So, my next patient is gay

Dr Mohammed Naushaduddin

A typical day in my clinic. A not so routine situation.

I was raised in a religious environment in India – a multicultural country with healthy respect for others, and equally skeptic of other’s claims.

Gays are a rare minority in India. You thought God made them that way; and they lived their life the best they can. To us, the gays were like the Paris sans Muslims in some media (‘Emily in Paris’ or children’s cartoon ‘Miraculous’ comes to mind). Aloofness to deliberate amnesia, depending on situations.

When I worked in Emergency Department in Australia, I dealt with the medical issues at hand. Patients were treated and handed over to the inpatient team or discharged home to their GP.

Now, in the community, gay patients are my patients. Privilege of trust brings in shared responsibility, so I wanted to understand the issue.

Muslim perspective

Quran mentions gays in the context of Israiliyaat: these are the stories of the Biblical generations, specifically of Prophet Lut (Lot, in Latin) – a minor prophet but a nephew of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham): ayah 26:165-166, 27:54-55, 29:28-29, etc.

Though a rare hadith calls for capital punishment, scholarly consensus is certainly against normalcy of same sex orientation. This is because the Ulema believes in the primacy of Quran and Sunnah, and the only valid source of truth.

Assimilation has been one of the primary goals of humanity-nurturing religions. Doctors also prescribe conformity in many domains of our practice; so does the legislature and executive of nations. This is one of the efficient ways of dealing with uncertainly, and associated fears.

Medical perspective

Scientific evidence points to lack of choice among homosexuals. And, there is more than one way to be intimate with the same sex. This is often a reflection of an innate urge to share life with a companion.

One of the core responsibilities of doctors is to respect consent and choice. And where there is scientific evidence, there is no room for cynicism. This simple.

People whose choices change on whims, we do get concerned about their mental health. The best remedy is specialist consults rather than sparring community. This easy.

A very few people are completely asexual: having no interest in any sex. It is fascinating to speak to them. Can you imagine the wonderful pursuits one can take when not driven by a constant need for conjugal union? It is ok if you disagree.

Despite being specialists in human behaviour, clinicians gets stumped by varied human behaviours: men buying bodily gas for US$ 1000! We just have to live with these uncertainties and novelties – as long as they do no harm.

In a capitalist system, such financial gain and ruin is perfectly legit. Thats a discussion for the economists and social scientists. The buyer of such goods may have a choice, may be not. Human brain is a complex machine.

Australian social perspective

Modernity has ushered in the concept of country, basically amalgamating thousands of tribes and lumping them together into today’s nation states. This was a good thing, against the bane of inward looking tribalism.

In Australia, apart from merit, a modern reason to assert oneself is through identity

(instead of race, class or religious denominations of the past). This assertion of identity is balanced by the concept of human rights. Examples include gender equality, nativism, and of course gay rights.

Migrants who are new to developing concepts in modern discourse, cop the burden of learning these concepts in a short time. And pay a price, for not climbing this learning curve fast enough.

Global perspective

I mean global majority, a majority that struggles with attempts at climbing the ladders of knowledge, work and freedom, so that they can leave behind diseases, poverty and conflicts.

They are unaware of, or have no time for, or do not feel the priority in acknowledging the rights of others – including gay rights –when the rich of the world would not care about them. But these human emotions, however pessimistic, can be addressed.

Why people worry

Human brain likes consistency, and is dependent on daily routine. Yes an occasional novelty, but this has to be safe.

Responsible people worry when fun is not safe. However, the young will continue to challenge this caution. They want to test the boundaries; we do not want them scarred. Herein lies the balance of power, and politics that goes with it.

When Scottish leaders gave people the right to chose their gender in December 2022, they were the 10th nation to do so in Europe since 2014. Of note, all of these nations are post-modern, highly homogeneous, and have reasonably cushioned safety nets.

Now any 16 year old in these nations can walk into a government office and change their gender on any licensed certificate. That silly. We in Australia, along with US and England, are far more thoughtful.

In new studies, our moral guardians are asking us not to stop or interfere with ‘transformative experience’ of our loved ones. Which experience is ‘transformative’ remains an individual’s right and feeling, with no common understanding of these experiences.

