Islam and Homosexuality by Parelli 2016 05 06 PDF

Islam and Homosexuality:
How Islamic Modernists are working for Reform within Islam

a paper by
Rev. Stephen Parelli
----------------------------------------------
In partial fulfillment for the requirements of the course
HCH676G
Theological Issues in the History of Christian-Muslim Relations
(via Distance Education)
The Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia
Spring Semester 2016
The Rev. Dr. David D. Grafton, Professor
-------------------------------
May 6, 2016
Table of Contents
Why should we be prudish? – al’ Scott Siraj al-Haqq Kugle

Dedication
Introduction
Muslim Outcasts and the Tent of Islam

Gay Muslims in America. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2015 worldwide anti-gay, Shari’a incidences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
The highway that connects gay Muslims with gay Muslims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
What Price for Religious Freedom under Islamic Rule?

Pakistan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Malaysia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Lebanon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Islamic Law, Homosexuality and the need to Reform Attitudes

Expressed concern over Shari’a. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Reform through theological accommodations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Homosexuality in the Lives of Medieval Muslims

Homophobic Christian Spain in 693. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
A “gay-friendly” Islamic invasion of Spain in 711. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Homoerotic poetry and prose in Medieval Arabic world, especially in Spain. . . . . . . . . 10
A Significant Corollary Between Paul and Hrosvitha

in their Reference to Same-sex Sex
Hrosvitha’s narrative poem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
It’s not about sex: How Paul and Hrosvitha are saying the same thing. . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Moral Superiority and Homosexuality: Jews over Gentiles, Christians over

Muslims
Muslim interest in homoeroticism, indicative of their inferiority. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Jewish superiority over Gentles, like medieval Christians to Muslims. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
How Paul baits and hooks his Jewish reader in Romans 1 and 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
The Islamic Version of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”

Arabic men and gay sex: Without fear and restraint. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Everyone does it in Iran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Customary not to talk about other people, to care for yourself. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Islam and Homosexuality by Rev . Stephen Parelli, May 2016 page 1

Normative standards, public consent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Scott Siraj al-Haqq Kugle:

A Modernist Approach to Homosexuality in Islam
Overview and Why sex is so important and How we got here. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Sexuality and erotic life among Muslims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Diversity and sexuality in the Qur’an. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Homosexuality that is not in the Qur’an . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Interpreting the Qur’an depends on the experience of the interpreter. . . . . . . . . . 17
Two reading strategies: semantic and thematic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Jurists, sexual acts, and Lut’s people. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
The Prophet Muhammed and homosexuality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Clarifying the question of sexual ethics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
The advent of modernity: An ethical challenge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Semerdjian on Homosexuality in the Qur’an, Hadith and

two Legal Schools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Qur’an: Caution against the practice of homosexuality, not prohibition. . . . . . . . . 19
Hadith: First century “Victorian” Islamic scholars and the Prophet’s sayings. . . . . 19
Islamic Law: The Hanafi jurists and the Malik school of thought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
The Inner Circle: Meeting Gay Muslims’ Need for

a Theological Perspective
Most gay Muslims are seeking theological answers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Helping gay Muslims understand the Islamic texts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
A theology for non-heterosexual sexual intimacy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Mohamed Talbi on Homosexuality

A prohibition of homosexuality is not mentioned in the Quran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
I’m a Quranic Muslim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
No Sex Ethic in the Sacred Text – Just a Love Ethic

Walter Wink. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Qur’an 4:3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Appendices
I Table: Sharia and Homosexuality in the Muslim World (2012) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
II Transcript: Tunisian Scholar Mohamed Talbi: The Quran Does Not Prohibit
Alcohol, Prostitution, or Homosexuality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
III Table: Arabic Terms Directly, or Indirectly, Associated with . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Homosexuality in Juridical Discourse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
IV East Africa Coast and Close Ties to Arabia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Bibliography

Scholars in the contemporary period have not lived up to
the standards and frankness of pre-modern Islamic
scholars, and much work has yet to be done on the
question of sexuality in Islamic scripture, law, and
society. Many scholars and Islamic leaders in the present
shy away from honest discussions of sex and sexuality,
with all its promise and problems. Muslims in pre-modern
times certainly were not shy about discussing matters of
sex, so why should we be prudish?
Scott Siraj al-Haqq Kugle
Sexuality, Diversity, and Ethics in the
Agenda of Progressive Muslims

Dedication
To
Amar
My son-in-law
who is Egyptian and Muslim
who said it was my daughter (1981-2016) who first opened his eyes
to the truth
and
To
Jim
A gay Christian and world traveler
who is a lover of
Muslims and Arabs
everywhere

INTRODUCTION
Historical Context1
North America and Europeans have entered the post-modern era, while the Islamic world is still
adjusting to modernity. In the 19th century, with foundational changes occurring in the social,
ecumenical and philosophical spheres of society because of industrialization, mobilization and
urbanization, Europeans and North Americans moved from the medieval era into the modern period.
Belief in the scientific method displaced belief in God. Secularism became the new religion.
During colonialization, modernist imperialists brought industrial development and urbanization to

countries they occupied to export, to the motherland, resources harvested, leaving the overall
population without an entrance into, though exposed to, modernity. When independence came to
these countries during the 20th century, leaders had to determine how their county would enter into
modernity. “This dilemma continues to impact the non-Western world and particularly the Islamic
world.”
Muslims responded, generally, in four ways: The Secularist embraces modernity in its entirety; the
Modernist, through reforms, seeks a state that is both modern and Islamic; the Traditionalist (Sunni and
Shi’ite) rejects the secular state and seeks a life modeled after the Qur’an, Hadith and the Shari’a.
Revivalists (or Fundamentalists) seek to reform all of Islam into an Islamic fundamentalist state.
The Islamic authors presented in this paper, would, presumably all be Modernists.
Potential Christian Counterparts and My Christian Theological Perspective
In my paper, in the footnotes, I introduce two Queer Theologians with whom I am sympathetic (Bob
Goss and Dale Martin), and who, like their Muslim counterparts, have scholarly addressed their sacred
texts on this topic. In addition, contributors to The Queer Bible Commentary (2006) are, indeed,
counterparts to pro-LGBT Islam. I give some space to discuss Romans 1 and 2 in context with some
aspects of the history of Islamic Spain.
Ministry Context
I work as the Executive Director of Other Sheep (www.othersheepexecsite.com), an ecumenical inter-

faith Christian organization that works worldwide for the full inclusion of LGBT people of faith within
their respective faith traditions. Other Sheep is a networking ministry “ . . . connecting people with
people and people with resources . . . ” Since 2005, I have travelled in over 30 countries representing,
and working, the ministry of Other Sheep. Hence, my scope of ministry in the words of John Wesley:
the world is my parish. My focus is, along with the Muslims presented in this paper, reform.
1
Donald L. Berry, Pictures of Islam: A Student’s Guide to Islam. (Macon, Georgia: Mercer University Press, 2007),
99-113.

Words such as Shari’a and Hadith, as they appear in this paper, are written in the various forms (sharia, Shari’a,
shari’a, Hadith, hadith, hadith) in which the author, being cited, wrote them.
Muslim Outcasts and the Tent of Islam
Gay American Muslims

“With heartbreaking desire,” countless LGBT Muslims in the United States2 “long to find a way back
home, ‘to the tent of Islam.’” But ostracized still, they find themselves indefinitely victimized by
“stigma, discrimination, self-hate and disassociation from familial, cultural and religious institutions.”3
LGBT-inclusive Muslim spaces simply do not exist in the ‘Mainstream’ Islamic world.4
Some 2015 Worldwide Anti-Gay Muslim Incidences

In October 2015, in the semi-autonomous Aceh province of northwest Indonesia, on the tip of the
Sumatra Island, “a pair of young women . . . hugging in public” were arrested by Islamic law (Sharia)
police.5
According to the recent January, 2016, year-end Human Rights Watch News report for 2015, new Sharia
laws enacted in the sovereign state of Brunei, situated on the north coast of the island of Borneo in
Southeast Asia,6 “call for public lashing, imprisonment and even the death penalty for same-sex
2
Of the “number of immigrants living in the United States . . . 27 percent are Muslim and 19 percent are Christian.”
Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, From Times Square to Timbuktu: The Post-Christian West Meets the Non-Western
Church (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2013), 82. According to Prothero, “. . . there
are likely more Muslims than Episcopalians in the United States . . . “ Muslims are part of what he describes as “ . .
. the vitality of non-Christian religions in the United States . . . ,“ and along with Mormons and two other world
religions, Muslims “have . . . claimed to understand Christianity better than the nation’s cultural and religious
insiders.” Stephen Prothero, American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon (New York: Farrar,
Straus and Giroux, 2003), 6, 301.
3
An example of disassociation (based on reasons from religion, specifically Islam) at the level of the United
Nations: Ali Abdussaiam Treki (1937-2015) of Libya, President of the United Nations General Assembly from
September 2009 to September 2010, in response to a question asked him at the outset of his UN presidential term
concerning “the UN resolution which calls for the universal decriminalization of homosexuality,” said: “As a
Muslim, I am not in favor of it . . . at all. I think it’s not really acceptable by our religion, our tradition. [Some think]
it is a kind of democracy . . . I think it is not.” See Other Sheep. “Other Sheep eNews 2009 09 26 Progressive
Muslims on Homosexuality.” Accessed May 3, 2016.
http://othersheep.org/Other_Sheep_eNews_2009_09_26_Progressive_Muslims_on_Homosexuality.doc
4
Urooj Arshad, “LGBT Muslims Seeking Inclusion,” The Alwaleed Islamic Studies Program at Harvard University,
Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, accessed April 20, 2016.
http://www.ispu.org/pdfs/ISPU_Harvard_SubReport_LGBTMuslimsSeekInclusion_web_bw.pdf
5
“Indonesia: Flurry of Anti-Gay Statements by Officials.” Human Rights Watch News. Last modified February 11,
2016. Accessed April 22, 2016. https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/02/11/indonesia-flurry-anti-gay-statements-
officials.
6 st
In Asia, in the first decade of the new millennium - the 21 century, the Christian community grew at a faster rate
than the Muslim community. The Christian’s growth rate was 2.4, and the Muslims’ was 1.7. The Muslim
community numbers 1 billion people in Asia, and the Christian numbers 350 million people. It is estimated that by
the year 2025, the Christian community in Asia will grow to 450 million. See Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, From
Times Square to Timbuktu: The Post-Christian West Meets the Non-Western Church (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm.
B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2013), 9.

