Gay Muslims - Background

Background

Islam, as one of the Abrahamic religions, along with Judaism and Christianity, has sometimes been perceived to reject homosexuality. According to mainstream Islamic beliefs, God sent the prophet Lot to the people of Sodom to preach against their wicked practices and urge them to worship God. Among these practices (as mentioned in the Quran) engaged in by the people of Sodom were sexual acts performed out in the open. Hence, the word sodomite. The exact meaning of this passage has been taken as reference to varying activities. The Quran (Surah Al-'Ankabut> Verse 29) recounts what was preached to the Sodomites. "Do ye indeed approach men, and cut off the highway? And practise wickedness (even) in your councils?" and the Quran also states "If two among you (men) commit it (fornication) punish them both.If they repent and mend their ways leave them both".(4:16)

Diverse perspectives on homosexuality exist amongst new liberated Muslims, ranging from condemnation through to the Muslim Canadian Congress's welcome for legislation redefining marriage to include same-sex partners. In the documentary, a number of Islamic scholars assert that the Qur'anic verse, "we created you as partners", need not be limited to male-female couples. The documentary shows Muslim gay marriages (nikah) in the United States, Canada and India. It states that this diversity may lie at the heart of traditional Islamic practice. In the formation of the different Islamic schools of thought, which have now become different denominations, such as Maliki and Shafi, scholars accepted there could be different interpretations of Qur'anic Arabic and people could align themselves to whichever they felt represented them most. The documentary asserts that the modern-day call of the politico-religious right for a homogeneous Islam is a new invention, and not at all fundamental.