Saturday, April 23, 2011

Homosexuality and Islam

Homosexuality and Islam

Assalamu aliekum wa rahmatullah wa barakhatu. There is much confusion on the topic of homosexuality and Islam and insha’Allah I wish to help break some of the misconceptions people hold. As I explained in my article "Women in Iraq", the so-called “Islamic” maltreatment of women in countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan is entirely the result of the U.S. military occupation of those countries, and is not the result of their Islamic heritage. Contrary to popular belief, traditional Islam does not ostracize homosexuals any more than it maltreats women. Instead, both groups have a long history of high standing in traditional Muslim societies, as this paper will clarify.

Theological Support

The first question that must be answered, before discussing the history of why so many believe that Islam is opposed to homosexuality, is what does Islam really say about the issue? There is in fact no word for homosexuality in the Qur’an. Other words used are:

Fahisha (7:80, 27:54) Lewdness, indecency, gross.

Khabaidh (21:74) Improper

Sayyi’aat (11:78) Evil

(Imaan, Quran FAQ).

Many people believe that the sin of Lot (Lut)’s people was homosexuality; however, this is not at all clear and the sin is equally likely to be rape/violence against another. Nowhere is it clarified that a relationship between a loving homosexual couple is wrong. Also, lesbianism is never dealt with in the Qur’an.

Furthermore, there are those who claim the Islamic punishment for homosexuality is death. This requires closer examination because of the great stakes involved. First, today there are no true Muslim courts anywhere in the world and no countries that truly follow Shariah law. Therefore no Muslim anywhere in the world is justified in applying the death sentence to anyone; to do so is outside the bounds of Shariah: there is no room for vigilantes and honor killings within Islamic jurisprudence. Second, there are only three sins for which a Muslim can be executed: Murder, treason (not necessarily apostasy: this refers to one who goes out and causes harm to the Muslim community; interestingly, as I will prove, this can be said of many who support the execution of homosexuals), and Fasad fil-ardh: spreading mischief in the land. The third is most open to interpretation, but applies to those whose actions endanger the community as a whole. The question then becomes, does homosexuality threaten the community as a whole? It does not seem to.

But then a third consideration must be taken into account. Islam never punishes the mentally ill “until they are cured”: individuals cannot be held responsible for crimes they commit that are outside their realm of reasonable control, no matter how serious the crimes. For example, if a woman developed post-partum depression and killed her children (a crime which takes 200 lives per year in the U.S. alone), Islam would not execute her because she was not reasonably able to control her actions because of her insanity. Although she committed a terrible crime--and no one is denying this--to punish her is un-Islamic. I believe the same is true for homosexuality because scientifically, the causes of homosexuality and mental illnesses--such as post-partum depression--are the same. Both homosexuality and mental illness are caused by a genetic predisposition that is either active or inactive, depending more on genes than on environment. There has been much scientific research that indicates that homosexuals are born, not made; although some choose to live hetero-typical lifestyles due to social pressures, innate feelings of attraction towards the same sex is inborn and cannot be changed with modern medicine. Furthermore, other studies have shown that heterosexuals who carry the gay gene have greater reproductive success than heterosexuals that do not.

I do not deny that there are many homosexuals who wish to change their orientation; in fact, I fully recognize that there are many and I do support their right to do so. However, there are no modern methods which can make their dream a reality. Groups such as NARTH, Exodus International, and Jonah have an average success rate of >15% and a much higher suicide rate. I cannot in good conscience suggest that someone engage in an activity that will more likely result in their deaths than their cure; nor do I believe any good Muslim could do so. If a cancer treatment had an effectiveness of >15% and a mortality of, say, 30%, the FDA would not approve it, and doctors would not recommend it. If and when a safe, reliable method of altering sexual orientation is discovered, I believe the option should be given to homosexuals; and I believe many would take it willingly.

Historical Support

It is one thing for a single person to support something; it is quite another for a society to support it. Now that I have explained my views, do they have any historical backing? In fact they do. In 1858, the Ottoman Empire--the last Islamic caliphate--decriminalized homosexuality. In Muslim Spain, gay poets created a great deal of literature and lived in relative comfort. Although Spain did not decriminalize homosexuality, it did not enforce punishment. Islam punishes sins committed in the open; a conviction of a crime such as adultery requires several witnesses, not mere speculation or jealousy--and generally, one does not bring witnesses to something so private. Similarly, most homosexual acts occur in private, not on public display, and therefore are not prosecuted by Islamic law.