conduct.”7 In the same year-end report, in 2015, Egypt was cited for “imprison[ing] gay men and
transgender women on ‘debauchery’ charges;” Morocco “routinely imprisoned men accused of
homosexuality;” and “a Malaysian federal court reversed a ruling that had found unconstitutional a
Sharia (Islamic law) provision that forbids ‘a male person posing as a woman.’”8
In the 12 northern Muslim states of Nigeria, where Sharia law is in force, “homosexual acts are
punishable by imprisonment, caning, or death by stoning.” In Nigeria, in 2015, no executions were
reported by pro-LGBT activists.
The highway that connects gay Muslims with gay Muslims

The Internet, according to Semerdjian (“Islam,” 2007)9 has become a highway for “vibrant discussions,”
between Muslims, on homosexuality. Semerdjian sites three websites: Al-Fatiha, Queer Jihad, and
Mohja Kaft’s Sex in the Umma. The first, now defunct according to Muslim activist Urooj Arshad,10 had a
membership of almost 4,5000 Internet users at the time of Semerdjian’s article. The second is “more of
a forum for discussion for gay men of all faiths.”11 The third is “an invigorating Web site that posts
creative pieces written by Muslim Americans discussing sexuality, veiling, and homosexuality in Islam.”12
What Price for Religious Freedom under Islamic Rule?
In Islam-dominated societies where Shari’a is in effect, religious freedom for the “protected people”
comes at the expense of being fully incorporated into society.13
7
In a BBC news item dated April 2014, the Sultan of Brunei, in announcing the new “tough Islamic penal code,”
said: "Today... I place my faith in and am grateful to Allah the almighty to announce that tomorrow, Thursday 1
May 2014, will see the enforcement of Sharia law phase one, to be followed by the other phases," AFP news
agency quoted him as saying. The penal code will be introduced over three years, with offences in the first phase
covered by fines and prison sentences, the Brunei Times reported. Amputations come under the second phase,
and stoning, for crimes including adultery and homosexual acts, under the third phase.”
8
“Equality to brutality: global trends in LGBT rights,” Human Rights Watch News, last modified January 7, 2016,
accessed April 22, 2016, https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/01/07/equality-brutality-global-trends-lgbt-rights.
9
Elysi Semerdjian, “Islam,” in Homosexuality and Religion: An Encyclopedia, edited by Jeffrey S. Siker (Westport,
Connecticut: Greenwood Press), PDF accessed April 21, 2016, http://islamicblessings.com/upload/Homosexuality-
and-Religion-an-org.pdf, 130 (PDF 143).
10
“LGBT Muslims under the umbrella of organizations including Al-Fatiha (now defunct) organized conferences and
retreats that brought together LGBT Muslims to discuss issues facing our community including (re)integrating Islam
within our lives . . .” Urooj Arshad, “LGBT Muslims Seeking Inclusion,” The Alwaleed Islamic Studies Program at
Harvard University, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, accessed April 20, 2016.
11
http://www.well.com/user/queerjhd/
12
http://mohjakahf.weebly.com/ is the closest I could come to finding the site “Mohja Kaft’s Sex in the Umma.” I
don’t know if the link I’ve given here is related to the site cited above, but it sure is a dandy! and very much related
to the topic at hand.
13
I’m not sure how this statement – “at the expense of full incorporation into society” – plays out in Ghana where
according to the president of the Council of Independent Churches of Ghana, Apostle S.T. Doku, Muslims and
Christians in Ghana live peacefully and harmoniously together. See Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, From Times
Square to Timbuktu: The Post-Christian West Meets the Non-Western Church (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B.
Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2013), 157. Mark Noll, Professor of History at Notre Dame, notes that “some of the
bitterest civil conflicts of the past decades” in Africa have taken place, geographically, “in the top third of the

Pakistan
In International Religious Freedom Advocacy: A Guide to Organizations, Law and NGOs published in
2009, the authors highlight Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province (NWFP) as “a study in contradiction”
where, on the one hand, “religious tolerance” under “Islamic rule” characterized the region so that
“Christian minorities were protected, new churches built and interfaith dialogues hosted.” But on the
other hand, religious minorities suffered a “more subtle discrimination in the form of economic and
educational disempowerment.”14
Malaysia
Zainah Anwar15 is the executive director of Sisters in Islam. She lives in Malaysia and supports the need
for reform. She says, “in a country where Islam is used as a source of law and public policy, religious
authority can no longer claim monopoly over the interpretation and meaning of Islam.” In other words,
“the concept of public morality” and “moral policing” is “extremely difficult to define within Malaysia’s
multiethnic, multireligious, pluralistic, and democratic society.”16
Lebanon
In Lebanon, Helmick17 observes that Christians “were free to maintain their religious faith but were
expected to leave all responsibility for the public affairs of society to Muslims.” He reasons that “the
way the root traditions of Islam validate the legitimacy of the religious faith of the other Peoples of the
Book . . . […] . . . [is] constricted by the relatively primitive political technology of that early time [i.e., 7th
century Arabia, inception of Islam].”18
continent,” and have occurred “where the growing forces of Christianity and Islam meet.” He apparently gives
some measure of weight, for the cause of the “strife,” to the fact that it is a “destabilized people” who welcome
Christianity and Islam. See Noll, Mark A. The New Shape of World Christianity: Now American Experience Reflects
Global Faith. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2009.
14
H. Knox Thames, Chris Seiple and Amy Rowe, International Religious Freedom Advocacy: A Guide to
Organizations, Law and NGOs (Waco, Texas: Baylor University Press, 2009), 148.
15
Richard G Kraince, “Reforming Islamic Education in Malaysia: Doctrine or Dialogue,” in Making Modern Muslims:
The Politics of Islamic Education in Southeast Asia, ed. by Robert W. Hefner (United States: University of Hawai’i
Press, 2009), 133-134.
16
Cochrane, concerning himself with the issue of religion and the making of “a healthy and strong civil society,”
postulates that “particular religious communities may well damage” the health of a society by exercising “exclusive
control over particular norms” or “through . . . denial of other norms.” Open-ended communications foil under
such conditions. See James R. Cochrane, “Instruments of Inhibitors of Civil Society? The Role of Christians in the
Formation of Public Policy.” In Religions, Conflict, and Democracy in Modern Africa: The Role of Civil Society in
Political Engagement, edited by Samuel K. Elolia (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2012), 242, 245.
17
S. J. Helmick, “Does Religion Fuel or Heal in Conflicts?” in Forgiveness and Reconciliation: Religion, Public Policy,
and Conflict Transformation, edited by Raymond G. Helmick and Rodney L. Petersen (Radnor, Pennsylvania:
Templeton Foundation Press, 2001), 95.
18
Unlike Western Christendom, Islam “had no equivalent” of the royal element (regnum) and the priestly element
(sacerdotium) in society, which was “so crucial in the history of Western Christendom.” Instead, Muslims, under
the Prophet Muhammad, “became at once a political and a religious community, with the Prophet as head of
state.” See Bernard Lewis, The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror (London: Phoenix, 2004. London:
Phoenix, 2004), 5.

Islamic Law,19 Homosexuality and the need to Reform Attitudes
Expressed concern over Shari’a

In modern times, Shari’a has been more fully applied “in a number of countries (e.g., Libya, Pakistan,
Sudan, and northern Nigeria20), most dramatically and successfully in the Islamic Republic of Iran
(1979).” In view of this, both Muslims and non-Muslims have expressed real concern: “[U]less
drastically reinterpreted, Islamic law will adversely affect the rights of such classes as women,
homosexuals21 and other Muslim minorities,22 and non-Muslims23.” Liberal Muslims have made efforts
“to reform Islamic law” in these areas of concern. However, to date their efforts have “failed to gain
popular support.”24
Reform through theological accommodations

Jim Wafer, borrowing his ideas from Khalid Duran, a Muslim scholar who “address[es] homosexuality as
19
Javaid Rehman and Eleni Polymenopoulou, in their article on Sharia law and homosexuality in the Fordham
International Law Journal (Vol 1, 2013), “examine the legitimacy and validity of the claims for criminalization of
homosexuality” in the Qur’an briefly, and primarily, in the Sharia. The Qur’an, it concludes, acknowledges
homosexuality, but does not prohibit homosexuality, and rather “celebrate[s] sexual diversity.” The Sharia,
likewise, “neither prohibits nor punishes homosexuality.” Instead, “the fundamental principles of the Sharia”
provide for “absolute recognition and celebration of diverse gender identities.” See Javaid Rehman & Eleni
Polymenopoulou, “Is Green a Part of the Rainbow? Sharia, Homosexuality and LGBT Rights in the Muslim World,”
Fordham International Law Journal, Vol. 1, 2013, page accessed April, 23, 2016, http://fordhamilj.org/articles/is-
green-a-part-of-the-rainbow-sharia-homosexuality-and-lgbt-rights-in-the-muslim-world/;
http://fordhamilj.org/files/2014/02/FILJ_RehmanPolymenopoulou_IsGreenaPartoftheRainbow.pdf
20
Nigerian Muslims and Sharia: “. . . Khilafat (the political extremists) who believe that Islam is a total way of life,
social political change is desirable. . . . For this reason, Muslims must work towards the establishment of a dar al
Islam (Islamic State). Muslims of this credo do not believe that it is possible to practice Islam when a non-Muslim
holds political power. […] This mentality of some Nigerian Muslims shows how precarious religion can sometimes
manifest itself as an agent of social change . . . this sort of dysfunctional role of the Islamic religion in the Nigerian
society . . .” Manus, Ukachukwu Chris Manus and Bolaji Olukemi Batey, “Religion and Social Change in Multi-Ethnic
Nigerian Society,” in Religion, Conflict, and Democracy in Modern Africa: The Role of Civil Society in Political
Engagement, edited by Samuel K. Elolia, Samuel K. Eugene (OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2012), 291-292.
21
“[Under Sharia in northern Nigeria] the rights of persons living on the fringes of Muslim society, for instance . . .
homosexuals can never be guaranteed [emphasis mine]. The attempt of sharia here to get rid of moral decadence
is only at best-skin deep, since the privacy of rich men, who hide in five star hotels with their concubines and
prostitutes, is guaranteed.” Umar Habila Dadem Danfulani, “Shari’a, Democracy, and Civil Society: The Case of
Northern Nigeria,” in Religion, Conflict, and Democracy in Modern Africa: The Role of Civil Society in Political
Engagement, edited by Samuel K. Elolia. Eugene (OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2012), 319.
22
Marginalized Muslim husbands: In Maradi, Niger, Muslim husbands, as well as Christian husbands, who do not
produce children within their marriage, are “accused by others . . . of being a homosexual.” Cooper attributes “the
dual legacy of a Muslim environment and the teachings of fundamentalist [Christian] missionaries to the extreme
homophobia” she witnessed in Maradi among Christians. Barbara M. Cooper, Evangelical Christians in the Muslim
Sahel (Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 2006), 392.
23
Non-Muslims: “The governor of Yobe State . . . that he would start compelling non-Muslim women to put on
head cover [emphasis mine]. . . . This is a misuse of power by the Governor of Yobe.” Yushau Sodiq, “Nigerian Civil
Government and the Application of Islamic Law: Can Conflict Lead to Accommodation?” in Religion, Conflict, and
Democracy in Modern Africa: The Role of Civil Society in Political Engagement, edited by E Elolia, Samuel K.
(Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2012), 355.
24
A. Zysow, “Sharia” in The Encyclopedia of Christianity, edited by E. Fahlbusch, J. M. Lochman, J. Mbiti, J. Pelikan,
& L. Vischer (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2005) Vol. 4, p. 946.

