Within theMuslim world, sentiment towardsLGBTQ people varies and has varied between societies and individualMuslims.[1][2][3][4] While colloquial and in many casesde facto official acceptance of at least some homosexual behavior was commonplace in pre-modern periods, later developments, starting from the 19th century, have created a generally hostile environment for LGBTQ people.
Meanwhile, contemporary Islamic jurisprudence generally accepts the possibility for transgender people (mukhannith/mutarajjilah) to change their gender status, but only after surgery, linking one's gender to biological markers.[5] Trans people are nonetheless confronted with stigma, discrimination, intimidation, and harassment in many Muslim-majority societies.[6] Transgender identities are often considered under the gender binary,[6] although some pre-modern scholars had recognizedeffeminate men as a form ofthird gender, as long as their behaviour was naturally in contrast to their assigned gender at birth.[5]
There are differences in how theQur'an and laterhadith traditions (orally transmitted collections of Muhammad's teachings) treat homosexuality, the latter is far more explicitly negative. Due to these differences, it has been argued thatMuhammad, the mainIslamic prophet, never forbade homosexual relationships outright, although he disapproved of them in line with his contemporaries.[7] There is, however, comparatively little evidence of homosexual practices being prevalent in Muslim societies for the first century and a half ofIslamic history;[8] male homosexual relationships were known of and discriminated against inArabia but were generally not met with legal sanctions.[9][7] In later pre-modern periods, historical evidence of homosexual relationships is more common, and showsde facto tolerance of these relationships.[2][7][9][8][10] Historical records suggest that laws against homosexuality were invoked infrequently—mainly incases of rape or other "exceptionally blatant infringement on public morals" as defined by Islamic law.[8] This allowed themes ofhomoeroticism andpederasty to be cultivated inIslamic poetry and otherIslamic literary genres, written in major languages of the Muslim world, from the 8th century CE into the modern era.[7][8][11][10] The conceptions of homosexuality found in these texts resembled the traditions ofancient Greece andancient Rome as opposed to the modern understanding ofsexual orientation.[7][8][12]
In the modern era, Muslim public attitudes towards homosexuality underwent a marked change beginning in the 19th century, largely due to theglobal spread of Islamic fundamentalist movements, namelySalafism andWahhabism.[13] The Muslim world was also influenced by the sexual notions and restrictive norms that were prevalent in theChristian world at the time, particularly with regard to anti-homosexual legislation throughout European societies, most of which adhered toChristian law. A number of Muslim-majority countries that were once colonies of European empires retain the criminal penalties that were originally implemented by European colonial authorities against those who were convicted of engaging in non-heterosexual acts.[13] Therefore, modern Muslim homophobia is generally not thought to be a direct continuation of pre-modern mores but a phenomenon that has been shaped by a variety of local and imported frameworks.[3][13] Most Muslim-majority countries have opposed moves to advance LGBTQ rights and recognition at theUnited Nations (UN), including within theUN General Assembly and theUN Human Rights Council.[1]
AsWestern culture eventually moved towardssecularism and thus enabled a platform for the flourishing of manyLGBTQ movements, many Muslim fundamentalists came to associate the Western world with "ravaging moral decay" and rampant homosexuality.[14] In contemporary society, prejudice,anti-LGBTQ discrimination and/oranti-LGBTQ violence—including violence which is practiced within legal systems—persist in much of theMuslim world,[1] exacerbated by socially conservative attitudes and the recent[when?] rise ofIslamist ideologies in some countries;[13][15][16] there are laws in place against homosexual activities in a larger number of Muslim-majority countries, with a number of them prescribing the death penalty for convicted offenders.[17]
Muslim attitudes to LGBTQ practices have varied throughout Islamic history; legal scholars condemned and often formulated punishments for homosexual acts, yet lenient (or often non-existent) enforcement allowed for toleration, and sometimes "celebration" of such acts.[10]Homoeroticism was idealized in the form ofpoetry or artistic declarations of love, often from an older man to a younger man or adolescent boy.[8] Accordingly, the Arabic language had an appreciable vocabulary of homoerotic terms, with multiple words to describe types ofmale prostitutes, including those pre-dating Islam.[18][19] Schmitt (1992) identifies some twenty words in Arabic,Persian, andTurkish to identify those who are penetrated.[3]: 30–32 Other related Arabic words includesmukhannathun (effeminate men),ma'bûn,halaqī, andbaghghā.[20]
There is little evidence for homosexual practice in Islamic societies for the first century and a half of the Islamic era.[8] Homoerotic poetry appears suddenly at the end of the 8th century CE, particularly in Baghdad in the work ofAbu Nuwas (756–814), who became a master of all the contemporary genres of Arabic poetry.[8][21] The famous authorJahiz tried to explain the abrupt change in attitudes toward homosexuality after theAbbasid Revolution by the arrival of the Abbasid army fromKhurasan, who are said to have consoled themselves with malepages when they were forbidden to take their wives with them.[8]
The increased prosperity following the early conquests was accompanied by a "corruption of morals" in the two holy cities ofMecca andMedina, and it can be inferred that homosexual practice became more widespread during this time as a result of acculturation to foreign customs, such as the music and dance practiced bymukhannathun, who were mostly foreign in origin.[9] The Abbasid caliphAl-Amin (r. 809–813) was said to have required slave women to be dressed in masculine clothing so he could be persuaded to have sex with them, and a broader fashion forghulamiyyat (boy-like girls) is reflected in literature of the period.[9] The same was said ofAndalusian ruleral-Hakam II (r. 961–976). Chief Judge of the Abbasid CaliphateYahya ibn Aktham permitted homosexual acts, despite being harsh on other sexual acts such asfornication.[22] This had proved controversial with a writer, Abi Salma, wrote "we had hoped to see justice apparent, but our implorations ended in despair, for, can the world and its people come to any good when the Grand Judge of Muslims sodomizes (yaluṯu)?"[23]
The conceptions of homosexuality found in classical Islamic texts resemble thetraditions of classical Greece andthose of ancient Rome, rather than the modern understanding of sexual orientation.[8][12] It was expected that many mature men would be sexually attracted to both women and adolescent boys (with different views about the appropriate age range for the latter), and such men were expected to wish to play only an active role in homosexual intercourse once they reached adulthood.[8][12] However, any confident assessment of the actual incidence of homosexual behavior remains elusive.[8] Preference for homosexual over heterosexual relations was regarded as a matter of personal taste rather than a marker of homosexual identity in a modern sense.[8][12] While playing an active role in homosexual relations carried no social stigma beyond that of licentious behavior, seeking to play a passive role was considered both unnatural and shameful for a mature man.[8][12] Following Greek precedents, the Islamic medical tradition only regarded this latter case as pathological, and showed no concern for other forms of homosexual behavior.[8] This view also made some inroads to the worldviews ofreligious scholars, but to a lesser extent; in an eleventh-century discussion among the scholars of Baghdad, some scholars who showed traits ofbisexuality argued that it is natural for a man to desire anal intercourse with a fellow man, but this would be only allowed in the afterlife.[24]: 152
The medieval Islamic concept of homoerotic relationships was distinct from modern concept of homosexuality, and related to thepederasty of Ancient Greece.[8][25] During the early period, growth of a beard was considered to be the conventional age when an adolescent lost his homoerotic appeal, as evidenced by poetic protestations that the author still found his lover beautiful despite the growing beard.[25] During later periods, the age of the stereotypical beloved became more ambiguous, and this prototype was often represented inPersian poetry byTurkicslave-soldiers.[8][25] This trend is illustrated by the story ofMahmud of Ghazni (971–1030), the ruler of theGhaznavid Empire, and his cupbearerMalik Ayaz.[8] Their relationship started when Malik was a slave boy: "At the time of the coins' minting, Mahmud of Ghazni was in a passionate romantic relationship with his male slave Malik Ayaz, and had exalted him to various positions of power across the Ghazanid Empire. While the story of their love affair had been censored until recently—the result of Western colonialism and changing attitudes towards homosexuality in the Middle East—Jasmine explains how Ghazni's subjects saw their relationship as a higher form of love."[26]
Mahmud of Ghazni (in red robe), shaking hands with a sheikh, with his companionMalik Ayaz standing behind him (1515)
Other famous examples of homosexuality include theAghlabidEmirIbrahim II of Ifriqiya (ruled 875–902), who was said to have been surrounded by some sixtycatamites, yet whom he was said to have treated in a most horrific manner.Caliphal-Mutasim in the 9th century and some of his successors were accused of homosexuality. The Christian martyrPelagius of Córdoba was executed byAndalusian rulerAbd al-Rahman III because the boy refused his advances.[9]
The 14th-century Iranian poetObeid Zakani, in his scores of satirical stories and poems, ridiculed the contradiction between the strict legalistic prohibitions of homosexuality on the one hand and its common practice on the other. Following is an example from his Ressaleh Delgosha: "Two old men, who used to exchange sex since their very childhood, were making love on the top of a mosque's minaret in the holy city of Qom. When both finished their turns, one told the other: "shameless practices have ruined our city." The other man nodded and said, "You and I are the city's blessed seniors, what then do you expect from others?"[27]
