LET'S PREVENT HARM IN ISLAM!: MURDER AND MISTREATMENT OF LGTBI PEOPLE

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In most Muslim-majority countries, there is oppression against the LGTBI+ community in all spheres:

• Institutional: most penalize it with prison (where they are frequently mistreated and sometimes tortured) and in some with flogging and death. Imprisoning an innocent person is a crime of kidnapping.

• Social: ranging from rejection, contempt, and discrimination to verbal, emotional, and physical aggression, and even murder.

This forces members of this community to flee their countries. All of the above clearly conflicts with the principles of equality and non-discrimination enshrined in international human rights standards.

Read LET US LIVE WITHOUT HARM! Let us fight for human rights

It causes great suffering, such as depression, fear, anguish, loneliness, feelings of guilt, and low self-esteem, leading to high suicide rates. Read more at…

LIVING WITHOUT HARM: Not harming the LGBTI+ community either

The reason for such malice is that most religious currents in Islam condemn homosexuality and effeminate behavior in men and masculine behavior in women. They do so based on the Quran and the Hadiths.

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QUR’AN

The verses that speak on this subject are the following:

Quran 7:80-83:

“We also (sent) Lot: He said to his people: ‘Do ye commit lewdness such as no people in creation (ever) committed before you? For ye practise your lusts on men in preference to women: ye are indeed a people transgressing beyond bounds.’ And his people gave no answer but this: they said, ‘Drive them out of your city: these are indeed men who want to be clean and pure!’ But we saved him and his family, except his wife: she was of those who lagged behind. And we rained down on them a shower (of brimstone): then see what was the end of those who indulged in sin and crime!”

Verses 26:165-173 and 27:54-58 say the same with some different wording. Although these passages are usually interpreted as Allah punishing Sodom and Gomorrah for their homosexual acts, it is not clear if it was for that or because they expelled Lot.

However, it is more obvious that the destruction of those cities was due to their homosexual practices in verse 29:28-31:

“And (remember) Lot: behold, he said to his people: ‘Ye commit lewdness such as no people in Creation (ever) committed before you. Do ye indeed approach men, and cut off the highway? — and practise wickedness (even) in your councils?’ But his people gave no answer but this: they said: ‘Bring us the Wrath of Allah if thou tellest the truth.’ He said: ‘O my Lord! help Thou me against people who do mischief!’ When Our Messengers came to Abraham with the good news, they said: ‘We are indeed going to destroy the people of this township: for truly they are (addicted to) crime.’”

The text of Quran 24:2 is also crystal clear, speaking of zina, that is, sex outside of marriage in general:

“The woman and the man guilty of adultery or fornication, flog each of them with a hundred stripes: Let not compassion move you in their case, in a matter prescribed by God.”

LET’S PREVENT HARM IN ISLAM!: Aggression against those who exercise their sexual freedom

HADITH

These books are biographies of Muhammad that supposedly recount what he did and said, constituting the second great pillar of Islam after the Quran. The following are noteworthy:

Sunan Abu Dawud 38:4447:

“The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: If you find anyone doing as Lot’s people did, kill the one who does it, and the one to whom it is done.”

Sunan Abu Dawud 38:4448

“If a man who is not married is seized committing sodomy, he shall be stoned to death.”

Sahih Bukhari 7:72:774:

“The Prophet cursed effeminate men; those men who are in the similitude (assume the manners of women) and those women who assume the manners of men, and he said: ‘Turn them out of your houses‘.”

And very similar to the previous one is Sahih Bukhari 8:82:820

TRADITIONAL SCHOOLS

Most legal schools have treated homosexual relations involving penetration similarly to illegal heterosexual relations under the rubric of zina, but with differences of opinion regarding the modes of punishment. Some schools have prescribed capital punishment, while others have opted for lighter punishments.

Certain experts state that, at least in part of the Muslim territories, such as the Ottoman Empire, there was considerable tolerance until the 20th century, when homophobia developed due to European colonial influence on one hand, and the development of Islamist and puritanical movements such as Wahhabism and Jihadi Salafism on the other.

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LET’S END THESE CRUELTIES NOW!

Fortunately, some modernist Muslim academics and activists argue that these traditional interpretations are influenced by cultural context and do not necessarily represent the original intent of the Quran. They suggest that the verses about the people of Lot refer more to rape and lack of hospitality than to consensual same-sex relationships.

Scholars like Scott Siraj al-Haqq Kugle state that the Quran does not explicitly condemn sexual orientation or gender identity and that it is possible to reinterpret the text in a more inclusive way that respects LGTBI rights.

They also consider the Hadiths to be an unreliable source, as they were written centuries after Muhammad died, supposedly based on oral traditions. All these efforts seek to harmonize the Islamic faith with modern principles of human rights and justice.

There is a growing mobilization by liberal Muslims to defend LGTBI rights. Organizations such as Muslims for Progressive Values and individual activists are working to challenge traditional interpretations and advocate for greater acceptance and protection of LGTBI people within the Muslim community.

In fact, more and more Muslims are opting for a more tolerant and benign version of their religion. Let’s do something so that there are more and more. How?

1. By signing to ask all Muslim religious leaders to interpret the Quran in a benign way. Sign…

2. By signing to ask all governments to guarantee the protection and full equality of rights for the LGTBI+ community. Sign…

3. By signing these other campaigns on harm in Islam…

4. By sharing these signature campaigns and this article with as many people as possible. Read more…

5. By donating money to NGOs that help LGTBI+ people escape and provide them with shelter and support when they are forced to flee their environment due to homophobic oppression, such as Rainbow Railroad.

6. By convincing the Muslims you know of the desirability of a peaceful, benign, and liberal Islam.

Thank you for doing something for a less abusive and happier world,