a human rights issue,” says, when it comes to reforming attitudes “in countries where Islam is the
dominant religion” the answer is not “secular arguments,” but “ ‘theological accommodation’ with
Islam.” Specifically, Duran is calling for two things: a “new shari’a comparatively detached from the
social climate of seventh-century Arabia” and an emphasis on “the ethical principles of freedom and
justice enunciated by the Prophet Muhammad in Mecca.” Any approach other than this, coming from
the West (like “human rights”per se), will “result in a backlash against what is perceived as an attempt to
impose the values of the former colonial powers.”25
Homosexuality in the Lives of Medieval Muslims
Homophobic Christian Spain in 693

Christian Spain, fearful of God’s judgement due to homosexuality in its midst, in 693 enacted
ecclesiastical and civil laws against homosexuality – with castration and excommunication for its just
merits.
A “gay-friendly” Islamic invasion of Spain in 711

Ironically, almost twenty years later, homophobic Christian Spain found itself in the clutches a 711
invasion of Islamic armies, “military representatives of a culture never hostile to homosexuality.” The
700 year rule of Islam in southern Spain that followed was “a brilliant era of intellectual, religious, and
sexual tolerance26 during which homoerotic literature flowered and homosexuality was generally
accepted . . . “27
Homoerotic poetry and prose in Medieval Arabic world, especially in Spain

Boswell28 discusses homoerotic poetry and prose, and the same-sex unions they represent, in Cordoba
and Spain under Islamic rule, from the 8th century to the 12th century. During this time period, what
was true in Cordoba – “the largest city in the West in the 9th and 10th centuries,” amazing Christians
and Muslims alike with “its wealth and sophistication” – was true in the Arabic-speaking world in
general: Throughout the Arabic world, “Arabic poetry and prose . . . treated gay people and their
sexuality with respect or casual acceptance.” But “in early medieval Spain this tendency was if anything
exaggerated. Erotic verse about ostensibly homosexual relationships constitutes the bulk of published
Hispano-Arabic poetry.” Homoerotic love, in Spain, was celebrated between ruler and subject, poet and
25
Jim Wafer, “Muhammad and Male Homosexuality,” in Islamic Homosexualities: Culture, History, and Literature,
ed. by Stephen O. Murray and Will Roscoe (New York: New York University Press, 1997), 87.
26
On sexual tolerance, see the example of Mohammad (d. 631) who had died just 80 years before the Islamic
armies invaded Spain: Mohammed, who had as many as twelve wives at one time, was a polygamist. Polygamy,
however, was an accepted norm of his day. The Qur’an permits a man to marry up to four wives with the
stipulation that he must be able to care for them all equally (4:3). The shari’a, in addition to the four wives allowed
by the Qur’an, permits a man to legally marry an unlimited number of concubines for a specified amount of time,
“be it a day or fifty years, and the marriage tie is dissolved when the time expires.” Miller, William McElwee.
“Islam.” In Religions in a Changing World, ed. by Howard F. Vos, 61-88. Chicago: Moody Press, 1959.
27
Byrne Fone, Homophobia: A History (New York: Picador USA, 2000), 120-121.
28
John Boswell, Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality: Gay People in Western Europe from the
Beginning of the Christian Era to the Fourteenth Century (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1980) 194-200.

poet, teacher and student, and the everyday citizen who himself wrote, or repeated these, love
poems.29
A Significant Corollary Between Paul and Hrosvitha in

their Reference to Same-sex Sex
Hrosvitha’s narrative poem

Louis Crompton provides for us the name of the Cordoba caliph, ‘Abd al-Rahman that Boswell writes
about in some detail [pages 198-200]30 without naming the caliph. The caliph’s love-interests in “a
young [male] Christian hostage,” who repeatedly refused the sexual advances of the caliph, were
immortalized in a narrative poem by a German nun called Hrosvitha. Boswell asserts that “Hroswitha
meant to make no theological statement about homosexual acts . . .” It was not “unnatural for men to
relate sexually to men but simply ‘unseemly’ for Christian men to relate in any personal way to pagan
men.” Crompton summarizes Hrosvitha: She “condemned Arab lust [not same-sex sex as per Boswell]
and glorified Christian chastity.”31
It’s not about sex: How Paul and Hrosvitha are saying the same thing
There is an interesting parallel in thought here between the Apostle Paul and Hrosvitha. Compare
Boswell [200] on Hrosvitha with Elizabeth Stuart [96]32 on Paul in Romans 1. Just as Hrosvitha is not
distinguishing between homosexual lusts and heterosexual chastity, but rather what is “unseemly” with
what is “seemly,” i.e., that the “young [male] Christian hostage” would be a witness to the Islamic
caliph, so, too, Paul is distinguishing between Gentiles and Jews, between their “clean” and “unclean”
practices, and not between homosexuals (as “unnatural”) and heterosexuals (as “natural”).
Moral Superiority and Homosexuality: Jews over Gentiles, Christians over Muslims
Muslim interest in homoeroticism, indicative of their inferiority

Citing As’ad AbuKhalil and Lewis Bernard in his article “The Will Not to Know: Islamic Accommodations
of Male Homosexuality,” Murray ostensibly concludes that, in part, “the medieval Christian animus for
homosexuality was probably a product of culturally backward Europeans searching for reasons to feel
superior to Muslim civilizations” [emphasis mine]. Whatever the probable cause, the fact remains: “As
29
Boswell illustrates this, giving us love poems and stories from various stations in life, from kings and califs (al-
Mutamid of 11th century Seville, and Abd al-Rahan who ruled Cordoba in the 10th century) to subjects, teachers
and poets. Of his page, the king of Seville wrote: “I made him my slave, but the coyness of his glance has made
me his prisoner, so that we are both at once slave and master to each other.” Boswell notes that “Islamic society
has generally ignored” the Qu’ranic texts and “early religious writings of Islam” on homosexuality. “[M]ost Muslim
cultures,” he says, “have treated homosexuality with indifference, if not admiration.”
30
Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality, 198-200.
31
Louis Crompton, “Male Love and Islamic Law in Spain,” in Islamic Homosexualities: Culture, History, and
Literature, ed. by Stephen O. Murray and Will Roscoe (New York: New York University Press, 1997), 150.
32
Elizabeth Stuart. Gay and Lesbian Theologies: Repetitions with Critical Difference (Aldershot, Hampshire,
England: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2003) 96.

a marker of the Muslim enemy, homosexuality became a part of antagonistic acculturation, an oft-
underlined-by-Christians ‘moral superiority’ to Muslims . . . “33
Jewish superiority over Gentles, like medieval Christians to Muslims

It is interesting to note that the first century Jewish-Gentile dynamic, in this context of same-gender sex
acts (Romans 1) in which the Jews saw themselves morally superior to the Gentiles (Romans 2), mirrors
Murray’s medieval Christian-Muslim dynamic in which the Christians, in this context of same-gender sex
acts, saw themselves as morally superior to the Muslims, i.e., “they do it, we don’t.”
How Paul baits and hooks his Jewish reader in Romans 1 and 2
Queer Theologians have related Paul’s Romans 1 content (“against nature,” the sense of which is
“contrary to accepted norms”) to the larger context of Romans chapter 2 in which Paul slams the Jews
for their estimation of themselves as superior to Gentiles, in part, because of their disgust for Gentile
same-gender sex acts. Romans chapter 2 ties back into Romans chapter 1 where Paul initially, and now
obviously in light of chapter 2, baited and hooked his Jewish readers (in Romans 1) to bring them to a
critical sense of self-examination in Romans 2. “Therefore you [Paul’s Jewish readership] have no
excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment [on the Gentiles of chapter 1], for in that which you judge
another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things [including same-gender sex
acts? or less specifically, a reference to similar things?]” (Romans 2:1, NASB).
The Islamic Version of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”
Arabic men and gay sex: Without fear and restraint

According to Murray, in his discussion on homosexuality and “the will not to know,” because the Islamic
Arab world is “very much into the family unit,” Arab men, if they fulfill their duties as husband and
father, are “free to do whatever they want and this is not questioned” – and this includes same-sex sex
acts. “And since nobody talks about homosexuality, they don’t have to fear somebody is going to say
this – or even think this about them.”
Everyone does it in Iran

Murray tells of one Tehran native who reports that “[e]very man in Iran is involved in male-to-male sex,
because premarital [heterosexual] sex and sex outside marriage are not only a sin, but are also very
difficult [to find].” Here, this Iranian man perceives “homosexual behavior” in Iran as (allegedly)
universally practiced.
Customary not to talk about other people, to care for yourself

Murray, citing a Norwegian anthropologist as his source, informs us that the Islamic Mediterranean
world is characterized by a “preference for avoiding direct confrontation of other people’s failings” since
“[t]he world is imperfect; people are created with dissimilar natures, and are likewise imperfect. It is up
to every person to behave as correctly – i.e., tactfully, politely, hospitably, morally, and amicably – as
33
Murray, Stephen O. Murray, “The Will Not to Know: Islamic Accommodations of Male Homosexuality,” in
Islamic Homosexualities: Culture, History, and Literature, edited by Stephen O Murray and Will Roscoe, (New York:
New York University Press, 1997) 15.

possible in all the different encounters in which he engages, rather than to demand such things of
others” [emphasis mine].
Normative standards, public consent

“The will not to know” is a given mindset, according to Murray, “in Arab and other Islamic societies.”
Generally speaking, it is a rule of thumb that “everyone successfully avoids public recognition (let alone
discussion!) of deviations from normative standards – sexual or other.”34
Scott Siraj al-Haqq Kugle: A Modernist Approach to Homosexuality in Islam35
Overview and Why sex is so important and How we got here