Examples like these become a feed for echo chambers – that human brain loves to unravel in all kinds of ways, mostly negative. The majority of the multicultural world is wary of trends like these.

My perspective

In Religion

Acceptance of evidence leads to credibility. All religions, all that nurtured humanity to its adulthood, must introspect and work towards this goal, in my opinion. Invoking ancestors, history or nationality will not be enough for a budding young person of our global village.

While soul-searching and researching, I found science liberating. I found that adding science to two primary sources of Fiqh – Quran and Hadith – helps progress of humankind.

It is a shame that Muslims did not add science among the primary sources in the 11th century, when they invented the scientific method. Intellectuals like Ibn-Haytham, AlBiruni and Ibn-Sina were the pioneers who formulated an intellectual domain we today call ‘science’.

Muslims could not, I suppose, for three main reasons:

1. These intellectuals lived in a politically divided lands of the 11th century: Andalusians in Spain, Fatimids in Egypt and Abbasids in Baghdad.

2. The Crusaders battered the eastern Mediterranean lands from 1096 CE onwards.

As they exhausted themselves by 1204, they turned to the westerns shores and captured most of the Andalusia by 1250. The final blow came when the Mongols invaded the East and razed Baghdad in 1258; a fourth of Persian population perished to wars.

3. Finally, at least a third of Arab population was lost to plague in 1350’s.

Three hundred years of serial chaos – first internal strife, then invasions and finally natural disasters – drained out the soul of intellectual pursuits from the Muslim body. Scientific methods, so astutely invented and documented, were relegated to dusty closets around the Muslim world. An era of Taqleed began in earnest; the scholars cocooned ourselves, depriving humanity of hundreds of years of progress.

Twenty first century exhibit: CERN in Switzerland has not published a single research paper in 2022 in response to Russian invasion of Ukraine. Science becomes a casualty when emotions overwhelm our reason and our sense of brotherhood.

We need to acknowledge this and find a way to stop this shenanigans in the future. These kinds of casualties can accumulate, threatening humanity itself.

In Practice

Quran: The ayah in 26:165-166, 27:5455, 29:28-29, etc mentions same sex activity in the context of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Bible, breech of their contract with their wives, transgression of social contracts, arrogantly superstitious, etc.

A punishment is promised for these groups of people whose behaviour is persistently outside of the law of their times. Again, that punishment is exacted by God himself; there is no mention of human intervention.

Finally, in established rules, Muslims of today are under no obligation to follow the shariah of the previous Prophets.

Hadith: As a general principle, ahadith are seen in the context – of chronology, history, social structure, etc. Apart from mutawatir ahadith, none holds the high value of Quran itself, especially in the matters of hudood (punishment).

As to consensus of scholars, their value resides in they being holistically knowledgeable, and not anchored to singular knowledge of traditions. Quran warns us in Surah Tauba 9:31.

Evidence tells us that we are programmed to procreate, and nurture the next generation. The desire to have sexual fun is a limited activity in the lifespan of a human. There is hardly any skill here.

We give as much as we take; otherwise it is just shenanigans. In worse its case, a primitive power-play leads to an epidemic of domestic violence.

To The Person

It is encouraged that people commit themselves openly, work to develop a trusted relationship, be aware of developing mental health issues, be wary of sexually transmittable diseases.

At the end of journey, from being an adolescent to a young adult, the society is looking for a productive and a helpful person.

To The Wider Society

I ask you to look at science, and seek solutions – and not just rely on traditions. A relationship of understanding is the way forward. Any hate or discrimination is plain wrong.

If you are thinking where are the Ulema in all this, I ask the same question. If Taqleed keeps them beholden, then it is their choice.

Quran commands humanity to iqra (read; 96:1); and though oolil-amr (‘in authority’; 4:59) is not defined in Quran, it is understood to mean those who have the knowledge of the past, understands the present, and can debate and formulate a policy for the future of humankind.

I understand millions of Muslims behave as I do – with understanding and fraternity. So, here is my voice, amongst many, formulating a future based on a link common to human consciousness: truth, science and evidence. And our faith in sync with it.