Although LGBTQ+ rights in Eastern Europe and Western Asia have gotten more coverage recently, many do not know how dire the situation is in Azerbaijan. As a result, many overlooked the contributions that Azerbaijani activist Isa Shahmarli made to the fight for LGBTQ+ rights, resulting in a lack of scholarship on his activism. Some of his contributions include actions he took as the founder and Chairman of Azad LGBT, bolstering queer representation, and providing a safe space for queer Azerbaijanis. Sadly, he committed suicide on January 22, 2014, when he was only 20 years old. Despite this devastating event, Shahmarli has given LGBTQ+ individuals in Azerbaijan and other Muslim-majority countries hope for a future more inclusive of the rainbow.
Making Queer History has a vague title because it has a rather vague purpose. We are not alone in our aim to tell the queer community’s history. What defines us is our focus not only on the past, but toward the future.