even in marseille in the south of france, where zahed lives.ight against prejudices. but the path he has chosen is long and risky. reporter: imam ludovic-mohamed zahed is praying for tolerance. and he's happy to do so with a woman. that in itself is already pretty unusual. but the real surprise is that the muslim scholar is openly homosexual, and fighting for gays to be accepted in islam. ludovic-mohamed: this can't go on. there's too much violence, pressure, and degradation. people pretend we don't exist. sometimes there's even physical violence in our families and communities. reporter: after studying to become an imam back in his native country of algeria, zahed fled here to marseille, in southern france. in his new home, he came out as homosexual. and founded an islamic institute. these days, he also officiates gay weddings. ludovic-mohamed: thank you for coming. i'm very honored to take part in this ceremony. reporter: it's about acceptance and standing one's ground. officially, same-sex marriages are not allowed in islam. ludovic-mohamed:

even in marseille in the south of france, where zahed lives.ght against prejudices. but the path he has chosen is long and risky. reporter: imam ludovic-mohamed zahed is praying for tolerance. and he's happy to do so with a woman. that in itself is already pretty unusual. but the real surprise is that the muslim scholar is openly homosexual, and fighting for gays to be accepted in islam. ludovic-mohamed: this can't go on. there's too much violence, pressure, and degradation. people pretend we don't exist. sometimes there's even physical violence in our families and communities. reporter: after studying to become an imam back in his native country of algeria, zahed fled here to marseille, in southern france. in his new home, he came out as homosexual. and founded an islamic institute. these days, he also officiates gay weddings. ludovic-mohamed: thank you for coming. i'm very honored to take part in this ceremony. reporter: it's about acceptance and standing one's ground. officially, same-sex marriages are not allowed in islam. ludovic-mohamed: