God has created everything in pairs each endowed with physical and psychological characteristics to complement and complete one another. The Qur’an (4:1) indicates that human beings have been created from one living entity (nafs), which represents the origin of both the male and the female. The human species though has included male and female since its existence. The “mating” or “spousing” of male and female sexes is original in human nature and out of this instinctive relationship the human race develops, continues and spreads.
Between the two sexes a gravitating combination of love, tenderness, and care is engendered, so that each finds in the other completeness, tranquility, and support (Qur’an 30:21). Having children and loving them represents another fulfillment of the human nature (Qur’an 42:49-50). It is through this spousal complementation and completion, according to the Qur’an (7:189), that each spouse achieves comfort, and enjoys peace of mind, satisfaction, and fulfillment. These relationships extend beyond the physical sexual contact and to psychological, spiritual relations.
The blessings of this completeness are not ended by their accomplishment, but they continue and develop through bringing forth children, raising them, and providing the whole family with material, emotional, and moral needs.
The pleasures of completion and procreation may well be extended and multiplied, when one is granted grandchildren, who not only represent genealogical continuation, but are also a dynamic revitalisation of the human race.
Such physical-psychological-spiritual development through spousing and mating, followed by procreation, that may continue for more than one generation, ought to lead every sensible human being to be grateful to God for His successive and multiplying favours with his own family throughout his lifetime. Such persons and their happy veritable families would be models for the whole society (Qur’an 25:72).
* One of the criteria or litmus test of a behaviour that is beneficial to humanity at large is, “what if the action that you are promoting is exercised by a majority of the people of the world? Will it advance humanity or will it retard it?” In this case human beings will cease to exist.
* If there is any truth to the claim that the male homosexual behaviour could be genetic, how about the bisexuals and the lesbians. They for sure are making a choice and by our standards a wrong one too.
* The debate and the argument advanced by the homosexuals is “Be what you are,” and “do not be ashamed of it”. Many unsuspecting youths then start to experiment, to “discover” what they really are. They are in fact being unwittingly, and in their most suggestible period of growth, led astray with the power of suggestion and a convoluted logic. Whoever we are, whatever one might be, it is ennobling to always try to do what is right.
* Even if there is a genetic propensity towards homosexuality, it is the nobility of the human spirit that can overcome it. There are suggestions that alcoholics are genetically pre-disposed to their behaviour. Furthermore, some people are inherently prone to take risks, which is an essential element for human progress and development. This pre-disposition to risk-taking behaviour can easily lead to the destructive behaviour of gambling. We do not encourage the people with a propensity to alcoholism or gambling to keep on indulging in these vices, but rather encourage them to resist and overcome them. We should do the same with homosexual feelings and tendencies. Whether one has the orientation or harbours “homosexual genes,” one’s feelings and desires cannot dictate behaviour. One may have a strong urge to have a homosexual contact, a heterosexual contact with one other than one’s own spouse, or to steal or kill. The nobility of the human spirit is to resist, and this is what elevates the human being to the status above that of the angels.
* There is a period during our growth process where we are most comfortable with and try to bond with persons of the same gender. Some carry this behaviour to an extreme and experiment with homosexuality. Some psychiatrists still believe that those who continue with the homosexual behaviour are really arrested in their development process. They avoid or are afraid to continue with the normal psychological growth. This condition is treatable by psychotherapy.
The reality of the society requires that we argue our positions, and deal with issues, as they prevail using some of the existing societal rationale. Though the thinking may fall short of our ideal, it can be an effective start in changing and moving the debate closer to our view point and values. The following two points are made with this thought in mind.
* As Muslims, we identify and instinctly come to the defense of any individuals or groups who are discriminated against. This reaction is due to our foundational value and commitment to justice, and also from our own contemporary experiences, as individuals and as members of a group, who have suffered from discrimination and vilification.
While we abhor acts of discrimination against individuals or groups, we also place a high value on discretion. The individual’s right of choice is a fundamental value and necessary condition for each individual to be accountable to God for his/her own actions. God’s guidance secures the balance between the individual’s and societal rights. No one has a right to spy into the private lives and affairs of individuals. Even when these private affairs should incidentally be known, the admonition is to keep them private and protect those involved.
However, when one openly declares one’s sexual orientation, a private matter, and then demands special consideration because of it, we find this an affront to the society’s well-being. There are already safeguards and protections under the law against discrimination that includes heterosexuals and homosexuals. To demand further special rights and consideration based on how or who we have sex with, and claim it to be a civil rights issue, is ludicrous. To compare with and demand special protection as those who have been persecuted for their national origin, race, colour, or creed and religious beliefs is baseless and has no historical or social justification or parallels. We will then have to accede similar special demands for protection and single out groups varying from those who want to have heterosexual relations to those who are left handed, when they are all currently protected under existing laws. We are committed to uphold the family unit and its values, and protection of it as a durable, proven, most important and socially viable nucleus of any society. There is a continual struggle and effort to maintain the balance between an individual’s right and society’s well-being. We place a higher value on the society’s well-being than an individual’s right to actively promote counter values that will ultimately damage the society at large. We therefore have a right to resist and ensure the protection of our values against such an onslaught. This resistance should never be an aggression against any individual or groups, but a firm and principled stand against the counter values being promoted, while promoting our values in a kinder and gentler fashion with conviction. We have, indeed, a duty to promote divine wisdom and values that will advance humanity and that have withstood the test of time.
*Homosexuality is an issue that concerns most main stream Christians and Jews and we all share a common value. It can provide an opportunity to work together for the common good of the society at large.
We, as Muslims, have benefit and blessings of divine guidance and wisdom. The Qur’an reminds us that Allah will change the condition of the people only if they themselves put forth the effort (13:11). If the homosexuals can promote their wrong values with vigor and succeed, we have a duty and a responsibility to not only make an effort to arrest this trend, but also to invest our time, energy, and resources to promote the divine values with as much zeal.
Our challenge is to explore and find ways to resist and counter this movement amongst our own families, immediate community, the Muslim ummah, and the whole of humanity. This is our destiny and the challenge of the times we live in. Action more than rhetoric will make us worthy of Allah’s (SWT) help and mercy and will endear us to Him. The question is what are you, and in turn all of us collectively, going to do to promote our values, and counter this threat?
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