Sometimes I am very ashamed to be a Muslim when I see Islam used as a “reason” for intolerance and for spreading hatred, especially toward minorities, like lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people for example. But recently, I found two books that made me really proud to be Muslim: Santri Waria (Transgender Students of Islam) and Memahami Keragaman. Gender dan Seksualitas: Sebuah Tafsir Kontekstual Islam (Understanding Diversity. Gender and Sexuality: a Contextual Interpretation of Islam). Both express not just love, but total acceptance, respect and regard for transgender people who both authors say are perfect creations of God. Santri Waria (Diva Press, 2020) by Masthuriyah Sa’dan, is about the life of the students of the AlFatah Islamic school in Kotagede, Yogyakarta. Santri is what the students of a pesantren (Islamic boarding school) are called, al...

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