Luca_Boveri via Getty Images People participate in the Transmarch in San Francisco on June 24, 2016.

Anti-Muslim activists often attempt to foment hatred against Muslims by claiming that Islam is inherently anti-queer. While homophobia certainly still exists in American Muslim communities, as a whole, American Muslims are slowly becoming more accepting of homosexuality. And notably, they’re doing it at a faster rate than white evangelical Protestants. A Pew Research Center survey conducted this year found that 52 percent of U.S. Muslims say homosexuality should be accepted by society. In contrast, only 34 percent of white evangelical Protestants believed in 2016 that homosexuality should be accepted by society. The rate at which white evangelicals are shifting their views is slower than the rate for Muslims. White evangelicals shifted their views by 11 percentage points between 2006 and 2016. Muslims’ acceptance of homosexuality shot up by 25 percentage points between 2007 and 2017.

Alissa Scheller / HuffPost Graph created by Alissa Scheller.

Urooj Arshad, a queer Muslim activist who is a member of the Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity, told HuffPost that Muslims’ support for the LGBTQ community may hinge on a common experience that both groups share ― being victims of discrimination. Queer Americans and Muslim Americans have both been harmed in recent years by policies and rhetoric that threaten the safety and wellbeing of their communities. As a result, Arshad said, it isn’t surprising to her that Muslims are beginning to accept homosexuality. “Since September 11, the Muslim community has been dealing with severe erosion of their civil rights which has made the community more sympathetic to violations of civil rights against other marginalized communities in the U.S.,” Arshad told HuffPost. At the same time, white evangelical Protestants seem to be blind to the discrimination faced by both groups.

JAMES LAWLER DUGGAN / Reuters Kentucky's Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, who was jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, makes remarks after receiving the "Cost of Discipleship" award at a Family Research Council conference in Washington September 25, 2015.

Sadly, being anti-LGBT and anti-Muslim are becoming litmus tests in many Evangelical congregations and organizations. Brian McLaren

“I used to say that Evangelicals are conservative. But increasingly, I think there is a growing regressive wing of Evangelicalism that wants to return to an idealized (and fictionalized) past ... a white Christian America where patriarchy reigns and those who don’t conform ‘know their place,’” he told HuffPost. “Sadly, being anti-LGBT and anti-Muslim are becoming litmus tests in many Evangelical congregations and organizations.”

David McNew via Getty Images Women demonstrate in support of a ruling by a federal judge in Seattle that grants a nationwide temporary restraining order against the presidential order to ban travel to the United States from seven Muslim-majority countries, at Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport on February 4, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.

The Growing Impact And Influence Of Young Muslims Shifting attitudes towards homosexuality in American Muslim communities have been driven by a few key groups. Muslim women’s acceptance has increased by 31 percentage points over the last 10 years. College graduates have bumped up 32 points in the same time period. Muslim activists and scholars are particularly noticing the change in mindset happening among younger Muslims. Millennial Muslims are more likely to be accepting of homosexuality (60 percent) than Muslims of older generations. The youth’s acceptance grew by 27 percentage points between 2007 and 2017. This may be related to the fact that American Muslim adults are significantly younger than the overall U.S. adult population. About 35 percent of American Muslims are between 18 and 29 years old. Twenty-one percent of the general U.S. population falls in that age bracket. In general, younger Americans tend to have more accepting views of homosexuality and same-sex marriage.

About 35 percent of American Muslims are between 18 and 29 years old. Pew

“Millennial Muslims are very much part of the larger American youth population who are more tolerant and loving of queer friends and family,” said Mariam Durrani, an anthropologist at Hamilton College who studies Muslim American.

“As part of a marginalized and discriminated population, Muslim youth are more likely to adopt solidarity positions with other marginalized and discriminated communities.” In addition, Durrani points out, younger Muslims are witnessing leaders within their community stepping forward in support of queer rights. There are faith leaders who openly support gay youth, mosques and community centers where queer Muslims are welcomed, and Muslim leaders and entertainers who are publicly out. “All of this shows that being queer is part of the American Muslim community and youth, as usual, are the most progressive in this regard,” Durrani said.

Being queer is part of the American Muslim community and youth, as usual, are the most progressive in this regard. Mariam Durrani

Debate Within American Muslim Communities On Homosexuality Arshad said that queer Muslims have become “cautiously optimistic” in recent years about their acceptance within American Muslim communities. “I know that we have come a long way and that now we at least have some space within the mainstream Muslim civil rights movement and many influential allies. I do think there is still a tremendous amount of work to be done especially to create a safe space for LGBT Muslims within the Muslim community,” she told HuffPost. While Muslims have signaled an openness to supporting LGBTQ Americans in general, Arshad said some are hesitant about offering that same level of support to queer Muslims. “What we see is more of a willingness to support the mainstream non Muslim LGBT community but when it comes to LGBT Muslims, people get uncomfortable.” Tensions about Islam’s acceptance of homosexuality surfaced this June at a convention held by the Islamic Society of North America, a national association of Muslim organizations. At last year’s convention, organizers included a panel that, for the first time, focused on LGBTQ issues. This year, Muslims for Progressive Values, an advocacy group, partnered with the Human Rights Campaign to set up a joint booth at the convention. Staff at the booth distributed brochures calling for female imams and LGBTQ-inclusive prayer spaces. A few hours after setting up, MPV claims ISNA organizers asked that the booth be shut down, reportedly because MPV’s mission was “antithetical to [ISNA’s] beliefs.” The HRC confirmed to HuffPost in an email that the joint booth was expelled from ISNA’s convention.

Muslims for Progressive Values Frank Parmir, founder of MPV-Columbus, managing a booth organized by Muslims for Progressive Values and the Human Rights Campaign at ISNA's 54th annual convention in Chicago, June 30th, 2017.