From an early age, Fatima Daas knew that she was different. Raised in a strict Algerian Muslim family in the poor suburbs of Paris, she struggled to reconcile the feelings she was developing with her devotion to her faith. Her upbringing dictated that she would have to choose between Islam and her sexuality. At high school, she tried and failed to start teenage romances with boys. Confused and isolated, one day she even took out her frustrations on a fellow student whom she resented for being able to be openly gay.

Mike Wooldridge travels to the suburbs of Paris to meet Fatima and some of those who accompanied her on her difficult journey. He hears about the pressures she came under, and her fears of disappointing both her family and her community.

As she grew up, Fatima says, she coped “by speaking to God…as if He was a counsellor,” sharing with Him her innermost secrets. And for many years, she says, she was convinced she was the only lesbian who was also a Muslim.

Now in her mid-20s, Fatima tells Mike how she eventually reconciled her inner conflicts and made her choice. She has recently published a frank semi-autobiographical novel about her experiences, which has caused a stir in France. “I’m not going to reform a religion that’s existed for such a long time,” Fatima says, adding: “But I have never doubted God.”

(Image: Fatima Daas. Credit: Mike Lanchin)