“We now live in a world where criticism of Muslim homophobia is islamophobia.”

~Lalo Dagach

Islam, unlike Christianity, is a comprehensive religious, political and legal ideology. Its construction in the first few centuries of its creation lends itself to the encroachment upon both the personal and the political. This fact ensures that its beliefs, customs and practices are not simply relegated to something personal, but rather its very structure sows the seeds of theocratic authoritarianism, as has been a key ingredient in its global success. Apostasy, at least in the early days of Islam and in some modern Islamic countries, was not merely apostasy from the religion, but treason against the (Islamic) ruler. Blasphemy against the Prophet was not simply blasphemy against the Prophet, but the deliberate rejection of Islamic authority. Thus, the beliefs and practices at the core of Islam are a concern not only for Muslims, but also for non-Muslims subject to Islamic governance. However, in the interest of balance and responsible social commentary, it is important to note that there are many “Islams”, as well as a single, definable and identifiable collection of doctrines and beliefs that might justifiably be called ‘Islam’. Put simply, the core and unifying doctrines and principles of Islam are spelled out in the Qur’an and secondary Islamic sources, such as the Sunnah (sayings and doings of the Prophet), the Sirah (Biography of the Prophet) and throughout the graded hadiths. However, like Christianity, an individual Muslim’s Islam can vary markedly from another’s, even within the same sect – even within the same mosque. Notwithstanding this initial caveat, the religion of Islam can easily be shown to be a homophobic and misogynistic religiopolitical ideology.

Reason 1: Islam is Homophobic

Islam’s unapologetic homophobia finds its genesis within the Jewish book of Genesis, in the second-hand reproduction of the Israelite story of Lot. Whilst various tafsir (scholarly interpretations) offer debate on the emphasis of Lot’s homophobia, there is little doubt that the story condemns homosexuality. As is the case with the Bible, from which the Qur’an borrows the bulk of its theology, Lot unequivocally condemns homosexuality, saying: “Indeed, you approach men with desire, instead of women. Rather, you are a transgressing people” (Qur’an 7:81). This adopted Jewish charter myth serves as the foundation for numerous homophobic expressions within the Qur’an (see; Qur’an 26:165-166, 27:54 & 29:28-29), and such homophobia located within the core foundational text of the religion has inspired and offered “divine” justification for Islamic scholars, jurists and states to express and exercise emphatic homophobia, which has perniciously influenced most of the international Muslim community (ummah). One only need examine the oft-deadly hyper-homophobic Islamic laws in many Muslim-majority countries to see the capricious influence of these doctrines and beliefs in practice. This doesn’t mean that there is not a tiny minority of detractors within the Muslim community, but such detractors are still a heavily persecuted and almost imperceptible fringe in what is an extremely homophobic religion.

Regarding the ingrained homophobia in Islam and its prevalence throughout the Muslim world, the Cambridge historian specialising in ancient and medieval history, Dr Christopher Kelly (2010), remarks: ‘Certainly, the overwhelming majority of Muslims take it for granted that sex acts between persons of the same gender (and same-sex relationships, by extension) are categorically forbidden. Even in the United States and the West, though, Islam is edging out Christianity as the quintessential homophobic religion, in the public mind; most Westerners have probably heard stories of people being abused, punished, tortured and executed in Muslim-majority countries for homosexual behavior – such as a recent case in Iran that attracted substantial international outrage over the hanging of two young men. Indeed, political conservatives in the West are, surprisingly, invoking human rights abuses against non-heterosexuals in their criticisms of Islam…’[1] Kelly (2010) continues, ‘In Islamic theology and legal thought the prohibition is on same-sex sexual acts – especially anal sex between two men. This position is derived from the Quranic story of Lut and several reported sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, which serve as the basis for broader theological and juridicial speculations and conclusions.’ [2] In the Oxford Dictionary of Islam, Esposito, in his usual apologetic tone, gently reminds readers that homosexuality is unlawful and an abomination in Islam, writing: ‘Islamic law recognizes the sexual nature of believers, noting that sexuality provides a balance to the spiritual, material, and intellectual spheres of life. Sexual fulfillment is to be found within marriage for both partners in the ideal state of affairs. Because homosexual activity occurs outside of marriage and between members of the same sex, it cannot occur in a legal manner. Homosexuality exists in practice in the Muslim world but is considered unlawful, abnormal, and even punishable under Islamic law.'[3]

Reason 2: Islam is Misogynistic

The Oxford Dictionary defines misogyny as:

‘Dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against women.’[4]

The Medieval Period might best be dubbed the Golden Age of Misogyny, and it was during this period in Arabia that Islam was first created by men who were prisoners and perpetrators of this particular strain of mental illness. One need only point to a single verse in the Qur’an to highlight the inherent misogyny within Islam, Surah 4:34, which reads:

