Over 130 Muslim Religious Leaders Release Statement Clarifying LGBTQ Position In Islam

The Western Muslim community has spent over two decades post-9/11 attempting to secure ally ships that would protect itself from the onslaught of right-wing, neocon anti-Muslim bias. These concerns weren’t trivial and included racial profiling, surveillance and monitoring, informant programs, arbitrary detentions with no legal recourse, no-fly lists, and watchlists to name a few.

In navigating these concerns, the Muslim community allied itself with the political left as a form of self-preservation, specifically with the LGBTQ community. The working idea was that “securing their rights was securing our rights” according to Muslim political activists leading the charge in these discussions. Unfortunately, the demand of the LGBTQ community has expanded from a reciprocal recognition of rights to demanding a full-throated acceptance and of lifestyle and ideology.

Anything less than affirming belief in their ideas results in “cancellation”. Cancellation includes (and isn’t limited to) internet bullying, harassment, death threats to the person and their family, doxing, contacting employers, and even banning from countries. Disagreement of any sort is medicalized as trauma and the repeated refrain is that disagreement causes suicide.

Unfortunately, our political activists and leaders haven’t provided sufficient direction in expressing the normative position of Islam regarding gender ideology and sexual ethics.  Rather than fighting for our right to live according to our position, our political activists have embraced the LGBTQ community, their talking points, and their agenda. Rather than representing Muslim interests to our political allies, they’ve become progressive left representatives pushing these ideas back into the Muslim community.

Coupled with the fear of reprisal for individuals speaking out, this has led to silence from most community leaders. Silence, however, is no longer an option given the threats not only to adults, but now to children as well.  Progressive left activists have infiltrated school boards, corporate boardrooms, and government institutions (both federal and local). We are now expected to believe that gender is a construct, that children can be told there are many genders, and that although they might not know what it is upfront, can figure it out and turn themselves into whatever they wish with puberty blockers, hormones, and mutilation.  All of us are now told not only is this allowable, but it can also happen without parental consent.

And it doesn’t stop there – school libraries have become repositories for pornographic gay books, public libraries have been the launching grounds for twerking drag queens to dress in nothing and shake their genitals at little kids, and progressive leftists are unabashedly defending this filth publicly on TV and other media platforms.

We are long past overdue for a statement from Muslim scholars, leaders, and thought leaders across the Sunni theological divide uniting and clarifying as one voice the normative Islamic position both generally as well as specifically in considering the new ideas that are mainstreaming in Western societies. This newly released statement – titled “Navigating Differences: Clarifying Sexual and Gender Ethics in Islam”– clarifies the following:

Moral Disagreement isn’t Intolerance

“We reject the notion that moral disagreement amounts to intolerance or incitement of violence.” Due to our faith, as the statement says, “…sexual relations are permitted within the bounds of marriage, and marriage can only occur between a man and a woman.” This also means we don’t consider premarital or extramarital sexual relationships as sanctioned by our faith. We don’t believe in viewing pornography, drinking alcohol, eating pork, and more fundamentally, worshiping other than Allah as moral behavior.

Does that mean that for every person’s lifestyle choices and ideas -that they have the legal right to make- we don’t affirm, we are intolerant? Of course not. And likewise, we don’t believe that other faith groups (or those with no faith) who disagree with our beliefs are intolerant of us either.

Islamic Marriage is the Only Way for Sexual Relationships

As mentioned earlier, the only type of sexual relationship recognized as morally sanctioned in our faith is between a man and a woman. This not only dis-includes homosexual relationships, but pre-marital and extra-marital heterosexual relationships. The statement also affirms the consensus position from Muslim scholars on homosexuality, that it is explicitly forbidden and considered an abomination as stated in the Quran.

Biological Sex, Gender Identity, and Gender-Affirming Care

“As such, as a general rule, Islam strictly prohibits medical procedures intended to change the sex of healthy individuals, regardless of whether such procedures are termed gender “affirming” or “confirming.””

The statement points out that Allah has created us as male and female, that we aren’t permitted to change our biology to match our internal state, and that men and women generally shouldn’t attempt to imitate the ways of the other.

Thoughts, Feelings, Desires, and Inclinations

“Islam distinguishes between feelings, actions, and identity. God holds individuals accountable for their words and actions, not for their involuntary thoughts and feelings.” For those experiencing feelings of same-sex attraction or gender confusion, they are not sinful for having such feelings or experiencing thoughts and inclinations – what’s important is whether they act on them and try to bring them to fruition.

For Muslim Political Figures

“We urge Muslim public figures to uphold the sanctity of our faith and refrain from making erroneous pronouncements on behalf of Islam. We reject any attempt to attribute positions to Islam concerning sexual and gender ethics that contravene well-established Islamic teachings.” This is for politicians and activists.  Many of them have gone well out of their lane in making pronouncements on behalf of the faith in terms of what we should support.

Final Thoughts

This statement marks a good start towards mainstreaming the normative Islamic position on LGBTQ issues proliferating throughout the West. For the purpose of sharing our positions with a non-Muslim audience, this document can be a good resource. Going forward we will need continual engagement from Muslim scholars in concert with subject matter experts on this while it remains a concern infiltrating all sectors of society, especially our children’s schools, the entertainment they consume, and the online spaces they follow.  This cannot and should not be a one-and-done effort. Likewise, our community has to be willing to stand behind our leaders when they take these stances at risk to themselves and their families. We have to be willing to risk ourselves and stand up for our principles and values and even bear the brunt of the consequences.

The full statement can be found here.

Here are what some of the signatories are saying about the statement:

•  Sh. Hatem al-Haj:  Hatem al-Haj – Sharing a Profound Position Statement: Muslim… | Facebook
• Dr. Omar Suleiman: Omar Suleiman – This has been in the works for some time, and I am… | Facebook
• Imam Suhaib Webb: Suhaib Webb – Thankful to the scholars and thought leaders who… | Facebook
• Dr. Yasir Qadhi: Yasir Qadhi – Alḥamdulillah after many weeks of working with a… | Facebook

Related:

– The MM Recap: Islam And The LGBTQ+ Movement – MuslimMatters.org

– Fatwa Regarding Transgenderism – MuslimMatters.org