Text: Paul Hofman
Photo: Leon Hendrickx
Video: Paradox Productions
Haroon Ali: 'Learning from each other's experiences.' He is a freelance journalist, author, columnist and programme maker. His most recent book Spectrum was published recently, subtitled the rainbow community in the 21st century. Haroon (41) mainly writes about culture, diversity and the spirit of the times. Haroon is proud to serve as an ambassador for Pride Amsterdam.
When I speak to him shortly after his ambassadorship is announced he looks happy. 'I am hugely honoured. Apparently I have contributed enough to the rainbow community in recent years to be asked for this.'
Center stage
About his coming out he says: 'When I came out at 21stI dived straight into the gay nightlife with a good friend who had come out earlier. I have lived in Amsterdam for almost my entire life, but then discovered another, new world that I had never dared explore before. I do remember always being fascinated by the Canal Parade when I saw images on the news. I have also been able to stand on a boat several times, which is always an indescribable experience. When you see all those people on the quays cheering and waving, you feel for a day like the centre of attention, instead of an outsider.'
As an ambassador he is an ideal person for Pride Amsterdam. 'The difficult thing about titles is that many other people also deserve them, or even deserve them more than you. But I think I was asked because I had just published a book about the rainbow community, and because I made a much-discussed documentary about homosexuality within Islam.'
Given his background—Haroon grew up queer in a Pakistani-Dutch Muslim family—he adds some diversity to an already colourful and varied group of ambassadors. 'As a journalist and author I am also a storyteller. I find it special that I can now share my story with a larger audience, but I especially hope to pass on the stories of others, and that as an ambassador I can be inspired by the many different people I will undoubtedly meet at all the events.'
'Different'
He has thought about how he will shape the ambassadorship. 'There are many different ways to do that, so I hope I can be useful in the coming year. I would like to bring activists together to debate the theme Together during Pride Amsterdam. How do we keep the community united? I also think the beautiful feature film Joyland, about the love between a Pakistani man and a trans dancer, deserves a wider audience. For example, we could organise a nice screening with an aftertalk.' About his message: 'Many queer people used to feel "different." But we often travelled a similar path to (self-)acceptance. So I think we should focus less on what sets us apart from others, and more on what binds us together.'
As a journalist and columnist Haroon does not hide his opinions. I am curious what worries him most when we consider the LGBTQIA+ community. 'Society is becoming increasingly polarised, with people retreating into their own bubbles and unwilling to listen to those who think or live differently. I also see that within the community, which is fragmenting into groups and subgroups. Meanwhile we can learn so much from each other's experiences. Precisely those differences make the rainbow community more diverse and stronger.'
The abbreviation LGBTQIA+ contains many letters. You hear voices inside and outside the community saying a person has many identities but is reduced to a single box. In short: LGBTQIA+ or queer/rainbow community? What is Haroon's view?
'A person is indeed more than their sexuality and gender identity, and we all carry a range of identities with us. So you can never focus on one aspect, but must see the coherence and overlap between identities. At the same time you need words to describe what you feel and what you stand for. Labels help people find like-minded others and organise. And thanks to labels we can draw attention to groups that still face many problems and resistance, such as non-binary, transgender and intersex people. Only when we are all treated equally and seen as full, layered people can we let go of those labels completely. Until then I support the label queer as an umbrella term for everyone who deviates from the norm. And I personally prefer to speak of the rainbow community, in all its colours and forms.'
He expresses his greatest challenge for himself and the queer community as follows: 'At the end of my book Spectrum I describe how I feel caught between two generations. As a 41-year-old millennial I have great respect for the gay men and lesbians who fought for our rights last century. My freedom and safety are legally protected thanks to their efforts. My predecessors also lost countless friends during the AIDS crisis. Thanks to the medical research they initiated and still support, I can love now without fear. The generation after me often does not realise how valuable that mental peace is. Those who do not delve into queer history take such gifts for granted.'
But a younger generation helps us imagine a new world. They call attention to institutionalised racism, also within LGBTQIA+ organisations. Thanks in part to the MeToo movement queer women speak louder in the rainbow debate, which for a long time was overshadowed by gay men. They confront gays with their sexism and misogyny, often packaged in campy humour. I am also glad the conversation about boundary-crossing behaviour and consent among gay men is now starting, because that can remove a lot of shame. Such discussions can clash, but that's not a bad thing and sometimes necessary. I hope young and old keep learning from each other, and keep me on my toes.'
Pride ambassador since 2024
