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Panelists say LGBT feelings not sinful, but acting on feelings requires repentance
Tune into any popular television sitcom, reality show, or Hollywood blockbuster, and the cast of characters is almost certain to include at least one of “them”.
LGBTs – “lesbians, gays, bi-sexuals, and transgenders”-- is a term rarely uttered in the Muslim community.
But at the same time, proponents and advocates of “lifestyle choices” or “sexual orientations” have made what the Qur’an and other revealed texts calls a major sin into a political and social revolution.
The activism of the LBGT movement is constant and intense. On January 19, a new LBGT focused business council called the Maryland Corporate Council (MCC) launched in Baltimore with a dinner keynoted by the CEO of Legg Mason. On January 24, Maryland governor Martin O’Malley introduced proposed legislation legalizing same-sex marriage and later that night, the City of College Park council passed a resolution supporting it. On January 26, hundreds of LBGT proponents descended on Capitol Hill for a day of lobbying for pro-LGBT legislation and 2,500 LBGT supporters will gather for the annual 24th National Conference on LGBT Equality, keynoted by NAACP President Benjamin Jealous.
In political cultures in much of the nation, and particularly in the DC region – the Maryland legislature has several openly LGBT lawmakers – LBGT proponents say they represent the civil rights issue of today. Opposing the tide of LGBT acceptance is akin to being a racist or bigot.
And the Muslim community is far from immune to the moral shifts.
In Washington DC, an organization called Al-Fatiha claims to represent “gay Muslims” and a self-proclaimed “gay Imam” leads a small juma’ prayer and discusses his “first love” on Youtube. On Capitol Hill, popular Muslim congressman Keith Ellison (D-Minn) is a front-line supporter of the LGBT agenda, serving as vice-chair of the Congressional Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Caucus. On news programs discussing women in Islam, a frequent guest is Muslim journalist and openly lesbian Irshad Manji.
Muslim youth, plugged into the non-stop cultural tide carrying the LGBT message, are often confused.
For one area Muslim youth, her own questions and discussion with fellow Muslims on campus led her to Prince George’s Muslim Association (PGMA) Imam Ahmad Azzaari’.
University of Maryland graduate student Manaar Zuhurudeen said the meeting prompted her to plan an event to bring the issue into the light. “I’ve heard stories from friends of friends and family members about Muslims [in the community] who think they are [LGBT],” Zuhurudeen told the Muslim Link. “There is most definitely confusion [among the youth] because the issue is being swept under the rug.”
Along with other members of the PGMA youth group, and in coordination with the Imam, Zuhurudeen planned a panel discussion with the Imam, doctors, and counselors entitled “the LGBT Community from an Islamic Perspective”. The marketing material for the provocative topic was colored with pink and purple, colors associated with the LGBT movement. People did not know what to expect.
On Sunday, January 15, 2011, approximately 500 Muslims attended the panel discussion, clearly showing an interest in discussing the LGBT issue. Many Muslims faces were seen for the first time by regular PGMA attendees, indicating attendees traveled from outside the area, or outside Muslim community social circles.
Moderator Sami Elzaharna explained at the outset what the purpose of the event was and was not.
Calling the LGBT issue “the big elephant in the room”, Elzaharna said the purpose of the event was to explain Islam’s stance on LGBT thoughts and actions, and to explain to Muslims how they should interact with both those experiencing those feelings as well as those acting on those feelings. “This [event] is not a debate about Islamic morals in post modernity … and this is not [an event] to judge those experiencing these feelings,” he said.
Present in the audience were members of the “Progressive Muslims” organization who advocate a re-interpretation of the Qur’an to justify the LGBT lifestyle. Also present in the audience was the self-proclaimed “gay Imam”, Daiyyah Abdullah, who stood out in a red thobe, red jacket, and red kufi. Prince George’s County police were also on hand to control traffic and to ensure the event was not disrupted.
Each panelist spoke for about 15-minutes on one aspect of how Islam views the LGBT movement, followed by a question and answer period with only written or emailed questions permitted.
Adeyinka O. Laiyemo, M.D., M.P.H delivered the first presentation, giving attendees an overview of definitions and terminology related to the topic of LGBT including chromosomes and how gender comes about, sexual development disorders, and sexual deviations and their changing clinical definitions.