In his scholarly essay on “Sexuality, Diversity, and Ethics in the Agenda of Progressive Muslims,”36 Scott
Siraj al-Haqq Kugle defines and demonstrates a hermeneutical approach (the science of interpretation)
by which he is able to reassess what the Qur’an, hadith and Islamic law say and do not say about
homosexuality. In turn, on the basis of his findings, Kugle affirms and celebrates gay Muslims, and
accordingly, challenges the Islamic community to independently evaluate his approach and theology.
In his opening paragraphs, Kugle introduces us to an Islamic faith that traditionally, unlike many other
religions comparatively speaking, “has evaluated sexual life positively.” He cites the Prophet
Muhammad, Imam al-Ghazali (1058-1111) and “the whole tradition of Islamic scholars” as examples for
present day Muslims to emulate in maintaining “a frank discussion” on “sexual pleasure and the
complex relationships it creates.” Kugle sees interplay between our sex lives and our public and political
lives, the former having a consequential impact upon the latter (Kugle calls this the “intimate
citizenship”). Sexuality is “more than lust;” it is a gauge “of our core being,” touching upon every aspect
34
In terms of the penal code, this “will not to know” is compounded by the provision for “severe punishment [of
the accusers] for [an] unproven accusation.” Citing Jehoeda Sofer, Murry shows that according to Islamic law,
“[o]nly oral testimony by eye witnesses is admitted. Four trustworthy Muslim men must testify that they have
seen ‘the key entering the key hole’ or the culprit must confess four times.”
35
This part of the paper, “Scott Siraj al-Haqq Kugle: A Modernist Approach to Homosexuality in Islam,” is a
summary of Scott Siraj al-Haqq Kugle’s “Sexuality, Diversity, and Ethics in the Agenda of Progressive Muslims,” in
Progressive Muslims: On Justice, Gender, and Pluralism, edited by Omid Safi (Oxford: Oneworld Publications,
2003), 190-234. All quotes, unless otherwise indicated, are from al-Haqq Kugle’s essay. For the PDF,
http://othersheepexecsite.com/Other_Sheep_Resource_Sexuality_Diversity_and_Ethics_in_the_Agenda_of_Progr
essive_Muslims_by_Scott_Siraj_al_Haqq_Kugle.pdf.
36
I am indebted to Professor Amir Hussain, associate professor in the Department of Theological Studies at Loyola
Marymount University (LMU), Los Angeles, CA, for directing me to this essay "Sexuality, Diversity, and Ethics in the
Agenda of Progressive Muslims" by Scott Siraj al-Haqq Kugle. I met Professor Hussain at a conference in May 2009
at The Riverside Church, New York, on "What the Qur'an Reveals about the Bible." The article comes from the
book Progressive Muslims: On Justice, Gender, and Pluralism, edited by Omid Safi (Oxford: Oneworld Publications,
2003) pp.190-234.The entire collection consists of essays by 15 Muslim scholars about different aspects of
Progressive Islam. Professor Hussain writes in an email, "[The book] came out of 9/11 in response to the question
of where are the voices of progressive Muslims?" Amir Hussain contributes a chapter on "Muslims, Pluralism, and
Interfaith Dialogue." See “Other Sheep eNews 2009 09 26 Progressive Muslims on Homosexuality,” Other Sheep,
accessed May 3, 2016,
http://othersheep.org/Other_Sheep_eNews_2009_09_26_Progressive_Muslims_on_Homosexuality.doc.

of our inner and outer existence. Today’s critical focus on “sex and sexuality” “in Islamic scripture, law,
and society” is an outgrowth of feminism and its discussion on gender and male dominance.37
Sexuality and erotic life among Muslims

In his first segment, “Sexuality and Erotic Life Among Muslims,” Kugle begins by asserting, then
elaborating on, two main ideas: (1) “sexuality is a field where spirituality plays out;” and (2) the Islamic
heaven is “sensually delightful and even sexually blissful.” For his first main idea, Kugle references (a)
“Tunisian sociologist” Abdelwahab Bouhdiba on “connecting eroticism with spirituality;” (b)
Muhammad’s saying “Three things were made beloved to me in this world of yours: women, perfume
and prayer;” (c) ‘Ali Muttaqu’s (d. 1567) comments on “a man’s sexual play with his partner;” (d)
“[S]exual relations through informal contract” (ex: “ownership in slavery”);38 and (e) the Qur’an’s
acceptance of “non-procreative sexual acts” (2:223). For his second main idea, Kugle quotes Bouhdiba:
“ . . . to make the quest for orgasm an essential aim of earthly life and even of the life to come . . . “
Kugle’s foregoing discussion on eroticism and sexuality leads him to assert that, in spite of “the
heterosexist assumption,” sexual desire has not always been “only between a man and a women.” He
concludes this segment with the “radical notion, that Islam does not address homosexuality” and,
therefore, all assumptions aside, one must make “room for an educated and sensitive dialogue” on
homosexuality. To move the conversation to the foreground, he notes the following as incentives: (1)
“new biological knowledge about genetics;” (2) “sociological knowledge about personality
development” (3) the work of “Muslim feminist scholars;” (4) the “opportunity to return to the sources
of Islamic religious belief (“the Qur’an, the prophetic traditions, and the decisions of Islamic jurists”);
and (5) “a keen sense of justice”39 and “a firm hold on reason.”
He finishes this segment with a simple hermeneutical principle: “We must be instantly suspicious of
statements like ‘Islam says . . . ‘ or ‘The Shari’ah says . . .’ as if these abstractions actually speak. Things
do not speak. Only people speak.”40
Diversity and sexuality in the Qur’an

In his second segment, on “Diversity and Sexuality in the Qur’an,” Kugle, to drive home a point, begins
by drawing an analogy between what the gay community may or may not know about the origin and the
original use of the word “homosexuality” (medical clinics initially used the word “to identify a ‘deviant’
sexuality in order to classify people”) and what the Islamic religious community, in general, may or may
37
“Sexuality, Diversity and Ethics,” 190-192 (book pages), 0-2 (PDF pages).
38
“Sexuality, Diversity and Ethics,” Kugle summarizes: “Sexual play was not limited to marital relations, but was
permissible in other kinds of contractual relationships,”193 (book page), 3 (PDF page).
39
“According to the Talmud, a voice from heaven should be ignored if it is not on the side of justice. – Isaac
Bashevis Singer, A Young Man in Search of Love . . .” Jonathan Kirsch, Moses – A Life (New York: Ballantine Books,
1998), 109.
40
Cf. Christian theologian Dale Martin: “Texts do not interpret themselves; they must be interpreted by human
beings. To repeat a slogan I have often used . . . ‘Texts don’t mean. People mean with texts.’ Thus much of my
work has been an attempt to disabuse people of the myth of textual agency.” Dale Martin, Sex and the Single
Savior: Gender and Sexuality in Biblical Interpretation (Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006), 1.

not know about its “basic principles.” The point is, present day Islam’s “dominant interpretations may
not be in accord with” the Qur’an “at its most basic level.”41
One of the underlying principles of Islam is “the Qur’an’s positive assessment of diversity” in chiefly two
areas: “in creation and in human societies.” Kugle enumerates and discusses the following diversities,
all of which the Qur’an celebrates: (1) many prophets (outside of Islam) – diversity in religion;42 (2)
“diversity in tribal, ethnic, and national groups” (49:1343); (3) “diversity in physical appearance,
constitution, stature, and color of human beings” as well as “in inward disposition and personality;44 (4)
the male-female “binary construction of gender,” and hermaphrodites.
In this context of Qur’anic diversity, Kugle asks “whether [or not] the Qur’an accepts diversity in sexual
disposition and orientation.” Because of “the Qur’an’s vivid portrayal of diversity at so many levels . . .
the burden of proof,” he says, is with those who “deny that sexual diversity is part of the created world.”
In arguing for Qur’anic sexual diversity, Kugle cites “men who are not in need of women” (Surat al-Nur
24:30).45 Kugle then collaborates this Qur’anic verse with the Prophet Muhammad’s acceptance of
“these men-who-acted-like-woman” in Medina. Kugle highlights that it is very important before moving
forward in the discussion, to acknowledge, as reasonable, the conclusion that “the Qur’an accepts the
existence of diversity in sexuality and sexual orientation.” Raising a red flag here, Kugle cautions
Muslims against the unscriptural (un-Qur’anic) use of ‘natural’ and ‘unnatural’ in their discussion of
heterosexuality and homosexuality.46 Kugle contrasts the European Christian and their approach to
homosexuality “as ‘natural’ versus ‘unnatural,’” with the Qur’anic approach to diversity “in creation and
in human society.”47
41
Cf. Christian theologian Chris Glaser: “ . . . we must be governed by the Bible’s broadest themes. Choosing life,
liberation from oppression, salvation from sin, God’s redemption in Jesus Christ, loving God and neighbor, the
community of faith – all these are important concepts for understanding how God welcomes us home [the LGBT
Christian who regains his faith] . . . Within this broader context, what does or doesn’t the Bible say about
homosexuality?” Chris Glaser, Come Home! Reclaiming Spirituality and Community as Gays and Lesbians (second
edition, Gaithersburg, MD: Chi Rho Press, 1998) 31.
42
“Sexuality, Diversity and Ethics,” Kugle, without calling it “religious freedom” outright, nonetheless names it:
“Islam has a unique history of being a confessional, universal, and missionary religion that nonetheless accepts and
protects other religious communities, guaranteeing the security of their members,” 195 (book page), 5 (PDF page).
43
Q Surat al-Hujurat 49:1: “We created you different tribes and nations so that you may come to know one
another and acknowledge that the most honorable among you are those that stay the most conscious of Allah.”
44
Q Surat al-Isra’ 17:84 “ . . . that everyone acts according to his or her own disposition.”
45
“Sexuality, Diversity and Ethics,” Kugle qualifies his comment: “This example from the Qur’an is suggestive, but
not indicative,” 197 (book page), 7 (PDF page).
46
Mawdudi, in his conclusion in his Towards Understanding Islam, maintains that Islam “makes no discrimination
on the basis of race, color, language or other external categories.” In the same paragraph in which he makes this
nondiscriminatory claim, and in the paragraph following, are the seeds of discrimination toward gender and sexual
orientation. He says: Islam is “a system encompassing . . . psychology and sociology,” among other fields of life
and living which he names, and that “[t]his system of law . . . is based on . . . nature . . . and nature cannot be
changed . . .” Mawdudi, Abul A’la. Towards Understanding Islam. (USA: Islamic Circle of North America, 2002),
156.
47
“Sexuality, Diversity and Ethics,” Kugle notes: “Contemporary Muslims who explicitly denounce homosexuality
as ‘un-Islamic’ adopt this dichotomy of natural and unnatural, and apply it as if it were indigenous to the Islamic
tradition and to the Qur’an,” 197 (book page), 7 (PDF page).

