Islam and Homosexuality

The Islamic views on homosexuality are formed from the writings of the Qur'an and Muhammad's Sunnah. Practicing homosexuality is considered a crime and under Islamic law.

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 school differentiates further 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 various ahadith and rulings from the prophets companions/four righteous caliphs, 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]

Within the context of Islamic thought, however, this attitude originated from the Prophet Muhammad, and since he is considered by all mainstream Muslims to be the Uswa 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 mere 3% of the world's Muslims living in "more-developed regions"),^[9] homosexuality is commonly 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 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][14] Even mosques described as “moderate” have put out statements speaking approvingly of the murder of homosexuals.^[15]

In Indonesia, 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."^[17]

Treatment of Homosexuals

The following are excerpts on homosexuality, taken from the Saudi Ministry of Education Textbooks for Islamic Studies:

Whilst LGBT-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 in torturous and humiliating ways, such as 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 an icon of 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 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

The Qur'an, Hadith collections and scholars have much to say in regards to Homosexuality.

Islam and Homosexuals in the News

Here are compiled links listed by country, to news articles related to Islamic persecution of homosexuals and other related items. 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. Without the Internet, many such news items that would otherwise be lost.

Statistic Concerning Homosexuality

This page consists of various fully referenced statistics. A small sample:

1. As of 1999 in Iran, more than 4,000 lesbians and gays had been executed since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
2. Two thirds of all reported incidents of anti-gay violence in Amsterdam are by Muslim youths.
3. As of 2009, homosexual relationships, acts or behavior are illegal in 36 Islamic countries. 10 impose the death penalty.
4. A 2009 Gallup survey could not find a single British Muslim who approved of homosexuality.

The People of Lot

The story of Lot (لوط, Lūṭ) from the Hebrew Bible, is also to be found in the Qur'an, albeit with a few differences. Amongst other things, the Qur'anic rendition links the destruction of Sodom specifically to the homosexual activities of its inhabitants. The Qur'an also claims that the People of Lot were the first to experience homosexuality. However, 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 in 6000 BC, as well as 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. All this diverges from the Biblical account and, some would argue, attested history.

See Also

• Homosexuality (Translations of Arabic/Islamic Media)‎

Other Core Articles

Core articles contain an overview of other articles related to a specific issue, and serve as a starting point for anyone wishing to learn about Islam:

• Islam and Apostasy
• Islam and Miracles
• Child Marriage in Islamic Law
• Islam and Science
• Islam and Scripture
• Islam and the People of the Book
• Islam and Violence
• Islam and Women

External Links

• Sharia sure ain’t gay: Muhammad and the homosexual - By James M. Arlandson
• Homophobic Barbarians: 10 Reasons Every Gay American Needs to Support the War Against Islamofascism - By Megan Fox
• How Islam Views Homosexuality - 15 Fatwa's from Islam-Online

References