European sources state thatMehmed the Conqueror, anOttomansultan from the 15th century, "was known to have ambivalent sexual tastes, sent a eunuch to the house of Notaras, demanding that he supply his good-looking fourteen-year-old son for the Sultan's pleasure. When he refused, the Sultan instantly ordered the decapitation of Notaras, together with that of his son and his son-in-law; and their three heads … were placed on the banqueting table before him".[28] Another youth Mehmed found attractive, and who was presumably more accommodating, wasRadu III the Fair, the brother ofVlad the Impaler: "Radu, a hostage in Istanbul whose good looks had caught the Sultan's fancy, and who was thus singled out to serve as one of his most favored pages." After the defeat of Vlad, Mehmed placed Radu on the throne ofWallachia as a vassal ruler. However, some Turkish sources deny these stories.[29]
According to theEncyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World:
Whatever the legal strictures on sexual activity, the positive expression of male homoerotic sentiment in literature was accepted, and assiduously cultivated, from the late eighth century until modern times. First inArabic, but later also in Persian, Turkish andUrdu, love poetry by men about boys more than competed with that about women, it overwhelmed it. Anecdotal literature reinforces this impression of general societal acceptance of the public celebration of male-male love (which hostile Western caricatures of Islamic societies in medieval and early modern times simply exaggerate).[30]
European travellers remarked on the taste thatShah Abbas ofIran (1588–1629) had for wine and festivities, but also for attractivepages andcup-bearers.[31] A painting by Riza Abbasi with homo-erotic qualities shows the ruler enjoying such delights.[32]
According to Daniel Eisenberg, "Homosexuality was a key symbolic issue throughout theMiddle Ages in [Islamic]Iberia. As was customary everywhere until the nineteenth century, homosexuality was not viewed as a congenital disposition or 'identity'; the focus was on nonprocreative sexual practices, of which sodomy was the most controversial." For example, inal-Andalus "homosexual pleasures were much indulged by the intellectual and political elite. Evidence includes the behavior of rulers ... who kept male harems."[33]: 398 Although early Islamic writings such as the Quran expressed a mildly negative attitude towards homosexuality, laypersons usually apprehended the idea with indifference, if not admiration. Few literary works displayed hostility towards non-heterosexuality, apart from partisan statements and debates about types of love (which also occurred in heterosexual contexts).[34] Khaled el-Rouayheb (2014) maintains that "much if not most of the extant love poetry of the period [16th to 18th century] is pederastic in tone, portraying an adult male poet's passionate love for a teenage boy".[35] In mystic writings of the medieval era, such asSufi texts, it is "unclear whether the beloved being addressed is a teenage boy or God." European chroniclers censured "the indulgent attitudes to gay sex in the Caliphs' courts."[36]
El-Rouayheb suggests that even though religious scholars considered sodomy as an abhorrent sin, most of them did not genuinely believe that it was illicit to merely fall in love with a boy or express this love via poetry.[37] In secular society however, a male's desire to penetrate a desirable youth was seen as understandable, even if unlawful.[38] On the other hand, men adopting the passive role were more subjected to stigma. The medical termubnah qualified the pathological desire of a male to exclusively be on the receiving end of anal intercourse. Physicians that theorized onubnah includesRhazes, who thought that it was correlated with small genitals and that a treatment was possible provided that the subject was deemed to be not too effeminate and the behavior not "prolonged".[39]Dawud al-Antaki advanced that it could have been caused by an acidic substance embedded in the veins of the anus, causing itchiness and thus the need to seek relief.[40]
The 18th and 19th centuries saw the rise ofIslamic fundamentalism such asWahhabism, which came to call for stricter adherence to the Hadith.[41][42][43] In 1744, Muhammad bin Saud, the tribal ruler of the town ofDiriyah, endorsedibn Abd al-Wahhab's mission and the two swore an oath to establish a state together run according to true Islamic principles. For the next seventy years, until the dismantlement of the first state in 1818, the Wahhabis dominated fromDamascus toBaghdad. Homosexuality, which had been largely tolerated in theOttoman Empire, also became criminalized, and those found guilty were thrown to their deaths from the top of the minarets.[41]
In 1858, theTanzimat reforms in the Ottoman Empire nullified an earlier ruling on homosexuality, effectively making it decriminalized.[44][45][46] However, authors Lapidus and Salaymeh write that before the 19th century Ottoman society had been open and welcoming to homosexuals, and that by the 1850s via European influence they began censoring homosexuality in their society.[47] InIran, several hundred political opponents were executed in the aftermath of the1979 Islamic Revolution and justified it by accusing them of homosexuality. Homosexual intercourse became a capital offense in Iran'sIslamic Penal Code in 1991. Though the grounds for execution in Iran are difficult to track, there is evidence that several people were hanged for homosexual behavior in 2005–2006 and in 2016, mostly in cases of dubious charges of rape.[48][49] In some countries like Iran andIraq the dominant discourse is that Western imperialism has spread homosexuality.[42] InEgypt, though homosexuality is not explicitly criminalized, it has been widely prosecuted under vaguely formulated "morality" laws. Under the current rule ofAbdel Fattah el-Sisi, arrests of LGBTQ individuals have risen fivefold, apparently reflecting an effort to appeal to conservatives.[49] InUzbekistan, an anti-sodomy law, passed afterWorld War II with the goal of increasing the birth rate, was invoked in 2004 against a gay rights activist, who was imprisoned and subjected to extreme abuse.[50] InIraq, where homosexuality is legal, the breakdown of law and order following theSecond Gulf War allowed Islamist militias and vigilantes to act on their prejudice against gays, withISIS gaining particular notoriety for the gruesome acts of anti-LGBTQ violence committed under its rule of parts of Syria and Iraq.[49] Scott Siraj al-Haqq Kugle has argued that while Muslims "commemorate the early days of Islam when they were oppressed as a marginalized few", many of them now forget their history and fail to protect "Muslims who are gay, transgender and lesbian."[51]
Ottoman illustration depicting a young man used for group sex (fromSawaqub al-Manaquib), 19th century
According to Georg Klauda, in the 19th and early 20th century, homosexual sexual contact was viewed as relatively commonplace in parts of the Middle East, owing in part to widespreadsex segregation, which made heterosexual encounters outside marriage more difficult.[52] Klauda states that "Countless writers and artists such asAndré Gide,Oscar Wilde,Edward M. Forster, andJean Genet made pilgrimages in the 19th and 20th centuries from homophobic Europe to Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, and various other Arab countries, where homosexual sex was not only met without any discrimination or subcultural ghettoization whatsoever, but rather, additionally as a result of rigid segregation of the sexes, seemed to be available on every corner."[52] Views about homosexuality have never been universal all across the Islamic world.[53] With reference to the Muslim world more broadly, Tilo Beckers writes that "Besides the endogenous changes in the interpretation of scriptures having a deliberalizing influence that came from within Islamic cultures, the rejection of homosexuality in Islam gained momentum through the exogenous effects of European colonialism, that is, the import of Western cultural understandings of homosexuality as a perversion."[54]University of Münster professor Thomas Bauer points that even though there were many orders of stoning for homosexuality, there is not a single proven case of it being carried out. Bauer continues that "Although contemporary Islamist movements decry homosexuality as a form of Western decadence, the current prejudice against it among Muslim publics stems from an amalgamation of traditional Islamic legal theory with popular notions that were imported from Europe during the colonial era, when Western military and economic superiority made Western notions of sexuality particularly influential in the Muslim world."[55]
In some Muslim-majority countries, current anti-LGBTQ laws were enacted by United Kingdom or Soviet organs and retained following independence.[50][49] The 1860Indian Penal Code, which included ananti-sodomy statute, was used as a basis of penal laws in other parts of theempire.[56] However, as Dynes and Donaldson point out, North African countries under French colonial tutelage lacked anti-homosexual laws which were only born afterwards, with the full weight of Islamic opinion descending on those who, on the model of the gay liberationists of the West, would seek to make "homosexuality" (above all, adult men taking passive roles) publicly respectable.[57]Jordan,Bahrain, and -more recently - India, a country with a substantial Muslim minority, have abolished the criminal penalties for consensual homosexual acts introduced under colonial rule. Persecution of homosexuals has been exacerbated in recent decades by a rise in Islamic fundamentalism and the emergence of the gay-rights movement in the West, which allowed Islamists to paint homosexuality as a noxiousWestern import.[49]
The Quran contains several allusions tohomosexual activity, which has prompted considerableexegetical andlegal commentaries over the centuries.[58] The subject is most clearly addressed in the story ofSodom and Gomorrah (sevenverses)[59] after the men of the city demand to have sex with the male messengers sent by God to Lot (or Lut).[58][60][61][62] The Quranic narrative largely conforms to that found inGenesis.[58] In one passage the Quran says that the men "solicited his guests of him" (Quran 54:37), using an expression that parallels phrasing used to describethe attempted seduction ofJoseph, and in multiple passages they are accused of "coming with lust" to men instead ofwomen (or their wives).[58] The Quran terms this lewdness orfahisha (Arabic:فاحشة,romanized: fāḥiša) unprecedented in the history of the world:
And ˹remember˺ when Lot scolded ˹the men of˺ his people, ˹saying,˺ "Do you commit a shameful deed that no man has ever done before? You lust after men instead of women! You are certainly transgressors." But his people’s only response was to say, "Expel them from your land! They are a people who wish to remain chaste!" So We saved him and his family except his wife, who was one of the doomed. We poured upon them a rain ˹of brimstone˺. See what was the end of the wicked!
