Re: Can there be same-sex union in Islam?
"inas younis" <[email protected]> Wed, 03 Mar 2004 18:39:54 -0600
| Newsgroups | gmane.culture.religion.muslim.progressive |
|---|---|
| Message-ID | <[email protected]> |
Salams to all, Although, there is no official authority in Islam, or at least not any that most westernized muslims subscribe to. I think that reconcilation of this issue will have to take place on personal and not official level. I am not talking about the issue of "marriage", but rather homosexuality in general. Before we can even entertain the sanctification of same sex union we have to evolve a healthy understanding and acceptance of homosexuality as a BIOLOGICAL reality. You will not find one conventionally minded religous authority to even endorse such a dialogue, mainly because as of this moment, there is no religious interpretaion whatsoever that even acknowledges homosexuality as anything less then an abomination and sin. There is in fact a quranic precedence for that. I do not personally endorse this point of view. But as I said, for now it will have to become reconciled at individual level first. It would be unfair and unwise to force a public declaratory positon on the matter. If this issue is forced prematurely, the large majority of muslims will stand firmly with the postitoni -- that homosexuality is a CHOICE. Evidence to the contrary has not even had a proper representational voice. Furthermore, I think a distinction has to be made between the inclincation and the act. People are biologically inclined to engage in all kinds of socially unacceptable behaivor ( promiscuity, violence, shyness) , does the inclination justify the act. Is the act divorced from the feeling.. IN other words, while feelings and inclincations are NOT A SIN, are actions which refelect those biological inclination, then by default , also not a sin. I DONT KNOW?? These, more grappling questions, need to precede any public conversations, at least in the muslim communtiy about same sex marriage. As an american citiczen though, and on a more clinical note, I think that couples, same sex or otherwise, should have the same legal rights as married couples, provided that they meet certain criterion. But my big question is why are advocated of same sex unions so hung up on the word MARRIAGE.. A word which is laden with religious connotations. How about using our creative energies to come up with a term that would be less threatening. It is not fair to ask religiously minded people of any religious persuasion to broaden the definition of something they hold sacred and who rely on clearly defined and confined meanings of marriage as a union of male/female relationships. Let them have the perk that comes with concrete definition and boundries that the word marriage affords them. Lets not get hung up on semantics. The point of organized religion afterall, is for it to be organized. Organized requires a strict allegiance to the inflexibility of certain terms. Like the word God, Allah, You would not want someone to advocate the broadening of that term to include spiritually minded people or animals or objects. We need to maintiain the clarity of meainging in our language. some flexibility is okay as it pertains to words like FREEDOM FIGHTER. But words that encroach upon peoples religious identity should be preserved to ensure that where everything else becomes more and more relative, OUR LANGUAGE DOES NOT. Language is the vehicle for human communication and its what seperates us from the common animal. The integrity of language should be religiously preserved. >From: "Kate Ahmad" >Reply-To: [email protected] >To: [email protected] >Subject: Re: [Progressivemuslimsnetwork] Can there be same-sex union in Islam? >Date: Thu, 04 Mar 2004 09:25:21 +1100 > >Asalaamu alaikum, >While you are right that 'progressive islam' is not a recipe for >approving forbidden acts; there is some recent argument that >homosexuality may not be condemned in itself within the Quran. If >homosexuality is not haraam, then perhaps it is better for those who >practice it to be married, than to not be able to be recognised as a >monogamous partnership. >That said though, I do not feel qualified to speak further on the >issue - it is very difficult; and I have not studied it enough. >It may or may not be haraam, but I believe it is definitely open to >interpretation and discussion. >Wa'salaam >aisha > > >>From: Mohammad Islam >>Reply-To: [email protected] >>To: "Feisal Abdul Rahman" >> >>Subject: Re: [Progressivemuslimsnetwork] Can there be same-sex >>union in Islam? >>Date: Wed, 3 Mar 2004 08:42:55 -0500 >> >>Asslam-o-Alikoom: >> >>Progressive Islam is not a recipe for approving forbidden acts >>where Allah and His Prophet (peace be upon him) have left no >>room for further interpretation. Indeed, therere many areas in >>Islam, which have been interpreted in the light of current >>events; however, same sex marriage is not the one. >> >>Allah knows it all. >> >> >> >> >> >>---- On Wed, 03 Mar 2004, Feisal Abdul Rahman >>([email protected]) wrote: >> >> > >> > Assalamu'alaikum to everyone, >> > >> > With all the heated debate in the US and elsewhere regarding >>same-sex marriage, I'm curious to find >> > out from members of this list as to whether there is, or if >>there can be, any room for sanctification >> > of same-sex unions in (progressive) Islam, similar to that of >>the Protestant Church in the >> > Netherlands or of Reform/Reconstructionist Judaism. 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