Homosexuality Unnatural?

This post by Hamza Tzortzi offers an interesting perspective on the topic of homosexuality and how it is viewed in Islam; excerpts below:

In the recent division within the Anglican Church, several Bishops expressed the view that homosexuality is “unnatural” because it does not occur in other species. One may ask ‘are not human beings part of nature?’

What does nature have to do with anything anyway? Is it natural to wear clothes, drive cars, use money or fire satellites into orbit? Other species don’t do that
either. Should we therefore refrain from space travel as our sons hamster has
not reached the moon?

...

What relevance does natural or unnatural have on the actions of man. Such arguments have no rational extension.

Islam takes a different stance on sexuality. Islam sees the human being as a human being and so treats our human problems in an exclusively human way. From an Islamo-psychological perspective the human being has instincts, drives and needs. Failing to satisfy our instincts and drives can lead to misery and so the suppression of “human nature” is seen as oppressive.

Therefore, brilliant medieval Islamic scholars described human nature including in it three core instincts: procreation, survival and sanctification. These encompass all human drives. So it was Islam which, many years before the likes of Freud and
Jung, actually announced the liberating position on who we are and said “it’s ok to be human.” So Muslims do not claim that homosexuality is unnatural.

However, Islam just like any other way of life has a frame of reference. Most Western countries have laws that prevent the sexual abuse of children, polyandry and cannibalism. If it were argued that these crimes were really an expression of human nature, most would reject them as completely inappropriate actions.

Islam, like many other spiritual traditions, argues that homosexuality is not the right way to manifest the instinct of procreation. It is a behaviour that negates the Islamic vision of society which is one of extended families connected by marriage between men and women. Hence Islam has viewed the public expression of homosexuality as a crime and as a result has placed a mechanism in which to protect its vision for society.

This doesn’t mean that homosexuals are to be seen as anything other than human. The Islamic tradition argues that one must be just and express sincere kindness to all people. Homosexuality is just one of many sexual practices that do not fit with the Islamic vision of society such as sex outside of marriage, wife-swapping and swingers parties! Many Muslims have had their own internal struggles with expressing their procreation instinct. With their conviction in the Islamic way of life, they have successfully re-constructed their dispositions to be in line with what they love, agree with and submit to - Islam.

Some people object to Islam making the public expression of homosexuality a criminal act. This is subjective and only strikes a chord amongst those who cannot escape the social constructs in their own societies.

Continue here

I'm not sure I agree with his whole natural vs. unnatural argument (afterall, can't we say that the majority is the natural and creatures such as cannibalists are exceptions?). More importantly, I'm not sure if his statement: "Islam takes a different stance on sexuality" is completely accurate. Are there not other authentic opinions? I seem to remember hearing the unnatural argument from some Muslim teachers/scholars, but I may be wrong.

Hat tip: Marya Bangee

"How to Kill a Transperson"

I’ve wanted to write something about this topic for a while, the topic of homosexuality. I’ve been struggling with myself on whether or not to try to tackle the subject within a community who has very black and white opinions on it. Thankfully the article Zahra has sent me below inspired me to bring up the topic.

Thanks Zahra for sending the article my way. I personally have major concerns with the Muslim community when it comes to LGBTQ issues. A part of me knows that it is not my place to ask anyone to question something they hold such a strong conviction about especially because it is within the bounds of their interpretation of Allah’s words. However, I can’t understand how a group of people who claim to stand against oppression and injustice can sit quietly by as every year, in this country and others, LBGTQ people are constantly oppressed, murdered, raped, and unjustly arrested just because of the way they just are. Put aside the issue about whether they were born that way or if it is a matter of choice or whether they have a disease or abnormality, something genetically wrong with them, a mutation that causes them to be that way and therefore require some type of therapy (when I hear people say this I want to punch them). This is about another human who deserves the same rights we are all entitled to. As Irshad Manji says, “I am not asking you to accept gay people, I am just asking you not to hurt them.”

Honestly, inside what I’m thinking is to ask you to stop being such hypocrites because as you protest about Palestine and other injustices you can turn a blind eye to the MANY injustices here in the country you live in. And yes, I am quite aware about the story of Luq thanks. I’d like to remind you that there are different interpretations. I’m not asking anything from anyone. Just for discussion. After reading the article I wonder what does the Muslim community (at least the one that reads this blog) think about this issue?

Not too long ago a couple of Muslims girls and I were having a discussion about this topic. The question came up about our children and what if they were gay. I think that for us, whether we believed homosexuality was wrong or not, we all agreed we wouldn’t want our children to be gay because of the negative social implications that accompany being LBGTQ such as injustice, inequality, oppression and sometimes death. That’s just sad.

Here are some excerpts from the article titled “How to Kill a Transperson by Ceridwen Troy:

“On Saturday, Sanesha Stewart, a transwoman of color living in the Bronx, was murdered in her own apartment. She was 25 years old. Her accused killer, Steve McMillan, had known her for months, yet when he was arrested, he claimed to have been enraged to find out that she was what the media coverage called not really a woman. He stabbed her over and over again in the chest and throat. She tried to fight him off; there were defensive wounds found on her hands.


On Tuesday, eighth-grader Lawrence King was in a classroom in Oxnard, Calif. He was openly gay, and often came to school in gender-bending clothing, makeup, jewelry and shoes. According to another student, it was freaking the guys out. One of them shot Lawrence in the head. He was declared brain-dead on Wednesday.


It is easy to look at cases like this and think, how tragic. How random. How senseless.


But then, you forget how easy it is to kill a transgender person.


You forget that all across this nation, faith leaders of all stripes, men and women who claim to speak for God Himself, call us sinners, call us abominations, call us evil.


You forget that at best the media depicts us as something to be pitied, something that our families must be strong and overcome. At worst, they depict us as abnormal, exploiting our bodies for ratings, exploiting the publics fear of us for shock value.


You forget that on a good day, law enforcement agents are neglectful of us, and that far more frequently they join in our harassment. You forget the transwomen of color who are rounded up on suspicions of prostitution. You forget the beatings that go uninvestigated. You forget the molestation and rape we face when we are arrested.


You forget the medical establishment that drains our wallets for the therapy and hormones and surgeries they tell us we need. You forget the way we are then refused treatment when we are dying, dying of treatable diseases, dying of easily patched wounds.


You forget that, by the law of the land, it is legal in the majority of states to deny us employment, to deny us service, to deny us housing.


You forget the shelters and the rape crisis centers that will not allow us through their doors.


You forget that many of us do not even have family to turn to when we are at our most desperate.


You forget that the leaders of our own community have told us that it is not time for us to have rights, that it is not pragmatic for us to be considered worthy of the same respect as other human beings.”

Read the rest of the article here.