OMAR AFZAL traces the incidence of homosexual tendencies in the past, presents the Islamic view regarding this abomination, and brings out the dangers in its legalisation.
Homosexuality is generally defined as sexual interest in and attraction to members of one’s own gender, and all ethical codes rejected it for being “unnatural.” In different religions, and cultures homosexual behaviour was banned, punished, or derided. Till recently, it was a taboo, never to be openly mentioned.
Homosexuality was uncommon in most ancient cultures. Even now in most of Africa, Asia, and Latin America, the subject and homosexual or lesbian behaviour both are considered a taboo. In distant eras, only Greeks, Romans and Egyptians are said to have disapprovingly tolerated homosexual behaviour within certain contexts.
Hinduism and Buddhism view homosexuality primarily from the standpoint of “Karma”. Jews, Christians, and Muslims generally perceive homosexual behaviour as sinful and punishable by harsh societal and sometimes civil penalties.
In recent decades, some Jewish and Christian clergy have gone to great lengths to make clear that it is the homosexual acts and not the homosexual individuals or their “orientation” that is condemned. Liberal Protestants and Reform Jews, on social grounds, also have started the process of acceptance of homosexuals among their ranks.
THE CHASM
On the one side of the deep divide is a miniscule but very vocal minority that says: “Homosexuality is in my DNA, and therefore my “human right”.” On the other side are the massive majority of ethically oriented citizens all over the world who see homosexuality not only as a grave “sin” but an extremely deviant and harmful social behaviour that threatens the very existence of human race on the face of the earth.
LITERARY TRAVESTY
In Persian and Urdu poetry often homoerotic themes may be clearly marked. However, it was a taboo to openly praise a woman’s beauty, or shower affection for a female. Because of extreme respect for woman in Muslim societies, homoerotic expressions showing infatuation towards them were not tolerated. To express their love for God also, deeply religious but highly regarded Muslim poets sometimes used “male” idiom and imagery. However, it was socially understood and accepted that the male imagery was used under the express societal norms, and not as an expression of one’s homosexual orientation.
It is bizarre to argue that Persian and Urdu poets encouraged homosexual behaviour or eagerly tolerated it. Sufi spiritual practices in which the practitioner admired the form of a beautiful boy in order to enter ecstatic states and glimpse the beauty of God had nothing to do with amrad-parasti. Similarly, when Persian poets, such as Sa’di (d. 1291), Hafez (d. 1389), and Jami (d. 1492), wrote poems replete with homoerotic allusions or used “masculine” diction of love they were not favouring homosexual behaviour or pleading for liberalising societal norms in favour of homosexuality.
There is strong and overwhelming evidence that homosexual behaviour was a taboo in Muslim lands and generally despised. If it was socially tolerated in some monasteries, taverns, military camps, bathhouses, and coffee houses, it was kept secret, and away from public knowledge or gaze. Only in the early Safavid era (1501–1723), amrad khane (male houses of prostitution) were reported to have paid taxes to the treasury. The two most commonly documented forms were commercial sex with transgender young males or males enacting transgender roles exemplified by the köçeks and the eunuchs.
Homosexual people do live in Asian countries, but most keep their sexual preference a secret for fear of rejection by their families, societal sanctions or governmental persecution. Governments in the Middle East deny the existence of homosexuality within their borders. For example, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, during his 2007 speech at Columbia University, asserted that there were no homosexual people in Iran.
ISLAM PUNISHES HOMOSEXUALITY
Islam totally rejects homosexuality. Islamic views are clearly spelled in the Qur’ān and the teachings of the Prophet (may Allah bless and greet him).
The Qur’ān cites the story of the “people of Lut” (the Sodomites) who were destroyed by the wrath of Allah because they engaged in homosexual acts. “… Lut, when he said to his people: What! Do you commit indecency while you see? What! Do you indeed approach men lustfully rather than women? Nay, you are a people who act ignorantly.
Narrated by Ibn Abbaas: “The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “… cursed is the one who has intercourse with an animal, cursed is the one who does the action of the people of Lut.”
Tirmidhi reports the Prophet as having prescribed the death penalty for homosexuality saying: “Whoever you find committing the sin of the people of Lut, kill them, both the one who does it and the one to whom it is done.”
Eminent Imams like Imam Malik, and Imam Shafi rule that Islam disallows homosexuality and ordains capital punishment for a person guilty of it. Mutual consent by the two adults carries no legal weight.
Homosexuality is a crime and it is forbidden in most Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran, Malaysia, etc. Some Muslim countries, like Turkey and Indonesia are more lax. The legal punishment for sodomy has varied among juristic schools: some prescribe capital punishment; while others prescribe a milder discretionary punishment. Same-sex intercourse, like rape, as well as consensual sex outside wedlock officially carries the death penalty in several Muslim nations like Saudi Arabia, Iran, Mauritania, northern Nigeria, Pakistan, Sudan, Yemen, etc.
In recent times some odd Muslim groups, such as the Al-Fatiha Foundation, have announced that they accept homosexuality as natural. They either regard Qur’anic verses as obsolete in the context of modern society, or point out that the Qu’ran speaks out against homosexual lust only, and is silent on homosexual love. Irshad Manji, a lesbian herself and a staunch critic of orthodox Islam is of the opinion that homosexuality is permissible within Islam. However, this remains a minority viewpoint.
INNATE OR ACQUIRED
Homosexuality is neither innate nor inborn. It is an acquired, learned maladaptation arising from several factors including non-availability of avenues for the fulfilment of human sexual needs, social acceptance of deviant behaviour, faulty gender identity in the earliest stages of life, etc. Sometimes massive childhood fears also can damage and disrupt the standard male-female pattern.
Homosexuality is a medical disorder which has reached epidemiologic proportions; its frequency of incidence surpasses that of the recognised major illnesses in some nations. It may be classified in two categories: obligatory (true) homosexuality and episodic homosexual behaviour. It is essential to differentiate carefully between these types in order to determine the significance of the disorder, its treatment, and its prognosis.
THERAPY AND COUNSELLING
Researchers have not firmly concluded to what extent homosexuality is genetically inherited. Much of the touted research in the area of sexual orientation change contains serious design flaws and few studies could be considered methodologically sound. Moreover, none has systematically evaluated potential harms. There are strong indications in favour of its being an “acquired” deviant behaviour and that therapy can turn homosexuals and lesbians straight.
The American Psychological Association has urged mental health professionals not to shun the assumption that homosexuals and lesbians can change their sexual orientation through therapy or other treatments. It adds that people should seek psychotherapy, social support, and educational services “that provide accurate information on sexual orientation and sexuality, and increase family and school support.”
Much of the euphoria in India: “We’re free” after the Delhi High Court verdict on homosexuality has turned into massive public outrage when its consequences of paedophiles targeting young kids in the neighbourhood and inaction by the law-enforcing agencies were shown in the public media. Outburst of HIV infection and prevalence of STDs (sexually transmitted disease) will bring back massive outbursts, even lynching of the criminals who tried to show their “freedom of sexual choices.”