As if to exhibit the Qur’an’s intended celebration of sexual diversity, Kugle calls forth “a rich archive of
same-sex sexual desires and expressions” from “respected members of [medieval Islamic] society:
literati, educated elites, and religious scholars,” and references “the Christian campaigns to re-conquer
Spain,” in part, by “engag[ing] in polemics against Muslims by accusing them of being ‘sodomitical’ and
of engaging openly in same-sex practices.” In ironic contrast to medieval Christians, wherever
contemporary Western society has “recognized only the most repressive elements among Muslims . . .
[they] are acting out their own indigenous forms of homophobia in the[ir] mis-recongition or erasure of
gay and lesbian Muslims.” Pre-modern Ghalib (d. 1803) and al-Ghazali (d. 1111), whose God creates
[sexual diversities] by design and not by “the arrows of accident,” stand in contrast with the modern
European/American development of the term homosexuality which signals “a binary and irreducible
opposition between two sexual orientations” in which heterosexuality is “normative” and
homosexuality, a “derivative,” is therefore “perverted, inverted, sick, criminal, or somehow unnatural.”
Kugle ends this section with a discussion on the use of the “more open-ended term” queer (shudhudh in
Arabic, which literally means “odd”) in place of homosexuality, as more inclusive in its reference to
sexual diversities than the binary terms heterosexual and homosexual. Normative heterosexual customs
of the past, such as the legal allowance for “sexual relationships with slaves who are ‘owned,’” could,
from our present-day standpoint, be labeled ‘queer.’
Homosexuality that is not in the Qur’an

The Qur’an “assum[ing] a heterosexual norm among its listeners,” does not have a term for
‘homosexuality’ or ‘heterosexuality.’ Kugle discusses this in his third segment – “Homosexuality that is
not in the Qur’an.” The Arabic word for homosexuality – created in the 20th century – is al-shudhudh al-
jinsi which literally means ‘sexually rare or unusual,’ which stands for “a sexuality that is uncommon,
outside the general norm, and rare.” As mentioned early, “[t]he closest the Qur’an comes to directly
addressing homosexual people is the phrase ‘men who are not in need of women’ and does so
“descriptively in neutral tone, not linked to” any “legal proscription.” Kugle discusses how “jurists and
commentators . . . forbid[] homosexuality and condemn homosexuals[],” and not the “Qur’an itself.”
Kugle gives a detailed discussion on the supposed interconnectedness of a few key words that some (not
all) jurists say justify the condemnation of homosexuals: these key words can be generally translated as
transgression, adultery, “to break out of the bounds of moral restraint” or idol worship, and “the denial
that God is one.”
Kugle ends this section with a return to an emphasis on hermeneutics. No one actually “reads” a sacred
text, he says. This is simply because the reader comes to the Qur’anic text with his “pre-understanding”
of the text already in place, and so reads back into the sacred text what he has already been told, or
taught, is the meaning of the text.48 It becomes necessary to have to use “critical techniques of
rereading the scriptural texts through new lenses in order to free the text from its former . . .
48
Cf. Christian theologian Dale Martin: “What influences interpretation are the social constraints surrounding and
constituting the interpreter, especially other human interpreters. We read certain ways because we are socialized
to do so; we change our readings in interaction with other human beings; we read differently on a second reading
because we ourselves have been (socially!) changed in the meantime. There are constraints on reading, but they
are social and psychological constraints, not constraints directly by the ‘text itself.’ We may ‘feel’ that the text is
indicating its meaning, but I insist that there is no meaning ‘there’ in the text. It is created by readers using the
text.” Dale Martin, Sex and the Single Savior: Gender and Sexuality in Biblical Interpretation (Louisville, Kentucky:
Westminster John Knox Press, 2006), 5.

confinement.”49 For example, feminists read the Qur’an without “importing into it patriarchal
assumptions.”
Kugle transitions to the remainder of his essay by telling his readers “a thoroughly critical reassessment”
of “sexuality as well as gender” is still needed, a “project” to which Kugle “hopes to contribute” albeit
“in a small way.” To accomplish this, in part, he proceeds in his essay by “address[ing] texts and
traditions in their order of importance to Islamic jurisprudence. . . . “
Interpreting the Qur’an depends on the experience of the interpreter

The heading to the forth segment of Kugle’s essay – “Interpreting the Qur’an depends on the experience
of the Interpreter” – begins by discussing a way for “gay and lesbian readers” to read the Qur’an. Taking
feminists as a model, whose “interpretive tools” (which are also used by Islamic modernists in general),
are “the experience(s) of the interpreter.” For gays and lesbians, Kugle coins the phrase “sexuality-
sensitive” (from the Arabic word hassa “meaning literally ‘a sensitive person’” and “used colloquially to
denote ‘a homosexual person’”) to name, or catalogue, their “interpretive tool,” a tag signifying their
unique queer “experiences,” which becomes the lenses for interpreting, a way for reading.50 Kulge
enumerates how to read the Islamic texts through the interpretive tool of “sexuality-sensitive:” (1)
“sexualities are always multiple in society; (2) “variation is always arranged in hierarchical orders of
power;” (3) “non-normative groups” are “marginalized and disempowered;” and (4) “the elite is always
empowered by silencing and oppressing the marginal few” while “claim[ing] to speak for the norms of
society.”
Two reading strategies: semantic and thematic

Kugle assigns two reading strategies for the Qur’an. The first is “semantic” and the second is
“themantic.” As for the first, “classical Qur’anic commentators” would traditionally do a “verse-by-verse
and a “word-by-word” replacement reading of the text whereby the commentator “substitutes his own
words for the words of the Qur’an,” determining the intent of any given word, generally in isolation and
akin to “speculative assertion.” Semantic readings, on the other hand, “discover how the Qur’an [gives]
term[s] a range of meanings, dependent on how the terms [are] related to each other and how they
[are] repeated [or used] in different contexts” in the Qur’an. Thematic readings, built on the same
context-principle as the word-semantic readings, creates “a composite picture of” a given topic “based
on its multiple and varied single instances” in the Qur’an, “trusting that the Qur’an provides a thematic
unity underneath all these instances.”
49
Cf. Christian theologian Robert Goss: “Both feminist and queer interpretive models arise from an interlocking
discourse and practice of resistance, conflict, and struggle for liberation. They both try to free biblical discourse
from the distortions of heterosexist/homophobic power.“ Robert Goss, Jesus ACTED UP: A Gay and Lesbian
Manifesto (New York: HarperCollins, 1993), 88.
50
Cf. Christian theologian Robert Goss: “The lives of queer Christians become another text from which they
interpret the biblical text. Queer Christians refigure the meaning of the text by interpreting and applying it to their
lives. . . . Their commitments to their queer identities, practices, and the struggle for justice become a framework
for interpreting a particular biblical text.” Robert Goss, Jesus ACTED UP: A Gay and Lesbian Manifesto (New York:
HarperCollins, 1993), 103.

In both instances – the semantic and thematic reading, Kugle uses the verses and narratives of the Lut
story in the Qur’an (which is the Lot story of Genesis 19 in the Bible51) to illustrate, in great detail, how
“sexuality-sensitive” reading lenses, tied with semantic and thematic reading strategies, brings a whole
new understanding to the meaning of the Lut (Lot) story. Since it is not within the scope of this paper to
delineate the intricacies of the steps taken in applying the reading strategies to Lut, suffice it to say that
the outcome in meaning dovetails beautifully with Queer Christian Theology:
“The sexual acts of the narrative are acts of violence . . . The narrative is clearly about infidelity
[concentrated in rejecting the prophethood of Lut and disbelieving in the God whom Lut claims to
represent] through inhospitality and greed, rather than about sex acts in general or sexuality of any
variation in particular.”
In support of the foregoing Lut interpretation, Kugle references a “book by al-Rawandi” (late twelfth
century) that “quotes a series of hadith attributed to the Prohpet Muhammad . . . which support
elements of the (Lut) narrative framework presented” here.
Jurists, sexual acts, and Lut’s people

In the fifth segment of the essay, Kugle discusses “Jurists, sexual acts, and Lut’s people.” The story of
Lut remains central to Kugle’s discussion in this section. Jurists relied not on the Qur’anic account of Lut
for their legal rulings on “anal sex between men,” but “on either hadith or, more often, reports of the
decisions of the early followers of the Prophetc.” Jurists focused on only one male-to-male sex act –
anal penetration which is “how the Islamic juridical tradition pictured all same-sex desire” (albeit “many
gay men do not practice anal penetrative sex at all” and “rightly protest that anal sex is not the
definitive feature that characterizes them”). For convince in parley, a “short-hand” way of speaking,
jurists “call the act of male-to-male penetration “the act of the people of Lut.” Kugle discusses different
schools of thought, different leading jurists, their commentaries on the Qur’an, and their understanding
and use of hadith. Kugle summarizes: there is “no actual consensus” among classical jurists as to “the
nature of the act” of male-to-male anal sex and the “status of punishment for it.” Furthermore,
commentators who “read the Qur’an as a narrative of ethical exhortation rather than as a legal text”
took issue with jurists.
The Prophet Muhammed and homosexuality

In his sixth segment, Kugle purports that the Prophet Muhammed, in accord with what we know from
hadith, “did not act to punish people as homosexuals or for acts associated with them.” “The hadith
that address the issue of punishing men for having anal sex are not linked to any specific case or event in
51
Bates, in his 2004 book on Anglicans and homosexuality, observes that the “tale of Lot” is recounted in the
sacred scriptures of the Jews, Christians and Muslims, and that all three of these “great monotheistic religions”
agree, reaching “the same conclusion,” that the story of Lot is a “condemnation of homosexuality.” According to
Bates, the Qur’an – with its mere four scattered references, so he says, to homosexuality – “essentially states that
homosexuality is wrong.” But, he says, according to 4:13 in the Qur’an, “its practitioners should be forgiven: ‘If
two men among you commit indecency, punish them both. If they repent and mend their ways let them be. God
is forgiving and merciful.’” Stephen Bates, A Church at War: Anglicans and Homosexuality (London: I.B. Tauris &
Co. Ltd., 2004), 56-7.

the Prophet’s life.” Kugle, for this segment of his essay, gives the title “Exemplary Conduct of the
Prophet Muhammad.”
Clarifying the question of sexual ethics