The destruction of the "people of Lut" is thought to be explicitly associated with their sexual practices.[59] Later exegetical literature built on these verses as writers attempted to give their own views as to what went on; and there was general agreement among exegetes that the "lewdness" alluded to by the Quranic passages was attemptedsodomy (specificallyanal intercourse) between men.[58]
Some Muslim scholars, such as theẒāhirī scholar (literalist)ibn Ḥazm, argue that the "people of Lut" were destroyed not because of participation in homosexualityper se, but because of disregardingProphets and messengers and attempting torape one of them.[63][64]: 194–195 [65]
Some Western and Modern Islamic scholars argue that in the course of the Quranic Lot story, homosexuality in the modern sense is not addressed, but that the destruction of the "people of Lut" was a result of breaking the ancienthospitality law andsexual violence, in this case they attemptedrape of men.[67][68][need quotation to verify][69][70][71]
Only one passage in the Quran prescribes a strictly legal position. It is not restricted to homosexual behaviour, however, and deals more generally withzina (illicit sexual intercourse):[59]
˹As for˺ those of your women who commit illegal intercourse—call four witnesses from among yourselves. If they testify, confine the offenders to their homes until they die or Allah ordains a ˹different˺ way for them. And the two among you who commit this sin—discipline them. If they repent and mend their ways, relieve them. Surely Allah is ever Accepting of Repentance, Most Merciful.
In the exegetical Islamic literature, this verse has provided the basis for the view that Muhammad took a lenient approach towards male homosexual practices.[59] TheOrientalist scholar Pinhas Ben Nahum has argued that "it is obvious that the Prophet viewed the vice with philosophic indifference. Not only is the punishment not indicated—it was probably some public reproach or insult of a slight nature—but mere penitence sufficed to escape the punishment".[59] Most exegetes hold that these verses refer to illicit heterosexual relationships, although a minority view attributed to theMu'tazilite scholar Abu Muslim al-Isfahani interpreted them as referring to homosexual relations. This view was widely rejected by medieval scholars, but has found some acceptance in modern times.[58]
Some Quranic verses describing theIslamic paradise refer to perpetually youthful attendants which inhabit it, and they are described as bothmale and female servants:[72] the females are referred to asḥūr, whereas the males are referred to asghilmān,wildān, andsuqāh.[72] The slave boys are referred to in the Quran as "immortal boys" (56:17,76:19) or "young men" (52:24) who servewine and meals to theblessed.[72] Although thetafsir literature does not interpret this as a homoerotic allusion, the connection was made in other literary genres, mostly humorously.[58] For example, theAbbasid-era poetAbu Nuwas wrote:[73]
A beautiful lad came carrying the wine With smooth hands and fingers dyed with henna And with long hair of golden curls around his cheeks ... I have a lad who is like the beautiful lads of paradise
And his eyes are big and beautiful
Jurists of theHanafi school took up the question seriously, considering, but ultimately rejecting the suggestion that homosexual pleasures were, like wine, forbidden in this world but enjoyed in theafterlife.[58][8] Ibn 'Âbidîn's Hâshiya refers to a debate among the scholars of Baghdad in the eleventh century, that some scholars argued in favor of that analogy.[74]
Thehadith (sayings and actions attributed to Muhammad) show thathomosexual behaviour was not unknown inseventh-century Arabia.[7][9] However, given that the Quran did not specify the punishment of homosexual practices, Islamic jurists increasingly turned to several "more explicit"[58][75] hadiths in an attempt to find guidance on appropriate punishment.[9][75]
From Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, the Prophet states that: "If a woman comes upon a woman, they are both adulteresses, if a man comes upon a man, then they are both adulterers."
— Al-Tabarani in al-Mu‘jam al-Awat: 4157, Al-Bayhaqi, Su‘ab al-Iman: 5075
While there are no reports relating to homosexuality in the best known and authentic hadith collections ofSahih al-Bukhari andSahih Muslim, other canonical collections record a number of condemnations of the "act of the people of Lut" (male-to-maleanal intercourse).[8]
According toOliver Leaman, hadiths seem to permit homoerotic feelings as long as they are not translated into action.[7][76] However, in one hadith attributed to Muhammad himself, which exists in multiple variants, the Islamic prophet acknowledged homoerotic temptation towards young boys and warned hisCompanions against it: "Do not gaze at the beardless youths, for verily they have eyes more tempting than thehouris"[59][77] or "... for verily they resemble thehouris".[59][78] These beardless youths are also described as wearing sumptuous robes and having perfumed hair.[59][79] Consequently, Islamic religious leaders, skeptical of Muslim men's capacity of self-control over their sexual urges, have forbidden looking and yearning both at males and females.[7]
In addition, there is a number of "purported (but mutually inconsistent) reports" (athar) of punishments of sodomy ordered by some of the earlycaliphs.[8][59]Abu Bakr apparently recommended toppling a wall on the culprit, or elseburning him alive,[59] whileAli ibn Abi Talib is said to have ordered death by stoning for one sodomite and had another thrown head-first from the top of the highest building in the town; according toIbn Abbas, the latter punishment must be followed bystoning.[9][59]
There are, however, fewer hadith mentioning homosexual behaviour in women;[80][81]but punishment (if any) forlesbianism was not clarified.
InClassical Arabic andIslamic literature, the plural termmukhannathun (singular:mukhannath) was a term used to describegender-variant people, and it has typically referred toeffeminatemen or people with ambiguous sexual characteristics, who appeared feminine and functioned sexually or socially inroles typically carried out bywomen.[20][16][82][83] According to the Iranian scholar Mehrdad Alipour, "in thepremodern period, Muslim societies were aware of five manifestations of gender ambiguity: This can be seen through figures such as thekhasi (eunuch), thehijra, themukhannath, themamsuh and thekhuntha (hermaphrodite/intersex)."[83]Gender specialists Aisya Aymanee M. Zaharin and Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli give the following explanation of the meaning of the termmukhannath and its derivate Arabic forms in the hadith literature:
Various academics such as Alipour (2017) and Rowson (1991) point to references in theHadith to the existence ofmukhannath: a man who carries femininity in his movements, in his appearance, and in the softness of his voice. The Arabic term for atrans woman ismukhannith as they want to change their sex characteristics, whilemukhannath presumably do not/have not. Themukhannath or effeminate man is obviously male, but naturally behaves like a female, unlike thekhuntha, anintersex person, who could be either male or female. Ironically, while there is no obvious mention ofmukhannath,mukhannith, orkhuntha in the Qur’ān, this holy book clearly recognizes that there are some people, who are neither male nor female, or are in between, and/or could also be "non-procreative" [عَقِيم] (Surah 42 Ash-Shuraa, verse 49–50).[16]
Moreover, within Islam, there is a tradition of the elaboration and refinement of extended religious doctrines through scholarship. This doctrine contains a passage by the scholar and hadith collectorAn-Nawawi:
A mukhannath is the one ("male") who carries in his movements, in his appearance and in his language the characteristics of a woman. There are two types; the first is the one in whom these characteristics are innate, he did not put them on by himself, and therein is no guilt, no blame and no shame, as long as he does not perform any (illicit) act or exploit it for money (prostitution etc.). The second type acts like a woman out of immoral purposes and he is the sinner and blameworthy.[20]
The hadith collection of Bukhari (compiled in the 9th century from earlieroral traditions) includes a report regardingmukhannathun,effeminate men who were granted access to secluded women's quarters and engaged in other non-normativegender behavior:[20]
Another hadith also mention the punishment of banishment, both in connection with Umm Salama's servant and a man who worked as a musician. Muhammad described the musician as amukhannath and threatened to banish him if he did not end his unacceptable career.[20]
According toEverett K. Rowson, professor ofMiddle Eastern andIslamic Studies atNew York University, none of the sources state that Muhammad banished more than twomukhannathun, and it is not clear to what extent the action was taken because of their breaking of gender rules in itself or because of the "perceived damage to social institutions from their activities as matchmakers and their corresponding access to women".[20]
The scarcity of concrete prescriptions from hadith and the contradictory nature of information about the actions of early authorities resulted in the lack of agreement among classical jurists as to how homosexual activity should be treated.[8][10]Classical Islamic jurists did not deal with homosexuality as asexual orientation, since the latter concept is modern and has no equivalent in traditional law, which dealt with it under the technical terms ofliwat andzina.[84]
Broadly, traditional Islamic law took the view that homosexual activity could not be legally sanctioned because it takes place outside religiously recognisedmarriages.[85] Allmajor schools of law considerliwat (anal sex) as a punishable offence.[86] Mostlegal schools treat homosexual intercourse with penetration similarly to unlawful heterosexual intercourse under the rubric ofzina, but there are differences of opinion with respect to methods of punishment.[87] Some legal schools "prescribed capital punishment for sodomy, but others opted only for a relatively mild discretionary punishment."[10] TheHanbalites are the most severe among Sunni schools, insisting on capital punishment for anal sex in all cases, while the other schools generally restrict punishment to flagellation with or without banishment, unless the culprit ismuhsan (Muslim free married adult), andHanafis often suggest no physical punishment at all, leaving the choice to the judge's discretion.[9][87] The founder of the Hanafi schoolAbu Hanifa refused to recognize the analogy between sodomy andzina, although his two principal students disagreed with him on this point.[8] The Hanafi scholarAbu Bakr Al-Jassas (d. 981 AD/370 AH) argued that the two hadiths on killing homosexuals "are not reliable by any means and no legal punishment can be prescribed based on them".[88] Where capital punishment is prescribed and a particular method is recommended, the methods range from stoning (Hanbali,Maliki), to the sword (some Hanbalites andShafi'ites), or leaving it to the court to choose between several methods, including throwing the culprit off a high building (Shi'ite).[87]
For unclear reasons, the treatment of homosexuality inTwelver Shi'ism jurisprudence is generally harsher than in Sunni fiqh, whileZaydi andIsma'ili Shia jurists took positions similar to the Sunnis.[8] Where flogging is prescribed, there is a tendency for indulgence and some recommend that the prescribed penalty should not be applied in full, withIbn Hazm reducing the number of strokes to 10.[9] There was debate as to whether the active and passive partners in anal sex should be punished equally.[76] Beyond penetrative anal sex, there was "general agreement" that "other homosexual acts (including any between females) were lesser offenses, subject only to discretionary punishment."[10] Some jurists viewed sexual intercourse as possible only for an individual who possesses aphallus;[89] hence those definitions of sexual intercourse that rely on the entry of as little of thecorona of the phallus into a partner's orifice.[89] Since women do not possess a phallus and cannot have intercourse with one another, they are, in this interpretation, physically incapable of committingzinā.[89]
