Gay Muslims?

No se quién, ni de dónde, ni qué edad tendrá éste tal Abu Brahim pero, buscando información para un trabajo sobre un tema que no tiene nada que ver, he encontrado este post en una página llamada "Islamic Learning Materials". Realmente sorprenderme no me ha sorprendido, simplemente me ha confirmado una vez esa hipocresía que existe en el mundo musulmán sobre la homosexualidad que, a mí personalmente, me da tanta rabia. En una sociedad que separa los géneros de tal manera, el hombre no tiene acceso a mantener relaciones sexuales con mujeres hasta prácticamente el matrimonio, y como es normal "cuando no hay lomo, tocino como". He tenido ya bastantes discusiones sobre este tema, sobre lo que significa ser "gay" para un musulmán y lo que no, para muchos sería simplemente una necesidad, comparándolo con el ejemplo que narra Abu Brahim en su post del hombre que se encuentra en prisión, para ellos la cárcel serian las tradiciones culturales, impuestas o no. Ya no sólo por experiencia propia, simplemente hay que leer a varios de los más famosos autores árabes, contemporáneos o no, como por ejemplo Mohammed Choukri o el más espabilado de todos, Mohammed Mrabet, que después de haberle servido de juguete sexual a Paul Bowles durante tantos años, regresó a su tierra y se casó con una mujer como si tal cosa. Pero.. que hay de aquellos que sienten, se enamoran, aman,.. a alguien del mismo sexo? No tienen derecho a ser también musulmanes y no llevar una vida llena de falsedad e hipocresía? Atención al comentario sobre el post que también incluyo.. me ha dado mucha pena este pobre chico que espera que algún día Allah le ayude a curarse de su "enfermedad". 

How This All Started

I had no intentions of writting this article.
You see, I just found out that I’ve been nominated for a Brass Crescent award for Best Post or Series. My article “7 Things Your Muslim Husband Won’t Tell You” is the thing that got me nominated. The Brass Crescent Awards are annual virtual awards (there’s no real prize or money; just bragging rights) given to different Muslim blogs in various categories.
I’ve done my research on the Brass Crescent Awards and I know they were founded by a couple of Muslims who seem rather…I don’t know…soft and mushy to me. Basically, I’ve seen their writings and their work and they strike me as progressive, MSNBC, “Islam means peace” kind of Muslims.
So, I already know what some of what to expect of the other “Islamic” blogs that were nominated for awards.
As I was looking through the other Muslim blogs that were nominated, I noticed that quite a few of them were…quasi-pseudo-wannabe-kinda-sorta-half-stepping Islamic blogs. A lot of them promoted feminism, and not the Muslim-men-are-not-treating-Muslim-women-in-the-manner-taught-by-the-Prophet kind of feminism. This was that Western-pro-abortion-women-can-lead-men-in-prayer kind of feminism.
Eventually, I ran upon one blog called “Love Inshallah” about the love lives of American Muslim women.
I’m telling you the truth here, the instant I landed on the page, I felt a slight sickness within me. But I figured that maybe I was prejudging or getting jealous at the competition and forced myself to forge ahead.
Well, it only took about five seconds for my premonitions to prove correct. Right there on the opening page was the picture of some dude nicknamed “Hijabman.” The caption below the picture said the founder of “Love Inshallah” was married to Hijabman.

Progressive Muslims

Hijabman and his ilk are “Progressive Muslims.” In my opinion, they are some of the most dangerous people to Islam. They seek (knowingly or unknowingly) to destroy Islam from within. And the internet makes it all the more easy for them to carry out their mission.
These are the people that support women leading men in prayer. Who say Polygamy is wrong. Who think they understand the Quran better than the scholars of Islam. Who think it’s okay for Muslim women to marry non-Muslim men.
These are the Taqwacores. The Proggies. The Salman Rushdies and the Irshad Manjis.
These are the “Muslims” you want to keep your children away from. They are the ones who cheered whenAnwar Al-Awlaki died. They wear Islam like it’s a fashion statement yet do not stand for any of its principles.
They want to save the planet and stop the war, all the while they wage war on Islam in a subtle and underhanded way.
They are the so-called “moderate Muslims” the media loves to coddle yet they make up less than 1% of the entire Muslim population.
I love Allah and His Messenger (pbuh). I love the Quran and I love this deen (way of life). I am not afraid to call these people out.
Only Allah knows what’s in their hearts. But what I see, is nothing but evil.