Imam Ahmad Azzaari’ – who is also a medical doctor – spoke next and focussed on what the Qur’an and Sunnah have to say about the LGBT movement. Saying the topic was a “human issue, not a Muslim issue”, he set the framework for his talk saying we can disagree about worldly issues, but “we can never argue about what is revealed.” He mentioned the story of Prophet Lut (peace be upon him) and his people who were involved in homosexual acts. Allah condemned their actions in the Qur’an and the Prophet Salallahu ‘alyhi wa sallam condemned those acts in the authentic sunnah.
Naseem Sharieff, M.D discussed the broader psychological and social ramifications of believing in a system and following that system consciously. “Till the end of time, there will be new belief systems popping up” she said, and Muslims need to be confidant in the system of Islam which addresses and fulfills natural human desires.
The final presenter was Sarah Yazback, a Ph.D. candidate in Educational Psychology and former Family Counselor at ICM. Yazback summarized how the American Psychological Association changed its definition over the last several decades, removing it as a disorder as well as a sexual deviation, and in fact calling for counseling for those “homosexuals” who are “conflicted” about their identity. Yazback said the LGBT issue is “rampant” in society and that it is “the issue of [our] generation”. She said the Muslim community must “treat this issue like we treat drug addiction and alcoholism … and we have to respect the human rights of [the LGBT].” She also cautioned Muslims against calling other Muslims struggling with LGBT feelings “so-called Muslims”. She called for increased education and self-awareness on the LGBT issue in the Muslim community, and stressed early marriage as a strong prevention against LGBT feelings and desires. Lastly, she said the community must set-up a “warm line” where Muslims struggling with their feelings can call and receive qualified, professional and Islamically grounded counseling.
During the question and answer period, people repeatedly asked how they should deal with family members who are suspect of being gay, or who are openly homosexual.
Imam Azzaari’ emphasized that “we do not dig into the hearts of people”, so Muslims struggling with this issue should be treated and supported like Muslims struggling with other weaknesses. On the other hand, Muslims who are openly and adamantly LGBT should be ostracized from the community until they repent from that lifestyle. “Every sinner has many chances to come back to Allah,” he said.
The Imam and also other speakers emphasized throughout the panel discussion that feelings of attractions towards the same sex are not in themselves sinful, but acting upon those feelings is a sin that requires repentance to Allah. That message that the urge itself is not a sin, said Sarah Yazback, “is worth this entire seminar”.
Speakers also said using the term “gay Muslims” was not right because it identifies a major sin as being a defining trait of a person and it signifies permanence of that trait. The Imam also provide evidence from the Qur’an and Sunnah to unequivocally prove that homosexual behavior was a clear and major sin.
The final advice from all four panelists was the same: early marriage is the best prevention to sexual deviation, and is well worth the financial challenges and other sacrifices that come with it.
Manaar Zuhurudeen, the main organizer of the event, hopes to organize a discussion on other “under the rug” topics in the near future, including early marriage.
To watch the entire panel discussion, visit the PGMA website at www.pgmamd.org or at http://vimeo.com/35425753.
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Homosexuality and Same-Sex Marriage Timeline
1890s
• The medical profession introduces the word “homosexual” into the English language.
1961
• Illinois repeals its sodomy laws making it the first state in the U.S. to decriminalize homosexuality between two consenting adults in private. The law takes effect in 1962.
1970s
• A rush of states decriminalize homosexuality.
1973
• American Psychological Association removes homosexuality from its list of mental disorders;
• Berkeley, CA, City Council prohibits companies doing business with the city from discrimination against gays;
• The American Baptist Association, American Lutheran Association, United Presbyterians, United Methodists, and the Society of Friends (Quakers) launch the National Task Force on Gay People in the Church.
1980
• The Democratic Party adds gay rights to its political platform.
1982
• The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention replaces the acronym GRIDS (Gay Related Immune Deficiency Syndrome) with AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome);
• Wisconsin becomes the first state in the U.S. to pass a gay civil rights law; Massachusetts, Connecticut, Minnesota, and Rhode Island follow, with Massachusetts passing a law forbidding the placement of children for adoption or foster care with gay people.
1984
• Berkley, CA, City Council passes a domestic partnership bill granting equal benefits to long-term gay and unmarried heterosexual couples.
1985
• The first test to detect HIV is licensed in the United States. Nearly 9,000 people are diagnosed with the disease, half of them already dead. By the end of the year, 6,000 die of AIDS, and 12,000 cases are reported.
