Religious leaders slam gay Muslim's defence of homosexuality

sundaytimes.co.za ^ | 6/30/02 | Nashira Davids

[LarryLied]

A gay Islamic scholar has been criticised by Muslim religious leaders for claiming on national TV that the Koran does not condemn "loving homosexual relationships".

Muhsin Hendricks, 35, who appeared on M-Net's current affairs programme Carte Blanche last Sunday, stunned devout Muslims by saying that in the Koran "sexual relations between two men cannot be proven wrong".

Hendricks, who said he had studied the Koran for more than four years, recently moved from Cape Town to Johannesburg to start a support centre for gays and lesbians.

He said Muslim leaders had avoided addressing homosexuality in their communities because none of them had studied the issue as extensively as he had done.

"I am not here to make sex between two men religiously lawful. Homosexuality is not about sex, it is about a compassionate, loving relationship between two people."

He said when he initially told his mother he was gay, she said he was involved with the Devil.

"But now she is one of my greatest supporters. It is very difficult for Muslims to come out, and the truth is they are really suffering but the Muslim clergy is failing to discuss this issue."

Hendricks said the only reference the Koran made to sodomy was in the verses dealing with the story of Sodom and Gomorrah.

No reference was made to homosexuality except in Surah Nisaa verse 16, which refers to promiscuity among homosexuals.

"Surah Nisaa says: 'If two men are guilty of lewdness, admonish them both, and if they repent and amend, then leave them alone for Allah is most merciful.'

"When two men are in a loving relationship with each other, they are not guilty of lewdness or sodomy."

Hendricks, who was given the title sheikh at a Muslim school after four years of Arabic and Islamic studies in Karachi, Pakistan, was stripped of the title last year after he had made public that he was gay.

Muslim clergy this week distanced itself from his controversial comments on Carte Blanche, saying that Islam would never accept gays.

Sheikh Achmat Sedick, a spokesman for the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC), said that Islam regarded the gay and lesbian community as misguided people and "perverts".

"Muslims will never accept these lesbians, homosexuals and the other sexual perverts and their evil and perverted practices and choices of sexual orientation as long as they are involved in such activities," he said.

Sedick said Hendricks would be reinstated as an imam (religious leader) only if he repented.

"Hendricks claims to have studied Shari'ah and Arabic in Pakistan for four years, and now he is all of a sudden an expert on the Koran, Islamic law and jurisprudence. He must have a thorough look at himself and how he became a self-confessed religious expert all of a sudden

"The MJC will take firm action against him if he condemns or insults the Koran or the Prophet or any of the companions of the Prophet or misconstrues anything which is tantamount to blasphemy," said Sedick.

The council of Muslim theologians, the Jamiatul Ulama of Transvaal and Kwazulu-Natal, also slammed Hendricks's claims.

In a press statement, the organisation said that homosexuality was "a reversal of the natural order, a corruption of man's sexuality and a crime against females".

"The Almighty himself has clearly enunciated right from wrong, good from bad. Homosexuality is a wrong both against the sovereignity of the Almighty and the morality of man," it said.

Hendricks said that because Muslim homosexuals were not getting support from religious leaders, he had established a support group for gays and lesbians called Al-Fitrah in Cape Town in 1998.

"When people come to me for help, I use Koranic verses to console them. I tell them that Allah is most gracious, most merciful and that he will not reject them.

"I explain to them that what they are doing is not sin. What sin can there be in being in love. It is very difficult for these people because the Muslim community is so conservative.

"I had one case, for example, of a lesbian girl who couldn't handle her situation, especially because she was so religious. She committed suicide on her muslah (prayer mat)," he said.

[LarryLied]

Rush was right, the way to take care of our enemies is to export Liberalism to them. So how can the CIA aggravate this situation?

[cmsgop]

Ewwwwww! A Game of "Hide The Koran" ?

[APBaer]

"He said when he initially told his mother he was gay, she said he was involved with the Devil."

He squealed with delight and said,"Oh! Get thee behind me Satan!"

[Polonius]

Anything that undermines radical Islam is fine by me, but this fellow should probably make out a will at some point in the near future.

[LarryLied]

Let's pose as Muslim homosexuals on the net and organize a gay pride parade in Mecca.

[Kerberos]

"The MJC will take firm action against him if he condemns or insults the Koran or the Prophet or any of the companions of the Prophet or misconstrues anything which is tantamount to blasphemy,"

Hmmmm, this guy may not be around long.