The Litmus Test

I have a simple way to test someone I suspect of being “Progressive” (which is a misnomer since these guys do not bring “progress” to Islam; instead they demean Islam).
If I run across a blog and it’s starting to sound a little too squishy and soft, I do a search for the terms “homosexual” and/or “gay.”
Depending on the results that come back, that’s how I can determine what kind of mind is behind the blog.
If there are articles supporting gay marriage or trying to defend homosexuality in Islam or any crap like that, then I know I’m dealing with one of these cretins.
Once upon a time, I used to go to verbal battle against these wack jobs. I had a long, heated debate with Robert Salaam of The American Muslim because he wrote an article saying that homosexuals had the right to marriage. Here’s the article he wrote, but my comments have mysteriously disappeared.
But I don’t bother with that stuff anymore.
Allah has blessed me very sharp writing skills, plus a little bit of Islamic knowledge. I’m no scholar, but I definitely know more about Islam than these fakers. So I’m confident I can run circles around them on their own blog and make them look rather stupid in the process (hence the disappearance of my comments from the aforementioned blog).
However, I’ve matured over the years and I don’t think that’s the best use of my time or skills.
There really is no reason for me to write rebuttals against anyone’s defense of homosexuality in Islam. Most Muslims already know the deal. Even these miscreant so-called progressives know that Islam categorically outlaws homosexuality. Let’s just look at one passage from the Quran:

And Lot when he said to his people: “Do you commit such immorality as no one has preceded you with from among the worlds? Indeed, you approach men with desire, instead of women. Rather, you are a transgressing people.” But the answer of his people was only that they said, “Evict them from your city! Indeed, they are men who keep themselves pure.” So We saved him and his family, except for his wife; she was of those who remained. And We rained upon them a rain. Then see how was the end of the criminals. (Chapter 7, verses 80-84.)

In these five verses Allah describes homosexuals with such phrases as:

•   Immoral
•   Transgressors
•   Impure
•   Criminals

There are many, many more places in the Quran with similar harsh wording against homosexuality. So there should be no doubt that this act is forbidden in Islam. Allah hates it, and Muslims have no right to defend it and in fact should be foremost in speaking out against it.

How To Deal With This Issue

As much as I detest homosexuality, there are certain facts that I cannot ignore.

•  There will always be a segment of the population that are gay. No matter what society. No matter what culture. It’s like southpaws and psychos. They will always exist.
•   There are a lot of complex issues that make up human sexuality. It’s not so simple as being born one way or the other.
•  A person can get used to it, and even learn to enjoy it if they allow themselves to walk down that road.
• The last point may sound strange, but I’ve heard enough “coming out” stories to believe this to be true. I’ve heard of men in prison who were not gay before getting locked up. But in order to survive (at least in their mind) they decided to become someone’s girlfriend.

And I’ve heard other stories of immigrants to America who never even thought about homosexuality back in their home country. But then they came to America, landed in New York or Los Angeles, and a few years later they’re wearing rainbows and sleeveless turtlenecks.
My point is, I do not have a disgusted, visceral reaction to homosexuality among Muslims. It exists. It will probably always exist.
It is also impossible to determine why a person is gay. I believe that it is often the result of child molestation. Sometimes it’s something people just pick up and learn to enjoy, like the prison example above.
I’m not convinced that it’s genetic. If so, then it should have evolved out of the human race by now. However, it may be psychological.
But my personal opinion is that it is just pure emotional. It is a preference. Like some people like apples and don’t like oranges. Some men just like other men.

Can There Be Gay Muslims?

Since I’m convinced homosexuality is more a preference than it is a genetic flaw, I’m convinced that it is rightly forbidden in Islam.
So there is no reason for us to try to make excuses for gays and lesbians. They do have a choice. No man is forced to sodomize another man. And there is no line of argument that can convince me that such an action is natural.
Shaytan (the devil) whispers into their hearts and they succumb to his suggestions. And they do it often enough where it no longer seems wrong to them, and they may even justify and defend their actions. Thus, their hearts become sealed so no amount of evidence will make them think otherwise.

