Awareness of the LGBTIQ+ Situation in Muslim Majority Environments and its Socio-legal Consequences in the Lithuanian Asylum System

Abstract The present research, based on semi-structured interviews with individuals working in the Lithuanian asylum system, is devoted to uncovering to what extent cultural ignorance and Orientalism/ Muslimophobia may have a role in the practical workings of the asylum system in Lithuania. The research reveals that, although some of the interviewees recycle orientalising tropes about intolerant and violent Muslim majority states and their societies, especially when it comes to LGBTIQ + persons, most realise the scope of cultural diversity among and within Muslim societies. The interviewees generally do not seem to question the sexual orientation of those claiming to be LGBTIQ + and find it ‘normal’ that there are LGBTIQ + persons among people of Muslim background. The opinions of the interviewees contrast with the decisions and reasons for them made by state institutions, foremost the Department of Migration.