A review by sweetpeachboy
Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H.

5.0

for me, this was a heavy read. not usually a crier, but teared up multiple times, esp when she wrote about her upbringing. felt sick to my stomach at times too lmfao. as someone who's also a queer "muslim," seeing my exact emotions/experiences written on page put my feelings of suffocating loneliness at ease.

most other queer muslims i've known have abandoned their practice and faith, so it was fascinating seeing Lamya weave her beliefs as a muslim with her experiences as a queer person. that being said, as someone who no longer cares for the muslim faith, the segments about the quran didn't really help my reading experience. i went from hungerly reading passages about her own queer muslim life, experiences, and community, to slugging through passages about quran and hadith. in the past, reinterpretations of islam through a queer lens have felt forced & a bit pathetic to me, but i can see how it has been empowering for her.

all in all, this has been an important read for me. need to look into more queer muslim books.