A non-binary approach to Islam
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Jadali’s approach to Islam and secularism appears nonbinary in that it resists rigid categorisations and highlights fluid, intersecting identities and belief systems. This is seen in the ways Jadali frames questions and interprets the answers in their analyses, allowing space for the interviewees to explore complex intersections of identity without expecting them to align with binary norms. For instance, in discussing Islam's role in the lives of queer and trans Iranian-Americans, Jadali does not impose a strict dichotomy of "religious" versus "secular." They choose rather to highlight how individuals navigate their faith within a framework that is both culturally significant and personally meaningful.
In their paper, they talk about how queer and trans Iranian-Americans relate to Islam, not necessarily through traditional religious practices but via personal, familial, and cultural experiences that defy a strictly orthodox approach. An interesting example of this was when Jadali describes how some Iranian American mothers, aunts, and grandmothers transmit Islamic values to younger generations in private or spiritual ways rather than through prescriptive, ritualistic practices. The gendered element that has emerged in response to the pressures of non-Islamiosity and anti-Muslim sentiments in the diaspora is particularly significant. Jadali notes that Iranian-American women have become quiet carriers of Islamic values and spirituality (232). Unlike the overt, rule-based forms of religiosity that may be associated with masculinity or with formal religious spaces, these women pass down elements of faith in more intimate ways, “outside of the gaze of non-Islamoious family and friends” (233). For instance, many interviewees describe how watching an elder woman pray or perform small rituals at home became a source of spiritual connection, even if they did not fully understand the religious significance at the time. This process demonstrates a nonbinary, flexible approach to Islamic identity, where faith is sustained through generational bonds and shared cultural memory.
In this way, they argue that Islam is experienced as something lived and felt, rather than fixedly observed, creating a form of spiritual and cultural continuity that defies orthodoxy as the only 'real' Islam, in both analysis and practice. This blending of Islam into daily life through cultural and emotional connections challenges the taut boundaries that traditionally define religion, especially in the context of a state that enforces a stiff, institutionalised version of Islam, where religious practices and public expressions of faith are incredibly highly regulated. This diasporic mode of engaging with Islam, then, not only resists the prescriptive religious authority seen in Iran but also reimagines what it means to be connected to a faith tradition under conditions of displacement and cultural negotiation. By framing Islam as something that can be woven into daily life through acts of care, familial storytelling, and personal rituals, Jadali highlights a subversive approach to faith: one that honours tradition yet remains fluid and responsive to individual diasporic identities. In doing so, this lived Islam operates as a quiet form of resistance against both the state-imposed orthodoxy of Iran and the secular expectations of Western society. This perspective reframes Islam as a dynamic, relational force, deeply embedded in personal and cultural resilience, challenging static definitions of religious practice and opening up new avenues for understanding faith as a form of identity that is evolving and deeply contextual.