On 2021-12-06, at its weekly session, the Qatari parliament implicitly referred to this issue when it held a discussion, at the behest of several MPs, on the need to uphold the values of Islam and the norms of Qatari society. Stressing the need to preserve “the virtuous principles and values and strengthen the role of religion and of the doctrine of tolerance in society,” the parliament also voiced its rejection of phenomena that are “alien” to Qatari society, and called to take the necessary action against anyone who promotes them. It emphasized the central role of the family and the need to protect it from negative phenomena that harm the social fabric. The parliament also spoke of the need to strengthen the religious and moral mettle of the youth, preserve the Islamic identity and oppose anything that contravenes it. [7]
Homosexual Relations Are A Perversion And Moral Degeneracy
The International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), which is based in Qatar and supported by it, took a much more explicit position in a fatwa it issued on December 12, 2021, signed by its head Ahmad Al-Raissouni and secretary-general ‘Ali Al-Qaradhari. The fatwa forbids homosexuality and defines it as a moral perversion – a position shared by other Islamic religious institutions, such as the Egyptian Al-Azhar.[8]
The IUMS fatwa said: “In the recent years there has been an increase in the Western campaigns and pressures aimed at forcing all the peoples of the world, and all human beings, to accept homosexuality, welcome it, and regard it as one of the basic human rights, as though it is one of the conditions for happiness, civilized [existence] and progress. These campaigns use this right to slander and malign the majority of world peoples that still condemn homosexuality and regard it as a moral perversion. The [Western] campaigns and political and media pressure have come to the point of oppressing, punishing and persecuting anyone who voices a different opinion and criticizes homosexuality… [1]
“In accordance with its religious duty, the IUMS rules and stresses that:
“1. Homosexual relations between two men or two women are absolutely forbidden according to the Quran, the Sunna and the consensus of religious scholars in all schools of Islam…
“2. All the divine religions, such as Judaism, Christianity and others, forbid and condemn homosexual relations.
“3. The fervent attempts to present the filthy phenomenon of homosexuality, and the farce of same-sex marriage and same-sex families, as socially and legally normal pose an existential and cultural threat to humanity…
“4. The accusations and slander directed at the peoples who reject homosexuality, especially at the Islamic peoples, and the persecution campaigns aimed at hobbling whoever criticizes and opposes [homosexuality], are a horrible violation of freedom of opinion and belief and constitute bossiness, selfishness, tyranny and patronage directed by the West and its servants at the peoples of the world…
“5. Finally, the IUMS recommends heeding the voice of reason, jurisprudence, wisdom and the common Muslim good, and refraining from being swayed by the voice of deviancy and [moral] degeneracy…”[9]
Qatari Press: Homosexuals Are An Evil And Perverted Group That Has No Place In Our Society
As stated, homophobic incitement was also manifest in articles in the Qatari press and in tweets by Qatari journalists, which warned against accepting homosexuality or promoting gay rights, seeing this as moral anarchy that threatens Qatari society and Islamic society in general. [1]
Qatari Columnist: Homosexuals Are Perverts With “Rotten Genes”; We Must Protect Our Children From Them
‘Abd Al-‘Aziz Al-‘Abdallah, a columnist for the Qatari daily Al-Sharq, warned against what he described as the campaign to promote homosexuality through commercials, films and even sports events, calling to fight this and protect the children from it. He wrote: “In the past, when we saw some product being advertised by a scantily-dressed model we would immediately change the channel so the children wouldn’t see it and so it wouldn’t affect their morals and upbringing. In fact, even adults would be embarrassed whenever they came across scenes in foreign films that included kissing… [1]
“In the past, the ones called ‘homosexuals’ were ashamed to appear in public, and how could they not be? They are a group of people without a single normal gene, who are neither male nor female! Nevertheless, there was a plan [to promote tolerance towards them], which took years to formulate and which people and states did not know about. It began with designing a symbol for them, a colorful flag. Some countries outlawed displaying this flag and oppressed this group. But sadly, some countries embraced it and recognized its symbols. Worse, these countries treat anyone who harms these symbols as a criminal and punish him as severely as possible! [1]
“Films on foreign channels now feature actors who carry this rotten gene… Filmmakers present them as a normal and sensitive group of people! [Homosexuality] is becoming ever more visible in Western societies, and worse, it is gaining a presence, and has begun to appear almost openly, in the Arab and Muslim societies [as well]. The ongoing culture of cultivating the idea [of homosexuality] has apparently begun to yield its rotten fruit. [1]
