RAINBOW TINTED LENSES AND BLACK N WHITE UNIVERSES
Maryam Sakeenah
An interesting clash ensued in the wake of the US Supreme
Court’s ruling legalizing homosexual marriage. While the supporters of the
cause celebrated having finally broken free from the bondage to regressive
conservatism, there was on the other end of the spectrum, anger and bitterness
over the mainstreaming of what is seen as a violation of God’s law and the
‘natural’ order of things.
Pakistan’s vibrant social media also reflected these
divergent trends with a furious melee between those sporting rainbow coloured
profiles and those invoking the wrath of God over the supporters of the new
law.
The anger on both sides is quite misplaced and irrational. The clash between secular liberalism and conservative religion is inevitable and there to stay. The verdict coming from secular USA which prides itself in its liberal values is not surprising or outrageous. It is also understandable that those who subscribe to traditional religious faith would have a different opinion. It is all a matter of what one believes and how one looks at society and the wider world.
The problem, however, is with the attitude of moral
superiority by the secular liberals. The twitter hashtag ‘#Lovewins’ for the
sexual equality movement reeks of it, among other things. As if those who hold
a different opinion do so out of hate; as if believing in traditional values
and holding on to religious convictions is anti-love and against all that is
humane and compassionate and egalitarian.
This presumption of moral superiority by the secular
liberals at home and abroad is based on the idea that the conservative
dissenters merely hold on with blind and ignorant stubbornness to outmoded and
archaic religious convictions that pull humanity back from its path to progress
laid out by the liberal reformist programme. This presumption is based on the
widespread inability (even among Muslims) to understand the rationality of
religious sexual ethics.
Parallels with the animal kingdom in which sporadic
homosexual behaviour can be observed is often invoked to prove that
homosexuality occurs in nature hence the religious idea that it is a violation
of God’s order is incorrect. This comparison with the animal kingdom fails to
understand the fundamental premise of religion: that human existence has a
Divinely ordained purpose and goal, and that human civilization is to be
ordered on values and principles to facilitate the individual and collective
pursuit of the purpose of human life. A number of patterns exist in the animal
kingdom which, if mainstreamed in human society on the pretext that they are
‘natural’ in the jungle, can lead to chaos and perhaps extermination of human
civilization.
According to the religious understanding, man has been
endowed with the sexual instinct for several purposes- the most obvious is of
course procreation and the continuation of the human race. However, it is also the
sexual instinct that forms the most basic of human relationships which is the
foundation of the human family. The family unit is the fundamental building
block of human society, the oldest and most universal pattern of the human
community; it is a means to engender and socialize individuals, a support
system and a natural means to provide a number of vital social functions.
Daniel Haqiqatjou writes, “Before modernity, family organization was the primary communal
structure upon which people relied. Everything went through the extended
family, e.g., business and one’s livelihood, education, health care, dispute
mediation, and much more. Today, all these areas of life fall under the purview
of the nation state and its corporate extensions, so we lose this sense of the
importance of family cohesion and, correspondingly, how dangerous and
disruptive a violation of it really is and was for past societies.”
The human family is sustained on the concept of masculine and
feminine complementarity. This means that the individual characteristics, roles
and responsibilities of the male and the female gel together the marital bond
and become the basis for the family to flourish. As
parents, both men and women have clearly defined roles and responsibilities and
the children they give birth to, benefit from both in specific ways.
Homosexuality and adulterous heterosexuality do not
fulfil any of these purposes why Allah has created the sexual impulse in human
beings. This leaves only a single purpose behind such sexual behaviours: sexual
expression, indulgence and adventurism. Islam does not recognize this as an
unconditional human right to be freely carried out in society, because human
beings are capable of functioning on a level higher than a mere pursuit of the
carnal drives. Even heterosexuals cannot express their sexual instinct except
in a relationship of marriage with all the responsibilities it entails. Islam
envisions an ordered society in which moral behaviour is regulated for the well
being of all. Homosexuality and all other sexual behaviour which does not
fulfill the purpose why Allah has put the sexual instinct in us is therefore
discouraged.
The problem with legalizing homosexual relationships
is that such recognition and acceptance of this sexual practice facilitates and
encourages it. The soaring rates of homosexuality in some societies are largely
because social acceptance of this incites many to experiment with it and indulge
in it.
If a human being is put in a trial by Allah through
an abnormal sexual orientation or through absence of opportunity to establish a
legitimate sexual relationship, they are required to be patient through finding
strength in faith. Self restraint and self control of our animal drives is
something Islam requires from all Muslims. Some people are tested harder with
this, and homosexuals fall in that category. A believer who is faced with this
must direct his focus to other aspects of human life and develop himself
spiritually and otherwise to live a fulfilling, productive life. In order to
make this easy for them, psychological counselling, rehabilitation and support
should be provided in Islamic societies. However, those who refuse to restrain
themselves and pursue their carnal instincts (hetero or homo sexual) go against
the spirit and teachings of Islam. If such behaviour is indulged in openly and
shamelessly without restraint, then it is punishable by Islamic law as well.
The ethics of sexuality in Islam prescribe limits
even for heterosexual relationships within marriage. Not only do these conform
to Islamic standards of hygiene, health, safety and physical well being, but
also uphold human dignity and a minimal standard of modesty. As homosexuality
is not the typical sexual behaviour for which the human body is designed, it
often involves methods and means which fall short of Islamic sexual ethics and
regulations. It is scientifically proven that homosexuality (just as
promiscuity) is a primary cause of the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
Homosexuality being a natural urge to someone is no
justification in Islam for permitting it. Sadism can be natural to some people;
so can serial killing or kleptomania, and these urges can only be recognized as
a basic human right to the detriment of human society.
True freedom entails mutual respect of divergent views,
which is quite ironically, absent in the sneering condescension with which
secular liberals view the religious position on homosexuality. Believers in
religion in this day and age are challenged with holding on to their
convictions in a secular milieu which betrays its own ideals of liberty and
tolerance of difference. The challenge is to refuse to be part of the melee,
accept that the difference exists and is there to stay and yet being firmly
poised in a profound conviction in the ‘hikmah’ of the Divine scheme of
things.