Since ahadd punishment forzina requires testimony from four witnesses of the actual act of penetration or a confession from the accused repeated four times, the legal criteria for the prescribed harsh punishments of homosexual acts were very difficult to fulfill.[9][76] The debates of classical jurists are "to a large extent theoretical, since homosexual relations have always been tolerated" in pre-modern Islamic societies.[9] While it is difficult to determine to what extent the legal sanctions were enforced in different times and places, historical record suggests that the laws were invoked mainly in cases of rape or other "exceptionally blatant infringement on public morals". Documented instances of prosecution for homosexual acts are rare, and those which followed legal procedure prescribed by Islamic law are even rarer.[8]
InKecia Ali's book, she cites that "contemporary scholars disagree sharply about the Qur'anic perspective on same-sex intimacy." One scholar represents the conventional perspective by arguing that the Qur'an "is very explicit in its condemnation of homosexuality leaving scarcely any loophole for a theological accommodation of homosexuality in Islam." Another scholar argues that "the Qur'an does not address homosexuality or homosexuals explicitly." Overall, Ali says that "there is no one Muslim perspective on anything."[90]
Many Muslim scholars have followed a "don't ask, don't tell" policy in regards to homosexuality in Islam, by treating the subject with passivity.[91]
Mohamed El-Moctar El-Shinqiti, director of the Islamic Center of South Plains in Texas, has argued that "[even though] homosexuality is a grievous sin...[a] no legal punishment is stated in the Qur'an for homosexuality...[b] it is not reported that Prophet Muhammad has punished somebody for committing homosexuality...[c] there is no authentic hadith reported from the Prophet prescribing a punishment for the homosexuals..." Classical hadith scholars such asAl-Bukhari,Yahya ibn Ma'in,Al-Nasa'i,Ibn Hazm,Al-Tirmidhi, and others have disputed the authenticity of hadith reporting these statements.[92]
Egyptian Islamist journalistMuhammad Jalal Kishk also found no punishment for homosexual acts prescribed in the Quran, regarding the hadith that mentioned it as poorly attested. He did not approve of such acts, but believed that Muslims who abstained from sodomy would be rewarded by sex with youthful boys in paradise.[93]
Faisal Kutty, a professor of Islamic law at Indiana-basedValparaiso University Law School and Toronto-basedOsgoode Hall Law School, commented on the contemporary same-sex marriage debate in a 27 March 2014 essay in the Huffington Post.[94] He acknowledged that while Islamic law iterations prohibit pre- and extra-marital as well as same-sex sexual activity, it does not attempt to "regulate feelings, emotions and urges, but only its translation into action that authorities had declared unlawful". Kutty, who teaches comparative law and legal reasoning, also wrote that many Islamic scholars[95] have "even argued that homosexual tendencies themselves were not haram [prohibited] but had to be suppressed for the public good". He claimed that this may not be "what the LGBTQ community wants to hear", but that, "it reveals that even classical Islamic jurists struggled with this issue and had a more sophisticated attitude than many contemporary Muslims". Kutty, who in the past wrote in support of allowing Islamic principles in dispute resolution, also noted that "most Muslims have no problem extending full human rights to those—even Muslims—who live together 'in sin'". He argued that it therefore seems hypocritical to deny fundamental rights to same-sex couples. Moreover, he concurred with Islamic legal scholar Mohamed Fadel[96] in arguing that this is not about changing Islamic marriage (nikah), but about making "sure that all citizens have access to the same kinds of public benefits".
Scott Siraj al-Haqq Kugle, a professor of Islamic Studies atEmory University, has argued for a different interpretation of the Lot narrative focusing not on the sexual act but on the infidelity of the tribe and their rejection of Lot's Prophethood. According to Kugle, "where the Qur'an treats same-sex acts, it condemns them only so far as they are exploitive or violent." More generally, Kugle notes that the Quran refers to four different levels of personality. One level is "genetic inheritance." The Qur'an refers to this level as one's "physical stamp" that "determines one's temperamental nature" including one's sexuality. On the basis of this reading of the Qur'an, Kugle asserts that homosexuality is "caused by divine will", so "homosexuals have no rational choice in their internal disposition to be attracted to same-sex mates."[97]: 42–46 Kugle argues that if the classical commentators had seen "sexual orientation as an integral aspect of human personality", they would have read the narrative of Lot and his tribe "as addressing male rape of men in particular" and not as "addressing homosexuality in general".[97]: 54 Kugle furthermore reads the Qur'an as holding "a positive assessment of diversity". Under this reading, Islam can be described as "a religion that positively assesses diversity in creation and in human societies", allowing gay and lesbian Muslims to view homosexuality as representing the "natural diversity in sexuality in human societies."[64] A critique of Kugle's approach, interpretations and conclusions was published in 2016 by Mobeen Vaid.[98] In 2018, Junaid Jahangir and Hussein Abdullatif published their own critique of Vaid's criticisms against Kugle.[99]
In a 2012 book, Aisha Geissinger[100] writes that there are "apparently irreconcilable Muslim standpoints on same-sex desires and acts", all of which claim "interpretative authenticity". One of these standpoints results from "queer-friendly" interpretations of the Lot story and the Quran. The Lot story is interpreted as condemning "rape and inhospitality rather than today's consensual same-sex relationships."[101]
In their bookIslamic Law and Muslim Same-Sex Unions,Junaid Jahangir and Hussein Abdullatif argue that interpretations which view the Quranic narrative of the people of Lot and the derived classical notion ofliwat as applying to same-sex relationships reflect the sociocultural norms and medical knowledge of societies that produced those interpretations. They further argue that the notion ofliwat is compatible with the Quranic narrative, but not with the contemporary understanding of same-sex relationships based on love and shared responsibilities.[102]
In his 2010 articleSexuality and Islam, Abdessamad Dialmy addressed "sexual norms defined by the sacred texts (Koran and Sunna)." He wrote that "sexual standards in Islam are paradoxical." The sacred texts "allow and actually are an enticement to the exercise of sexuality." However, they also "discriminate ... between heterosexuality and homosexuality." Islam's paradoxical standards result in "the current back and forth swing of sexual practices between repression and openness." Dialmy sees a solution to this back and forth swing by a "reinterpretation of repressive holy texts."[43][103]
WhileEgypt does not have a de jure law explicitly criminalizing homosexual behavior, gay men (or people suspected of being gay) have been prosecuted under general public morality laws. (SeeCairo 52.) "Sexual relations between consenting adult persons of the same sex in private are not prohibited as such. However, the Law on the Combating of Prostitution, and the law against debauchery have been used to imprison gay men in recent years."[108] In 2019, an Egyptian TV host was sentenced to one year in prison on charges of promoting debauchery after interviewing a gay man.[109][110]
InIndia, which has the third-largestMuslim population in the world, and where Islam is the largest minority religion, the largest Islamic seminary (Darul Uloom Deoband) has vehemently opposed recent government moves[117] to abrogate and liberalize laws from thecolonial era that banned homosexuality.[118] As of September 2018, homosexuality is no longer a criminal act in India, and most of the religious groups withdrew their opposing claims against it in the Supreme Court.[119]
InIraq, homosexuality is allowed by the government, but terrorist groups often carry out illegal executions of gay people.Saddam Hussein was "unbothered by sexual mores". Ali Hili reports that "since the 2003 invasion more than 700 people have been killed because of their sexuality." He calls Iraq the "most dangerous place in the world for sexual minorities."[36]
InJordan, where homosexuality is legal, "gay hangouts have been raided or closed on bogus charges, such as serving alcohol illegally."[36] Despite this legality, social attitudes towards homosexuality are still hostile and hateful.[120]
InPakistan,its law is a mixture of both British colonial law as well as Islamic law, both which prescribe criminal penalties for same-sex sexual acts. ThePakistan Penal Code of 1860, originally developedunder colonial rule, punishes sodomy with a possible prison sentence. Yet, the more likely situation for gay and bisexual men is sporadic police fines, and jail sentences.[121]
InBangladesh, homosexual acts are illegal and punishable according to section 377. In 2009 and 2013, the Bangladeshi Parliament refused to overturn Section 377.[122]
InMalaysia, homosexual acts are illegal and punishable with jail, fine, deportation, whipping or chemical castration. In October 2018,Prime MinisterMahathir Mohamad stated that Malaysia would not "copy" Western nations' approach towards LGBT rights, indicating that these countries were exhibiting a disregard for the institutions of the traditional family and marriage, as the value system in Malaysia is good.[124] In May 2019, in response to the warning ofGeorge Clooney about intending to impose death penalty for homosexuals like Brunei, the Deputy Foreign MinisterMarzuki Yahya pointed out that Malaysia does not kill gay people, and will not resort to killing sexual minorities. He also said, although such lifestyles deviate from Islam, the government would not impose such a punishment on the group.[125]
Indonesia does not have asodomy law and does not currently criminalize private, non-commercial homosexual acts among consenting adults, except inAceh province where homosexuality is illegal for Muslims under Islamic Sharia law, and punishable by flogging.[126] While it does not criminalise homosexuality, the country does not recognisesame-sex marriage.[127] In July 2015, theMinister of Religious Affairs stated that it is difficult in Indonesia to legalize Gay Marriage, because strongly held religious norms speak strongly against it.[128]People's Representative Council (DPR) has dismissed the suggestion that the death penalty would be introduced for same-sex acts, citing that it is quite impossible to implement that policy by the government of Indonesia.[129]
InTurkey, homosexuality is legal and there have been several attempts to enact constitutional guarantees.[130][131] They however may face discrimination in public employment and the government does not take appropriate steps to improve civil rights. LGBTQ+ rights associations are allowed to operate legally, and many mainstream politicians advocate for LGBTQ+ rights.[132] Despite the worsening situation with democratic backsliding, such as the prohibition ofpride parades in 2019, the public acceptance of homosexuality continues to grow steadily.[133]
As the latest addition in the list of criminalizing Muslim countries,Brunei's has implemented penalty for homosexuals withinSharia Penal Code in stages since 2014. It prescribes death by stoning as punishment for sex between men,[134] and sex between women is punishable bycaning or imprisonment. The sultanate currently has a moratorium in effect on death penalty.[135][136]
Law explicitly provides for death penalty for sex between consenting adults of the same sex.
