Countering Islamic conservatism on being transgender: Clarifying Tantawi's and Khomeini’s fatwas from the progressive Muslim standpoint

We provide a counter-narrative to Islamic heteropatriarchal conservatism that constructs Islam as homo/bi/intersex/transphobic. We challenge the conservative arguments based on the verse in the Qur” an (4: 119) that states “God has created everything as it is”, and “changes in one’s body are only allowed under medical circumstances”. These arguments are highly ambiguous and the verse has long been taken out of its original context by the conservative view (Youssef, 2016). Not only are these arguments in contradiction with the principle that “God does not make mistakes”, they are also irrelevant as far as modern medical science is concerned. Tantawi (Sunni) and Khomeini (Shia) fatwas are then explored as they allow Muslim transgender people to receive treatment and/or gender affirming surgery and, therefore, show how the fatwas provide trans-inclusiveness in Islam. While we are cognisant that Tantawi and Khomeini fatwas did not address the legal rights of cisgender same-sex attracted people, we offer a perspective which encourages a deeper understanding of the progressive Muslim standpoint within the periscope of Muslim Sunni and shia construal in order to reach a more nuanced understanding of an archaic position on being transgender posed by Islamic conservatism; and thereby encourage stronger voices and empowerment within transgender Muslim communities.