A Way Beyond the Rainbow

Across 88 podcast episodes, Waheed Jensen has shared the everyday struggles of Muslims experiencing same-sex attractions (SSA) and gender dysphoria (GD) who want to live a life true to Allah and Islam. He has shared resources and practical solutions and tried to create a safe space for Muslims who struggle with SSA or GD, as well as parents, family members, friends, imams, chaplains, community leaders, and the community at large.

We spoke to Waheed earlier in November 2020. Since its inception, the podcast has had over 42,000 downloads from 118 countries around the world. The podcast covers five seasons with topics addressing the psychological dimensions of SSA and GD, spiritual dimensions, support systems, marriage and celibacy, healing and recovery work, contemporary and sociopolitical themes, revisionist arguments, gender nonconformity and transgenderism, Shar’i perspectives as well as material relevant to parents and families, spouses, teachers and educators as well as imams, chaplains and community leaders.

Inspired by the podcast, A Way Beyond the Rainbow: A Comprehensive Muslim Guide to Dealing with Matters of Same-Sex Attraction and Gender Dysphoria is a five-volume synthesis of the podcast content in book form, which will be available for free download in PDF form starting July 2022.

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Time: 5pm (BST), 6pm (CEST)

Experiencing familial difficulties and trauma from an early age, coupled with a sense of alienation from religion, Waheed struggled with reconciling his faith and identity as a man with his incongruous same-sex attractions. He later found himself dealing with severe anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, shame and suicidality.

Realising that the combination of Muslim + SSA + trying to stay true to Islam and God was a turbulent journey of its own, he took the first step to shed light on the matter in 2015, using the pseudonym Waheed Jensen, he published his article The Strange Elephant in the Room: Struggles, Passions and Hopes. Since then, e-mails from all over the world started pouring in, with many men and women struggling with SSA feeling heard and seeking help in the process. Later, Waheed discovered the Straight Struggle community and was involved with different initiatives to help this community, providing meaningful and practical solutions instead of the usual rhetoric heard from Muslims on what is haram (forbidden) and what is halal (lawful).