Law is unclear if death penalty is a legally possible punishment for same-sex acts, although such acts are criminalized.[a]
All nations currently having capital punishment as a potential penalty for homosexual activity areMuslim-majority countries and base those laws on interpretations of Islamic teachings, with the exception ofUganda.[139][140] In 2020, theInternational Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) released its most recentState Sponsored Homophobia Report. The report found that eleven countries or regions impose the death penalty for "same-sex sexual acts" with reference to sharia-based laws. In Iran, according to article 129 and 131 there are up to 100 lashes of whip first three times and fourth time death penalty for lesbians.[141] The death penalty is implemented nationwide inBrunei,Iran,Saudi Arabia,Afghanistan,Yemen, northernNigeria,Mauritania,the United Arab Emirates, andSomalia. This punishment is also allowed by the law but not implemented inQatar, andPakistan; and was back then implemented through non-state courts byISIS in parts ofIraq andSyria (now no longer existing).[142][135]
Due to Brunei's law dictating that gay sex be punishable by stoning, many of its targeted citizens fled to Canada in hopes of finding refuge. The law is also set to impose the same punishment for adultery among heterosexual couples. Despite pushback from citizens in the LGBTQ+ community, Brunei prime minister's office produced a statement explaining Brunei's intention for carrying through with the law. It has been suggested that this is part of a plan to separate Brunei from the western world and towards a Muslim one.[143]
In theChechen Republic, a part of theRussian Federation,Ramzan Kadyrov hasactively discriminated against homosexual individuals and presided over a campaign of arbitrary detention and extrajudicial killing.[144]It has been suggested that "to counteract popular support for an Islamist insurgency that erupted after the Soviet breakup, PresidentVladimir V. Putin of Russia has granted wide latitude to Kadyrov to co-opt elements of the Islamist agenda, including an intolerance of gays."[145] Reports of the discrimination in Chechnya have in turn been used to stoke Islamophobia, racist, and anti-Russia rhetoric.Jessica Stern, executive director ofOutRight Action International, has criticized this bigotry, noting: "Using a violent attack on men accused of being gay to legitimize islamophobia is dangerous and misleading. It negates the experiences of queer muslims and essentializes all muslims as homophobic. We cannot permit this tragedy to be co-opted by ethno-nationalists to perpetuate anti-Muslim or anti-Russian sentiment. The people and their government are never the same."[146]
InLebanon, courts have ruled that the country's penal code must not be used to target homosexuals, but the law has yet to be changed by parliament.[161][162]
In 2007, there was a gay party in theMoroccan town ofal-Qasr al-Kabir. Rumours spread that this was a gay marriage and more than 600 people took to the streets, condemning the alleged event and protesting against leniency towards homosexuals.[163] Several persons who attended the party were detained and eventually six Moroccan men were sentenced to between four and ten months in prison for "homosexuality".[164]
InFrance, there was an Islamic same-sex marriage on 18 February 2012.[165] In Paris in November 2012 a room in a Buddhist prayer hall was used by gay Muslims and called a "gay-friendly mosque",[166] and a French Islamic website is supporting religious same-sex marriage.[167] The French overseas department ofMayotte, which has a majority-Muslim population, legalized same-sex marriage in 2013, along with the rest of France.
The first American Muslim in the United States Congress,Keith Ellison (D-MN) said in 2010 that all discrimination againstLGBTQ people is wrong.[168] He further expressed support for gay marriage stating:[169]
I believe that the right to marry someone who you please is so fundamental it should not be subject to popular approval any more than we should vote on whether blacks should be allowed to sit in the front of the bus.
In 2014, eight men were jailed for three years by a Cairo court after the circulation of a video of them allegedly taking part in a private wedding ceremony between two men on a boat on the Nile.[170]
While Iran has outlawed homosexuality, Iranian thinkers such as Ayatollah Khomeini have allowed for transgender people to change their sex so that they can enter heterosexual relationships.[16][83] Iran is the only[172] Muslim-majority country in the Persian Gulf region that allows transgender people to express themselves by recognizing their self-identified gender and subsidizing reassignment surgery. Despite this, those who do not commit to reassignment surgery are not accepted to be trans.[173] The government even provides up to half the cost for those needing financial assistance and a sex change is recognized on the birth certificate.[174]
InPakistan, transgender people make up 0.005 percent of the total population.[175] Previously, transgender people were isolated from society and had no legal rights or protections. They also suffered discrimination in healthcare services. For example, in 2016 a transgender individual died in a hospital while doctors were trying to decide which ward the patient should be placed in. Transgender people also faced discrimination in finding employment resulting from incorrect identity cards and incongruous legal status. Many were forced into poverty, dancing, singing, and begging on the streets to scrape by. On 26 June 2016, clerics affiliated to thePakistan-based organization Tanzeem Ittehad-i-Ummat issued afatwa on transgender people where a trans woman (born male) with"visible signs of being a woman" is allowed to marry a man, and a trans man (born female) with "visible signs of being a man" is allowed to marry a woman. Pakistani transgender persons can also change their (legal) sex. Muslim ritual funerals also apply. Depriving transgender people of their inheritance, humiliating, insulting or teasing them were also declaredharaam.[176] In May 2018, the Pakistani parliament passed a bill giving transgender individuals the right to choose their legal sex and correct their official documents, such as ID cards, driver licenses, and passports.[177] Today, transgender people in Pakistan have the right to vote and to search for a job free from discrimination. As of 2018, one transgender woman became a news anchor, and two others were appointed as Supreme Court clerks.[178]
Muslim anti-LGBT protesters at an LGBT Pride march in Nottingham, England
The Muslim community as a whole, worldwide, has become polarized on the subject of homosexuality. Some Muslims say that "no good Muslim can be gay", and "traditional schools of Islamic law consider homosexuality a grave sin".[citation needed] At the opposite pole, "some Muslims ... are welcoming what they see as an opening within their communities to address anti-gay attitudes."[citation needed] Especially, it is "young Muslims" who are "increasingly speaking out in support of gay rights".[179]
According to theAlbert Kennedy Trust, one in four young homeless people identify as LGBT due to their religious parents disowning them. The Trust suggests that the majority of individuals who are homeless due to religious out casting are either Christian or Muslim. Many young adults who come out to their parents are often forced out of the house to find refuge in a more accepting place. This leads many individuals to be homeless or even attempt suicide.[180]
In 2013, thePew Research Center conducted a study on the global acceptance of homosexuality and found a widespread rejection of homosexuality in many nations that are predominantly Muslim. In some countries, views were becoming more conservative among younger people.[181]
A 2007 survey ofBritish Muslims showed that 61% believe homosexuality should be illegal.[184] A laterGallup poll in 2009 showed that none of the 500 British Muslims polled believed homosexuality to be "morally acceptable".[185] In a 2016ICM poll of 1,081 British Muslims, 52% of those polled disagreed with the statement "Homosexuality should be legal in Britain" while 18% agreed. In the same poll, 56% of British Muslims polled disagreed with the statement "Gay marriage should be legal in Britain" compared with 20% of the control group and 47% disagreed with the statement "It is acceptable for a homosexual person to be a teacher in a school" compared with 14% of the control group.[186]
According to a 2012 poll, 51% of theTurks in Germany, who account for nearly two thirds of the totalMuslim population in Germany,[187] believed that homosexuality is an illness.[188] However, a more recent poll from 2015 found that more than 60% of Muslims in Germany support gay marriage.[189] A poll in 2017 also found 60% support for gay marriage.[190]
American Muslims – in line with general public attitudes in the United States – have become much more accepting of homosexuality over recent years. In a 2007 poll conducted by Pew Research Center, only 27% of American Muslims believed that homosexuality should be accepted. In a 2011 poll, that rose to 39%. In a July 2017 poll, Muslims who say homosexuality should be accepted by society clearly outnumber those who say it should be discouraged (52% versus 33%), a level of acceptance similar toAmerican Protestants (52% in 2016).[191] According to research by thePublic Religion Research Institute's 2017 American Values Atlas, 51% of American Muslims favor same-sex marriage, while 34% are opposed.[192]
A 2016 iVOX survey ofBelgian Muslims found that 53% agreed with the statement: "I have no issues with homosexuality." Approximately 30% disagreed with the statement while the rest refused to answer or were unsure.[193]
A 2016 survey ofCanadian Muslims showed that 36% agreed with the statement homosexuality should be accepted by society with 47% young Canadian Muslims (18–34) holding this belief. The survey also stated that 43% of Canadian Muslims agreed with the statement homosexuality should not be accepted by society. The Muslim groups that mostly opposed acceptance of homosexuality by society were the older age group 45 to 59 (55%) and the lowest income group <$30K (56%).[194]
