Reflections on Scott Kugle, sexual orientation and approach to homosexuality as Muslims Shortly after answering questions about Islam's position on homosexuality, formulated by a young journalism student who had contacted me through my local mosque, for the purpose of writing an article on that topic, I began to listen curiously about Nur Warsame, Australia's first openly homosexual Imam . I had always suspected that we would have an Imam with such an inclination, but I was never sure when. Given that the two experiences occurred in the same week, I kept reflecting on the notion that, in addition to being a topic worthy of further openness and discussion, it was perhaps one on which people could potentially have a certain degree of confusion and that, therefore, required further clarification. This was highlighted by one of the questions that the young journalist asked me, who curiously came from a Muslim background, but (as I understood it) he no longer identified as a Muslim. His question was: "Can a person be a Muslim and a homosexual at the same time?" Initially, I was struck by the simplicity of the question, since homosexuality has always been seen as a grave sin, to the point that Ibn Al Qaiem (died 1350) said: "There is no sin that causes more corruption than the sin of homosexuality ". That said, homosexuality has never really been seen as a nullifier of faith. Therefore, in terms of technicalities, it is possible for a person to be homosexual and Muslim at the same time. But for the sake of obtaining a complete picture, I should have noted that homosexuality was undoubtedly forbidden when it came to classical discourse, to the point that it could be more logically conceivable that one would completely abandon Islam than to try to justify integral adoption of homosexuality using Islamic sources. In retrospect, what I should have added, however, is that a Muslim disturbed by homosexual inclinations could be considered superior, spiritually speaking, to his brothers in the faith who do not have to fight against such inclinations. Said the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): "Allaah
decreed good deeds and evil deeds, then He explained this. He who thinks about doing a good work and does not do it, Allah will write it to him as if he had completed a good work. If he thinks of doing a good deed and does it, Allah will write it to him as if it were between ten and seven hundred, or many more. If he thinks of doing a bad deed and does not do it, Allaah will write it to him as if he had completed a good deed; and if he thinks and carries it out, Allah will write it to him as a bad work"(Bukhari and Muslim). Like the enraged person who refuses to act out of anger or the lustful who rejects his low desires, those besieged by homosexual thoughts and desires will also be rewarded for what they choose not to do. Despite such a great blessing (which of course requires effort), many like Scott Kugle, an openly homosexual Muslim, claim that Islamic law must be altered in order to match it with the current social paradigm toward homosexuality: "If Muslims do not adapt to the new circumstances by changing some rules of the Shar'ia , more and more among them will opt for secular solutions. They can claim that the Shar'ia does not need to be followed beyond the field of ritual norms of worship, or they may abandon the frustrated Islam ...". Like Kugle, there are anonymous gay Muslims in Brisbane, of whom my interviewer (in order to give me more context regarding what he was writing in his article) informed me. These individuals apparently hold opinions very similar to those of Kugle, taking the position that the Koran never explicitly prohibits homosexuality. In a sense, they may be right that the Koran never uses the word "homosexuality" (ie, liwat ). However, this absence of the term is due rather to the fact that the Arabic word for homosexuality is derived from the name of Prophet Lot (in Arabic Lut), who was sent to warn his people against such lewd behavior; therefore, the Qur'an could have avoided using a form of its name in order to maintain its honor. In addition, it can also be argued that homosexuality, as a concept, may not be as well known as it is today. Louis Crompton (died in 2009), a pioneer of studies on homosexuality, wrote: "Homosexuality seems to have been comparatively very little according to the evidence among the Bedouins of Arabia in the pre-Islamic era. It has been suggested that the attitudes of the Arabs towards sex underwent
a change, as they conquered more advanced and sophisticated empires, especially the Sassanid Persian empire ". When one studies prohibition, as found in the Qur'an, one cannot ignore (or reinterpret) how Prophet Lot refers so negatively to the transgression committed by his people: {Do they commit immorality of which there is no precedent in the humanity? They satisfy their desires with men instead of women, they are transgressors}[Qur'an 7: 80-81]. A superficial reading of this history, even if it is done with the help of the translation, leaves no reasonable doubt that the facts that Lot objected to corresponded explicitly to homosexuality and not to rape, as affirmed by some who try to justify homosexuality within of the context of Islam. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "There is nothing that I fear more for my Ummah than the work of the people of Lot" (At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Mayah). It goes without saying that hadiths of that nature (despite being normally authenticated by an overwhelming number of specialists, and forming the basis of many academic opinions) are routinely criticized by unskilled people, such as Bin Jahangir, an economist who He affirms: "The majority of hadiths that are used to condemn relations between members of the same sex are of dubious nature, and most of the opinions of the jurists indicate the lack of appreciation of this matter". Taking into account the great social changes that have occurred during the last decades, including the acceptance of homosexuality as a norm, the biggest problem on which Muslim communities (particularly those of the West) must reach an agreement is: How to deal with people who claim that homosexuality is not condemned in Islam? The fact is that there has been a historical consensus, alluded to by Imam Al BaihaquĂ (died 1066) in his compilation of prophetic traditions [among other academic works]. Consequently, not only would it be intellectually dishonest, but also spiritually deceptive, that we would affirm homosexuality as the norm.
Even if today's [non-Muslim] social norms seem to give freedom to that lifestyle, this way of thinking restricts the freedom to respect those who take a different moral position, avoiding the perspective of anyone who defends the opposite. For those who accept the authority and wisdom of Allah and His messengers, the Qur'an warns: {If you would obey most [people] on earth, they would mislead you from the path of God, because they follow only conjectures and do not they do more than speculate} [Quran 6: 116]. Especially in our time, a critique of homosexuality amounts to intolerance. Norman Geisler, a Christian apologist, defines intolerance as a "prejudice without any reason or sustenance for the objection. Therefore, we must be willing to recognize that we often admit a thin line, which is crossed by members of our community, so that we cannot fully affirm that what our fellow believers are going through is understood, nor the shame that perhaps they are experiencing, when they admit this kind of problem. The Ummah has never had to deal, historically, with the massive legitimization of such behavior, except at present. Therefore, what some Muslim communities can, and perhaps should, do is change the way they approach homosexuals, instead of focusing on the prohibition as such. Similarly, the author of the Complete Christian Guide to Understanding Homosexuality has suggested that, first of all, one must be careful not to denigrate the members of that stream. In addition, we should not confuse a moral position with an evil, such as prejudice and intolerance. Such an approach is undoubtedly consistent with the Qur'anic order to apply wisdom and just preaching: {Summon the path of your Lord with wisdom and beautiful words. Argue in the best way. Your Lord knows well who strays from His way and who follows the guidance} [Quran 16: 125]. That said, it would be prudent to distinguish between those who publicly preach a message contrary to the well-established norms required by Islam, and those who "suffer in silence" while recognizing the status of such prohibition. Regarding the relationships that "right" Muslims can potentially maintain with such people, one of the last questions my interviewer asked me was whether it was acceptable for someone who identified themselves as gay or lesbian to
attend the prayers. As Muslims, we should never feel comfortable with the idea of restricting a person's access to a place where they intend to foster a relationship with the Creator, even if that person persists, consciously or unconsciously, in what is considered to be a sinful behavior. Like any person who falls into sin or deviation, we must pray for their spiritual well-being and we must be proactive in helping them to excel, through understanding, kindness and, of course, persistence. Therefore, the issue becomes one concerning how we want to "orient" ourselves, in order to truthfully convey the message. For more information in Arabic language please visit us جلب الحبيب بالملح