The Regress

There is an oft-repeated myth that while other religions were able to secularize their mainstreams, Islam never accomplished this. In fact, the opposite is true. While Christendom was in its Dark Ages, the Muslim world was a thriving center for knowledge, liberalism and free thought. While Christendom was punishing heretics for believing the sun was not the center of the universe, Muslims were postulating the existence of the atom. While the church burned suspected witches and heretics at the stake, Muslims practiced “covivienca”, coexistence with other faiths. So how did Islam regress? The answer is actually Christendom.

It was not until the last several years that a right-wing movement has come to power in the Muslim world. It was given leadership, not be the support of its people, but by American dollars. Hillary Clinton bravely admitted during an interview with reporters that it was the American government that created, funded, and trained the Taliban. Saddam Hussein is another example of a politician who was held in power, not by his people’s support, but by American funds that gave him weapons, technology, and information he used to control his people. Other farther-right dictators the U.S. has supported over the oppositions of their people and in spite of their civil rights abuses include King Abdullah of Saudi, King Abdullah II of Jordan, Karimov of Uzbekistan, and Berdimuhammedov of Turkmenistan. Exactly as I demonstrated in my “Women in Iraq” article, today these countries follow not traditional Islam, but America’s ideas about Islam. America has created an enemy, given his weapons, money, information, and training, and has used this enemy as an excuse to wage war on Muslims around the world. No Muslim can, in good conscience, support this American version of Islam. To do so is not only to turn your back on centuries of Islamic history and tradition: it is to support the wholesale slaughter of brothers and sisters in Islam around the world both by Americans and by their puppet governments. This is by far much more un-Islamic than to support the rights of gays to marry. To support this American Islam is a great evil: it is treason; it is murder; it is sin.

Looking Ahead

No society can maintain extremist right-wing ideology for very long. Policies that oppress women and minority populations are unsustainable because they reduce the population, increase poverty and fear, and increase civil unrest. As we are currently seeing in the Middle East, “secularism,” or a more moderate approach to life, triumphs over extremism. If Islam is to survive--and it will--it must return to its roots and become more moderate. This is not an un-Islamic approach; if anything, it follows traditional Islam more closely than right-wing extremism does.

42 comments:

  1. Salam sister

    are you of the view that Islam permits a homosexual to have a gay relationship?

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  2. Salamun 'alaikum.
    http://drabutamim.blogspot.com/2011/07/war-against-homosexuality.html

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  3. i dont quite understand your response to my question:


    'are you of the view that Islam permits a homosexual to have a gay relationship?'

    could you kindly respond in simple sentence or two?

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  4. Paul: The answer is too complex to be answered in one or two sentences. Please read the entire article if you want to know what I believe.

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  5. I have read your article and you appear to be suggesting that Islam permits a homosexual to have a gay relationship'

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    1. Hello; could you please tell me abot a reasonable treatment for homosexuality?

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    2. Please see http://gaymuslims.org/ and http://www.straightstruggle.com/ for the correct view on Homosexuality and Islam - any point of view that does not take into account the scientifically corroborated sayings of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) - i.e. the "hadith" - is guaranteed to be wrong.

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  6. I do not deny that homosexuality is a sin, but I believe it should be classified as a sin without punishment as explained in detail above. Some people believe this makes me a "supporter" of homosexuals. Others believe it doesn't go far enough to support human rights. Neither is my primary motive. I believe simply that homosexuality should be classified as a sin without punishment.

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    1. Salam,
      How can it be a sin without punishment. If there was no punishment, what would deter people from homosexuality. Islam must be followed as is, it is not a religion in which you add what you like or what you think is right.

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    2. If a woman with post-partum depression drowned her children, Islamically she would not be punished, even though everyone would agree that she had committed a horrible sin, because she was mentally ill. Homosexuality has the same cause as mental illness, and therefore should be given the same treatment.

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  7. I am in the same page with you sister Safiyya.

    Amin, your brother in Islam
    Malaysia

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  8. why do you like talking soooooo much about things that involve sexuality? R there no other pleasures left to enjoy or you do not find yourself attracted towards issues like spirituality, Iman as opposed to hypocracy, or stubberness as opposed to leniency.... are you obsessed wid sexuality? or you just want to defend someone in very close connection to you???

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  9. To the last commenter, who did not leave a name so I can't send them a message directly: I'm actually asexual/aromantic and don't have any sexual feelings of my own.
    I bring this up because I feel it is an important topic. I don't know what makes you say I'm "obsessed" with sexuality, as all the rest of my articles on this website are about other topics. As it happens, I do have a good number of gay and lesbian friends (probably around two dozen), but I don't feel that I wrote this specifically to "defend" them.

