Homosexuality In Islam: A detailed look at the hidden harms of same-sex relationships and the rationale behind the prohibition of homosexual sex in Islam.
NOTE: No disrespect is intended by this post to people with attractions towards others of the same sex. As human beings such people deserve our respect and compassion, not hatred and abuse. We are simply stating the facts as best we can glean from current data, just as we look at the risks and benefits of smoking, exercise and so on.
A cool examination of the facts shows that the modern liberal premise that ‘consenting sex between adults is harmless’, is entirely false.
The harms and suffering caused by these acts of ‘pleasure’ – including STD epidemics, child neglect, high rates of crime, poor educational outcomes, mental and emotional disease, drug abuse and loneliness in old age – vindicate completely the religious prohibition of such activities.
Islam is a religion of fitrah i.e innate nature. God would never prohibit something that accords with our nature, or is beneficial to us.
Rather, In Islam, the objective of all rules is to help us ‘purify our selves’ (tazkiya an nafs) and thus prove worthy of Eternity with God in Paradise ( Qur’an 20:76).
Thus, no Islamic law is random or purposeless. These restrictions are all either to purify our morals, our bodies, or what we eat and drink.
Homosexual intercourse involves physical impurity (with serious health implications), but the research indicates it also may have a deleterious effect upon our moral being, opening the door to other moral impurities such as drug use and other crimes which are much more common in Gay and Lesbian people.
It seems that giving in to homosexual urges, leads (in many but not all cases) to ever more risky and damaging behaviour .
The restraints placed on our behaviour by our Creator, are necessary to help our souls to grow. Whilst giving in to our base impulses, leads one to seek ever more thrills, whatever the cost:
… by the soul and how He (God) formed it, then inspired it to understand what was right and wrong for it. …He who purifies it will indeed be successful, and he who corrupts it is sure to fail
Al-Qur’an 91:7-8
Homosexuality and Physical Health Issues
A number of same sex activities bring serious health risks, to both partners and anyone else they later have sexual relations with:
- Anal Sex is risky since it can cause tears, leakage of fecal material and incontinence, and mixing of bodily fluids . Anal fissures, hemorrhoids, anorectal trauma and retained foreign bodies can result. This is because it is an abuse of the anus to subject it to penetration. It is not designed to withstand sex unlike the vagina: “Physiologically, the anus is not designed for penetration by any hard object. As a protective reflex action, the anal sphincter tightens ordinarily if stimulated. Any attempt at penile insertion can be distressing, even if done slowly and gradually. The lining [mucus membrane] of the rectum is very thin, tears easily, does not heal fast and therefore is vulnerable to infections. Also, the tears can enlarge to a fissure or a crack. These are painful and slow to heal. There is also a possibility that a fistula could open up, allowing feces to re-route into the abdominal cavity. This can cause serious surgical complications” (https://www.ausfamily.org/resources/sexual-behaviour/the-gay-sex-secret-homosexuals-want-no-one-to-know)
- Anal sex makes one highly susceptible to serious STDs including HIV. There are a massive number of sexually transmitted diseases amongst men who sex with men, and many are reaching epidemic levels including: Chlamydia trachomatis, Cryptosporidium Giardia, lamblia, Herpes simplex virus, Human immunodeficiency virus, Human papilloma virus, Isospora belli, Microsporidia, Gonorrhea, Viral hepatitis types B & C, Syphilis …Sexual transmission of some of these diseases is so rare in the exclusively heterosexual population as to be virtually unknown ...A 1988 CDC survey identified 21 percent of all Hepatitis B cases as being homosexually transmitted while 18 percent were heterosexually transmitted.Since homosexuals comprise such a small percent of the population (only 1-3 percent), they have a significantly higher rate of infection than heterosexuals. (The Lancet, 351: 1833-1839, p. 1836 (June 20, 1998)
- Anal Cancer is far more common amongst Gay people than the general population: “Gay men experience rates of anal cancer of up to 20 fold higher than the general population.For HIV-positive gay men, the risk is further elevated.” (https://www.afao.org.au/article/gay-men-anal-cancer/)
- Dangerous, unhygienic practices such as ‘Rimming’ (using one’s mouth in the anal region) cause serious parasitic infections in Gay men, that are not found in other parts of the population. This phenomenon is so common that it is given the name ‘Gay bowel syndrome’ (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/26716190_Sexual_transmission_of_intestinal_parasites_in_men_who_have_sex_with_men)
- Lesbians are at a higher risk level for breast and certain other cancers than straight women: “Lesbians have the richest concentration of risk factors for breast cancer than any subset of women in the world… Lesbians have higher risks for many of the gynecologic cancers…” (https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/aids/consumers/lgbt/lesbian_health_concerns.htm)
- Lesbians have higher levels of some STDs: A 2000 study in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections asserted that women who have sex with women (WSW) had higher rates of bacterial vaginosis, hepatitis C, and HIV risk behaviors (specified as “more likely to report previous sexual contact with a homo/bisexual man . . . or with an injecting drug user . . .”) than the heterosexual control group. (Feathers, K, et al, 2000)
- Gay people may have shortened life expectancy: “An epidemiological study from Vancouver, Canada of data tabulated between 1987 and 1992 for AIDS-related deaths reveals that male homosexual or bisexual practitioners lost up to 20 years of life expectancy. The study concluded that if 3 percent of the population studied were gay or bisexual, the probability of a 20-year-old gay or bisexual man living to 65 years was only 32 percent, compared to 78 percent for men in general”(R. S. Hogg, S. A. Strathdee, et al., “Modeling the Impact of HIV Disease on Mortality in Gay and Bisexual Men,” International Journal of Epidemiology, 26(3): 657-661, p. 659 (1997))
Homosexuality, Mental Illness & Substance Abuse
- Mental illness is much more common in Gay and lesbian people, even in Gay tolerant societies such as the Netherlands: “this study offers evidence that homosexuality is associated with a higher prevalence of psychiatric disorders. The outcomes are in line with findings from earlier studies in which less rigorous designs have been employed.” (Theo Sandfort, Ron de Graaf, et al., “Same-sex Sexual Behavior and Psychiatric Disorders,” Archives of General Psychiatry, 2 (January 2001).
