Tynan Power

Early life

Tynan Power was born in 1970 in Washington, D.C. to Dr. Carol Cargill and James Power. His mother was an applied linguistics professor and his father was a federal mediator and, previously, a Catholic priest. The couple divorced when Power was a baby. Power spent most of his life in Tampa, Florida before moving to Massachusetts in 1999, where he remains today. He was raised Catholic, but converted to Islam in 1985 at age fourteen. Although he was designated female at birth, he recognized that he identified as male at an early age and transitioned from female to male as an adult.

Education

Power attended the University of South Florida in Tampa briefly in 1987, but moved to Morocco partway through his undergraduate education. After moving back to the United States, he returned to the University of South Florida and received his Bachelor of Arts in English in 1995. In 2000, at the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg, he received his Master of Arts in Mass Communication-Journalism.

Work and activism

Power was a co-coordinator for the Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity (MASGD) from 2012 to 2014, and is still currently on the steering committee and head of the Communications Committee. The MASGD mission statement, which advocates for freedom from sexism and misogyny, was also developed by a team which Power was a part of. In addition, Power served as co-chair for the LGBT Muslim Retreat (a project by MASGD), and still serves on the planning team presently.

Before his work with MASGD, Power was an early member of Al-Fatiha Foundation, a similar organization that disbanded in 2005, and served on its Shura, or advisory council, along with being a moderator for the organization's email list. In 1999, at the Al Fatiha conference in New York City, Power served as a facilitator for a women's caucus and presented on a panel, "Transgender and Feminism." In 2005, he also facilitated for the Al Fatiha conference, this time in Atlanta, Georgia, for a trans caucus about sexism.

Also in 1999, Power started a grassroots networking group called Iman, specifically for lesbian and bisexual Muslim women and Muslim transgender people. The group addressed sexism in queer Muslim communities and addressed ways to build feminist empowerment. The group was ended in 2001.

From 1999 to 2001, Power was the Muslim liaison for American Boyz, Inc., an organization that hosted the True Spirit Conference for female-to-male transgender people and their family and loved ones. Power also served on the board for the organization in 2000 and 2001.

From 2012 to 2014, Power coordinated Muslim programming at the Philadelphia Trans Health Conference, where he led Muslim religious services

In July 2015, Power was an invited speaker at the National Interfaith Service held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as part of the LGBT 50th celebration. He joined Bishop Gene Robinson, Rev. Jeffrey H. Jordan-Pickett, Rabbi Linda Holtzman, Rabbi Margot Stein, Rev. Timothy Safford, Rev. Susan Richardson and singer Jonathan Allen at the event.

In 2010, he founded Pioneer Valley Progressive Muslims (PVPM), leading the organization in regular meetings for prayer, education, discussion and social networking. PVPM offers a space for people who might not traditionally be able to access religious leadership, such as women, gay men, transgender people, Muslim converts, and members of Muslim minority sects.

He is currently the moderator for the TransMuslims email group, and is working with TransFaith to develop its Internet pages concerning transgender and Islam.

Awards

Power received the Queen Esther Human Rights Award of Beit Ahavah in 2012. Beit Ahavah is a reform synagogue in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Occupation

Currently, Power works for Smith College School for Social Work as a Communications Specialist. He also gives speeches about transgender and Islam, LGBT Muslims, and progressive Muslims. He has spoken at Northampton Transgender Day of Remembrance in 2010, Philadelphia Trans Health Conference in 2012, and in 2013 at CLPP conference and at Brown University.

Feminist work

Power is a strong advocate for female religious leadership in the Muslim community. As a progressive Muslim, Power takes part and leads mixed-gender prayer. Power is committed to using opportunities for Muslim faith leadership to elevate the profile of women whose faith leadership is often overlooked or under-valued. To that end, he invited Terna Tilley-Gyado to lead Friday prayer at the 2012 Philadelphia Trans Health Conference and to make the call to prayer for the interfaith worship service at the conclusion of the 2013 Creating Change conference; also in 2013, he recommended Kaamila Mohamed to offer the call to prayer in Boston Pride's interfaith service. He also frequently encourages other members of Pioneer Valley Progressive Muslims to lead prayer during their gatherings. In 2010, he served as muezzin, or someone who makes the call to prayer, at a public Muslim prayer meeting led by a female imam, Pamela Taylor.

Personal life

Power is married with two adult sons, Yahya and Justyn, and has two dogs and two cats. He is an avid runner, participating regularly in the Hot Chocolate Run for Safe Passage, an annual event which benefits a domestic violence service organization in Northampton, MA. Power enjoys cooking and has hosted several fundraising dinners, doing the organization and food preparation himself.

Writing

"As a trans Muslim, I used to feel vulnerable all the time." The Washington Post. June 17, 2016. Web.

"Who Is Greater?" The Good Men Project. April 2013. Web.

"Stepping Across the Gender Divide." All-American: 45 American Men on Being Muslim (I Speak for Myself series). Eds. Wajahat Ali and Zahra Suratwala. White Cloud Press, June 2012. Print.

Trans-Man monthly column, The Rainbow Times. 2011-2012. Print and web.

“The War on the Home Front.” Progressive Muslim Identities: Personal Stories from the U.S. and Canada. Eds. Vanessa Karam, Olivia Samad and Ani Zonneveld. Los Angeles, CA: Salaam Press, September 2011. Print.

"In/ter/dependent Scholarship." coauthored chapter with Margaret Price, Leah (Phinnia) Meredith, and Cal Montgomery. Mad at School: Rhetorics of Mental Disability and Academic Life. University of Michigan Press, 2011. Print.

“Sexual Diversity in Islam: Is There Room in Islam for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Muslims?” Literary Zikr. Muslims for Progressive Values. 2009. Web.

"Lesbian Feminism." Homan Homan (an Iranian publication). Fall 1999.

Power also served as assistant editor for "Progressive Muslim Identities: Personal Stories from the U.S. and Canada" and has written many articles for The Rainbow Times.

Radio appearances

1999 GenderTalk 206: Ty Jalal, FTM transgender person, on GLBT Muslims.

2012 New England Public Radio: Transgender Muslim Honored For Human Rights Activism.

Media mentions

"21 LGBT Muslims Who Are Changing the World." The Advocate. December 20, 2016. Web.

"Straight Muslim Allies Must Work With LGBT Muslim Activists." Huffington Post. July 12, 2015. Web.

"LGBT Muslims Make Progress on the Path to Acceptance." The Advocate. September 2013. Web.

"At Muslim LGBT Retreat, Attendees Try to Reconcile Their Faith and Sexuality." The Washington Post. May 2013. Print and web.