Stephan Jäkel from Schwulenberatung notified me that the Church organized a panel to talk about the impact of Religion on LGBTIQ activism, and I felt awkward! I thought, "the Church and LGBTIQ activism, how would these two worlds ever meet?" I come from a side of the world where homosexuality is considered an abomination, a dishonor, and a crime. Here the religious figures play a role in feeding the hate and homophobia.

I  gladly went to the panel and shared my story from Lebanon about what we have been facing and how religious figures were always linked to institutionalized homophobia and discrimination.

I learned about other activists' experiences from Ghana, Russia, Austria, and the US. Still, most importantly, I felt safe, embraced, loved, and accepted without prejudices by a religious institution that allowed me to look around me in Lebanon and see who among the Christian religious figures had a different and more welcoming message.

The following week,  I engaged with them directly after the panel we had in Berlin. I hosted Proud Lebanon and included a protestant pastor from Beirut who is considered progressive and a pioneer toward LGBTIQ individuals. He came to our center and met with the LGBTIQ individuals, listened to their stories, and gave them a message of love and acceptance.

I engaged with a religious person for the first time in my activism years. I think it's due to the pleasant experience I got in Berlin in this panel and the incredible support I got from reverends Silke Radosh-Hinder, Bertold Höcker, Vanessa M. Brown, Micah Bucey, and many others.