In his final segment, before his concluding remarks, Kugle “Clarify[s] the Question of Sexual Ethics.” Still,
continuing with the narrative of Lut, Kugle “compare[s] Lut’s story with that of Salih” in which a
protected camel, needing the general care and oversight of the people at large, “stood symbolically for
the weak and vulnerable members of society.” The people of Thamud, instead of heading the prophet’s
message, killed the consecrated camel in demonstrative proclamation of their unwillingness and disgust
in caring for “the weak and vulnerable members of society.” Much like comparing Gibiah with Sodom
for establishing the meaning of the narrative, Kugle’s comparison of Thamud with Sodom goes far in
establishing the meaning of Lut and Sodom. He observes: “Nobody would take seriously a jurist who
argued that slaughtering another’s camel is a capital crime, based on the example of the people of
Thamud who were destroyed after killing a camel. … Allah razed the people of Thamud by a volcanic
eruption.” Kugle maintains that “the interconnectedness of social ethics with sexual ethics,” coupled
with “a keen sense of justice” focuses ones attention on “the content of the relationship” and not the
“gender of the partners.”
The advent of modernity: An ethical challenge

In his conclusion, Kugle sees “the advent of modernity” as a “reality;” an “ethical challenge;” “potentially
a blessing;” and the opportunity for freedom “from the shackles of patriarchal power.” He cites three
times, in their Islamic history, when change came: “the political rule of a monarch;” the institution of
slavery; and the feminist movement. He applies “the struggle” and radical tawhid, and makes the claim
with Islamic legal scholar Abdullahi Ahmed an-Na’im that shari’ah should be reformed by “reviv[ing] its
underlying principles so that it protects civil liberties and human rights rather than suppressing them;”52
and that Muslims should not mistakenly think of self-determination in terms of the establishment of
Islamic law (shari’a) in the form in which it presently exists.
Semerdjian on Homosexuality in the Qur’an, Hadith and Legal Schools
Qur’an: Caution against the practice of homosexuality, not prohibition

Elyse Semerdjian, the Director of Global Studies and Associate Professor of Middle East/Islamic World
52
Cf. Christian theologian Dale Martin: “ . . . I take my stand with a quotation from an impeccably traditional
witness, Augustine, who wrote: ‘Whoever, therefore, thinks that he understands the divine Scriptures or any part
of them so that it does not build the double love of God and of our neighbor does not understand it at all’
(Christian Doctrine 1.35.40). By this light, any interpretation of scripture that hurts people, oppresses people, or
destroys people cannot be the right interpretation, no matter how traditional, historical, or exegetically
respectable.” Dale Martin, “Arsenokoites and Malakos: Meanings and Consequences” in Brawley, Robert L., ed..
Biblical Ethics and Homosexuality: Listening to Scripture, edited by Robert L. Crawley (Louisville: Westminster/John
Knox Press, 1996), 130.

History at Whitman College, in her article on “Islam,”53 discusses the importance of the Qur’an, the
Hadith, and legal sources as they pertain to the legal and moral standing of homosexuality within Islam.
She concludes that the Qur’an “is not as clear on the issue of homosexual sex acts” as other zina crimes,
i.e., sex acts outside of the marriage contract (such as fornication and adultery). She seems to reason
that since a punishment (such as lashing) is not specified for same-sex sex acts, then “instead caution
aginst the practice of sodomy” is prescribed. She cites verse 56:16 as a proof text for her argument:
“For ye practice your lusts on men in preference to women: ye are indeed a people transgressing
beyond bounds.”
Hadith: First century “Victorian” Islamic scholars and the Prophet’s sayings
Semerdjian views the Hadith (a collections of the ‘sayings’ of the Prophet Muhammad) as “more firmly
pronouc[ing]” “prohibitions against homosexuality.” The Islamic scholars of the first century who
compiled the Hadith, the use of which became a legal standard for law “by all the major schools of law,”
were “so conservative” in their “type of morality” that they “could be compared with the Victorians in
Europe.”54 Semerdjian, quoting from the Hadith, gives the following ‘sayings’ of the Prophet:
 Whenever a male mounts another male the throne of God trembles; the angels look on in
loathing and say, Lord, why do you not command the earth to punish them and the heavens to
rain stones upon them?
 The Prophet, peace be upon him, cursed the effeminate men and women who act like men, and
said expel them from your homes.
 The thing I fear most for my community is the act of the people of Lot.
 Indeed, my community will suffer punishment if men go with men and women with women.
 Do not gaze at the beardless youths, for verily they have eyes more tempting than the houris
[big-eyed maidens].
Islamic Law: The Hanafi jurists and the Malik school of Islamic law
Semerdjian cites two different legal schools of thought: (1) The Hanafi jurists who “were split as to
whether sodomy constituted zina (a categorical sex crime); and (2) The Malik school of Islamic law,
founded in the eight century by Anas bin Malik, which prescribed “stoning for homosexual offenses.”
According to Malik, “among the first to burn in the fires of hell,” the following (along with other types of
sin) are included: sodomites (both active and passive) and “men who masturbate.” The Malik school of
Islamic law is the dominate school in North Africa.
53
Elysi Semerdjian, “Islam,” in Homosexuality and Religion: An Encyclopedia, edited by Jeffrey S. Siker (Westport,
Connecticut: Greenwood Press), PDF accessed April 21, 2016, http://islamicblessings.com/upload/Homosexuality-
and-Religion-an-org.pdf, 130 (PDF 143) – 131 (PDF 142).
54
Contrast this “first century” Islamic puritanical view of sex with the following: Mutahhari, an Islamic feminist,
makes the claim that Islam is the only exception in the world in which its code of moral conduct does not have “a
kind of aversion to sexual relations.” Without naming Christianity or the Apostle by name, she discusses Paul as
“allow[ing] marriage only as one evil to ward off a greater evil.” She concludes that “[t]hese people [Christians]
consider love of women to be one of the great moral depravities.” Murtaza Mutahhari. “The Human Status of
Woman in the Qur’an,” in Princeton Readings in Islamist Thought: Text and Contexts from al-Banna to Bin Laden
(Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2009) 259.

The Inner Circle: Meeting Gay Muslims’ Need for
a Theological Perspective55
Most gay Muslims are seeking theological answers

Inner Circle, established in 2006 and based in Cape Town, South Africa, is “a queer Muslim organization”
that “gives support to queer Muslims locally and internationally” through “a number of empowerment
programs” designed “for queer Muslims and the communities they come from.” Iman Mushin
Hendricks, the Director of the Inner Circle, in an article he authored entitled “Islamic Texts: A Source for
Acceptance of Queer Individuals into Mainstream Muslim Society” (2010), explains the need for
educational material “from a theological perspective” for queer Muslims. “[M]ost clients who approach
the Inner Circle for help,” he writes, “seek a theological56 answer for their inability to reconcile their
faith with their sexuality.”
Helping gay Muslims understand the Islamic texts

Observing the times, the Imam notes that with the “re-emergence” of “progressive Muslim thought,”
topics like “homosexuality and sexual ethics in Islam” are being addressed by Muslim scholars like Scott
Siraj al-Haqq Kugle (whose work “does not provide uncomplicated answers”) and Kecia Ali. To simplify
things theologically for “the ordinary Muslim,” Hendricks wrote his article “Islamic Texts: A Source for
Acceptance of Queer Individuals into Mainstream Muslim Society” in the spirit of “Islamic belief that the
trajectory towards unravelling matters is a universal process through which truth authenticates itself
over falsehood” and with a mission to save “many queer Muslims” from casual sex, alcohol and
substance abuse, attempted suicide and apostasy” all destructive avenues queer Muslims may opt for
out of desperation when “negotiating the dilemma between Islam and their sexuality.”57
A theology for non-heterosexual sexual intimacy

Hendrick’s article “attempts to reveal that Islam, at its very core, does not condemn non-heterosexual
sexual intimacy.” He does this by showing the following: (1) “Islam, in its true meaning of peace and
justice [and “equality and freedom of choice” and that “the system of Islam cannot be forced58 upon
55
This part of the paper, “The Inner Circle – Meeting Gay Muslims’ Need for a Theological Perspective,” is a
summary of Muhsin Hendricks’ “Islamic Texts: A Source for Acceptance of Queer Individuals into Mainstream
Muslim Society” in The Equal Rights Review, Vol. Five, 2010. 31-51 (PDF 1-21), accessed April 20, 2016,
http://www.equalrightstrust.org/ertdocumentbank/muhsin.pdf. All quotes, unless otherwise indicated, are from
Mushin Hendricks’ article.
56
Cf. African Christians, says Professor ter Haar, give “extreme attention to the Bible as the authoritative and
infallible word of God” which is, she says, “common to evangelical Christians the world over.” Gerrie Ter Haar,
How God Became African: African Spirituality and Western Secular Thought (Philadelphia, PA: University of
Pennsylvania, 2009), 31, 18.
57
“‘Mainstream’ Muslim spaces continue to remain inaccessible to LGBT Muslims, leading to stigma,
discrimination, self-hate and disassociation from familial, cultural and religious institutions. We can also
understand this as the phenomenon of “spiritual violence.” Urooj Arshad, “LGBT Muslims Seeking Inclusion,” The
Alwaleed Islamic Studies Program at Harvard University, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, accessed
April 20, 2016. http://www.ispu.org/pdfs/ISPU_Harvard_SubReport_LGBTMuslimsSeekInclusion_web_bw.pdf.
See the link, which Arshad provides in her “LGBT Muslims Seeking Inclusion” article, on “spiritual violence:”
http://www.whosoever.org/v5i6/violence.html for more information on “spiritual violence” and its affect on
LGBTpeople.
58
According to Burton, one of the reasons “Christians in Hamitic Ethiopia, Egypt and Canaan” converted to Islam
(to “teaching that was primarily derived from the Bible”) was “the fact that they were allowed the freedom to