“Not long ago, a commercial for an international clothing brand showed two men kissing and two women kissing!… This shows that the issue has transcended the level of individuals and has become [a campaign] of organizations and states. Some athletes have apparently begun marketing the homosexual symbol [i.e., the rainbow flag], supporting them and acting to present them in society as a normal and ordinary phenomenon! [1]
“All this compels us to sound the warning bell. Ads for our favorite brands feature homosexuals; an athlete we liked and whose talent we enjoyed seeing is calling to accept them, and movies, as well as actors we have been avidly following for years, have joined their ranks or the ranks of their supporters! [1]
“We crucially need an information and guidance campaign, and activity by individuals, associations and institutions. We must drum into our children that this group is bad and deviant. [We must not] make light of this or express sympathy for people’s deviation from human nature as it was created by Allah. [1]
“When you find a leak in your sewage pipe, you must fix it immediately, otherwise the sewage will ruin everything in your home and cause irreparable damage. The same is true of children. If we allow these ideas to enter their minds without opposing them, they will fill their minds and bodies and contaminate them. [1]
“[Hadith narrator] Ibn ‘Abbas[10] said: ‘The Prophet cursed men who behave like women and women who behave like men, saying, ‘expel them from your homes’…” [11]
Omar Mukbil puts it this way
All praise be to Allah.
A Muslim should not doubt, even for an instant, that what Allah has prescribed is not wise. He should know that there is great wisdom in what Allah has commanded and what He has forbidden; it is the straight path and is the only way in which man can be safe and at peace, protecting his honour, his mind and his health, in accordance with the natural disposition (fitrah) with which Allah has created man.
Some heretics have tried to attack Islam and its rulings; they have denounced divorce and plural marriage and permitted alcohol. Those who look at the state of their societies will see the state of misery which those societies have reached.
When they rejected divorce, murder took its place. When they rejected plural marriage, men started to take mistresses instead. When they allowed alcohol, all kinds of shameful and immoral actions became widespread.
They (homosexual men and women) both go against the natural disposition (fitrah) which Allah has created in mankind – and also in animals – whereby the male is inclined towards the female, and vice versa. Whoever goes against that goes against the natural disposition of mankind, the fitrah.
The spread of homosexuality has caused man diseases which neither the east nor the west can deny exist because of them. Even if the only result of this perversion was AIDS – which attacks the immune system in humans – that would be enough.
It also causes the breakup of the family and leads people to give up their work and study because they are preoccupied with these perversions.
Since the prohibition has come from his Lord, the Muslim should not wait until medicine proves that harm befalls the one who does that which Allah has forbidden. Rather he must believe firmly that Allah only prescribes that which is good for people, and these modern discoveries should only increase his certainty and confidence in the greatness of Allah’s wisdom.
Ibn al-Qayyim said:
“Both of them – fornication and homosexuality – involve immorality that goes against the wisdom of Allah’s creation and commandment. For homosexuality involves innumerable evil and harms, and the one to whom it is done would be better off being killed than having this done to him, because after that he will become so evil and so corrupt that there can be no hope of his being reformed, and all good is lost for him, and he will no longer feel any shame before Allah or before His creation. The semen of the one who did that to him will act as a poison on his body and soul. The scholars differed as to whether the one to whom it is done will ever enter Paradise. There are two opinions which I heard Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) narrate.”
– It was narrated that Jaabir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘There is nothing I fear for my ummah more than the deed of the people of Lut.’”
(Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 1457; Ibn Maajah, 2563. This hadeeth was classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allah have mercy on him) in Saheeh al-Jaami’, no. 1552).
– It was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbaas said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “… cursed is the one who has intercourse with an animal, cursed is the one who does the action of the people of Lut.”
(Narrated by Ahmad, 1878. This hadeeth was classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’, no. 5891).
Notes:
