Gay Muslims Reveal Different Evolutionary Stages of Faith Development

An article from the New York Times called "Gay Muslims Find Freedom, of a Sort, in the U.S." describes the various attitudes towards homosexuality in Islam. Cataloged are a variety of perspectives that demonstrate various stages of increasing acceptance of homosexuality and unfolding truth. In terms of evolutionary holistic theory such as Spiral Dynamics, a variety of value memes are demonstrated ranging from red to blue to orange to green and turquoise.

At the bottom of the scale (red): tribalistic egocentrism - homosexuality is seen as an assault on the honor of the tribe

[Ayman] is convinced that a 22-year-old gay friend who died after a fall from an apartment building was the victim of an “honor” killing meant to clean the family’s reputation. “I still feel like I’m a Muslim; I don’t accept that anyone insults the faith,” said Ayman, who avoids attending mosque. “When I read what it says in the Koran, then I fear Judgment Day.”

In the middle of the scale (blue): mythic-membership traditionalism - homosexuality is regarded as behavior, behavior judged according to the dictates of a centuries-old tradition

The consultant, trying to reconcile being gay and Muslim, divides his sins into the redeemable and those warranting hellfire. “Anal sex for either a man or woman is wrong, so when I really think about it, I tell myself not to have sex,” he said, describing a failed four-year experiment with celibacy.

Higher on the evolutionary ladder (orange): myths scrubbed by rational reassessments, cleansing traditional prohibitions in the purifying fire of worldcentric reason

In traditional seats of Islamic learning, like Egypt and Iran, punishment against blatant homosexual activity, not to mention against trying to establish a gay rights movement, can be severe. These governments are prone to label homosexuality a Western phenomenon, as happened in September when Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, spoke at Columbia University. But far more leeway to dissect the topic exists in places where gay rights are more protected.

As a rule, gay Muslim activists lacked the scholarly grounding needed to scrutinize time-honored teachings. But that is changing, activists say, partly because no rigid clerical hierarchy exists in the West to bar such research.

Even higher (green): a pluralistic embrace of a variety of sexual orientations as perfectly valid ways of loving

About 15 people marched alongside the Muslim float in this city’s notoriously fleshy Gay Pride Parade earlier this year, with various men carrying the flags of Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine and Turkey and even Iran’s old imperial banner.

While other floats featured men dancing in leather Speedos or women with scant duct tape over their nipples, many Muslims were disguised behind big sunglasses, fezzes or kaffiyehs wrapped around their heads.

Even as they reveled in newfound freedom compared with the Muslim world, they remained closeted, worried about being ostracized at the mosque or at their local falafel stand.

Not described explicitly, but suggested: an even higher (turquoise) mystical vision of God's love that denies the validity of distinctions between gay and straight, and embraces same-sex desire and love as one of the fundamental ways that God's love is embodied...

Renowned poets wrote odes glorifying handsome boys. Some were interpreted as metaphors about loving God, but some were paeans to gay sex. Rafique and others argue that homosexuality became criminalized only under European colonialism.

“From the 10th to the 14th century, Muslim society used to be a far richer mix of the legal, the rational and the mystic,” said Rafique, an anthropologist. “They looked at sexuality as one aspect of life’s many possibilities, and they saw in it the hope for spiritual insight. I came across this stuff, and it helped me reconcile the two.”

Some mosques with a Sufi orientation extend a rare welcome to gay Muslims.

Comments

[Felipe Crook]

Very interesting post. I hope religious fundamentalists will some day open up their minds to the potential of living together without killing and maiming for their cause. Thanks for your post.
Felipe

[J]

Just this past Sunday we had a guest at our own Metropolitan Community Church, you know, the gay church.
He and his wife were from a mosque in town, our congregation is doing an exploration series of the different crossroads of spirituality; this past Sunday was Islam.
There was much trepidation about this service leading up to it but when it came time; I thought it helped my averagely ignorant Western mind make room for a bit of enlightenment.
Both he and his wife were very pleasant, both had a quiet, reverent manner, it felt they were both deeply connected to Spirit, which, as the time went by, I felt was a reflection of their devotion to their faith.
I found my understanding of this man's explanation of Islam to be a stark, sensual, tranquil vision of faith.
He talked of the first tenet, being submission to God. He used the word submission and not, in my mind, surrender, a subtle but I think important distinction. The difference in my mind being the difference between; this is dicey, be forewarned,
Spirit-space and sub-space; a distinctly feminine energy space to be in. Whether these two places can overlap or not I am not sure yet.
In a society where so many are only out for themselves it was refreshing to this couple devoted to each other, she to him, and to their faith together.

[Kittredge Cherry]

Thanks for this insightful and beautifully written analysis. I think that the same stages of faith development are revealed in the various attitudes of Christians toward homosexuality.

[ned]

I agree with this assessment, Joe. It is mostly the Universalist Sufi Orders who welcome people who have had queer experiences though, largely because they already expanded the Sufi tradition beyond the Islamic tradition. Where Sufi Orders retain Islam in its outer manifestation, it is not likely that they will accept LGBT people.

[Keith]

I wish fundamentalist would just learn to think.

[ru]

I am a muslim and a lesbian. I am still working on coming to terms with a sin??? i believe in destiny, so there comes my question: how can i be found guilty of something i was predetermined to do. nothing happens without Allah's will. This is probably in every gay muslim's head..

[ned]

Hi ru,

I grew up a Muslim and I have dealt with a lot of the issues you are talking about. I know first-hand how painful this process can be. But I can assure you that there are deep and incredible rewards to following your heart, and I would encourage you to do the same.

I am from Pakistan, but am currently at grad school in New York. I am involved with some Sufi Orders here as well. If you'd like to get in touch privately and discuss some of these issues, I'd be happy to correspond. My e-mail address is ned (at) naqsh (dot) org.

Be well and never follow anything but your own heart and innermost aspirations.

[ned]

Btw, don't be misled by my nick -- I'm not a gay man, I'm also a lesbian, so I can understand how queer issues tie in with issues of sexism within Islamic culture ... will be happy to help any way I can.