anyone” so then the “freedom of belief”],59 accommodates the individual’s sexual orientation;” (2) “the
Quranic texts that can be interpreted to support non-heterosexual marriages;” (3) “the Quran . . . is
itself open to numerous interpretations and meanings;” (4) “that hadith [many of which contain
“inconsistencies, contradictions and distortions of facts”] which do not contradict the Quran present a
useful elaboration on Quranic verses;” (5) by “follow[ing] the best of what [is] revealed to you [in the
Qur’an] from the One who has authority over you;” (6) the “principle of Ijtihad” which allows for
“independent reasoning;”60 (7) the “diverse nature of human beings” as well as the diversity that
“occurs naturally in the animal and plant word;” (8) by revisiting and re-interpreting “the parable of
Prophet Lot”61 – a condemnation on inhospitality and rape, not a condemnation on same-sex
relationships; (9) “the imprecision of” the reference to “two men guilty of lewdness” in 4:16; (10) “the
recognition of non-heterosexuals in the Quran” in 24:31 (“the men who have no desires for women” in
24:32, and “women . . . who have no sexual attraction towards men” in 24:60, and “the diversity on the
continuum of sexuality” as with the term mukhannathun – transvestites and effeminate men); (11) “the
problematic nature of the hadith;” (12) the Prophet “did not find any objection in the mukhannath
[effeminate] working for his wives while they were unveiled;” and (13) the Qur’an does not “decree the
death penalty” for homosexuals.
In his conclusion, Hendriks calls for “structures” that will “enable progressive Muslim thought to
flourish” including “increase[ed] dialogue62 between Western and non-Western Muslims” as well as
worship God according to the dictates of their own conscience, and not in the mold of heavy theological creeds.”
Keith Augustus Burton, The Blessing of Africa. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2007), 171.
59
In his Major Themes, Rahman says “The essence of all human rights is the equality of the entire human race,
which the Qur’an assumed, affirmed, and confirmed. It obliterated all distinctions among men except goodness
and virtue . . .” While Rahman does not address “religious liberty,” per se, his discussion on Jews and Christians
(The People of the Book) and other religious entities, could be understood to essentially encapsulate the concept
of religious liberty, especially in his discussion on “the Mother of the Book and [which is also called] the Hidden
Book” from which “all messages emanate,” a reference to “. . . different prophets . . . to different peoples and
nations at different times [whose] messages are universal and identical.” From my paper “Ahl al-kitāb: The People
of the Book, and Mohamed Talbi on Religious Pluralism.” Fazlur Rahman, Major Themes of the Quran (Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 2009), 45, 163. Compare also page 80: “. . . all over the world, there have been God’s
Messengers whether or not named in the Qur’an (40:78; 4:164). These Messengers of prophets are ‘sent to their
people’ at first but the message they deliver is not just local; it has a universal import and must be believed in and
followed by all humanity – this is what the indivisibility of prophethood means.”
60
Cf. (Jewish) Alan M. Dershowitz: “The Jewish Bible teaches about justice largely through examples of injustice
and imperfection. Genesis challenges the reader to react, to think for him- or herself, even to disagree. That is
why it is an interactive teaching tool, raising profound questions and inviting dialogue with the ages and with the
divine. … I love reading the Torah precisely because it requires constant reinterpretation and struggle.” Alan M.
Dershowitz, The Genesis of Justice: Ten Stories of Biblical Injustice that Led to the Ten Commandments and Modern
Morality and Law( New York: Warner Books, Inc., 2000), 2-3.
61
Hendricks quotes Josephus, Antiquities 1, 193-195: “1. (194) About this time the Sodomites grew proud, on
account of their riches and great wealth: they became unjust towards men, and impious towards God, insomuch
that they did not call to mind the advantages they received from him: they hated strangers, and abused
themselves with Sodomitical practices. (195) God was therefore much displeased at them, and determined to
punish them for their pride, and to overthrow their city, and to lay waste their country, until there should neither
plant nor fruit grow out of it.” [Emphasis mine.] F. Josephus and W. Whiston, The Works of Josephus: Complete
and Unabridged (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1987), Antiquities 1, 193–195.
62
Cf. “ . . . female genital cutting . . . The fight against this practice in Kenya might have gotten a wrong start
because Christian missionaries did not hold the type of dialogue necessary to end the practice.” Elias K. Bongmba,
Elias K., “The African Renaissance and Religion,” in Religion, Conflict, and Democracy in Modern Africa: The Role

“interfaith . . . dialogue” between Christians, Jews and Muslims, and collaboration with human rights
organizations.
Mohamed Talbi on Homosexuality
A prohibition of homosexuality is not mentioned in the Quran

“[O]ne of the most prominent Muslim modernist thinkers of the twentieth century” and a distinguished
“historian of mediaeval North Africa,” 63 Mohamed Talbi, in an April 15, 2015, TV “interview on Tunisia’s
TV Channel 1,”64 positively agreed with the Interviewer’s statement that “[t]he prohibition of
homosexuality is not mentioned in the Quran.” Talbi went on to say: “I believe that by remaining silent
about it, Allah left the issue of homosexuality in the hands of the worshippers, who may decide whether
to prevent it or not.” Under another topic – prostitution – put forth by the Interviewer, Talbi said,
“Show me a single Quranic verse prohibiting prostitution. […] The worshippers of Allah have the right to
prevent things that are harmful. Prevention is not prohibition.”
I’m a Quranic Muslim

Talbi, in the same interview, called himself a Quranic Muslim: “I am a Quranic Muslim, and that’s it. I
abide by the Quran, and nothing else. […] Any hadith that is compatible with the Quran is an authentic
hadith, regardless of its ascription. By the same token, any hadith that contradicts the Quran attributes
lies to the Prophet Muhammad.” He noted: “The problem is that the Islamic nation has divided into
sects, which are killing each other and accusing one another of heresy. […] The shari'a – or rather, the
shari'as – divide, whereas the Quran unites. Therefore, I do not subscribe to any shari'a whatsoever –
Shiite, Sunni, or any other.”
No Sex Ethic in the Sacred Text – Just a Love Ethics
Walter Wink
Nelson, in his discussion on a theology and ethics of homosexuality for Christians, concurs with Walter
of Civil Society in Political Engagement, edited by Elolia, Samuel K. (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2012),
67.
63
Ronald L. Nettler, in his article “Mohamed Talbi on understanding the Qur’an” in Modern Muslim Intellectuals
and the Qur’an, refers to Mohamed Talbi as “one of the most prominent Muslim modernist thinkers of the
twentieth century.” Citing three publications by Talbi in Arabic, Nettler notes: Talbi’s “writings on Islam and
modernity and religious pluralism are extensive.” In addition, Talbi has distinguished himself as “a historian of
mediaeval North Africa.”
64
“#4887 - Tunisian Scholar Mohamed Talbi: The Quran Does Not Prohibit Alcohol, Prostitution, or
Homosexuality,” The Middle East Media Research Institute TV Monitor Project, Channel 1, Tunisia, April 15, 2015,
accessed March 29, 2016, http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/4887.htm, transcript accessed May 1, 2016,
http://www.memritv.org/clip_transcript/en/4887.htm#

Wink: “There is no biblical sex ethic. The Bible knows only a love ethic which is constantly being brought
to bear on whatever sexual mores are dominant in any given country, or culture, or period.”65
Qur’an 4:3
We could easily apply Wink’s assertion, on both counts – a love ethic and existing dominant mores – to
the Qur’an’s endorsement of polygamy (existing dominant mores) in 4:3 in which the Qur’an qualifies
polygamous marriages with the condition that the husband must be able to care for his wives equally (a
love ethic).66
65
Nelson, James B. Nelson, “Sources for Body Theology: Homosexuality as a Test Case,” in Homosexuality in the
Church: Both Sides of the Debate, edited by Jeffrey S. Siker (Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press,
1994), 81.
66
One could extrapolate, that since the Qur’an says “if you fear you will not be fair [to your wives], then [marry]
only one; that is the safest course” (4:3), then, likewise a gay man (from America, for example – where marriages
are created around love and romance) man should reconsider before marrying a woman, simply because he may
find that he cannot be fair to her, i.e., he will never undress her with his eyes, he will never ravish her, he may, in
fact, even fail to bond with her (husband-wife) except on some level like a brother-sister relationship.

Appendix I
Chart created with quotes and information taken from

Fordham International Law Journal, Volume 37, Issue 1 (2013)
Created by Steve Parelli
Sharia and Homosexuality in the Muslim World (2012)

78 States (Muslim and non- Had criminal laws and penal sanctions attached, as a consequence of
Muslim, worldwide in 2012) sexual orientation, sexual behavior or gender identity
MUSLIM STATES - It seems that there is a certain “privileged” connection

between Islam and the repression of homosexuality
Iran, Yemen, Saudi Death Penalty All five states that currently (2012)
Arabia, Mauritania punish same-sex relations by the
and Sudan death penalty are Sharia-
compliant.
Nigeria – northern Death Penalty Has predominantly Muslim
region populations
Somalia – southern
parts
Iran, Yemen, Saudi Brutal Punishments Also occur in Muslim majority
Arabia, Sudan, Qatar, - including lashes states
Pakistan, Afghanistan, and public stoning,
Malaysia as well as arbitrary
executions
Maldives Life imprisonment Do so on the basis of the Sharia
injunctions
Bangladesh Punishment More “tolerant,” but still punishes
the offense of the “unnatural
intercourse”
Javaid Rehman & Eleni Polymenopoulou, “Is Green a Part of the Rainbow? Sharia, Homosexuality and
LGBT Rights in the Muslim World,” Fordham International Law Journal, Vol 37, Number 1 (2013).
http://fordhamilj.org/articles/is-green-a-part-of-the-rainbow-sharia-homosexuality-and-lgbt-rights-in-
the-muslim-world/;
http://fordhamilj.org/files/2014/02/FILJ_RehmanPolymenopoulou_IsGreenaPartoftheRainbow.pdf
(pages 3-5).

