees likeness in comments made on the internet about queers, Muslims and other minority groups. Comments  which he believes to be more visible now than ever before. “The likeness is of course there. You can still find very fierce comments about queer people on the internet today and we targeted this on Reykjavik Pride last year by having signs with „best off“ quotes, or so to speak, from comments off the internet.”

He says that these kind of comments are quite often horrid, more than hurtful, they are criminal. “Sometimes they are about Jews, sometimes about queer people and sometimes about Muslims. I find the likeness between them so striking that it’s like a standardised text with holes for nouns to be inserted at will. Sort of ‘insert word for group you dislike’ comments. I know from personal experience that you have to distance yourself from these brutal comments. Sometimes you can’t read them but sometimes you have to as they too are part of the discussion.”

…these kind of comments are quite often horrid, more than hurtful, they are criminal. “Sometimes they are about Jews, sometimes about queer people and sometimes about Muslims.”

But there is a difference he says. “Our cause enjoys much more support today than it did in the past. It is probably not very clever politics nowadays to be against queer people.” Adding though that there will always be politicians who will try to get votes from hostility and negative feelings towards minority groups. He believes foreigners, including queer foreigners can be targeted by such politicians. “Simply because these people usually have a weaker social status and a smaller network of friends and it is much easier to marginalize people you don’t know anything about.”

Cooperation between queers and muslims

When asked how the National Queer Organization would react if a gay Muslim sought assistance Hilmar says that everyone is met on an individual basis, their challenges and the problems they face. “For that we have consultation. We don’t judge people. Our target group is queer people and that means of course that all queer people are welcome.”

But are there any Muslims belonging to the National Queer Organization? “We don’t distinguish people on grounds of religion. We are aiming for an informal group for immigrants and foreigners and thus we try to welcome homosexual, bisexual, intersexual and transgender people who are not born in Iceland to join Icelandic society.”

Hilmar explains that there are in fact two groups working with in The National Queer Organization. One is composed of foreign nationals, people who have moved to Iceland, including those who have gained Icelandic citizenship. “The other group we want to reach out to are asylum seekers and refugees. In both groups we are talking about people coming from all over the world, with different backgrounds, different nationalities, religion and so on.” So even though the two groups have some similarities they have very different needs.

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Ibrahim Sverrir Agnarsson, chair of The Association of Muslims in Iceland.

According to him the groups are also a clear example of how the organization’s focus has widened in recent years. “Now we also focus on disparity within the queer community, for example being a foreigner in Iceland, being disable and so on. We increasingly concentrate on variables that influence social status and among that is being a foreigner, not born in Iceland but living here.” He names an example. “I know gay people of Arabian origin living in Iceland who have been met with antipathy because of it. People find themselves belonging to many minority groups at the same time and this can cause problems.”

Going back to Ibrahim Sverrir’s comments Hilmar says the National Queer Organization wants to have more and deeper discussions on queer culture and religion, on how queers fit within religion and vice versa. “Just as Ibrahim Sverrir mentioned last week, there are liberal mosques who rejoice queers. In Iceland, Fríkirkjan – The Free Church in Reykjavik amongst others has done the same. This is a very interesting debate and I think it has never been as fitting as now.

Through the years at the National Queer Organization has been in good contact with many people of faith, Christian ministers and congregations and I hope to establish the same with the Muslim congregations. Our position is that we are here to build bridges, increase understanding and respect.”

Á. Óskarsson
Á. Óskarsson

Á. Óskarsson offers a variety of products and services to sports centers, swimming pools, schools, kindergartens, and the general public. The company specializes in sport-related products, activity-focused games, and a wide range of solutions for sports facilities.

Á. Óskarsson has been involved in numerous big projects related to building sports facilities and has made it their benchmark to offer good quality products and equipment since the company was founded.