[MissAmericanPie]

No kidding, looks like they are self destructing from the inside as well.

[concerned about politics]

"Muslims will never accept these lesbians, homosexuals and the other sexual perverts and their evil and perverted practices and choices of sexual orientation as long as they are involved in such activities," he said.

Invite them to the gay pride parade in L.A. If they think sodomites are bad already, wait until they see this! They may actually start to feel sorry for the natural Americans who are forced by liberal laws to live around and "tolerate" it!

[Don Myers]

bttt

[Tacis]

Check the Koran for me, will you? If two married Muslim men get caught having sex with one another, which one gets stoned? If a fairy Muslim is a suicide bomber, kills himself and x number of Israelis on a crowded bus and goes directly to paradise, can he substitute 72 male virgins for female virgins? If Mohamed was a fairy, howcome none of the turbans are lavender? Do both Muslim lebos have to wear veils? If a straight Muslim male can have four wives, does a fairy Muslim get four bitches? Check the Koran. Should be right after the story of Mohamed as a little boy, when he was raised by the priests from the Crusades.

[muawiyah]

The Sheikh in the above article seems to have arrived at exactly the same conclusion as Sir Richard Burton regarding the Koran, the Hadiths and homosexual behavior!

Burton even slipped into the Kabba on a haj and described it to the world for the first time.

Burton also reported that there was homosexual behavior in Arabia, particularly in the tribes devoted to herding in the wilderness.

There are several translations of the Koran into English. One of the earliest had no trained Islamic guidance as have the others. It stands alone as the translation that leads English speaking people to believe that the Koran advocates homosexuality.

I think the mullahs are trying to "fix" the Prophet's words, eh?!

[FITZ]

I thought that the Koran does say the 72 virgins can be boys for those gay terrorists. Atta wasn't exactly a straight man ---I doubt he gave his life so willingly because he expected to get a bunch of women to be around.

Also a culture that promotes polygamy ---one man can have as many wives and concubines as he can afford, promotes homosexuality between all the lonely bachelors who have to turn to each other.

[FITZ]

It was always very common on college campuses to see Arab male students walking together holding hands. They don't hide their gayness that much.

[MAKnight]

In case you didn't know, Arab culture does allow men (and women) to hold hands. Hausa culture up in Northern Nigeria also does so. It has nothing to do with homosexuality ...

[FITZ]

You have to still wonder about men who are inclined to hold hands with each other instead of with women. Straight men don't enjoy walking hand-in-hand.

[browardchad]

Also a culture that promotes polygamy ---one man can have as many wives and concubines as he can afford, promotes homosexuality between all the lonely bachelors who have to turn to each other.

I doubt that polygamy promotes homosexuality per se, but it is the natural outgrowth of a culture that reviles women as "temptresses" to be covered up and hidden away, then thrown away at the whim of the husband -- (I believe the Muslim male only has to say "I divorce you" a certain number of times and that's that). Put it all together and you have rage against women warring with a man's natural instincts, and homosexuality is a logical progression. As long as Islam continues degradation of women, it has no hope of progress.

[marron]

If you have lived in the Middle East, you know that homosexual behavior, and even pedofilia, is very widespread. The difference is that they do not consider themselves homosexual.

Homosexuality is bad. What they do is just, oh, making do. Mentoring a young friend. Just don't call them gay. And don't call it child molesting.

[VOA]

"I am not here to make sex between two men religiously lawful. Homosexuality is not
about sex, it is about a compassionate, loving relationship between two people."

And his verses from The Koran (or even The Holy Bible) supporting this position are....?

[VOA]

Also a culture that promotes polygamy ---one man can have as many wives and concubines
as he can afford, promotes homosexuality between all the lonely bachelors who
have to turn to each other.

Professor Lionel Tiger (yep, that's his real name) of Princeton has said that radical
Islam is just a basic outcome of the lack of mates for quite a few Islamic males.
You need look no further than bin Laden with his four wives, dispatching fairly young
bachelors from Saudia Arabia.
I also saw an article in The Los Angeles Times that talked about how even in the McDonalds
in Saudia Arabia, there are segregated sections for single males and females.

I suspect not that many that go on Jihad actually "turn to each other"...they are going to
battle hoping that some of the polygamous leaders will get knocked off and they can
claim a wife (or young, unprotected daughters).

Of course, this doesn't explain Kandahar in which older males taking young males
as sex toys is a historic practice. (Which the Taliban did put the cabosh on because of the
military problems arising when warlords came to blows over the favors of prized young teenage males.)