Turkey Muslims: According to the survey conducted by theKadir Has University in Istanbul in 2016, 33% of people said that LGBT people should have equal rights. This increased to 45% in 2020. Another survey by Kadir Has University in 2018 found that 55.3% of people would not want a homosexual neighbour. This decreased to 46.5% in 2019.[195][196]
In 2017, the Egyptian cleric, SheikhYusuf al-Qaradawi (who has served as chairman of theEuropean Council for Fatwa and Research) was asked how gay people should be punished. He replied that "there is disagreement", but "the important thing is to treat this act as a crime."[197]
Iran's current Supreme Leader, AyatollahAli Khamenei has stated that "There is no worst form of moral degeneration than [homosexuality]. ... But it won't stop here. In the future, not sure exactly when, they will legalize incest and even worse."[198] According to the conservative news website Khabaronline,Mohammad Javad Larijani, Khamenei's close adviser, stated "In our society, homosexuality is regarded as an illness and malady", and that "Promoting homosexuality is illegal and we have strong laws against it." He added, "It [homosexuality] is considered as a norm in the West and they are forcing us to accept it. We are strongly against this."[199]
AyatollahAli al-Sistani inIraq has stated "It is not permissible for a man to look at another man with lust; similarly, it is not permissible for a woman to look at another woman with lust. Homosexuality (Ash-shudhûdh al-jinsi) is haram. Similarly, it is forbidden for a female to engage in a sexual act with another female, i.e. lesbianism."[200]
The coming together of "human rights discourses and sexual orientation struggles" has resulted in an abundance of "social movements and organizations concerned with gender and sexual minority oppression and discrimination."[201] Today, most LGBTQ-affirming Islamic organizations and individual congregations are primarily based in theWestern world andSouth Asian countries; they usually identify themselves with theliberal and progressive movements within Islam.[1][202][203]
InFrance there was anIslamicsame-sex marriage on February 18, 2012.[204] In Paris in November 2012 a room in a Buddhist prayer hall was used by gay Muslims and called a "gay-friendly mosque",[205] and a French Islamic website[206] is supporting religious same-sex marriage. TheIbn Ruschd-Goethe mosque in Berlin is a liberal mosque open to all types of Muslims, where men and women pray together and LGBT worshippers are welcomed and supported.[207] Other significant LGBT-inclusive mosques or prayer groups include the El-Tawhid Juma Circle Unity Mosque in Toronto,[208][209][210] Masjid an-Nur al-Isslaah (Light of Reform Mosque) in Washington, D.C.,[211][212] Masjid Al-Rabia in Chicago,[213][212][214] Unity Mosque in Atlanta,[215][216] People's Mosque in Cape Town South Africa,[217][218] Masjid Ul-Umam mosque in Cape Town,[219] Qal'bu Maryamin in California,[220] and the Nur Ashki Jerrahi Sufi Community in New York City.[221][222]
Muslims for Progressive Values, based in the United States andMalaysia, is "a faith-based, grassroots, human rights organization that embodies and advocates for the traditional Qur'anic values of social justice and equality for all, for the 21st Century."[223][224] The Mecca Institute is an LGBT-inclusive and progressive online Islamic seminary, and serves as an online center of Islamic learning and research.[212][225]
Members ofAl Fatiha at the LGBT Pride parade in San Francisco 2008
TheAl-Fatiha Foundation was an organization which tried to advance the cause of gay, lesbian, and transgender Muslims. It was founded in 1998 byFaisal Alam, aPakistani American, and was registered as anonprofit organization in the United States. The organization was an offshoot of an internetlistserve that brought together many gay, lesbian and questioning Muslims from various countries.[226]
In 1996,Muhsin Hendricks founded the inner circle, a support network aiding gay Muslims in coming to terms with their sexual orientation.[227] In 2011 he founded Al Ghurbaah foundation.[228]
In November 2012, a prayer room was set up in Paris by gay Islamic scholar and founder of the group 'Homosexual Muslims of France'Ludovic-Mohamed Zahed. It was described by the press as the first gay-friendly mosque in Europe. The reaction from the rest of the Muslim community in France has been mixed. The opening has been condemned by theGrand Mosque of Paris.[229]
In 2014,following the death of British born doctor Dr Nazim Mahmood, the charityNaz and Matt Foundation was launched to support LGBTQI+ individuals from predominantly Muslim backgrounds.
In September 2019, a British charity known as Imaan attempted to crowdfund £5,000 to host a festival for LGBTQ+ Muslims to challenge homophobic laws and societal views of LGBTQ+ individuals in Middle Eastern countries and the larger Muslim community. Many LGBTQ+ Muslims are forced to choose between their sexuality and their religion, often forcing individuals to repress who they truly are.[230]
TheIbn Ruschd-Goethe mosque in Berlin is a liberal mosque open to all types of Muslims, where men and women pray together and LGBT worshippers are welcomed and supported.[231]
Nur Warsame has been an advocate for LGBTQ Muslims. He founded Marhaba, a support group forqueerMuslims inMelbourne,Australia. In May 2016, Wahrsage revealed that he is homosexual in an interview onSBS2'sThe Feed, being the first openly gayImam in Australia.[232]
TheMuslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity (MASGD) in the United States began on 23 January 2013. On 20 June 2016, an interview with Mirna Haidar (a member of the MASGD's steering committee) was published inThe Washington Post. She described the MASGD as supporting "LGBT Muslims who want or need to embrace both their sexual and religious identities." Haidar said that the support which the MASGD provides is needed because a person who is "Muslim and queer " faces "two different systems of oppression":Islamophobia andhomophobia.[233]
Muslims for Progressive Values, based in the United States and in Malaysia, is "a faith-based, grassroots, human rights organization that embodies and advocates for the traditional Qur'anic values of social justice and equality for all, for the 21st Century."[234]
The Safra Project for women is based in the UK. It supports and works on issues relating to prejudice LGBTQ Muslim women. It was founded in October 2001 by Muslim LBT women. The Safra Project's "ethos is one of inclusiveness and diversity."[235]
El-Farouk Khaki, founding member of the Salaam group and the Toronto Unity Mosque / el-Tawhid Juma Circle
Salaam is the first gay Muslim group in Canada and second in the world. Salaam was found in 1993 byEl-Farouk Khaki, who organized the Salaam/Al-Fateha International Conference in 2003.[236]
ThePink Report is an annual report made by the organization on the state of the Human Rights of LGBTI People in the country and is supported by the Norwegian Embassy.[240]
In May 2009, the Toronto Unity Mosque / el-Tawhid Juma Circle was founded by Laury Silvers, aUniversity of Toronto religious studies scholar, alongside Muslim gay-rights activists El-Farouk Khaki and Troy Jackson. Unity Mosque/ETJC is agender-equal, LGBT+ affirming, mosque.[241][242][243][244] The mosque offers aims to eliminate gender segregation by removing a dress code for women. While it was the only mosques of its kind when it first opened, more communities and mosques have become more accepting of LGBT members. El-Farouk Khaki has been quoted as saying "more and more groups, communities and mosques that celebrate and embrace inclusion and diversity are forming".[245]
Imam Daayiee Abdullah, one of America's first openly gay Imams, argues that the existing view towards homosexuality among Muslims is based on tradition, not an interpretation of scriptures. In 2011, Abdullah created an LGBTQ+ mosques, known as the Light of Reform Mosque, to provide members of the LGBTQ+ community with marriage ceremonies. Abdullah opened the Mecca Institute in an attempt to open at least 50 LGBTQ+ friendly mosques by 2030.[245]
There are a number of Islamicex-gay organizations, that is, those composed of people claiming to have experienced a basic change insexual orientation from exclusive homosexuality to exclusiveheterosexuality.[246] These groups, likethose based in socially conservative Christianity, are aimed at attempting to guide homosexuals towards heterosexuality.One of the leading LGBT reformatory Muslim organization isStraightWay Foundation, which was established in theUnited Kingdom in 2004 as an organization that provides information and advice forMuslims who struggle withhomosexual attraction.[247][248][249] They believe "that through following God's guidance", one may "cease to be" gay. They teach that the male-female pair is the "basis for humanity's growth" and that homosexual acts "are forbidden by God".[250]NARTH has written favourably of the group.[251] In 2004, Straightway entered into a controversy with the contemporaryMayor of London,Ken Livingstone, and the controversial Islamic clericYusuf al-Qaradawi. It was suggested that Livingstone was giving a platform to Islamic fundamentalists, and not liberal and progressive Muslims.[252] Straightway responded to this by sending Livingstone a letter thanking him for his support of al-Qaradawi.[253] Livingstone then ignited controversy when he thanked Straightway for the letter.[254]
In 2012, in the English city ofDerby, some Muslim men "distributed ... leaflets depicting gay men being executed in an attempt to encourage hatred against homosexuals." The leaflets had such titles as "Turn or Burn" and "God abhors you" and they advocated a death penalty for homosexuality.[255] The men were "convicted of hate crimes" on 20 January 2012. One of the men said that he was doing his Muslim duty.[36]
31 December 2013 – New Year's Eve arson attack on gay nightclub inSeattle, packed with 300+ revelers, but no one injured. Subject charged prosecuted under federal terror and hate-crime charges.[256]
12 February 2016 – Across Europe, gay refugees facing abuse at migrant asylum shelters are forced to flee shelters.[257]
25 April 2016 –Xulhaz Mannan, an employee of the United States embassy in Dhaka and the editor of Bangladesh's first and only LGBT magazine, was killed in his apartment by a gang of Islamic militants.[258]
