Hardly a day in Western media and on the political stage goes by without a discussion about Muslims and Islam. Yet, we still seem to grapple with understanding the complexity of Muslim identities. We talked with Ulrike Freitag, director of Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient in Berlin, about internal diversity, hands-on research, and the importance of “unmuting” marginalized voices.

Donning a rainbow flag in the face of international anti-queer measures is not enough. To be taken seriously as an LGBTQIA+ rights advocate, Germany needs to reckon with its own complex and difficult past first.