This week GSN reported the Metropolitan Police were investigating a ‘Muslim Patrol’ in London that has been harassing men for looking ‘gay’.

This investigation was prompted by a video posted on You Tube on the weekend (19 to 20 January), which showed a group calling an unknown male a ‘bloody fag’. The video is prefaced by a logo saying ‘Islam will take over the world.’

When asked why they were harassing him, the group is seen to state ‘Cause you’re walking through a Muslim area dressed like a fag! You need to get out of here!’

It seems a small group of males in the London borough of Tower Hamlets is involved. They have been targeting women too. In response the Metropolitan Police have increased their presence in the area and arrested five people.

The Muslim community have also been quick to condemn the actions of this rouge group and the East London Mosque said the men’s behavior was ‘utterly unacceptable and clearly designed to stoke tensions and sow discord.’

They added: ‘The actions of this tiny minority have no place in our faith or in our streets.’

And they pledged they would ‘monitor the situation closely’ and that Imams will be speaking out against such actions.

Last Friday (18 January), Sheikh Shams Ad Duha gave a sermon as an Islamic response to the so-called ‘Muslim’ vigilantism

It was pointed out that non-Muslims are not subject to Sharia and that the perpetrators were misrepresenting Islam.

The original footage quickly came under attack, both from far right commentators and moderate Muslims who wanted to distance themselves from the young men’s extreme views.

In another You tube video Ibrahim Mogra from the Muslim Council of Britain, also says there is no place for this kind of behavior in Britain, or in Islam.

Within the laws of Sharia and Islam there is a very important thing to remember and is binding by my faith, for me as a Muslim. That is that laws of Islam are only for Muslims and that these laws are applied to Muslims and Muslims only.

As Sharia law does not apply to non-Muslims, no Muslim can enforce such laws onto others of another faith and tell them how to behave or conduct themselves. This unfortunately is something a minority of young Muslims seem to forget or not comprehend, or simply have not been taught by their Imams.

Sharia also forbids Muslims from taking the law into our own hands, even in an Islamic country. Therefore the actions of these individuals would be unacceptable even in a Muslim country.

What the Muslim youth must be reminded by the Imams is that we are all members of one nation, a multicultural, multi-faith country. In Britain the laws of the land prohibit discrimination, hatred and intolerance. Those are the laws we all must obey.

As GSN reported, I recently argued for Channel 4 that religion should have no part in civil law.

It is appalling that some Muslims think that such behavior is acceptable and exists and is done in the name of my religion – a religion of peace and tolerance.

There are only five references in the Koran which have been cited as referring to gay and lesbian behavior. They deal with ‘effeminate men’ and ‘masculine women’.

The two main references to homosexual behavior are:

‘We also sent Lut: He said to his people: “Do ye commit lewdness such as no people in creation (ever) committed before you? For ye practice your lusts on men in preference to women: ye are indeed a people transgressing beyond bounds.”’ Koran 7:80-81

‘What! Of all creatures do ye come unto the males, and leave the wives your Lord created for you? Nay, but ye are forward folk.’ Koran 26:165

These references relate to gay sexual activities. Lesbian practices are not mentioned in the Quran at all, unlike in the Hadith which are collections of sayings attributed to Muhammad.

Many Hadiths (ahadith) discuss liwat (sexual intercourse between males). And the most common examples are: ‘When a man mounts another man, the throne of God shakes.’ And: ‘Kill the one that is doing it and also kill the one that it is being done to’ (in reference to the active and passive partners in gay male sexual intercourse).

There is at least one mention of lesbian behavior mentioned in the Hadith: ‘Sihaq (lesbian sexual activity) of women is zina (illegitimate sexual intercourse) among them.’

What needs to be noted is that traditionalist orthodox Muslims generally claim that the Hadith literature contains the authentic sayings of Muhammad. People like me and many liberal Muslims doubt their authenticity.

And, as I have pointed out many times, during the times of the first Caliphs, Muslims did not know what to do with individuals guilty of ‘liwat / lutiyya’. No sahabi (companion) of Muhammad could quote a saying or decision of Muhammad relating to this question.

Islam is a personal religion between me and my Allah. It is a set of guidelines open to interpretation and I personally believe homosexuality is not haram (forbidden). Allah, who created all mankind, would not create a group that was condemned from birth, for he is not that cruel.

This is something some Muslims seem to forget. Have religious fanatics got so obsessed with homosexuality that they have forgotten the true meaning of our religion?

Our religion is about peace and love, it is their duty not to persecute, not to judge, have they lost the plot along the way? That is the question that needs to be asked.

I do not believe being homosexual is sinful, because Islam is an interpretation of what we as Muslims need to make of our lives.

Those who condemn my sexuality should know better for Allah is the only one that can pass judgment – not Imams and Mullahs . And especially not the common man on the street, as Sharia law forbids it.

In Islam, being gay is not a sin.

Anyone with information relevant to the investigation in east London is asked to contact police at [email protected] for the attention of DI Cliff Jones, DS Chris Bagshaw, DC Stacey Yarker or to report it to police via 101 or Crime stoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.