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  10. I have been gay since I can remember. I even had my first "crush" on a man when I was five years old. I have never been attracted to women sexually. It's not a choice it's just the way I am as long as I can remember. I converted to Islam a few years ago, I love the religion very much and am confused as what to do with my life. I can not get married because, women need sex too, and I wouldn't be able to satisfy them as I am not sexually aroused by them, what can I do?

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    1. person1 I am not saying you do any of these things, but I promise you if you abstain from sexual desires or any perversions such as pornography and masturbation and sex you will notice that you will change, whenever you see anyone you are attracted to tell yourself that only Allah will bring you happiness and you dont need that person for happiness. you will get used to that inshallah and any perversion in your heart will be removed, after a while my friend you will find yourself attracted to women...should take no more than several months, but seriously stay away from perversions and lust.

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    2. ramo50, do you think that is the ultimate solution? If so, could you give a living proof?

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  11. Dear person1: That is a very difficult situation to be in, but rest assured, you are not alone! There are many others out there in the same situation. Some gay men choose to marry lesbians. If you go to imaan.org.uk's forum, you can talk to others in the same situation. Hope this helps!

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  12. I'm only anonymous since I'm too lazy to sign in, but for person1, I have one thing to say:
    The Quran blatantly forbid homosexual LUST; nowhere in the Quran, however, was homosexual LOVE forbidden. There is a difference between the two.

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  13. I discovered your web site via Google while looking for a related subject, lucky for me your web site came up, its a great website. I have bookmarked it in my Google bookmarks. You really are a phenomenal person with a brilliant mind!

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  14. In your post, you said:

    "Both homosexuality and mental illness are caused by a genetic predisposition that is either active or inactive, depending more on genes than on environment."

    As far as I know, a genetic link to homosexuality has not been found. I'm not saying there isn't one, I'm just saying that one hasn't been found yet. That's also not to say that homosexuals choose to be gay either. It is currently believed that same-sex attraction is caused by a complex combination of factors.

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    1. Read http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/01/homosexuality-genetics-usa

      Paul and Ali, please be open minded. You are not God. That's the problem with a lot of creationists and people who align themselves prematurely to atheist stances - all as stubborn as each other in judging situations and others without accepting weaknesses in their arguments. You as well as the other 7 billion can try to imagine and understand, but you have to accept we will not know for absolute certainty, because science as well as religion is constantly being redefined and updated. And yes, religion of today is not the same as religion of a thousand years ago, regardless of how people dress them up today. All holy books are open to interpretation, which means it is subject to political perception of the time.

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  15. Dear writer, I think your stance on this issue is not clear. On one hand you state in quran homosexuality (sexual lust for one man for another man) is no where mentioned, and that it is not clear that people of Lot were punished for gayism. I can see where you are coming from since you quoted your Quranic sources from Imaan (pro gay) website. Interestingly, you quoted 7:80 for your fahisha argumemt.
    Now, what I am telling you is that Quran very explicitly declares man-to-man lust (gayism) a sin and even punished this act with the anhilation of the people of Lot. To find it you need not look very far than you have already looked: 7:81-84. In 7-81 God clearly, unambiguously states that the men engaged with men instead of women for their sexual desires (shahwa [sic]). In 7:80 Allah declares this an abomination (fahisha [sic]) that no one ever did before them! Allah in 7:83 rescues Lot and his household except his wife and in 7:84 Allah punished them (including the wife) with (stone) rain, and Allah called them criminals at the end of 7:84.
    So, I think it should be settled that at least man to man sexual activities is mentioned in Quran as an abominable sin and is even punished.
    As far as lesbianism is concerned, we can argue about it some other time. Actually, I can talk about it now. Imaan claimed in support of same-sex marriage that Quran used a gender-neutral term spouse for marriage partners, thus same-sex couples are also included. But, keeping 7:81-84 infront of us, it is established that man can only marry a woman, and thus removes any doubts about the meaning of spouse as gender neutral in the sense thay same-sex couples are also included. More can be said on Quran's declaring lesbianism as wrong, but we can discuss it after we are clear on Quran's clear take against gayism.

    I am looking forward to hearing back from you. It is important that you reply me as it will be beneficial to me if I am proven wrong. Thanks

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    1. Homosexuality is a nuanced issue. My argument is, in short, although homosexuality is probably a sin, it should be considered a sin without punishment because it is caused by the same things that cause mental illness, and Shariah does not punish the mentally ill. However, there are those that argue that homosexuality is not a sin, including the last Caliphate. We are all sinners; and it is not for us to judge which sins are greater than other sins.

