As June is considered to be Pride Month, it’s the time of year to discover a plethora of statements, values and beliefs shared via various mediums regarding LGBTQ sentiments.
For Muslims looking for a response to some of the ideas stemming from the LGBTQ community, here’s a short guide to help you deal with some challenging questions and statements…
‘Love is Love. Everyone should be allowed to love whoever they want without any restriction.’
This suggests that no boundaries should be present between those wishing to love. However, whilst you may support those that wish to be Gay, Bisexual and so on, it’s commonly understood that the LGBTQ community are unsupportive of the Incest community.
Why are individuals that wish to partake in Incest frowned upon and excluded? If individuals utilise precaution (if the concern is deformed children being produced), and are consenting adults, why deprive these individuals from loving who they wish?
Shifting our focus, we can comment on those that seek love via Bestiality (sexual intercourse with between a person and animal) and Necrophilia (gaining pleasure through sexual intercourse with dead bodies), which is prohibited in most countries around the world.
What we see here are some examples of where boundaries are in place when fulfilling one’s desires. Should ‘love is love’ be applied consistently throughout society, those seeking pleasure with whatever pleases them shouldn’t be denied. And so the conclusion that can be formed is that love DOES have restrictions and boundaries.
‘Being gay, lesbian etc is natural.’
Firstly, we know that there’s no ‘gay gene’ that has been found. It’s scientifically proven that this would be an acquired position that is heavily influenced by society e.g. media, culture, trends.
A reference is being made to the feelings you hold here. Feelings that can change, develop and even transform from your present feelings to your natural heterosexual state. Conversion therapy has proven that many that undergo this form of coaching can reform to their natural state, and thus feel differently.
In particular, extensive research has demonstrated the enormous regret faced by many of the transgender community that undergo life altering treatment. In her book, ‘Irreversible Damage’, Abigail Shrier provides countless testimonies of transgender individuals that are forced to live with a lifetime of regret over something they viewed as ‘natural’.
Studies show that the transgender community are 77% more likely to consider suicide than their heterosexual counterparts (Guardian). This is despite an array of support networks to choose from, and heavy government funding to facilitate these ‘natural’ feelings and actions.
So what is ‘natural’?
Natural is that which has been ordained to us by the Creator. As we covered earlier, there are boundaries in society, and the One who created us is best placed to advise us of those boundaries. This enables us to receive an objective viewpoint without any bias. Simply, having a powerful lobby, funding and a voice shouldn’t be a determining factor for what is right.
‘It sounds like you’re intolerant of the LGBTQ community. We have been persecuted for years, and you should be celebrating the progress we’ve made in society.’
I’m not at all intolerant. As someone of faith, I understand tolerance is a key part of a flourishing society, and has been throughout history.’ However, as a Muslim, I take my morality from an objective Being, and His guidance from an untampered scripture: the Noble Qur’an, and the authentic expressions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
It’s this moral guide that advises me to be tolerant and accepting of those that wish to live alternatively to the wishes of the Creator, who alone has the right to judge. The very short Chapter, 109 of the Qur’an, is explicit over this.
Whilst I am tolerant and aim to continue being so, I’m not going to promote LGBTQ rights and values, as this would directly go against Divine revelation and guidance I follow.
Similarly, I don’t expect you to promote Islam as a non-Muslim, and there’s no grounds to accuse you of being an Islamophobe for holding this position.
And yes, Muslims are persecuted immensely with followers of Islam bearing the brunt of most hate crime globally.
Ultimately, everyone should have the freedom to choose the causes they wish to support and promote, without coercion and condemnation.
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