Islamic school a Trans oasis in Indonesia
One might expect Yogyakarta's Trans-friendly Al-Fatah Islamic school to be a recent anomaly in Indonesia, which has more Muslim citizens than any other country. In truth, the school has been around for 14 years, ever since its founding by Shinta Ratri, a Trans woman.

Ratri earned a bachelor's degree in biology before dedicating her efforts to helping other Trans women study Islam. The student body has grown from 20 people to 60 since then, and many of them are middle-aged.

"Like a rainbow, if there are red, yellow, green colors combined, it becomes more beautiful, rather than only black and white," said student Y.S. Al Buchory, age 55. "We must be able to respect each other, tolerate, not interfere with each other."

Indonesia is relatively tolerant compared to other Muslim nations, given the many LGBTQ groups allowed to operate openly. Just one province, Aceh, explicitly criminalizes same-sex relations. Two men were publicly caned there last year for having sex.

There are broader problems brewing in the government. Indonesian Vice President and Muslim cleric Mar'ruf Amin entreated Muslim teachers in a speech to "ban LGBT," calling the behavior "deviant."

Krakow ally evades religious discrimination charges
Three years of legal debate in the Polish court system have found Katarzyna N., an IKEA manager, not guilty of religious discrimination after she fired an employee for posting anti-LGBTQ comments on an internal work forum.

The prosecution, which pushed the case from a lower court, was none other than Ordo Iuris, an ultra-conservative, Catholic legal organization and think tank that falls well in line with the ruling Law and Justice Party's anti-LGBTQ, anti-abortion, and pro-"tradition" values. Had they succeeded, the defendant could have been sentenced to up to two years in prison.

"This is an extremely strong message," Daniel Ksiazek, Katarzyna N.'s lawyer, told Reuters. "The court clearly indicated that the prosecutor's appeal ignored the question of respect for LGBT people."

A lawyer at Ordo Iuris said the organization would seek a written explanation of the decision before deciding whether to appeal.

IKEA responded on its website that it wanted "to create a diverse and inclusive workplace" where "everyone feels welcome, accepted and respected."