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    2. Read http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/01/homosexuality-genetics-usa

      Paul and Ali, please be open minded. You are not God. That's the problem with a lot of creationists and people who align themselves prematurely to atheist stances - all as stubborn as each other in judging situations and others without accepting weaknesses in their arguments. You as well as the other 7 billion can try to imagine and understand, but you have to accept we will not know for absolute certainty, because science as well as religion is constantly being redefined and updated. And yes, religion of today is not the same as religion of a thousand years ago, regardless of how people dress them up today. All holy books are open to interpretation, which means it is subject to political perception of the time.

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    3. Shires, I advise that you read the studies of various researches directly rather than reading them on news sites like Guardian etc. Such studies are hardly conclusive, rather they are colored, favoring a point of view.
      Please read www.narth.com/docs/animalmyth.html . This is a study direct from the mouth of a scientists with references to some other scientists' researches. Be open-minded to read them and factor them in while you make an educated opinion.

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    4. NARTH is one of the most highly discredited organizations in the world. There are dozens of studies that refute it, and the author of almost every study they have ever quoted has demanded that they stop misrepresenting the data in a way that suits their purposes. I don't know how anyone can take NARTH seriously, unless they have a huge confirmation bias like NARTH.

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    5. .... and so are the other supporting studies equally discreditted by their opponents; the point being that any SCIENTIFIC study is not conclusive on this issue, so, in all fairness, they cannot so reliably be considered to form a final or meaningful verdict. And especially these, being so varying and unreliable, cannot be brought upon to bear on an interpretation of Koran on homosexuality. So, Koran should be studied independently of these unreliable studies, when it comes to homosexuality.

      Best regards

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    6. However and regardless of all, Science does confirm that homosexuality is not a choice.

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  16. Saffiya and Shires,

    [Saffiya]- You are discussing two things: (1) Is homosexuality a sin in Islam? (2) If yes, is it punishable in Islam? So, let us not mix these questions and answer them one by one.

    [Is homosexuality a sin in Islam]
    Saffiya, your argument that in Islam homosexuality is or is not probably a sin is not clear, and the sources that you have quoted from Koran (in support of your claim that homosexuality is a nuanced issue) are not complete. Again for some reason you did say anything about 7:81-84 that I mentioned in my previous comment. If you see 7:81-84 in conjunction with 7:80, the take of Koran on gayism becomes very clear and unambiguous (not nuanced as you say): gayism is CLEARLY an abominal sin, period. The gays among the people of Lot were CLEARLY declared criminals (and were punished by Allah).
    Saffiya, I have nothing personally against homosexuality. All I expect is a complete and accurate representation of Koran on an issue. Apparently, your take on 'homosexiality in Islam' is drawn from incomplete study of Koran (you left out 7:81-84), thus rendering your conclusion on this issue very misleading. Similarly, I do not know how you can substatiate your yet another claim that last caliphate and others think homosexuality is not a sin. Please provide the references. Moreover, it does not matter what some muslims think about homosexuality; what matters is how accurately they explain their conclusions from Koran.
    Now, I come to second issue under discussion.

    [Is homosexuality to be punished in Islam]
    Based on my reading of Koran, I am not sure if homosexuality is a sin that can be punished by Islamic laws. Saffiya, I agree with your thougths on this particular question.

    Shires, please do not forget the scope of my arguments. I am not pretending to be God; I am only giving you what Koran says. According to Koran, Koran is a complete and divine constitution. It does not matter if you do not approve of Koran as a constitution but I believe in it as a final word, unlike other religions that according to Koran have been distorted, becoming invalid as good constitutions; Koran is valid to date and will remain so.
    Shires, I do not care how ambiguous the other religions have become; I only care about Islam. So, if you read Koran 7:80-84, you will find what Koran so clearly says about homosexuality, there is no lack of clarity, there is no room for political manipulations...

    Saffiya, please give a very specific reply in regards to 7:81-84, thank you.

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    1. It is clear that a crime was committed. It is also clear that the people of the city engaged in homosexual acts. However, it is not clear to me that the homosexuality was the great sin committed by the people.

