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.