Thailand, a largely conservative Buddhist society, decriminalised homosexuality in 1956, and is widely seen as having a relaxed attitude towards gender and sexual diversity. 'Many feel compelled to shed their Muslim identity because of Islamophobia, and because the religion tells us it's a sin,' he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Samak - who has exhibited at the Bangkok Art Biennale and in galleries from Chiang Mai to Hong Kong - says it is rare to see LGBT+ Muslims represented in his culture, a reflection of the double existence they are often forced to lead. But many Muslim LGBT+ people feel conflicted because of their religion, family, and society's expectations of what it means to be Muslim,' Samak said. 'Being queer is part of my identity being Muslim is also part of my identity. Just two provocative works by Samak Kosem, a gay Thai Muslim who uses art to explore how LGBT+ Thais in the restive south reconcile their religion with their sexual identity. Many LGBT+ Muslims in Thailand's south are forced to hide their sexual identityīANGKOK, July 5 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Photos of gay Muslims, their bodies superimposed with religious text images of a transgender woman, filmed frolicking on a Thai beach as sermons waft from a nearby mosque.