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    2. AoA Saffiyya, please read this reply with my previous reply. I will divide this into two replies, each with a different argument. I will like you to also reply them seperately to keep our line arguments specific, clear, and easy to follow.
      This reply is on
      IS THERE NO WORD FOR HOMOSEXUALITY IN KORAN?
      Contrary to what you asserted in the beginning of your paper (there is no word for homosexuality in koran, and that words with generic meaning have been interpretted to mean homosexual acts in Koran), you have admitted in your reply that "It is also clear that the peopple of the city engaged in homosexual act." So,it is settled and established that Koran clearly mentions homosexuality in more than one words and on more than one occassions. Scholastic honesty demands that you correct your assertion in the paper, may be saying something like "Koran clearly mentions and discusses homosexuality as it is defined....".
      In my othet seperate I will argue that Koran clearly declares homosexuality a sin.
      Regards

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    3. This is the second part of reply to your earlier reply to me on Nov 18.
      IS HOMOSEXUALITY DECLARED A SIN IN KORAN?
      Specifically looking into 7:80-84, there can be two arguments (both will lead to homosexuality being declared a sin). In 7:80, Lut tells the people that they comit A henious crime. You can easily see that 7:80 about only ONE great crime [abomination], not multiple crimes, never committed before. So, in 7:81 Koran clearly says what that crime was i.e., homosexuality (gayism), hence, declaring homosexuality a sin.
      If we even consider thaf 7:80 is very generally referring to the other sins of the people of Lut. Even then 7:81 unambiguously includes their homosexual acts in the other sins of the people. If you look into a wider context of 7:80-84 i.e., 7:59-7:94, Koran clearly enumerates the variuos SINS of the peoples of different prohets (Noah, Hood, Salih, Lut, Shoaib) in which those transgressed causing the wrath of God upon them. In the list of these SINS, homosexuality is also very prominantly and specifically mentioned in 7:81. So, homosexuality is again unambiguously declared a sin in Koran. Moreover, Koran again very secifically talks about the homosexual acts in in 11:77-79 and putting them in the category of the sin.
      Best regards

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  17. Read 7:81. It is as clear as it gets. It clearly states the crime that was committed : gayism, it clearly states that the men engaged with men for sex. For further clarity, please read 11:77-79. Koran is very cleat that Lut offered the people his own daughters. If it was just the LUST (not love) the men were seeking for men, then Prophet Lut would not have offered his daughters. But (if you read the verses) the men insisted only for the male guests of Lut. In both the sets of verses (7:81.. & 11:77-79), Koran very clearly mentions & highlights gayism as a great sin that brought the wrath of God on the people of Lut. Now, I am not saying that today homosexuality must be punished; I am just saying how clear Koran is about homosexuality (gayism) being a great sin, contrary to what you, Imaan, MPV etc say. Still after reading 7:81, you still maintain your view, then be very specific in how you interpret word-by-word the verses 7:81 & 11:78-82 as what you understand the issue.
    Moreover, in your paper you should have also quoted 7:81-84 and 11:79-82. Interestingly you did quote the introductory verses (7:80, 11:78), but for some reason did not quote the more specific verses on homosexuality following them. I wonder why? It seems from your article that you have not read this part of Koran, rather you just relied on Imaan's references from Koran. Even the articles that I read by Imaan do not talk about 7:81, 11:79-82. By not doing so, you and Imaan give a very incomplete picture and inaccurate representation of Koran on this issue.
    Best regards

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  18. Does it matter truly what it's cause or punishment is?
    The real matter is what homosexuals should do with these feelings or how they should be helped

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    1. You make a valid point. But it is equally, if not more, important to first establish beyond doubt that homosexuality is a disorder, a sin in Islam. Only after this step is taken, one can address the issue of how to cure it. That is why I have presented a clear reading (contrary to what Safiyya has claimed) of Quran on homosexuality.

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    2. A disorder cannot be punished in Islamic law, even if it is clearly a sin (which I am not sure homosexuality is). If a woman had postpartum depression and drowned her children, she would have undoubtedly committed a grave sin, but she would not be punished for it under Islamic law because she was insane. My main argument is that homosexuality has the same causes as a mental disorder, and should be considered one under Islamic law, meaning that it is a sin that cannot be punished.

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    3. Saffiyya, I agree to your argument on not punishing this act. You need not repeat it again and again and dodging (so I feel) my central argument on Quran CLEARLY declaring homosexuality a sin. If homosexuality-is-not-punishable is your main point, then you erred irresponsibly by tying with your main argument the concludion that Quran is not clear about declaring homosexuality a sin. I have shown you sufficient ayas from Quran that CLEARLY declare homosexuality a sin. Sadly, instead of giving a direct response to the clear Quranic ayas I quoted, you seem to beat about the bush and confuse issues.
      If homosexuality-is-not-punishable-in-Islam is your main point, then stick to just this point and do not make misleading and inaccurate conclusions that Quran is not clear on homosexuality (this is my m as in point).

