Nur Warsame

{{Short description|Australian gay imam (born 1984)}} '''Nur Warsame''' ({{langx|ar|نور وارسام}};<ref>{{Cite web |last=فتحى |first=رباب |date=2018-01-11 |title=صحيفة بريطانية: إمام مثلى يخطط لفتح أول مسجد صديق للمثليين باستراليا |url=https://www.youm7.com/story/2018/1/11/%D8%B5%D8%AD%D9%8A%D9%81%D8%A9-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%B7%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A5%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%85-%D9%85%D8%AB%D9%84%D9%89-%D9%8A%D8%AE%D8%B7%D8%B7-%D9%84%D9%81%D8%AA%D8%AD-%D8%A3%D9%88%D9%84-%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%AC%D8%AF-%D8%B5%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%82-%D9%84%D9%84%D9%85%D8%AB%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%8A%D9%86/3596136 |url-status= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260510132537/https://www.youm7.com/story/2018/1/11/%D8%B5%D8%AD%D9%8A%D9%81%D8%A9-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%B7%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A5%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%85-%D9%85%D8%AB%D9%84%D9%89-%D9%8A%D8%AE%D8%B7%D8%B7-%D9%84%D9%81%D8%AA%D8%AD-%D8%A3%D9%88%D9%84-%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%AC%D8%AF-%D8%B5%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%82-%D9%84%D9%84%D9%85%D8%AB%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%8A%D9%86/3596136 |archive-date=2026-05-10 |access-date=2025-11-12 |website=اليوم السابع |language=ar}}</ref> born {{circa|1984}}<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m8LpjAqCBA |title=The Aydin Show #8 - Nur Warsame (Gay Imam) |date=2020-05-03 |last=The Aydin Show |access-date=2025-11-12 |via=YouTube}} At 0:37 "I'm 36 years old".</ref>) is a gay imam from Australia. He is a ''hafiz'', i.e. one who has memorised the Quran; he is the second Victorian imam to earn this title.<ref name="Lattouf">{{cite news |last1=Lattouf |first1=Antoinette |author-link=Antoinette Lattouf |date=28 April 2016 |title=The secret mosques opening their doors to gay Muslims |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-29/secret-mosques-doors-lgbti-muslims/7341142 |url-status= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260510133202/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-29/secret-mosques-doors-lgbti-muslims/7341142 |archive-date=2026-05-10 |work=ABC News}}</ref>

Warsame was born in Somalia<ref name="Abboud">{{cite news |last1=Abboud |first1=Patrick |title=Meet Australia's first openly gay Imam |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/the-feed/article/meet-australias-first-openly-gay-imam/82bfxu2f4 |work=SBS News |date=14 July 2016}}</ref> and lived in Egypt and Canada as a child. He moved to Melbourne in Australia as a high school student, and has been an imam since 2003.<ref name="Lattouf" />

Previously married to a woman and with one daughter,<ref name="Abboud" /> Warsame came out as Australia's first gay imam in 2010,<ref name="Polianskaya">{{cite news |last1=Polianskaya |first1=Alina |title=A gay Imam hopes to open one of the first LGBT+ friendly mosques |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/gay-imam-muslim-lgbt-friendly-mosque-australia-melbourne-nur-warsame-a8151206.html |work=The Independent |date=10 January 2018}}</ref> As of 2018, he was the only openly gay imam in the country.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Glazzard |first1=Jonathan |last2=Bancroft |first2=Kate |title=Meeting the Mental Health Needs of Learners 11-18 Years |date=22 October 2018 |publisher=Critical Publishing |isbn=978-1-912508-15-0 |page=95 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dZCCDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA95}}</ref>

He studied partly at Al-Azhar University.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m8LpjAqCBA |title=The Aydin Show #8 - Nur Warsame (Gay Imam) |date=2020-05-03 |last=The Aydin Show |access-date=2025-11-12 |via=YouTube}} At 3:33.</ref> He served as an imam at several mosques in Australia before he came out as gay.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m8LpjAqCBA |title=The Aydin Show #8 - Nur Warsame (Gay Imam) |date=2020-05-03 |last=The Aydin Show |access-date=2025-11-12 |via=YouTube}} At 8:40.</ref>

Since 2014, he has run the underground LGBT support group ''Marhaba'' ('welcome' in Arabic)<ref name="Lattouf" /><ref>{{cite book |last1=Mohummadally |first1=Alyena |editor1-last=Pallotta-Chiarolli |editor1-first=Maria |editor-link=Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli |title=Living and Loving in Diversity: An anthology of Australian multicultural queer adventures |date=24 September 2018 |publisher=Wakefield Press |isbn=978-1-74305-595-3 |page=319 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yFfYDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA319 |chapter=Queer Muslims in Australia Yahoo! Group: A first in Australia}}</ref> and says he was ostracised by the Muslim community because of his sexual orientation, and intended to open Australia's first mosque which was open to the LGBT community.<ref name="Polianskaya" /><ref>{{cite news |last1=Lattouf |first1=Antoinette |author-link=Antoinette Lattouf |title=Gay Imam hopes to open Australia's first LGBTI-friendly mosque |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-09/gay-imam-hopes-to-open-australias-first-lgbti-friendly-mosque/9310952 |work=ABC News |date=9 January 2018 |language=en-AU}}</ref> That year, he spoke at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Aslan |first1=Alice |title=Muslim activists promote acceptance of queer Muslims |url=https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/muslim-activists-promote-acceptance-queer-muslims |work=Green Left |issue=1171 |date=1 March 2018}}</ref>

== References == {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Warsame, Nur}} Category:Gay Muslims Category:Living people Category:LGBTQ imams Category:Sunni imams Category:21st-century imams Category:21st-century Australian LGBTQ people Category:Australian gay men Category:Somalian LGBTQ people Category:Somalian emigrants to Australia