Taha (Shia cleric)

Taha
طه
Born
Iran
OccupationShia Muslim cleric
Known forFirst openly queer Shia cleric
TitleHujjat al-Islam

Mullah Taha[1] (Persian: طه) is a gay Shia Muslim cleric from Iran,[2] and is the first openly queer cleric in the history of Shia Islam.[3][4][5]

He is the son of a cleric,[6] and described his childhood self as being "effeminate".[7] He attended Islamic school at the age of 15,[6] where he realized his homosexuality.[8] And attained the rank of Hujjat al-Islam.[9]

He officiated gay marriages in secret,[10][11] leading to him being questioned by other clerics and threatened with death.[11][4] And forced by the Iranian government to flee to Turkey,[12] where he has lived as of 2016.[13][14][15]

He continued to perform same-sex marriages for queer Shia Muslim refugees in Istanbul.[10] He stated that he's treated with suspicion from both the Muslim community and the LGBTQ community.[16] He resides temporarily in Turkey, as his ultimate destination is Canada, where he has sought asylum.[17][18][2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ BBC News (2016-06-08). Meet Iran's gay mullah forced to flee the country - BBC News. Archived from the original on 2026-05-09. Retrieved 2025-08-22 – via YouTube. At 0:33.
  2. 1 2 Fitzgerald, Michael (2016-06-09). "Gay Mullah Who Conducted Same-Sex Weddings Flees Iran Because Of Death Threats: VIDEO - Towleroad Gay News". www.towleroad.com. Archived from the original on 2026-02-06. Retrieved 2025-02-27.
  3. ↑ Hamedani, Ali (8 June 2016). "Gay mullah flees Iran over secret same-sex weddings". BBC News. Archived from the original on May 5, 2026. Retrieved 26 February 2025.
  4. 1 2 McCormick, Joseph Patrick (2016-06-08). "Brave Muslim cleric flees Iran after being attacked for marrying gay couples". PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news. Archived from the original on 2026-05-09. Retrieved 2025-08-27.
  5. ↑ "Gay mullah flees Iran over secret same-sex weddings". Azvision.az. 12 June 2016. Archived from the original on 2026-05-09. Retrieved 26 February 2025.
  6. 1 2 BBC News (2016-06-08). Meet Iran's gay mullah forced to flee the country - BBC News. Archived from the original on 2026-05-09. Retrieved 2025-08-22 – via YouTube. At 1:05.
  7. ↑ BBC News (2016-06-08). Meet Iran's gay mullah forced to flee the country - BBC News. Archived from the original on 2026-05-09. Retrieved 2026-02-06 – via YouTube. At 2:38.
  8. ↑ BBC News (2016-06-08). Meet Iran's gay mullah forced to flee the country - BBC News. Archived from the original on 2026-05-09. Retrieved 2025-08-22 – via YouTube. At 2:57.
  9. ↑ BBC News (2016-06-08). Meet Iran's gay mullah forced to flee the country - BBC News. Archived from the original on 2026-05-09. Retrieved 2026-01-28 – via YouTube. At 1:15.
  10. 1 2 Brathwaite, Les Fabian (2016-06-18). "Meet the Gay Muslim Cleric Fleeing Iran for Performing Secret Same-Sex Weddings". www.out.com. Archived from the original on 2026-02-06. Retrieved 2025-02-27.
  11. 1 2 "Meet Iran's Gay Mullah Forced To Flee The Country". www.darpanmagazine.com. 2016-06-10. Archived from the original on 2026-05-09. Retrieved 2025-08-27.
  12. ↑ Amadeu, Juli (2016-06-17). "El mulá gay Taha, que casaba a parejas del mismo sexo en secreto, huye de Irán por las amenazas de muerte de otros clérigos musulmanes". dosmanzanas - La web de noticias LGTB (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2026-05-09. Retrieved 2025-02-27.
  13. ↑ Barber, Luke (2016-07-08). "Muslim cleric forced to flee Iran after conducting same sex marriages". The i Paper. Archived from the original on 2026-05-09. Retrieved 26 February 2025.
  14. ↑ "Meet Iran's gay mullah forced to flee the country". deathpenaltynews.blogspot.com. June 9, 2016. Archived from the original on 2026-05-09. Retrieved 26 February 2025.
  15. ↑ "Gay Mullah Flees Iran After Marrying Same-Sex Couples". EDNEWS. 2016-06-10. Archived from the original on 2026-05-09. Retrieved 2025-02-27.
  16. ↑ BBC News (2016-06-08). Meet Iran's gay mullah forced to flee the country - BBC News. Archived from the original on 2026-05-09. Retrieved 2025-08-25 – via YouTube. At 5:32.
  17. ↑ BBC News (2016-06-08). Meet Iran's gay mullah forced to flee the country - BBC News. Archived from the original on 2026-05-09. Retrieved 2025-08-25 – via YouTube. At 6:05.
  18. ↑ Sims, Alexandra (9 June 2016). "Gay mullah flees Iran for conducting same-sex weddings". The Independent. Archived from the original on 9 May 2026. Retrieved 26 February 2025.


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