Daayiee Abdullah

Daayiee Abdullah (January 11, 1954 – August 3, 2025; , born Sidney Thompson) was an American Imam based in Washington, D.C. Abdullah was, after the 2025 death of Muhsin Hendricks until his own death in August 2025, one of five living openly gay Imams in the world (the others being Ludovic-Mohamed Zahed of France, Mullah Taha of Iran, El-Farouk Khaki of Toronto's el-Tawhid Juma Circle/The Unity Mosque, and Nur Warsame of Australia). Abdullah was a member of and spiritual advisor of the Al-Fatiha Foundation until it closed in 2011. As a Muslim leader, Abdullah's homosexuality caused controversy due to the traditionally upheld beliefs about homosexuality in Islam. He was African American. His parents supported him, his six older brothers, his younger sister, and his oldest step-sister from his father's first marriage to find religion despite his parents' Southern Baptist beliefs. and graduated from the David A. Clarke School of Law in Washington, D.C. in 1995 as a juris doctor.

Activism

In 1978, Abdullah went to Washington D.C. for a conference because he was working for Governor Jerry Brown's office in San Francisco.

He was the business manager at Georgetown Fitness Center from 2007 to 2009. Abdullah, under his legal name Sidney Thompson, was the CEO of Asiad & Associates, a software company in Washington, D.C.

Pro-LGBT activism Around 2000, he joined the online Yahoo! group .

Abdullah was a board member of the round table of the Al-Fatiha Foundation for several years. Abdullah also has served on the planning team for the LGBT Muslim Retreat since 2011.

Masjid Nur Al-Isslaah Abdullah created an LGBT-friendly masjid in Washington D.C in 2011, called Masjid Nur Al-Isslaah (English: "Mosque for Enlightenment and Reformation" or "Light of Reform Mosque"), of which he was the imam and religious director. The mosque was initially hosted by a public library in D.C., with a plan to raise funds to create a purpose-built mosque of their own.

Personal life In 2006, Abdullah was in a long-term relationship of ten years. His partner was Christian, which is one of the reasons he performed religious ceremonies between Abrahamic religions.

Publications On March 5, 2021, Abdullah published the book “Progressive Islam: The Rich Liberal Ideas of the Muslim Faith.” The book focuses on liberal ideas of the Muslim faith, such as freedom, cooperation, responsibility, and opportunity throughout its five sections, which cover the Qur’an, the Prophet Muhammad, diverse perspectives on Islam, and a short autobiography of Abdullah himself.