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An Inquiry Concerning

In the twenty-first century, especially in the west, we are witnessing a glamorization and indoctrination of the validity of homosexuality. "Gay Pride" parades, gay television series, publications, and magazines abound, not quite in opposition to heterosexuality - the human norm - but as expressions of an acceptable 'alternative' lifestyle. It is not uncommon to see gay men and women holding hands and being sexually intimate in, for instance, the United Kingdom. Sexuality, in general, is hardly repressed: the most famous cultural icons are not spiritual leaders, but those who market their sex appeal well.

But this is poles apart from what Islam commands for humanity. According to God's religion, the homosexual lifestyle and culture has no place in society, for it is considered an affront to it. Homosexual acts and relations, much like fornication and adultery, destabilise the foundation upon which any strong society is built, which is the sacred institution of marriage between man and woman. This institution, in turn, produces the family unit and, implies Islam, the core of any society is the underpinning network of families. Because this is God's social setup for humanity, deviations from it are severely punished in public to the humiliation of the transgressors (i.e. fornicators, adulterers, and sodomites). Very well, it may be argued that society cannot be conceived of in any other reasonable way, for in order to preserve the family unit and to propagate the human species, heterosexual marriage seems an obvious necessity.

The question arises: what does a gay Muslim do? I suspect that the reader will balk at this statement, for 'gay Muslim' appears to be nothing more than an oxymoron. You cannot be 'gay' and 'Muslim' at the same time. True, that is, if by 'gay' we mean someone who openly indulges in homosexual relations and acts, which the Almighty's Law strictly prohibits. But by 'gay,' I refer to a person who has homosexual urges and inclinations, even since childhood, and chooses not to gratify the impulse for fear of God. Clearly, this type of person is not the same as the first. The writer has suffered from this problem, but because of his recognition of the moral law within him, which condemns homosexual sex, he has refrained from acting on his desires. He entered into professional psychological treatment and, alhamdulillah, has a better understanding of why this developmental disorder takes place and how it can be resolved. He does not feel ashamed to share such a private issue, for the main purpose of this article is twofold:

1. to provide advice and hope to other Muslims who have had homosexual inclinations they have refrained from gratifying and,

2. to remind fathers to love and care for their sons and mothers to love and care for their daughters.

Through expert contact, the writer learned that homosexuality, far from being a genetic phenomenon (as there is no 'gay gene'), is a psychological developmental disorder - specifically, a defensive adaptation on the part of a male child against the perceived aggression and hostility of an older male (i.e. the father or father figure in the male child's life). An elaboration of this point requires delving into the Oedipal complex, which in large part explains the dynamics of the psychosexual drama in which the victim of homosexuality participates. But before doing so, a number of clarifications must be made ...

The writer certainly appreciates that Freudian psychosexual theory does not fit well with Muslim preconceived notions of parent-child relationships: the idea that a child could be sexually attracted to its parent is repulsive and absurd to many. The writer also acknowledges that it seems highly improbable that little infants and children could have such complex thoughts. To the first objection, it may be said that Islam does not deny that a sexual attraction could exist between a young infant and its parent; it merely prohibits any sexual relation between the two. But, anyone with a proper understanding of the Oedipal complex would know that the theory does not contend that a child will remain sexually attracted to its parent, but rather that this attraction provides the psychosexual springboard for the natural heterosexual bond the child will seek once it matures. To the second objection, we may reply that little children are not rational thinkers, by any means, but they are able to make associations and to interpret behaviour around them. The writer also suggests, at this point, that anyone who firmly believes that ALL people who have homosexual inclinations are intentionally deviating from their heterosexual inclination and could, if they wished, return, as it were, to heterosexuality 'overnight,' should stop reading any further. The problem of homosexuality is just not that simple most of the time; it is, on the contrary, a complex disorder that requires an intellectual resolution that is not easy to arrive at.

We may object now: the Qur'an does not seem to present homosexuality as a complicated problem; actually, the tone of Prophet Lot's (pbuh) warnings really seem to imply that homosexuality is a conscious deviation that can be very quickly and easily corrected. Consider the following passage from Surah Al-Shu'ara:

"Of all the creatures in the world, will you approach males, And leave those whom God has created for you to be your mates? Nay, you are a people transgressing [beyond God's limits]!" (26:165-166)

And examine the following passage from Surah Al-Naml:

"[We also sent] Lot [as a messenger]: behold, he said to his people, 'Do you do what is shameful though you see [its wickedness]? Would you really approach men in your lusts rather than women? Nay, you are a people [most] ignorant!'" (27:54-55)

These two passages, among several others referring to Lot (pbuh) and Sodom and Gomorrah, strongly suggest that the people who indulged in homosexual acts and relations did so 'consciously and knowingly passing all limits,' rejected Lot's (pbuh) daughters even though they (the people of Sodom) were essentially heterosexual, and intentionally deviated from what they knew to be the correct way of satisfying the human sexual instinct. Furthermore, if Mr. Amjad's explanation of the Divine Law of the Messengers is correct, Lot's (pbuh) addressees were primarily guilty of 'shirk' even after God's truth was clearly manifested by the messenger of God upon his direct addressees, which subsequently effected their extermination from the face of the planet. Homosexuality was, actually, an ancillary deviation produced by conscious ascription to 'shirk.' According to the writer's understanding (which may be incorrect), the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were not people who suffered from the ailment of homosexuality since childhood, but rather people who were functionally heterosexual but who intentionally deviated from this natural instinct via their adherence to polytheism. This is not to imply, in any way, that homosexuals who do not come under this specific category should be excused from the natural prohibition against homosexuality. As has been already stated, homosexuality represents an affront to the foundational role of heterosexual marriage in a healthy, stable society. It is not permitted, therefore, to exist at all, regardless of the reasons for which it comes about in one individual or society versus another.

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