A photographic journey throughout Europe about the Muslim LGBTQ+ community

This photographies project tells the life of young people based in Marseilles, France. Among this group, while most of them come from Maghreb countries, some grew up in France. But all, have Muslim religion or culture. They agreed to pose in front of our camera and testified. THE LOTHEIDOSCOPE PROJECT is a photographic journey throughout Europe about the Muslim LGBTQ+ community. Most of Western-Europe and the larger cities in the USA are relatively accepting towards the LGBTQ+ community; the issues that gay and trans people face are minor in comparison to countries where acting out as a homosexual or transgender can lead to a prison sentence, torture and in some cases death. 

With this photography project, we want to present the lonely and often complex stories of LGBTQ+ people with a Muslim religious or cultural background. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people with a Muslim background fear more difficulties when disclosing their sexuality and still have to hide their ‘true lives’ from family, colleagues and even ‘friends’. Some fear of homophobia, transphobia and any other kind of exclusion. Many ‘choose’ or in other words ‘have to’ leave their family and community. All people that are being photographed now live in the Western part of the world. Via this first series, a combination of photographs and texts, we take a look at how they can openly live in their sexual identity and gender identity. Our creative process aims to focus on the narratives about their identity, struggles, and dreams. A photographic medium is a tool in the journey of self-construction, a way to find self-acceptance. It is a mirror game between the portrayed person and the public, where each one is encouraged to reach out to the other party. Regarding the project (temporary) title “Lothéidoscope” is a contraction of two French words. In the Koranic text, Loth is the prophet sent by Allah to remind God's law to whom may transgress it, while practicing homosexuality. Within the Kaléidoscope occur an infinite number of combinations. It gives concrete while symbolic illustration on how one can create something new, from simply reorganizing differently something that existed before. “Lothéidoscope” is a concept that unifies words that indicate opposites.