What is Islam's view of homosexuality?
There is no doubt that in Islam homosexuality is considered 'sinful'. Homosexuality as far as Islam is concerned is a profound mistake ( as are all sins if they are not intending to do wrong). Humans are not homosexuals by nature. People become homosexuals because of their environments. Particularly critical is the environment during puberty. Suggestions, ideas & strange dreams are symptoms of confused attempts to understand new and blunt sexual desires and are rashly interpreted as defining someone as being one sexuality or another. If these conclusions are accompanied by actual homosexual acts they are even more strongly reinforced.
Human instincts can be subjected to acts of will. Sexuality is a choice of identity which follows choices of action which follow from choices of what to have sexual fantasies about. Human beings are especially able to control their thoughts, entertaining some and dismissing others.
However, if this free will is not recognised it is easy to get into a cycle of thinking which starts from accepting a hypothesis about yourself as true rather than as a possible choice (even if the options are sometimes difficult).For example: "I am lazy " could be supposed true by someone. When the person who thinks this lies around in bed in the morning he observes this inaction as evidence of the statement "I am lazy." As he repeatedly chooses to do so the evidence mounts and the idea becomes fixed in his identity. It may even have physical manifestations and change his physiology and psychology. This process can easily occur for any idea good or bad about the self which is based largely on evidence resulting from ones own action. The idea may be "I am 'gay'" or "I am content" or "I love eating lots of food". The truth is - you are what you choose to be ; you do what you choose to do ; you think what you choose to think. There may be long time delays between the causing choices and the effects but anyone can change themselves. There are reformed ex-drug addicts, reformed ex-compulsive gamblers and ex-homosexuals. In all these sins prevention is 1000 times better than cure and much easier.
It has been suggested that homosexuality is genetically inherited and that those who have this 'predisposition' are victims of it not sinners of any sort. However, there are other things which are probably genetically influenced to give predispositions to for example gambling or alcoholism .It could also be argued (and has been) that it is programmed into men's genetics for them to be unfaithful to their partner. All these things don't make it the right thing to do, nor does it prevent these things from being regarded as sinful. Drinking alcohol will still be regarded as sinful in Islam even if you have a predisposition to be an alcoholic. The trick as every post alcoholic will tell you is never touch another drop after you quit - it is a long slippery slope - your life is better without it. Once a certain desire is connected to your identity strongly and you get in some way hooked on it, it will always be easy to return to it - you are unable to forget the satisfaction. The difficult task is remembering the bad side of the desire, such as hangovers, lost money, self loathing or a simply sense of loss because of what you missed out on. But if you are to change for the better, you must remember this and the past desires you bound up with your identity can become disconnected from what you choose to become.
The above article gives the Islamic view of homosexuality, aimed at Western audiences. What follows is the truth:
The Islamic views on homosexuality are formed from the writings of the Qur'an and Prophet Muhammad's Sunnah. It is not only a sin, but a crime under Islamic law.
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Introduction
Islam's Views
Islamic Shari'ah law is extracted from both the Qur'an and Muhammad's Sunnah (found in the Hadith and Sira). Islamic jurisprudence are expansion of the laws contained within them by Islamic jurists. Therefore, they are seen as the laws of Allah. You need only look to the rulings under Shari'ah to see the accepted mainstream interpretation of Islam and its commandments to its followers. Homosexuality under this law, is not only a sin, but a punishable crime against God.
In the case of homosexuality, how it is dealt with differs between the four mainline schools of Sunni jurisprudence today, but what they all agree upon is that homosexuality is worthy of a severe penalty.
In the Hanafi school of thought, the homosexual is first punished through harsh beating, and if he/she repeats the act, the death penalty is to be applied.
As for the Shafi`i school of thought, the homosexual receives the same punishment as adultery (if he/she is married) or fornication (if not married). This means, that if the homosexual is married, he/she is stoned to death, while if single, he/she is whipped 100 times. Hence, the Shafi`i compares the punishment applied in the case of homosexuality with that of adultery and fornication.
The Hanafi differentiates between the two acts because in homosexuality, anal sex [something that is prohibited, regardless of orientation] may also be involved, while in adultery [and fornication], the penis/vagina (which are reproductive parts) are involved.
Some scholars, based on the Qur'an and various ahadith, hold the opinion that the homosexual should be thrown from a high building or stoned to death[1] as a punishment for their crime, but other scholars maintain that they should be imprisoned until death. [2]
Another view is that between two males, the active partner is to be lashed a hundred times if he is unmarried, and killed if he is married; whereas the passive partner is to be killed regardless of his marital status.[3]
Muslims and Their Views
Many apologists have attempted to shift the blame for this Muslim hostility towards homosexuality onto "the adoption of European Victorian attitudes by the new Westernized elite."[4]
However, this explanation falls short. Within the context of Islamic thought, this attitude originated from the Prophet Muhammad, and since he is considered by all mainstream Muslims to be theUswa Hasana (the perfect example) we find that the majority of Muslims still consider this harsh treatment of homosexuals to be justified.
Muhammad himself had stated, “If you find anyone doing as Lot's people did, kill the one who does it, and the one to whom it is done.”[5] He even went so far as to condemn the “appearance” of homosexuality, when he cursed effeminate men and masculine women and ordered his followers to "Turn them out of your houses."[6] This ruling on homosexuals was naturally adopted by his later successors.
The father of Aisha and Muhammad’s first successor, Abu Bakr, had a homosexual burned at the stake. The fourth Rightly-Guided Caliph, Muhammad’s son-in-law Ali, ordered homosexuals to be stoned, and even had one thrown from the minaret of a mosque.[7] These actions quite obviously pre-date any sort of Western influence on Islamic thought.
