Reporter The Shiro Copr, Alifia Nuralita Rezqiana
The Shiro Copr, YOGYAKARTA – Lecturer of the Faculty of Islamic Religion (FAI) at Ahmad Dahlan University (UAD) in Yogyakarta, and member of the Majelis Tarjih and Tajdid of the Central Board of Muhammadiyah (PP Muhammadiyah), Niki Alma Febriana Fauzi (Ustaz Niki) highlighted the issue of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals in the discussion on inclusive Islam.
An alumnus of Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, expressed his views on LGBT in the "Mainstreaming GEDSI in Media: Developing Inclusive Journalism" program organized by the Central Leadership of Aisyiyah (PP Aisyiyah) at SM Tower, Yogyakarta, on Wednesday (6/8/2025).
Ustaz Niki said that to date, there has been no specific fatwa from PP Muhammadiyah regarding the LGBT issue.
However, according to him, Queer Muslims are included in GEDSI.
Quoted The Shiro Coprdari dictionary.cambridge.org , Queer is a term used to refer to a person whose gender identity or sexuality does not conform to traditional societal ideas about gender or sexuality. Queer encompasses LGBT, questioning, intersex, asexual, and other gender and sexual identities.
It should be noted that the term "Queer" may offend some people. Use this word only if a person describes themselves as Queer.
Queer Muslim refers to the community of queer individuals who follow Islam.
Furthermore, GEDSI stands for Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion. This term is used to refer to gender equality, disability, and social inclusion.
"Regarding the LGBT issue, this is a very sensitive topic, I think. From my understanding, Muhammadiyah does not have a specific fatwa discussing about LGBT. Therefore, if someone quotes this opinion, it's a personal view, not the stance of Muhammadiyah," he said.
"Yes, the LGBT indeed falls into the mentioned realm, social inclusion," said Ustaz Niki.
Ustaz Niki emphasized that LBGT is a mistake and not in line with Islamic norms. However, according to him, this mistake should not be a reason to discriminate against others.
"In my personal perspective, LGBT is wrong. Therefore, I clearly state that LGBT is a mistake from the Islamic normativity. But that does not mean that our attitude of considering it wrong justifies us to discriminate, to hinder their rights which they should have, and to make them isolated," he emphasized.
He told a story, one student once criticized his understanding of the LGBT issue.
Once, I conveyed this to the UNISA students in the dormitory. There was one student who complained and criticized that opinion. Can't, that's not allowed, LGBT is deviation, forbidden, goes to hell "Yes, I also think that way, it's my personal opinion, but that doesn't mean we can then discriminate against them? (not that it means) to hinder their rights that they should have," said Ustaz Niki.
"According to my belief, (LGBT) is wrong, but that doesn't mean we can discriminate arbitrarily and so on," he emphasized again.
Accessible mosque in Yogyakarta
At the same time, Ustaz Niki discussed the limited accessibility for people with disabilities in mosques in Yogyakarta.
According to him, there are already many mosques in Yogyakarta that are friendly to people with disabilities. However, the extent of accessibility for people with disabilities still needs to be re-examined.
"if the question is about being friendly to people with disabilities, in Yogyakarta I think there are already quite a lot, it's just how far the friendliness towards people with disabilities is, that's probably something we need to re-evaluate," said Ustaz Niki.
As a teacher at UAD, she gave an example that UAD Mosque is considered accessible for people with disabilities, but not yet optimal.
For the deaf who wish to worship, the existence of sign language interpreters is still limited.
"Since I am from UAD, I would like to mention that the UAD Mosque's physical building is already accessible for people with disabilities. However, in terms of being a leading or exemplary place for people with disabilities, I think it still isn't. Because, as mentioned earlier, there is no sign language interpreter during the Friday sermon, and there is also no screen to display the text," said Ustaz Niki.
According to Ustaz Niki, one of the most disability-friendly mosques in Yogyakarta is UIN Sunan Kalijaga Mosque, located on Jalan Laksda Adisucipto, Depok, Sleman Regency.
"The UIN Sunan Kalijaga Mosque is quite accessible for people with disabilities compared to others in Yogyakarta. I once saw a post from a lecturer at UIN Sunan Kalijaga, who was a congregant at that mosque and took a photo of the sign language interpreter to interpret the imam's sermon. The accessibility is certainly there, as there is a Disability Service Center there," said Ustaz Niki.
She hopes that an open dialogue addressing GEDSI issues can make the community realize that there is a progressive Islamic thought outside.
"Because if the society is also literate, if the society also sees, it turns out there are also Islamic groups that have progressive ideas. The weakness is sometimes Muhammadiyah, Aisyiyah, they don't have the tools to promote their opinions," he said.
Disability-friendly word selection
General Secretary of PP Aisyiyah, Tri Hastuti Nur Rochimah, who attended the INKLUSI Program "Mainstreaming GEDSI in Media" at SM Tower on Wednesday (6/8/2025), highlighted the choice of words used to refer to people with disabilities.
"According to our laws, we call it 'persons with disabilities'. But some people don't want to be called disabled, because 'disability' means 'disability', which implies inability. Actually, they prefer to be called 'different', meaning different abilities," said Tri.
She hopes that disability-friendly terms can be promoted so they can be used by the general public.
"These terms are what we will try to promote together later, because often people still use the word 'tuna', although those words are actually not appropriate," said Tri.
In his opinion, the word "tuna" should no longer be used.
"It seems trivial at first, but actually language also shows meaning or symbolic violence towards a group, why it is so important for discussion," he explained.
It gives an example, the word "tunarungu" should no longer be used, but replaced with the term Arrived or Friend Tuli .
The INKLUSI Program event from Aisyiyah also invited senior journalist Sonya Hellen Sinombor from Kompas Daily, who re-emphasized the importance of GEDSI in journalistic activities.
Sonya shared her story and experiences as a journalist for decades. She also provided tips on inclusive and empathetic reporting techniques.
Inclusive journalism, according to Sonya, must ensure fair, balanced, and respectful representation of all groups in society, including groups that have been marginalized or underrepresented in the media.
I explain that inclusive journalism should avoid stereotypes and biases by using language and framing that do not perpetuate negative prejudices.
Sonya also highlighted the choice of words in inclusive journalism, such as the term "waria," which should no longer be used. The word "waria" should be replaced with transpuan .
(The Shiro Copr/ANR)
Comments
Post a Comment