See links to social media in the upper left-hand corner

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Á. Óskarsson selur fjölbreytt vöruúrval fyrir íþróttahús, sundlaugar, skóla og leikskóla og einnig ýmsar vörur til einkaafnota. Fyrirtækið selur vörur til íþróttaiðkunnar og leikja ásamt því að bjóða upp á ýmsar lausnir fyrir íþróttamannvirki.

Á. Óskarsson hefur komið að fjölda stórra verkefna við byggingu íþróttamannvirkja og hefur frá stofnun kappkostað að bjóða vandaðar og endingargóðar vörur.

Tenglar á samfélagsmiðla eru í efra horninu vinstra megin.

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Blush

    Blush was founded in 2011 when it started selling high quality sex products. The goal from the beginning was to change the market and take the discussion about sex products to a higher level. Today Blush provides professional services in a pleasant environment that fulfills different needs, both for individuals and couples. Blush respects diversity and wants to set a good example in all of its messaging to target audiences. Sexual health and equality in sex is important and Blush wants to focus on those issues through education and open discussion. Blush works in a socially responsible manner for society, their customers and the environment.

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    Omnom Chocolate
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        Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) is a global technology company serving the capital markets and other industries. Our diverse offering of data, analytics, software and services enables clients to optimize and execute their business vision with confidence.

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        Blue Lagoon
        - One of the 25 Wonders of the World

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        The Blue Lagoon. A wonder of the world. A world of wonder.

        Landsbankinn
        - leading financial institution
        Landsbankinn

        Landsbankinn is a leading Icelandic financial institution. It offers a full range of financial services and is the market leader in the Icelandic financial service sector with the largest branch network.

        The present bank was established on 7 October 2008 but the history of its predecessor dates back to 1886. The bank is owned by the National Treasury of Iceland, which holds 98.2% of its share capital, and other shareholders who own 1.8%.

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        It intends to achieve this aim by building solid infrastructure and a strong team of 1.100 employees, by listening to its customers and by respecting and encouraging its employees to actively participate in their community. Landsbankinn was a founding member of Festa, a Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility, and is a member of the UN Global Compact.

        Landsbankinn has been a proud sponsor of the Reykjavik Pride since it was first celebrated in Iceland.

        Dohop
        - get inspired
        Dohop

        Dohop allows people to find the cheapest flights available with just one click. Founded in Reykjavik in 2004, it is the only Icelandic company of its kind and quickly became the go-to tool for finding cheap flights among the locals. Dohop finds the best deals among hundreds of different airlines and online travel agencies, to make sure that the user is getting the cheapest price. Dohop also offers hotel and car rental search engines, so users can make all of their travel bookings from a single website.

        Dohop‘s specialty is finding so-called “self-connect” flight options, which can save travelers money by booking a ticket through two or more different airlines. The ability to look for these self-connect option is what sets Dohop apart from its competition, as it can save people hundreds of dollars on certain routes.

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        VSÓ Ráðgjöf

           

          VSÓ Ráðgjöf er alhliða ráðgjafar- og verkfræðifyrirtæki sem leggur áherslu á trausta og faglega þjónustu sem tryggir viðskiptavinum hagkvæmustu lausnir hverju sinni, skilar raunverulegum árangri og stuðlar að samkeppnisforskoti.  Á skrifstofum VSÓ í Reykjavík og í Noregi starfar yfir 80 manna samhentur hópur verkfræðinga og annarra tæknimenntaðra starfsmanna.

          Macland
          - for all your Apple needs
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          Ísey skyr
          - once tasted never forgotten

          Our Story
          Once upon a time, 1,100 years ago in fact, Nordic settlers began arriving in Iceland. They brought with them the skills and knowledge for producing skyr. As time passed, the know-how and recipe for this nutritious food slowly faded out elsewhere in the Nordic region. Luckily, the Icelandic skyr-making tradition continued.

          For centuries, Icelandic skyr formed a cornerstone of the national diet, helping to keep people strong in living conditions that were often harsh. On family farms countrywide, it was the women who nurtured this dairy and passing on both the recipe and the original Icelandic skyr cultures from mother to daughter.

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          You can read more about Ísey skyr on our website.

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