Rahasia

“Rahasia”, which means “Secret” in Indonesian, is a project that explores the reality of the Muslim homosexual community in Indonesia.

The investigation focuses on the moral dilemma faced by this group due to the fact that their sexual condition challenges their own Islamic beliefs. Growing up in a system where you can’t tell who you really are places them in a constant negotiation situation between their life and a hostile environment. They have to obey their religion and respect their family to preserve their honor, these complexities make it difficult for them to come out as gay.

The concept of LGTBIphobia within Islam is a modern phenomenon and arises from a tendentious and decontextualized interpretation of the Koran in favor of a misogynist and sexist tradition. Its current spiritual leaders consider homosexuality a crime that contravenes the norms of Islam and must be harshly punished.

Through platforms such as Grindr and Tinder I contacted more than sixty homosexuals to meet, photograph and interview them. In these meetings, links of communication and understanding were created that sparked reflections on concepts such as religion, dating applications, sexuality, family or the meaning of life and death. A personal approach where the experience lived during the course of the trip is related.

The laws in Indonesia are ambiguous regarding the LGTBI collective, it is neither prohibited nor protected. In today’s society there is a general feeling of rejection towards these people and, especially, among the Muslim population. Islamist religious and military groups have been subordinating the laws for decades, discriminating, censoring the group and, in many cases, with the permission of the institutions and the police. In today’s Indonesian society, homosexuals are punished, freedom is limited and in some cases their own lives can be in danger. Having sex with people of the same gender is considered a serious sin that produces a constant internal debate with their own individual existence in the world.