According to Shaykh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid: "The spread of homosexuality has caused man diseases which neither the east nor the west can deny exist because of them. Even if the only result of this perversion was AIDS – which attacks the immune system in humans – that would be enough."[8]
Even by moderate Muslims (who are found primarily among the tiny 3% of the world's Muslims living in "more-developed regions"),[9] homosexuality is seen as something that is vile and unacceptable. For example, a Gallup survey carried out in early 2009 found that British Muslims have zero tolerance for Homosexuality. Not even a single British Muslim interviewed believed that homosexual acts were morally acceptable.[10][11] Also according to a Zogby International poll of American Muslims taken in November and December of 2001, a massive 71 percent opposed "allowing gays and lesbians to marry legally."[12] Another worrying statistic to be found among Muslims in the UK, is that although they comprise just 2% of the total British population, they commit 25% of all anti-Homosexual crimes.[13]
So, with the rise of Islam in the UK and the rest of the world, we also see the inadvertent return to the morality of seventh-century Arabia, with Muslim gangs on the streets of England carrying out violent attacks on gays[14] and mosques labeled as “moderate” calling for the murder of homosexuals at the hands of their congregation.[15]
If we look to secular Indonesia, we see that due to pressure from the growing conservative Islamic communities, some local authorities have now been given the right to use Islamic laws, which have successfully criminalized homosexuality.[16] Also in Hindu-majority India, attempts to move forward and decriminalize homosexuality are being hindered by Islamic clerics claiming "Homosexuality is an offence under Sharia Law and haram (prohibited) in Islam," and that "Legalisation of homosexuality is an attack on Indian religious and moral values," a statement not to be taken lightly, when coming from religious leaders of Islam.[17]
Treatment of Homosexuals
The following are excerpts on homosexuality, taken from the Saudi Ministry of Education Textbooks for Islamic Studies:
Whilst LGBTT-rights activists are making great progress in non-Muslim societies, gay communities in the Muslim world are left fighting for even the most basic of human rights, and in many cases, their very lives.
Exact figures are hard to determine, due to the political turmoil in many of the Islamic states, but as of 2009 homosexual relationships, acts or behavior are forbidden in approximately thirty-six Islamic countries including Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Indonesia, Iran, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Yemen, with punishments including anything from a fine up to life imprisonment.[18][19] Ten of those countries out of the thirty-six impose the death penalty for homosexuals. They are Iran, Mauritania, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi-Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, Yemen and some states in Malaysia.[20]
According to the Iranian gay and lesbian rights group Homan, the Iranian government alone has put to death an estimated 4,000 homosexuals since the Islamic revolution of 1979.[19] Laws allowing gay rights, seldom mean a thing in Muslim majority nations where the laws of Islam trump the laws of the land every time. Take for instance, Iraq, which does not officially have any laws discriminating against same-sex relationships, currently there are death squads operating in the country killing gays and lesbians (or effeminate men and masculine women suspected of homosexuality) on sight, and a shocking sixty-eight gay and trans-gendered men have been killed within the space of four months, often by having their anuses glued shut, followed by induced diarrhea.[21][22]
Also in the secular nation of Turkey, a country which is often held-up as a poster-child for moderate Islam, persecution and violence against homosexuals [along with non-Muslim minorities] is on the rise, with eleven gays being killed within the first half of 2009 .[23] This behavior is consistent with the results of a survey[24] released in November of 2009 which found that a massive 67 percent of Turks "would continue acting in accordance with their religious beliefs if the Parliament passed a law that contradicted religious laws." and only Twenty-six percent "would obey the country’s law in this case".
Articles
The following are summaries of other pages discussing Islam, in relation to Homosexuality:
Islamic Writing and Homosexuality
Main Article: Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Homosexuality
The Qur'an, Hadith collections and scholars have much to say in regards to Homosexuality.
Islam and Homosexuals in the News
Main Article: Persecution of Homosexuals
The ongoing persecution of homosexuals by Muslims around the world, rarely makes the mainstream news. The fear of offending Islamic sensibilities and enraging the Muslim populous has effectively silenced the free world in many areas. Thanks to the Internet, those of us who search can find many news items that would otherwise be lost. Here, we provide you with links listed by country, to news articles related to Islamic persecution of homosexuals and other related items.
Statistic Concerning Homosexuality
Main Article: Muslim Statistics (Homosexuals)
This page consists of various fully referenced statistics. A small sample:
- As of 1999 in Iran, more than 4,000 lesbians and gays had been executed since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
- Two thirds of all reported incidents of anti-gay violence in Amsterdam are by Muslim youths.
- As of 2009, homosexual relationships, acts or behavior are illegal in 36 Islamic countries. 10 impose the death penalty.
- A 2009 Gallup survey could not find a single British Muslim who approved of homosexuality.
The People of Lot
Main Article: The People of Lot
The story of Lot (لوط, Lūṭ) from the Hebrew Bible, is also to be found in the Qur'an, albeit retold with a few differences. Amongst other things, the Qur'anic rendition links the destruction of Sodom specifically to the homosexual activities of its inhabitants. This is one of the many stories from the Qur'an which openly denies science and history, and by doing so, it proves the author of those verses was ignorant of reality and thus proves the verses were not divinely revealed. Take for instance, the Qur'an's claim that the People of Lot were the first to experience homosexuality. This is purely a myth. Homosexuality has been recorded in ancient cultures far before the time of Lot and Abraham (1948–2123 BC). For example the ancient Egyptians who existed 6000 years BC. Not to mention the Chinese and Indian cultures which existed 7000 years BC. There are many recorded tales which portray homosexuality, such as the story between Seth and Horus. Scientifically, historically and morally, this Qur'anic story makes little sense.
Now why can't these people come clean and tell the truth instead of lying.
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