- “Findings from recent research suggest that lesbians and bisexual women are at greater risk for alcohol and drug use disorders and related problems, and that gay and bisexual men are at greater risk for illicit drug use and related problems. Several sociocultural factors have emerged as correlates of substance use patterns in LGB populations (e.g., affiliation with gay culture, HIV-status), and several demographic characteristics (e.g., female, older age) do not appear to be as robust of protective factors against substance abuse for LGB individuals compared to heterosexual populations. Bsexual identity and/or behavior in particular seem to be related to increased risk for substance abuse” (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3288601/)
Promiscuity, Sexually Risky Behaviour and Crime
- The vast majority of Gay men and many homosexual women have multiple sex partners at one time. Monagamy in Gay relationships hardly exists, and given all the above health risks this behaviour causes and spreads disease far and wide “A study of gay men attending circuit parties showed that 46 percent were coupled, that is, they claimed to have a “primary partner.” Twenty-seven percent of the men with primary partners “had multiple sex partners (oral or anal) during their most recent circuit party weekend . . . .” For gay men, sex outside the primary relationship is ubiquitous even during the first year. Gay men reportedly have sex with someone other than their partner in 66 percent of relationships within the first year, rising to approximately 90 percent if the relationship endures over five years. And the average gay or lesbian relationship is short lived. In one study, only 15 percent of gay men and 17.3 percent of lesbians had relationships that lasted more than three years.Thus, the studies reflect very little long-term monogamy in GLB relationships.” (https://www.catholiceducation.org/en/marriage-and-family/sexuality/the-health-risks-of-gay-sex.html)
- There is a disgusting Gay subculture called bug chasing wherein Gay men deliberately seek men with HIV so they can contract it and spread it to others (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17166076/)
- Many Gay men recklessly have sex without condoms, despite the risks.
- There is a controversial paper (included here only for the sake of completion and debate) that suggests homosexuality may be linked with many dangerous activities: … “homosexuals (about 4% of the sample) as compared to heterosexuals: (1) more frequently exposed themselves to biological hazards (e.g., sadomasochism, fisting, bestiality, ingestion of feces); (2) exposed themselves sexually to more different bodies (e.g., more frequently admitted to participating in orgies, reported considerably larger numbers of sexual partners); (3) more frequently reported participating in socially disruptive sex (e.g., deliberate infection of others, cheating in marriage, making obscene phone calls); and (4) more frequently reported engaging in socially disruptive activities (e.g., criminality, shoplifting, tax cheating). From the standpoints of individual health, public health and social order, participating in homosexual activity could be viewed as dangerous to society and incompatible with full health.” (Cameron, P., Cameron, K., & Proctor, K. Effect of homosexuality upon public health and social order. Psychological Reports, 1989, 64, 1167-1179.)
- Some Research suggests there is a much higher proportion of Paedophiles amongst Gay Men: “Using phallometric test sensitivities to calculate the proportion of true pedophiles among various groups of sex offenders against children, and taking into consideration previously reported mean numbers of victims per offender group, the ratio of heterosexual to homosexual pedophiles was calculated to be approximately 11:1. This suggests that the resulting proportion of true pedophiles among persons with a homosexual erotic development is greater than that in persons who develop heterosexually. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1556756/
- Gay and lesbian people are over-represented in prison, indicating a much higher proportional rate of serious crime: “The incarceration rate of self-identified lesbian, gay, or bisexual persons was 1882 per 100 000, more than 3 times that of the US adult population.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5227944/
Children raised by Same Sex Parents
- Children raised by same sex parents are 35 percent less likely to make progress at school than those raised by traditional families (Allen D.W., Pakaluk C., Price J.. 2012.)
- They have worse outcomes as adults on a wide range of emotional problems and social issues: “…children of lesbians and gays fared worse than those in intact heterosexual families on 77 of the 80 outcome measures.” (Regnerus M. 2012)
- Children born by artificial insemination and surrogacy on average have more depression, substance abuse problems, emotional and behavioural problems (Marquardt T., Glenn N., Clark K. 2010 & Golombok S., Blake L., Casey P., Roman G., Jadva V.. 2013)
- Children raised by homosexual couples are twice as likely to suffer from a range of emotional problems(Sullins D.P. 2015a) Mental Health & Substance Abuse)
Final Thoughts
Same- sex, sexual relationships entail many serious adverse effects upon the individuals concerned, and society as a whole.