12 June 2016 – At least 49 people were killed and 50 injured ina mass shooting atPulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in the second deadliestmass shooting by an individual and the deadliest incident of violence against LGBT people in U.S. history. The shooter,Omar Mateen, pledged allegiance to ISIL. The act has been described by investigators as anIslamic terrorist attack and ahate crime.[259][260][261][262] Upon further review, investigators indicated Omar Mateen showed few signs of radicalization, suggesting that the shooter's pledge to ISIL may have been a calculated move to garner more news coverage.[263] Muslim American and theircommunity leaders swiftly condemned the attack,[264][265] and prayer vigils for the victims were held at mosques across the country.[b] The Florida mosque where Mateen sometimes prayed issued a statement condemning the attack and offering condolences to the victims.[274] TheCouncil on American–Islamic Relations called the attack "monstrous" and offered its condolences to the victims. CAIR Florida urged Muslims to donate blood and contribute funds in support of the victims' families.[264][275]
During March 2019, British Muslim parents began protesting Parkfield Community School, a town where more than a third of the children are Muslim, due to the school's implementation of a "No Outsiders" sex-education program. The aim of this program was to provide students with lessons on same-sex relationships. The protest led to the school backing down by no longer following through with the "No Outsider" program. Regardless of this, the school's minister emphasized that the school tries to express equality.[276]
In 2010, an anthologyIslam and Homosexuality was published.[278] In the Forward,Parvez Sharma sounded a pessimistic note about the future: "In my lifetime I do not see Islam drafting a uniform edict that homosexuality is permissible." Following is material from two chapters dealing with the present:
Rusmir Musić in a chapter "Queer Visions of Islam" said that "Queer Muslims struggle daily to reconcile their sexuality and their faith." Musić began to study in college "whether or not my love for somebody of the same gender disgusts God and whether it will propel me to hell. The answer, for me, is an unequivocalno. Furthermore, Musić wrote, "my research and reflection helped me to imagine my sexuality as a gift from a loving, not hateful, God."[279]
Marhuq Fatima Khan in a chapter "Queer, American, and Muslim: Cultivating Identities and Communities of Affirmation", says that "Queer Muslims employ a few narratives to enable them to reconcile their religious and sexual identities." They "fall into three broad categories: (1) God Is Merciful; (2) That Is Just Who I Am; and (3) It's Not Just Islam."[280]
Progressive Muslims: On Justice, Gender, and Pluralism
In his 2003 bookProgressive Muslims: On Justice, Gender, and Pluralism, Professor Scott Siraj al-Haqq Kugle[281] asserts "that Islam does not address homosexuality." In Kugle's reading, the Quran holds "a positive assessment of diversity". It "respects diversity in physical appearance, constitution, stature, and color of human beings as a natural consequence of Divine wisdom in creation." Therefore, Islam can be described as "a religion that positively assesses diversity in creation and in human societies." Furthermore, in Kugle's reading, the Quran "implies that some people are different in their sexual desires than others." Thus, homosexuality can be seen as part of the "natural diversity in sexuality in human societies." This is the way "gay and lesbian Muslims" view their homosexuality.[64]: 194–196
In addition to the Qur'an, Kugle refers to the benediction ofImam Al-Ghazali (the 11th-century Muslim theologian) which says "praise be to God, the marvels of whose creation are not subject to the arrows of accident." For Kugle, this benediction implies that "if sexuality is inherent in a person's personality, then sexual diversity is a part of creation, which is never accidental but is always marvelous." Kugle also refers to "a rich archive of same-sex sexual desires and expressions, written by or reported about respected members of society: literati, educated elites, and religious scholars." Given these writings, Kugle concludes that "one might consider Islamic societies (like classical Greece) to provide a vivid illustration of a 'homosexual-friendly' environment." This evoked from "medieval and early modern Christian Europeans" accusations that Muslim were "engaging openly in same-sex practices."[64]: 198
Kugle goes a step further in his argument and asserts that "if some Muslims find it necessary to deny that sexual diversity is part of the natural created world, then the burden of proof rests on their shoulders to illustrate their denial from the Qur'anic discourse itself."[64]: 196, 198
Kecia Ali in her 2016 bookSexual Ethics and Islam says that "there is no one Muslim perspective on anything." Regarding the Quran, Ali says that modern scholars disagree about what it says about "same-sex intimacy". Some scholars argue that "the Qur'an does not address homosexuality or homosexuals explicitly."[282]: xvi, 103
Regarding homosexuality, Ali says the belief that "exclusively homosexual desire is innate in some individuals" has been adopted "even among some relatively conservative Western Muslim thinkers." 100 Homosexual Muslims believe their homosexuality to be innate and view "their sexual orientation as God-given and immutable." She observes that "queer and trans people are sometimes treated as defective or deviant", and adds that it is "vital not to assume that variation implies imperfection or disability."[282]: 100, 123, 206
Regarding "medieval Muslim culture", Ali says that "male desire to penetrate desirable youth ... was perfectly normal." Even if same-sex relations were not lawful, there was "an unwillingness to seek out and condemn instances of same-sex activity, but rather to let them pass by ... unpunished."[282]: 105–106 Ali states that some scholars claim that Islamic societies were 'homosexual-friendly' in history.[282]: 100
In her article "Same-sex Sexual Activity and Lesbian and Bisexual Women", Ali elaborates on homosexuality as an aspect of medieval Muslim culture. She says that "same-sex sexual expression has been a more or less recognized aspect of Muslim societies for many centuries." There are many explicit discussions of "same-sex sexual activity" in medieval Arabic literature.[283] Ali states there is a lack of focus in medieval tradition on female same-sex sexual activity, where the Qur'an mainly focuses male/male sex. With female same-sex sexual activity there is more focus on the punishment for the acts and the complications with the dower, compared to men where there is a focus on punishment but also the need for ablutions and the effect of the act on possible marriage decisions.[282]: 101
In February 2019, the government of Indonesia – a country with a majority Muslim population – threatened to banInstagram due to an account that was posting "Gay Muslim" comics. @Alpantuni was a profile that posted comics that tackled gay-identity and religious bigotry to connect with members of the LGBT community. Although Instagram refused to remove the account as it would violate its own terms and conditions, the account is currently unavailable.[284]
In 2015'sHow Gay is Pakistan?Mawaan Rizwan traveled to Pakistan, his country of birth, to film a documentary which explored the issues faced by other LGBTQ Muslims living under Islamic law that deems homosexuality illegal.[291] The documentary was televised internationally, including onABC2 inAustralia,CBC inCanada and in various markets viaAmazon Prime Video.[292][293][294]
In 2016,Vice News released a short documentaryBlackout: Being LGBT in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in which they showed different members of the LGBT community in Lahore. Young men who are sex workers were shown in the video and they explained the difficulties of being gay in Pakistan. The documentary also focused on some underground organisations that work for basic human rights for the LGBT community. In the film, there is a short clip shown of a young boy getting beaten up and is later sodomised with a tree branch after he was caught in homosexual acts by conservative religious society members. It also displayed how gay and transgender people use social media apps like Tinder to get in contact with other people of the community.[295] However, this documentary, made in collaboration withGoogle's technology incubatorJigsaw, has been criticised by some for its sensational approach and blatantly showcasing Google's agenda of juxtaposing empowerment through digital technologies such asTinder and the collective backwardness and oppression as shown through the blurred video of the young boy being beaten.[296]
Gay Muslims is a six-part documentary on Channel 4 about the LGBT among Muslims, broadcast in the UK in January.[297]
The Muslim Debate Initiative (MDI) is made up of Muslims "with experience in public speaking, apologetics, polemics, research and community work." One of its aims is "to support, encourage and promote debate that contrasts Islam against other intellectual and political discourses for the purpose of the pursuit of truth, intellectual scrutiny with respect, and the clarifying accurate understandings of other worldviews between people of different cultures, beliefs and political persuasions."[298]
^The ILGA, in its 2020 report and its 2023 database, state that there five UN-member countries where the status of the death penalty as a punishment for same-sex sexual conduct is uncertain. This may be because legal experts or scholars dispute the effect of legal provisions, or because the laws relied upon to potentially sanction the death penalty relate to sexual behaviours outside marriage, with applicability to homosexual relations so far only theoretical. The jurisdictions in this category are: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Qatar, Somalia (including Somaliland) and the United Arab Emirates.[137][138]: 25
^Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World. MacMillan Reference USA. 2004. p. 316.