‘Men are in charge of women by [right of] what Allah has given one over the other and what they spend [for maintenance] from their wealth. So righteous women are devoutly obedient, guarding in [the husband’s] absence what Allah would have them guard. But those [wives] from whom you fear arrogance – [first] advise them; [then if they persist], forsake them in bed; and [finally], strike them. But if they obey you [once more], seek no means against them. Indeed, Allah is ever Exalted and Grand.’[5]

Misogyny doesn’t get much more pronounced than “divine” exhortations concerning the superiority of men and the subjugation of women, and subsequent recommendations to beat disobedient women. But Quranic misogyny doesn’t end there. It also incites men to rape female slaves and treat their wives as fields to be “ploughed” how and when men choose. Such misogyny is also found within the Sunnah and hadith, in which Muhammad accuses women of being the majority inhabitants of hell.[6] In another authoritative hadith, Muhammad is recorded as testifying to the inherent deficiency of a woman’s mind. These two pronouncements of the Prophet come together in the first volume of one of the most authoritative collections of hadith, Sahih al-Bukhari, in which Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri narrates: ‘Once Allah’s Apostle went out to the Musalla (to offer the prayer)…Then he passed by the women and said, “O women! Give alms, as I have seen that the majority of the dwellers of Hell−fire were you (women).” They asked, “Why is it so, O Allah’s Apostle?” He replied, “You curse frequently and are ungrateful to your husbands. I have not seen anyone more deficient in intelligence and religion than you. A cautious sensible man could be led astray by some of you.” The women asked, “O Allah’s Apostle! What is deficient in our intelligence and religion?” He said, “Is not the evidence of two women equal to the witness of one man?” They replied in the affirmative. He said, “This is the deficiency in her intelligence. Isn’t it true that a woman can neither pray nor fast during her menses?” The women replied in the affirmative. He said, “This is the deficiency in her religion.”’[7] Further, on one occasion Muhammad is recorded in the Sahih Muslim as having beat his child-bride Aishah, which “caused [her] great pain”.[8] Given the prevalence of concentrated misogyny in both the core and peripheral texts of Islam, it is little wonder why gender inequality is far more pronounced in Muslim-majority countries than in secular countries,[9] which have long since thrown off the shackles of patriarchal religious government.

If you self-identify as a progressive with left-wing values, then you cannot in good conscience defend a highly regressive and conservative religion that stands firmly and unapologetically against equal rights for same-sex couples and women. It’s one thing to justifiably defend Muslims when they are poorly treated in the West, but to take those good intentions a step further and defend the Islamic ideology, when that ideology is antithetical to the principles of social justice, equality and human rights, the very principles that have caused you to jump to the defence of poorly-treated minorities, now that takes a level of intellectual confusion and moral hypocrisy that betokens a badly broken mind. Let me put this as simply as possible. To defend a Muslim’s right to believe whatever they want and practice their religion in so far as that practice does not infringe upon the human rights of others, is a noble quality of secularism – but to defend a religious ideology that firmly stands in opposition to the very principles protecting it in secular countries – to give it special legal privileges and to elevate its social status to a degree that makes it beyond criticism – is to defend a homophobic and misogynistic ideology that hates same-sex couples and is deeply and superstitiously cynical of women. So if you defend this religion, you are defending homophobia and misogyny, and if you defend homophobia and misogyny, you are regressive, not progressive.

Sources

Christopher Grant Kelly, Is There a “Gay-Friendly” Islam? Synthesizing Tradition and Modernity in the Question of Homosexuality and Islam, cited in: Samar Habib, Islam and Homosexuality, Vol. 2, Santa Barbara, California, Greenwood Publishing, 2010, pp. 248-249. Ibid. John L. Esposito, ‘Homosexuality’, Islamic Studies Online, cited at: http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e874, accessed on 01 April, 2018. Oxford Dictionary, ‘misogyny’, cited at: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/misogyny, accessed on 01 April, 2018. The Qur’an, Surah 4:34, Sahih International Version. Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 1, Bk. 1, 28 (This saying of the Prophet concerning the percentage of women in hell is repeated numerous times throughout the corpus of the Islamic hadith). Ibid, 1, Bk. 1, 301. Sahih al-Muslim, Bk. 4, 2127. Moamen Gouda, Niklas Potrafke, ‘Gender Equality in Muslim-Majority Countries’, cited in; Economic Systems, Vol. 40, 4, December 2016, cited at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0939362516300796, accessed on 01 April, 2018; Gender Gap Report 2014, cited at: http://reports.weforum.org/global-gender-gap-report-2014/rankings/, accessed on 30 March, 2018; Gender Gap Report 2016, cited at: http://reports.weforum.org/global-gender-gap-report-2016/rankings/, accessed on 30 March, 2018.