And We have certainly presented to the people in this Qur’an from every example. But, if you should bring them a sign, the disbelievers will surely say, “You are but falsifiers.” Thus does Allah seal the hearts of those who do not know. So be patient. Indeed, the promise of Allah is truth. And let them not disquiet you who are not certain.Chapter 7, verses 57-60

So, there can be gay Muslims. There can – and are – Muslims who engage in these actions.
Just like there are Muslims who are addicted to alcohol and addicted to drugs and addicted to pornography, there are Muslims who are addicted to having sex with the same gender.
The real point of the matter is how do these “gay Muslims” deal with their addiction? Do they acknowledge that it is wrong and try to stay away from it? Do they repent to Allah when they fall short? Do they hide their problems out of shame knowing that it is something reprehensible and should not be practiced freely and openly?
If so, then I hope and pray that Allah accepts their repentance and gives them a way out of their problem. I hope they learn the discipline that is required to resist their temptations. No doubt, this abstinence may be difficult, but I hope they will suffer in silence, knowing that the best reward is with Allah in the next life. This is their trial and Allah has given all of us different trials.
But if there are “gay Muslims” who say that the verses I’ve quoted above are misinterpreted or that Allah loves gays or that the Quran defends their right to be gay or some other crazy garbage like that, then I pray that Allah guides them.
And if Allah decides not to guide them, then I pray the He curses them, confounds their plans, humiliates them, and exposes them for the hypocrites they are.

Ameen.

***

Comentario al Post...

As’salaamualaikum wa rahmatulaahi wa barakaatuh.
I appreciate your humane stance onto this subject matter dear brother. I would not call myself ‘gay’ but I rather speak of myself as a man having sexual liking for his like: unfortunately and for the time being.
Some people would call me ‘closeted’ or even ‘in denial’ because I simply refuse to accept what they want me to accept: the third sex*.
Allah has created the man and the woman; yes, it is true that there are some who are hermaphrodites but this is an ‘anomaly’, a trial for the person who has had been born with as such affliction.
I do not think that I am as such due to having been molested while I was a child, rather I have been nearly sexually abused after that I had had developed a sexual liking for guys and that too by my own father.
I think that there may be so many factors that actually reduce a man to start loving another man among which is this society itself, who equipped will all these devices, push into defiling the nature of man by making him/her succumb to temptations, to transgressions.
I also do believe that it ain’t genetic for otherwise, if man has had been predisposed to be gay, then he would have had been equipped physically, so as to be able to engage in what is a ‘safe’ and ‘healthy’ sexual relationship; of course pro-homosexuality people would use the example of our lowly counterparts (animals) to validate why we are animals, but we are basically not animals; we do not kill our partners after mating with them, we do not eat faecal matter like so many of them do, nor do we feed on blood or kill our siblings or progeny and so on and so forth.
But I would add that, the genetic factor that has had been mentioned of, is due to the researches which brings evidences that the genetic material of someone can change if he/she has had been through some trauma or its like – but not that drastic one.
There are truly so many things that researchers have come up with trying to explain why I am as such or why are the other guys as such.
Rather, I do believe that Man has been born with the ‘fitrah’ which is the innate and instinctive predisposition man has been born with and if I am right then, our fitrah” is like that to our forefather, Adam (peace be upon him) – and which might somewhat explain to why, sinning is a transgression, something that is self inflicting, self harming.
It may be a matter of choice, I know guys who want to go into this life, irrespective of whether they are Muslims or not.
I just popped up to, to say that this is hard a trial but Allah does not burden us with what we cannot shoulder and that any brother or sister having this ‘feeling’ should try to subjugate it to his/her true nature and by beseeching Allah’s help.
I understand that I may or may not be cured of it, not because I am not a not a good believer as it is only ‘Kun Fayakun’ for Him. And I understand that there may be other brothers or sisters thinking as such, rather, one should know that there is a relief to come after each test, and relief has been mentioned twice in the Qur’an.
I just would like to add that this may be just a spiritual affliction that Allah has ‘blessed’ us with and that Allah has not created a disease except that He has brought along it, a cure.
Lut (peace be upon him) offered his daughters as a mean towards what is halal, and as a cure for those who want to fight this ‘desire’.
I feel that the Muslim community should try to help ‘us’ with an open arm because this does really help! Talking to us, helping us, providing us with the spiritual baggage that we need to counter these desires and it – Alhamdoulillah and insha’Allah – works and will work!
I understand that there may be brothers and sisters despairing that it’s too late, but it’s never too late to revert to Allah, and my last word would be that, Allah’s mercy surpasses his wrath and Allah is Wadood, the Loving.
Jazaak’Allah khair for your understanding onto this subject matter.
As’salaamualaikum wa rahmatulaahi wa barakaatuh.