Love is halal
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| admission free |
| 14 years and older |
| German |
| Mechanical Arena in the Foyer |
| Part of: SPÄTI |
Homosexuality is still forbidden by law in many Islamic countries, queer life is often only possible in a very hidden way. But even in a city like Berlin, it is often difficult for queer, devout Muslims to combine religion and openly lived sexuality.
The Ibn Rushd-Goethe Mosque, a cooperation partner of the exhibition “Aspects of Islam” at the Humboldt Forum, explicitly sees itself as a place where this alleged contradiction does not apply. In this Späti, the mosque’s imam, Seyran Ateş, reports on the background that led to the mosque’s founding and on her daily work. Queer Muslims from Berlin will talk to her about their difficulties and ways of solving them, both in the Muslim and the queer community.
Afterwards there will be music by Kurdish Queen, who has been working as a drag queen in clubs, theaters or shows for four years.
The event will be held in German.
Schedule:
5pm: concert and dance
6pm: talk
6:55pm – 9pm: DJ Set
Participants
Seyran Ateş is a German lawyer, author and women’s rights activist of Turkish and Kurdish descent. As a lawyer in Berlin, she mainly deals with criminal law and family law.
Seyran Ateş was a member of the German Islam Conference and took part in the German government’s integration summit.
Due to violent attacks and threats by opponents of the process as well as hostility from association politicians, she temporarily withdrew her license to practice law in 2006 and withdrew from the public eye altogether in 2009 after new death threats. She began appearing in public again in 2011 and reopened her law practice in 2012. In June 2022 she was a founding member of PEN Berlin.
Ateş is the initiator and co-founder of the Ibn Rushd Goethe Mosque in Berlin, which stands for a liberal Islam that, according to its own statements, separates secular and religious power and strives for a contemporary and gender-appropriate interpretation of the Koran and the Hadith. Ateş received a large number of death threats after founding the mosque community and is under round-the-clock police personal protection.
Dervish Ensemble
From years of shared experience of Sufi music and Middle Eastern music comes the Dervish Trio, which has established itself as an ensemble for music and revolving dance. Permanent members of the ensemble are ney player Valentina Bellanova, percussionist Sebastian Flaig, kanun player Shingo Ali Masuda and dancer Claire Fontanille. Depending on the occasion, other dancers are added, who can whirl in dervish dance to the music of the trio for up to two hours. This creates a feeling of trance and connection that takes listeners and performers on a journey into the timeless world of Sufi music.
The repertoire of the ensemble consists of classical and traditional music from the Middle East (Turkey, Iran, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Morocco and many others). The three ensemble members are experienced interpreters of Middle Eastern music, intensively active with many different projects in the German and international transcultural music scene.
Special characteristics of the ensemble are the ability to improvise and the flexibility: each audience is different, each dancer spins and twirls in a unique way. The ensemble adapts its performance to situations and energetic moods, creating a constant connection with the dancers and the audience.
Claire Fontanille: Dervish dance
Valentina Bellanova: Ney
Shingo Ali Masuda: Kanun
Sebastian Flaig: Percussion
https://www.valentinabellanova.com/
Besides her work as a drag queen, she is best known for her educational work for the queer Muslim community.
On her social media channels as well as on TV, she talks about her experiences as a drag queen as well as a Kurdish Muslim person.