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    4. [Continued from my previous reply]...... however, I will not mind at all if you explain your homosexuality-not-clear-in-Quran claim based specifically on the ayas I have qouted in my previous replies, rather than giving your coclusions vaguely without explaining why my qouted ayas do not disprove your argument that since Quran does not mention homosexuality at all, so Quran is not clear on this issue and, hence, homosexuality is not a sin in Islam.

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  19. For all the homophobics; supposing that homosexuality is a sin, then how would you cure a homosexual who wants to stop to sin? Are there any reliable successful examples of that?
    If you think the cure is to keep silent and sit over, i suggest you emagine yourselves never encountering women.

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    1. Just like any other sinner who wants to cure his/her sins: praying, and may be seek medical help too, or at least acknowledging that he/she is committing a sin. Plus, please stop using labels like 'homophobes'; do not be so rigid...

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  20. Dear Hama,
    I know how you feel. I myself has questioned again and again about this and became frutrated. Straight people, whether or not, will mostly, see the that the Quran is using the behavior of the people of Lot, as gay and hence will just simply, "I am sorry this is not acceptable".

    To me I think, most says that because it might make them feel better and
    whichever interpretation they feel safe with they just go on with it.

    But they will not see men as to how we see men. Straight men see women as the way we see men. Most will not tolerate this diversity and will continue to make others feel bad with their tongue. Especially children...who looks uptp them to learn truth. I did. I hated myself. I prayed to Allah that I would change. I struggled. I sincerely made dua to Allah. What actually happened? Depression, more sadness, OCD, experimentation thoughts. Just tell me....does desiring women must be so hard and confusing? It never ends. I still am is so angry that previously i used to respect women, wanted to stand against theur side for their right, used to be so comfortable around them, they used to love felt safe with me and adored me as a friend, Now I am this angry person who just dont care who he hurts ( i try REALLY REALLY HARD NOT to act irrationally though...no one innocent is responsible for any wrong done to me).

    To others,
    Anyways back to Lot story. These man had wives...they abandoned them and their intention was to insult the people that came to Lot. Interestingly the Quran also does not use the term sodomy, does not mention what particular act it was, just the aggressive intention and the behaviour. Keep in mind that these men had wives as spouse, and the grammatical form helps to clarify that these men had sex with women in general and were to trying to lustfully approach "the" males which came to Lot, there is only one mention of lustfully approaching males and these were the messengers. NO where it was mentioned that these men preferred men in general and had previously good and consensual sexual relationship with men before. Why should one ignore the context of the behavior?

    Furthermore, these verses are not law making verse but these were revealed to Muhammad(pbuh) to help him have patience and not be too depressed in the face rejection. They are NOT legislative in nature.

    Lastly there is a verse in the Quran, that if correctly translated talks about men who does not desire women and women does not have to take extra precaution about these men.

    Keep in mind that there are many reason why a men may not have a desire for women. Being homosexual is just one of them. The Quran addresses people in general except a few characters. In almost ALL the verses, the Quran talks about male and female. But we do know from reality that there are people with ambiguous gender and there is a single verse that does speak of God mixing the male and female. It depends on interpretation. Now a days countries have respectfully categorized such respected humans as the third gender to recognize it as a variation.

    My intention is to explain that the Quran addresses the majority of the people. Homosexuals are a minority. It is because of the society that the major health oraganization started to do research and concluded that homosexuality is not patholigical and trying to change would be actually going against psychiatric treatment.

    Reliable scientific data corrobates with verses of the Quran.

    Next question....well the Quran does not talk about gay marriage. True! It does not. But then it does not talk about many other things. Does it mean we should try and brush things under the carpet and pretend it never exist? Is it justice? Something to ponder on.

    So can you now safely say that homosexuality is haram?

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  21. The Prophet said: (1) “Kill the one who sodomises and the one who lets it be done to him.” (Tirmidhi, an authentic Hadith). (2) “May Allah curse him who does that Lot’s people did.” (Ibn Hibban, authentic Hadith). (3) “Lesbianism by women is adultery between them.” (Tabarani, an authentic Hadith)” (Reliance of the Traveller, translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller, pp. 664-665.

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Please comment! Keep in mind to be respectful, though. I don't have enough time in my day to deal with people who are just going to curse.