What does the Koran say about sexuality?

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The Imaan Conference

This conference was a very good, as it shed some light on a lot issues and misconceptions about the Muslim religion.

The first part of the conference dealt with religion and sexuality. What is the view on Sexuality and how does Islam affect Trans and LGB issues.

There is a view put across that Islam is against LBGT people, but this view is based on one interpretation of the Koran.

In order to understand the religion we need to look at make up of the religion and it's views.

The religion is based upon a collection of things:

First, the religion is based upon the Koran. The Koran is the teachings of the prophet Mohammed. So what does the Koran say about LGBT people? Well, it does not say anything directly about it, but there are parts of the Koran that could be understood to support anti gay messages, but most of these beliefs come from reading between lines and into what has been written.

At the conference, we looked certain passages that pertain to sexuality that could be seen as Anti-gay or pro-gay. The interpretation of the Koran by clerics say can be so dangerous. They are in a position of power and influence. What they say does have an effect on the different Islamic communities. They can influence law in some countries and the opinions of people.

Second, there are the Hadith reports. The Hadith reports are records written by people who have claimed to hear the Prophet Mohammed speak on different issues. These reports are collected and a group of clerics decided what reports they believe to be true and which ones are false. Many of the books were rejected by a group of religious leaders, who decided that these books were too controversial as they did not support the church and their views.

Thirdly, there is the life of the prophet. This is often used to come up interpretation of the Koran, in the same way the example of life of Jesus is used to understand how Christians should live their lives.

Fourthly, there is the belief that the Qu'ran is infallible and have bestowed upon the Ulama (a group of religious teachers and learned ones) within the Umma (Muslim Community) the same status. They are the pervasive authority in matters of moral matters and religious questions.

There are 3 groups of Islamic religious denominations, each of which has significant theological and legal differences from each other. The major branches are Sunni and Shi'a, with Sufism often considered as an extension of either Sunni or Shi'a thought.

Sufism is an expression of God that is spiritual and celebrated through the arts, music, dance, poetry and many other ways. They tend to be far more liberal minded and you will find many different kinds of famous Sufi's. There is a famous woman who did not marry all her life, a man who wore woman's clothes all his life and famous Sufi's who lived with their same sex partner all their lives. This is very similar to Protestants, Catholics and Presbyterian. They are 3 groups of people who have different interpretations of the Koran.

We have heard and seen much fighting and killing between Sunni and Shi'a Muslims in Iraq, but in other countries they get along with each other. The fighting has a history in Iraq and other countries like the war and tension between Catholics and Protestants in Ireland. It is very much linked with power and control.

In many Muslim countries they have religious courts that pass death sentences and many other judgements on people. It is important to remember that over 600 years ago both Europe and UK has religious courts that decided the fate of people and passed sentences. While our religious courts have gone, in a lot of Muslim countries they remain and are at the root course of many denials of human rights and crimes against humanity.

There are some wonderful passages in the Koran but also passages that seem support war against those who are not Muslims and a lot of discrimination too against minority groups. The problem is the context is which the words are said. Just like the bible, you have to remember the time it was written, what the understanding and the culture was at that time and what was happening at the time the words were written. This means in lots of circumstances the passages have little bearing to today and the koran is a record of what was happening that time. The Koran talks about slaves being raped and treated badly and that it was ok to treat them any way you liked. This would not seem very spiritual, but this is what was happening in many countries at that time. It does not mean it is right to believe that today or behave in that way.

It is important to remember that the prophet was not accepted straight away and he had to face much persecution and days when he was treated like an outcast. This could explain some of his speeches on war, it was about protection and standing against his enemies at the time. This does not mean that they are his enemies today. These passages today are used to justify war and persecution.

The next part of the conference was a talk from parents of Muslim children who are gay and how they dealt with it. The main message from these parents is that like many other parents, they have had to face their own personal battles in order to accept their child's sexuality. They also have to face how they must address or deal with the extended family on this matter and how to face the community. There is an expectation that children get married, have children etc and there is much peer pressure from family and the community over this. It felt like this community faces extra pressures due to culture and traditions in coming to terms with their children's sexuality. It was clear from questions asked that there was a high percentage of people there are the conference looking for answers to how to get their parents to accept them.

I feel that there were not enough people from other Unions or other parts of the LGBT community and I feel Imaan need to address this. There were many times in the conference that people were quoting the Qua'an and using language or phrases that were peculiar to their traditions, culture and religion. This meant that much was said which non muslims did not understand. I made these comments to them as a way to improve their conference. I met some great people and learnt a lot.