1990s
• Gay political issues become issues of national political significance. Among them: gays in the military, gay marriage, adoption of children by gays, extension of employment discrimination protection to gays and lesbians and extension of hate crimes to include crimes against gays and lesbians.
1995
• President Bill Clinton signs an executive order forbidding the denial of security clearances on the basis of sexual orientation. Being closeted and vulnerable to blackmail, however, is still a possible grounds for a clearance denial. Starting in 1995, bills to create “Defense of Marriage Acts”(DOMA) were written. Their intent were to outlaw same-sex marriages and to refuse to recognize such marriages recognized in other states. Many are passed and signed into law.
1996
• President Clinton signs the Defense of Marriage Act, denying federal benefits to same-sex spouses should gay marriage ever become legal, and creating an exception to the US Constitution allowing states to disregard same-sex marriages performed in other states.
1997
• American Psychological Association passes a resolution at the APA Convention which asserts there is no scientific evidence on the efficacy of reparative therapy, which seeks to cure homosexuals.
• Provincetown, MA school board votes to begin educating preschoolers about homosexual lifestyles.
• New Jersey becomes the first state to allow homosexual partners to jointly adopt a child just as a married couple.
2002
• New York becomes the first jurisdiction in the U.S. to apply the word “marriage” to gay and lesbian unions. New York, votes to approve a bill that gives formal recognition to “members of a marriage that was not recognized by the state of New York, domestic partnership, or civil union, law
2004
• Spain becomes the third country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage, allowing the adoption of children and giving full inheritance rights.
2005
• Canada becomes the 4th country in the world to pass legislation to legalize same-sex marriage.
2010
• After the U.S. Supreme Court refuses to intervene in the Washington, D.C. marriage battle, same-sex couples can get married in the District of Columbia beginning March 3, 2010.
2011
• Delaware becomes 8th state to allow civil unions for same-sex couples on May 11.
• New York becomes 6th state in the U.S. to legalize same-sex marriage, effective July 25.
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Source: Full time line is available at www.christianliferesources.com?5411
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Eye on ‘Gay Muslims’
Website gaymuslims.org offers a principled, compassionate Islamic perspective
The Muslim Link interviewed Rasheed Eldin, a UK based Muslim activist and blogger who runs the website gaymuslims.org.
TML: What prompted you to start the website? How long has it been running?
Rasheed Eldin: My website was not the first effort of its kind, but various other projects fizzled out, unfortunately. The StraightWay Foundation set up a basic website and also a support group that is still running to this day. In 2006, I started this blog as a way of responding to the movement promoting homosexual identity/actions among Muslims. This movement was and remains strongest in the USA. I have been able to discuss directly the arguments they put out, and provide an Islamic perspective on these issues. I also try to offer glimpses of advice for Muslim strugglers, though that is not the primary goal of my site.
TML: Do you think homosexuality leanings are a growing problem for the US Muslim community? What evidence do you have ?
RE: I have no way of knowing this, but the general trend in society is an increase in this, at least in terms of being vocalized and turned into an identity etc., most definitely for Muslims because such a movement as today (the likes of Al-Fatiha) never existed in Islamic history. I believe concepts play a fundamental role, so just people hearing that there could be such a thing as “gay Muslims”, and applying that to certain feelings and experiences they have, solidifies the idea that that’s “who they are”, which means it is hard to convince them that there is another path in life other than surrendering to that notion and acting upon the desires. This is why I stress so heavily on definitions and making Islamic belief our starting point, unlike the homosexualists who try to twist the Qur’an to fit their desires.
TML: Is there a problem more in one age group versus another? What about males versus females?
RE: We can say that the vast majority who have come to us with these issues are males, but there are females too. I am convinced that the issues of same-sex attraction are significantly different in females compared to males, but these phenomena have been lumped together due to a political agenda.
TML: What advice to you have for community leaders and imams in dealing with this issue ?
RE: First, to understand properly, and start to bring nuance into how they talk about these things. Rather than lumping all “homosexuals” together - or denying the existence of this problem - learn to talk about it sensibly, noting the fact that many people experience same-sex attraction to one extent or another. Further, we must distinguish between the rulings on attractions/feelings and actions of various kinds. Just feeling a certain way is not a sin or a crime: so what is someone supposed to do? They need guidance and support, not condemnation. We ought to have trained counselors in our community whom people can go to, as unfortunately they are highly unlikely to get a proper response from the vast majority of imams. It is not as simple as “praying it away”, as some allege. There could be real psychological issues that need to be addressed with the help of a professional.
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