'For LGBT Muslims, the notion of safety has been shattered,' activist says

A leading gay Muslim activist in Toronto feels the Orlando massacrehas "shattered the notion of safety for the gay and Muslim communities."

And that notion"hasbeen shattered on multiple levels"forLGBTMuslims who don't feel accepted by either community, says El-FaroukKhaki, who founded the Unity Mosque,anLGBTprayer groupin Toronto in 2009.

"For a lot of queer people, the bars are a place of safety,"Khaki told CBC News Tuesday. "That's where you go to be yourself, to find community, to find safety."

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Last Sunday,Omar Mateenwent ona three-hour shooting rampageat Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando.Forty-nine people were killedin the worst mass shootingin U.S. history.

American authorities said Mateen, who was killed by police, had previously been investigated by the FBI for links to extremist groupsand may have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State before the attack.

Two daysbefore the mass shooting, the Unity Mosqueheld its annual PeaceIftar. Iftar is a meal that is eaten at the end of a day's Ramadan fast.

He said he hopes the Muslim community becomes more accepting of homosexuality in the wake of the tragedy.

"If they want acceptance and tolerance and their dignity respected and ensured, they need to be able to do that for others," he said. "Ironically, it's people of faith who forget those golden rules (of acceptance)."

Khaki said he is alsohoping "there's going to be some understanding between the Muslim andLGBTcommunities, that they share similarities likemarginalization,stigmatization andstereotyping.

He said manyMuslims "came out of their Muslim closet and claimed that identity" after 9/11.

"I wonder if the Orlando massacre will have a similar effect, where more (Muslims) not only come out but people within the Muslim community come out as allies of theLGBTIQcommunity and theLGBTIQMuslim community as well," Khaki said.