Appendix II
Transcript: Tunisian Scholar Mohamed Talbi: The Quran Does Not Prohibit
Alcohol, Prostitution, or Homosexuality
April 15, 2015 Clip No. 4887

Tunisian Scholar Mohamed Talbi: The Quran Does Not Prohibit Alcohol, Prostitution, or
Homosexuality
Tunisian Islamic scholar Mohamed Talbi recently expounded upon his views of Islam in an interview
on Tunisia's TV Channel 1. Talbi said that there are no Quranic verses prohibiting alcohol
consumption, prostitution, or homosexuality, noting that "prevention is not prohibition." Talbi, who
called himself a "Quranic Muslim," said that the claim that the Prophet Muhammad was illiterate
was "the greatest farce of all."
Following are excerpts from the interview, which aired on April 15, 2015.
Dr. Mohamed Talbi: The problem is that the Islamic nation has divided into sects, which are killing
each other and accusing one another of heresy. […] The shari'a – or rather, the shari'as – divide,
whereas the Quran unites. Therefore, I do not subscribe to any shari'a whatsoever – Shiite, Sunni,
or any other. […] I am a Quranic Muslim, and that's it. I abide by the Quran, and nothing else. […]
Any hadith that is compatible with the Quran is an authentic hadith, regardless of its ascription. By
the same token, any hadith that contradicts the Quran attributes lies to the Prophet Muhammad.
[…] The more distant a hadith becomes from the Prophet Muhammad, the more it expands like a
virus, at high speed. […] Only the Quran is obligatory. Anything that is not the Quran is man-made
and is not obligatory. […] Only Allah may prohibit things. Anyone other than Allah who prohibits
things is a polytheist.
Interviewer: What is the basis of your claim that alcohol was not prohibited? What is the Quranic
basis for this claim?
Dr. Mohamed Talbi: Many versus in the Quran deal with alcohol. I have quoted them and written
about them.
Interviewer: But they were abrogated, and as a consequence, alcohol was considered "defilement
and a work of Satan, so avoid it."
Dr. Mohamed Talbi: When I say to you: "avoid smoking," does this mean that smoking is
prohibited by the Quran? […] Excessive consumption of alcohol, to the point that one loses one's
reason, is the "defilement and a work of Satan." […]

Interviewer: What about prostitution?
Dr. Mohamed Talbi: Show me a single Quranic verse prohibiting prostitution. […] The worshippers
of Allah have the right to prevent things that are harmful. Prevention is not prohibition. […]
Interviewer: The prohibition of homosexuality is not mentioned in the Quran.
Dr. Mohamed Talbi: True.
Interviewer: Does that mean that homosexuality is halal? We know that God punished the people
of Sodom.
Dr. Mohamed Talbi: I believe that by remaining silent about it, Allah left the issue of
homosexuality in the hands of the worshippers, who may decide whether to prevent it or not. […]
With regard to the inheritance law, Allah, in His wisdom, saw the kind of society to which the
Quran was given. In that society, women were nothing but a sexual commodity.
Interviewer: That's not true. Khadija owned a business. The Prophet Muhammad was employed
by her at first.
Dr. Mohamed Talbi: Khadija owned a business, but what was the society in which she lived doing -
to females? Newborn girls would be buried alive, just because they were female and were
[considered] worthless. […] Allah granted women a share of the inheritance, which was in keeping
with the nature of their society. […] The Quranic approach is to improve the status of women.
Therefore, we may continue to improve the status of women further and further, until we reach
complete equality between men and women. […]
Interviewer: We all know that the Prophet Muhammad was an illiterate man.
Dr. Mohamed Talbi: He was what?
Interviewer: He was illiterate.
Talbi laughs
Interviewer: That makes you laugh? Do you believe that the Prophet knew how to read and write?
Dr. Mohamed Talbi: By God, this is the greatest farce of all.
Interviewer: This is what we were taught and what our children are being taught.
Dr. Mohamed Talbi: This is the greatest catastrophe of all.
Interviewer: How come?
Dr. Mohamed Talbi: Do you know what they say about the compilation of the Quran?
Interviewer: What do they say?

Dr. Mohamed Talbi: They say that since the Prophet Muhammad did not know how to read or
write… They understood "illiterate" to mean that he could not read or write. They put into his
mouth a hadith that goes: "We are an illiterate nation that can neither read nor write." The
conclusion one draws is that we should remain an illiterate nation that cannot read or write. […]
Interviewer: Do you believe that the Prophet knew how to read and write?
Dr. Mohamed Talbi: Of course. The Prophet Muhammad wrote the Quran on a piece of
parchment. In his home, he kept a written copy of the Quran, which he left to his wife Hafsa.
'Aisha had a copy of the Quran. Hafsa had one too. Where did they come from? Did they come
from the garbage, as the Islamic scholars say? Apparently, the Lord told the Islamic scholars that
the Prophet Muhammad would rummage through the garbage, and would find a piece of bone,
leather, or stone, and would say to some passerby: "Come over, and write the verse on this
shoulder bone for me," and then he would throw it somewhere in this home. His house was full of
putrid garbage. Does this make any sense? […] They say that when Othman came to power, he
collected all this garbage, and from it, the Quran emerged. […] If you were to enter a Sunni
mosque and set off a bomb that kills everybody, you would not go Paradise, right?
Interviewer: Right.
Dr. Mohamed Talbi: But if you blow yourself up in a mosque, killing Shiites – They say to you:
"Boy, when you blow yourself up, you can relax. As soon as you close your eyes, you will see 1,000
naked black-eyed virgins, waiting for you in Paradise." Why wouldn't he do it? "What am I doing
here?" he'd say. […]
Close
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Appendix III
Arabic Terms Directly, or Indirectly, Associated with Homosexuality
in Juridical Discourse
Source: Elysi Semerdjian, “Islam,” in Homosexuality and Religion: An Encyclopedia, edited by Jeffrey S. Siker (Westport, Connecticut:
Greenwood Press), PDF accessed April 21, 2016, http://islamicblessings.com/upload/Homosexuality-and-Religion-an-org.pdf, 128 (PDF 141) –
129 (PDF 142).
Note: Text in the chart is generally taken as direct quotation from the source. The char, with emboldened words, is designed by Steve Parelli
Term Defined/ Described Additional Notes/ Significance
zina A legal category. Illicit sexual intercourse Premodern Arabic and Ottoman Turkish
(outside of the marriage contract), a sources do not refer to cases of same-sex
term that covers: fornication, adultery, relationships as homosexuality, instead
rape homosexuality and prostitution. these acts are legally catalogued as zina
crimes.
louta The physical act of sodomy. Legal sources do not show a term denoting a
lifestyle of homosexual sex. The cultural
assumption was that engaging in such an act
was not necessarily a lifestyle choice.
louti The active partner (the penetrator). The penetrator is viewed as being masculine
mukhannath The passive partner (the penetrated). The passive party is effeminate—a
The mukhannath maintains his status in notion that lies at the root of the term
societythroughout his lifetime; this is mukhannath in Arabic which literally means
evident in the stigma attached to the “effeminate.”
passive party in the sex act.
khuntha This term can mean hermaphrodite or Allowed to see women unveiled and would
even transvestite; considered a third sit in an intermediary position between men
sex status by jurists. and women in the mosque when in
attendance.

Appendix IV
East Africa Coast and Close Ties to Arabia
The port cites of Mombasa and Zanzibar and their surrounding regions “provide
an instance where reports” with “some historical depth” dating to the nineteenth
century, document homosexuality. As Muslim trade-domination grew in the
Indian Ocean after 1000 AD, the coastal ports of eastern Kenya and Tanzania
became “Muslim city-states with close ties to Arabia.” Swahili, the trade-
language between the Arabs and the coast of Kenya, has words depicting
homosexuality as testified to by the 1882 Swahili-English dictionary, its first
publication. Gilll Shepherd, in her 1978 report on “Mombasan same sex
patterns,” concluded that “both male and female homosexuality is relatively
common among Muslims, involving perhaps one in twenty-five adults.” In her
subsequent 1987 report on the same study, without explanation, she “raised the
estimate to one in ten.”
Pseudo-historical findings blamed the Arabs for importing homosexuality to

Africa, or “due to their influence” Africans adopted same-sex sexual practices.
This was “Christian Europeans blaming homosexuality [in Africa] on Muslims.”
Stephen O. Murray and Will Roscoe, ed., Boy-Wives and Female Husbands:
Studies in African Homosexualities (New York: Palgrave, 1998), 8, 12.

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Islam and Homosexuality:

How Islamic Modernists are working for Reform within Islam

In partial fulfillment for the requirements of the course

Why should we be prudish? – al’ Scott Siraj al-Haqq Kugle

Muslim Outcasts and the Tent of Islam

What Price for Religious Freedom under Islamic Rule?

Islamic Law, Homosexuality and the need to Reform Attitudes

Homosexuality in the Lives of Medieval Muslims

A Significant Corollary Between Paul and Hrosvitha

Moral Superiority and Homosexuality: Jews over Gentiles, Christians over

The Islamic Version of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”

Islam and Homosexuality by Rev . Stephen Parelli, May 2016 page 1

Scott Siraj al-Haqq Kugle:

Semerdjian on Homosexuality in the Qur’an, Hadith and

The Inner Circle: Meeting Gay Muslims’ Need for

Mohamed Talbi on Homosexuality

No Sex Ethic in the Sacred Text – Just a Love Ethic

Islam and Homosexuality by Rev . Stephen Parelli, May 2016 page 2

Islam and Homosexuality by Rev . Stephen Parelli, May 2016 page 3

Islam and Homosexuality by Rev . Stephen Parelli, May 2016 page 4

During colonialization, modernist imperialists brought industrial development and urbanization to

Potential Christian Counterparts and My Christian Theological Perspective

I work as the Executive Director of Other Sheep (www.othersheepexecsite.com), an ecumenical inter-

Islam and Homosexuality by Rev . Stephen Parelli, May 2016 page 5

Muslim Outcasts and the Tent of Islam

Gay American Muslims

Some 2015 Worldwide Anti-Gay Muslim Incidences

Islam and Homosexuality by Rev . Stephen Parelli, May 2016 page 6

The highway that connects gay Muslims with gay Muslims

What Price for Religious Freedom under Islamic Rule?

Islam and Homosexuality by Rev . Stephen Parelli, May 2016 page 7

Islam and Homosexuality by Rev . Stephen Parelli, May 2016 page 8

Expressed concern over Shari’a

Reform through theological accommodations

Islam and Homosexuality by Rev . Stephen Parelli, May 2016 page 9

Homosexuality in the Lives of Medieval Muslims

Homophobic Christian Spain in 693

A “gay-friendly” Islamic invasion of Spain in 711

Homoerotic poetry and prose in Medieval Arabic world, especially in Spain

Islam and Homosexuality by Rev . Stephen Parelli, May 2016 page 10

A Significant Corollary Between Paul and Hrosvitha in

Hrosvitha’s narrative poem

Muslim interest in homoeroticism, indicative of their inferiority

Islam and Homosexuality by Rev . Stephen Parelli, May 2016 page 11

Jewish superiority over Gentles, like medieval Christians to Muslims

The Islamic Version of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”

Arabic men and gay sex: Without fear and restraint

Everyone does it in Iran

Customary not to talk about other people, to care for yourself

Islam and Homosexuality by Rev . Stephen Parelli, May 2016 page 12

Normative standards, public consent

Scott Siraj al-Haqq Kugle: A Modernist Approach to Homosexuality in Islam35

Overview and Why sex is so important and How we got here

Islam and Homosexuality by Rev . Stephen Parelli, May 2016 page 13

Sexuality and erotic life among Muslims

Diversity and sexuality in the Qur’an

Islam and Homosexuality by Rev . Stephen Parelli, May 2016 page 14

Islam and Homosexuality by Rev . Stephen Parelli, May 2016 page 15

Homosexuality that is not in the Qur’an