^abcFrancis, Richard (2007)."Shah Abbas I and his Page".Louvre.fr.Paris:Louvre Museum.Archived from the original on 1 December 2012. Retrieved1 December 2020.Seated under a tree beside a stream,Shah Abbas I is offered wine by a youngcup-bearer he seems to be rather fond of, as his arm is around his shoulders. [...] European travellers remarked on the shah's taste for wine and festivities, and also noted his penchant for charmingpages and cup-bearers. If he were not wearing a turban, the curly hair and ambiguous beauty of the young man here might suggest a woman. [...] The scene is also susceptible of symbolic interpretation: there are a vast number of shortPersian poems, in a tradition going back to theMiddle Ages, which are addressed to the "saqi," or cup-bearer, the poet calling on the latter to bring about the intoxication ofmystical experience by pouring wine into the cup.
^Welch, Anthony (2000). "Worldly and Otherworldly Love in Safavi Painting". In Hillenbrand, Robert (ed.).Persian Painting from the Mongols to the Qajars. London:Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 303, 309.
^Eisenberg, Daniel (2003)."Homosexuality"(PDF). In Gerli, Michael (ed.).Medieval Iberia: An Encyclopedia.Routledge. pp. 398–399. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 3 December 2018.
^abFalaky, Fayçal (2018). "Radical Islam, Tolerance, and the Enlightenment".Studies in Eighteenth-Century Culture.47:265–266.doi:10.1353/sec.2018.0026.S2CID149570040.
^Ira M. Lapidus; Lena Salaymeh (2014).A History of Islamic Societies. Cambridge University Press (Kindle edition). pp. 361–362.ISBN978-0-521-51430-9.The attitudes toward homosexuality in the Ottoman Empire underwent a dramatic change during the 19th century. Before that time, Ottoman societal norms accepted homoerotic relations as normal, despite condemnation of homosexuality by religious scholars. The Ottoman Sultanic law (qanun) tended to equalize the treatment of hetero- and homosexuals. Dream interpretation literature accepted homosexuality as natural, andkaragoz, the principal character of popular puppet theater, engaged in both active and passive gay sex. However, in the 19th century, Ottoman society started to be influenced by European ideas about sexuality as well as the criticism leveled at the Ottoman society by European authors for its sexual and gender norms, including homosexuality. This criticism associated the weakness of the Ottoman state and corruption of the Ottoman government with Ottoman sexual corruption. By the 1850s, these ideas were prompting embarrassment and self-censorship among the Ottoman public regarding traditional attitudes toward sex in general and homosexuality in particular. Dream interpretation literature declined, the puppet theater was purged of its coarser elements, and homoeroticism began to be regarded as abnormal and shameful.
^Asal, V.; Sommer, U.Legal Path Dependence and the Long Arm of the Religious State: Sodomy Provisions and Gay Rights Across Nations and Over Time. State University of New York Press. p. 64.
^abKlauda, Georg (English translation by Angelus Novus). "Globalizing HomophobiaArchived 2014-06-16 at theWayback Machine" ().MRZine,Monthly Review. 08.12.10. Previous version appeared inPhase 2 No. 10 (December 2003). Also published as the first chapter ofDie Vertreibung aus dem Serail: Europa und die Heteronormalisierung der islamischen Welt (Berlin: Männerschwarm-Verlag, 2008). Start page15[permanent dead link].Retrieved on 26 June 2014.
^Power, Bernie; Riddell, Peter (2019)."Islam and Homosexuality".Engaging Ethically in a Strange New World: A View from Down Under – Australian College of Theology Monograph Series:101–123.ISBN9781532688034.Archived from the original on 2023-04-19. Retrieved2020-05-28.
^Tilo Beckers, "Islam and the Acceptance of Homosexuality," inIslam and Homosexuality, Volume 1, ed. Samar Habib, 64–65 (Praeger, 2009).
^Kuggle, Scott; Hunt, Stephen (2012). "Masculinity, Homosexuality and the Defence of Islam: A Case Study of Yusuf al-Qaradawi's Media Fatwa".Religion and Gender.2 (2):271–272.
^Wayne Dynes,Encyclopaedia of Homosexuality, New York, 1990.
^Kugle, Scott Siraj al-Haqq (2010) Homosexuality in Islam: Critical Reflections on Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Muslims. Oxford: Oneworld Publications. pp. 51–53.the story is really about infidelity and how the Tribe of Lot schemed for ways to reject his Prophethood and his public standing in the community [...] They rejected him in a variety of ways, and their sexual assault of his guests was only one expression of their inner intention to deny Lot the dignity of being a Prophet and drive him from their cities
^Hazm, Ibn (1966).Mu'jam fiqh Ibn Hazm al Zahiri. Dar al-Fikr.
^Wunibald Müller, Homosexualität – eine Herausforderung für Theologie und Seelsorge, Mainz 1986, p. 64-65.
^Andreas Ismail Mohr: "Wie steht der Koran zur Homosexualität?", in: LSVD Berlin-Brandenburg e.V. (Hrsg.): Muslime unter dem Regenbogen. Homosexualität, Migration und Islam. Berlin: Querverlag, 2004, p. 16.
^Noegel, Scott B.; Wheeler, Brannon M. (2010). Lot. The A to Z of Prophets in Islam and Judaism. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Incorporated. pp. 118–126. ISBN 978-0810876033.
^abcLeaman, Oliver (2009). "Homosexuality". In John L. Esposito (ed.).The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. Oxford: Oxford University Press.ISBN9780195305135.Archived from the original on 2017-08-11. Retrieved2017-07-07.This ambiguity is reflected in the ḥadīth of the Prophet, some of which make a distinction between the partners in a homosexual act, and many of which seem to permit homoerotic feelings, as long as those feelings are not translated into action.
^إسماعيل العجلوني(Ismail Ajlouni).Kash Al-khafaكشف الخفاء ومزيل الإلباس. p. hadith no. 2997.لا تنظروا إلى المردان فإن فيهم لمحة من الحور (cf.Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic 3rd ed. p. 878:فيه لمحة من ابيه = he looks like his father)
^Elyse Semerdjian (2007). "Islam". In Jeffrey S. Siker (ed.).Homosexuality and Religion: An Encyclopedia. Greenwood Press. p. 131.The Prophet also issued warnings such as "do not gaze at the beardless youths, for verily they have eyes more tempting than the houris" (Wright, 7). These beardless boys are also described as wearing sumptuous robes and having perfumed hair.
^John L. Esposito, ed. (2014)."Homosexuality".The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Archived fromthe original on 2021-12-14. Retrieved2017-07-07.
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^Aisha Geissinger, "Islam and Discourses of Same-Sex Desire" inQueer Religion, Volume 1, eds., Donald L. Boisvert and Jay Emerson Johnson (ABC-CLIO, 2012), 70. 83.
^"and the United Arab Emirates".Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved27 October 2015.Facts as drug trafficking, homosexual behaviour, and apostasy are liable to capital punishment.
^Dickson, Anna; Mills, Claire; Curtis, John; Loft, Philip; Rajendralal, Reshma; Robinson, Timothy (2025-04-28)."LGBT+ rights and issues in the Middle East".House of Commons Library.
^Legal Frameworks: Criminalisation of consensual same-sex sexual acts,ILGA, Methodology – Section 9. Death Penalty: Issues of legal certainty, retrieved16 October 2023,...'full legal certainty' is understood as the absence of disputes about whether the death penalty can be legally imposed for consensual same-sex sexual conduct. This legal certainty may be derived from the existence of written, codified laws unequivocally prescribing the death penalty for same-sex conduct... Conversely, the lack of clear provisions mandating the death penalty for consensual same-sex sexual acts, the existence of disputes between scholars and experts with regard to the interpretation of ambiguous provisions, and the need for judicial interpretation of certain 'generic' crimes to encompass consensual same-sex sexual acts has led ILGA World to classify the remaining five UN Member States... as jurisdictions where there is no full legal certainty. ... It bears mentioning that in all five states... there is full certainty that the alternative in default of the death penalty is always a provision of law criminalising consensual same-sex sexual acts with corporal punishment, imprisonment and/or a fine. Therefore, this uncertainty does not hinge on 'criminalisation vs non-criminalisation', but rather on the severity of the penalties imposed.
^Ali, Ayaan Hirsi (13 June 2016)."Islam's Jihad Against Homosexuals".Wall Street Journal.Archived from the original on 30 January 2017. Retrieved5 April 2017 – via www.WSJ.com.
^Beden Offord (2016). Vera Mackie (ed.). "Queer Activist Intersections in Southeast Asia: Human Rights and Cultural Studies".Ways of Knowing About Human Rights in Asia.46. Routledge.
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^Samar Habib,Islam and Homosexuality (Praeger, 2010).
^Rusmir Musić, "Queer Visions of Islam" inIslam and Homosexuality, ed. Samar Habib, (Praeger, 2010), pp. 327–328.
^Marhuq Fatima Khan, "Queer, American, and Muslim: Cultivating Identities and Communities of Affirmation" inIslam and Homosexuality, ed. Samar Habib, (Praeger, 2010), 356–358.
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