The 9th National Congress (Munas IX) of Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) held in Surabaya in the end of August resulted in 15 recommendations, one of which is related to the phenomenon of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender). The meeting decided that LGBT is a global phenomenon that is contrary to the values of religion and nation of Indonesia. “MUI considers that LGBT undermine the sustainability of the nation’s future and prevents all the efforts that foster (LGBT) and propaganda of LGBT either through legal or religious social approach,” said one of the recommendations of the congress.
As known, at the end of last June, the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in all states in America. As a result, many pro-LGBT activists in the Islamic world want their countries to follow the United States’ step. This article attempts to review the efforts to systematically export these people of Lut’s modern disease from the West to the Islamic world, and how should the Muslim community response to the practice of this modern jahiliyyah practice.
The Resistance of Muslim Communities against LGBT
In Muslim countries, homosexual practices have been long considered as deviations of human nature so it’s rarely discussed openly, but since the last two decades –along with the increasingly swift campaign of LGBT rights— this issue is now no longer odd for the Muslim society. Moreover, since the UN formally recognized the rights of these modern-Lut people in the UN Declaration on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity which was recognized and adopted on December 13, 2008. Almost all Muslim countries (as many as 54 countries) refused to sign this declaration, including Indonesia. While on the contrary, almost all non-Muslim countries –especially the countries in the West— signed it (as many as 94 countries).
This Muslim resistance against LGBT practices is still evident, for example, a group in Turkey calling itself Young Islamic Defense even dauntlessly campaigned to kill the Gays by distributing posters of hadith of the Prophet ﷺ, which says:
«مَنْ وَجَدْتُمُوهُ يَعْمَلُ عَمَلَ قَوْمِ لُوطٍ فَاقْتُلُوا الْفَاعِلَ وَالْمَفْعُولَ بِهِ»
“If you see someone engaged in the dirty business of the tribe of Lot, kill the doer and the done both”.
(Tirmidhi : 1456, Abu Dawud : 4462, Ibnu Majah : 2561 Ahmad : 2727)
The campaign was carried out by Young Islamic Defense to reject the Gay parade in Turkey in late June 2015, by continuing to disseminate the contents of the hadith above in the form of posters along the streets as well as through social media, in order to protect the Muslim society from the dangers of LGBT.
In 2013, ulemas/scholars of Al-Azhar through the Islamic Research Institute (Majma’ al-Buhuts al-Islamiyya) has issued a fatwa of haram or illegitimate for same-sex marriage. Same-sex marriage can also lead to the doer to be out of Islam. The fatwa comes after the circulation of news about marriage of two same sex persons in France, who claim to be Muslims. All these show that the people’s resistance is still strong, but it cannot be denied that the LGBT phenomenon has now become a specter that haunts the society in the Muslim countries. Therefore, resistance alone is not enough, it is necessary for a perfect political awareness of Muslims in addressing this modern movement of the people of Lut.
Political Power of the LGBT movement is Backed Up by the West and US
In this 21st century, LGBT movements in the West have been transformed into a political force, because they have been recognized politically by the United States as the “first state” in the international constellation, by facilitating their ultimate goal of struggle, i.e. “gay marriage”. Even more devastating that their rights has also been recognized by the UN declaration in 2008. Apparently, this century is the peak of their success, started firstly by the Dutch that legalized same-sex marriage in 2001, followed by Belgium (2003), Spain (2005 ), Canada (2005), South Africa (2006), Norway – Sweden (2009), Portugal – Iceland – Argentina (2010), Denmark (2012), Brazil – England – France – New Zealand – Uruguay (2013), Scotland (2014 ), Luxembourg – Finland – Slovenia – Ireland – Mexico (2015), and the latest United States (2015). Until eventually, now they want to spread to the Muslim countries.
It is clear that LGBT has now become one of Western political tool in colonizing Muslim society, fueled by the capitalist entertainment industry and the hedonist lifestyle which are linear with the secular and liberal value system. The US even seriously funds the new program called “Being LGBT in Asia“ launched by UNDP with $8 million fund from USAID and started in December 2014 until September 2017. This program focuses on operations in East Asia and Southeast Asia, especially in China, Indonesia, Philippines, and Thailand, with aim of minimizing obstacles for LGBT people to live in the society. This malicious program is very active in empowering the LGBT network on the ground to strengthen their existence structurally and culturally in the targeted countries.
In the air, the Western media network also aggressively expose the minor LGBT communities in the Muslim society, for example the community of transvestites pesantren in Yogyakarta – Indonesia covered by the BBC, TIME Magazine, and the Huffington Post during last Ramadan, which took angle opinion that their existence as if has been widely accepted by the Muslim society. This on air campaign is increasingly crowded with the empty talks from entertainment world people and leaders of liberal thinkers in Muslim countries. They continue to produce a narrative that Islam ‘justify’ LGBT practices and Muslim society could accept the existence of this modern-Lut people.
Resistance is Not Enough, How Should the Muslim Society Act?
The community leaders throughout the Islamic world must not let the attitude of Muslim society is merely temporal and sporadic, because the real challenge faced has been in the form of systematic political force with large funds and very destructive. Therefore, Muslim ulemas/scholars and activists across the Islamic world have responsibility for tactical-strategic action as follows:
- Campaigning the Islamic political vision which is very humane in preserving human offspring and maintain the sublime Islamic civilization, by educating the Ummah that all that is forbidden and cursed by Allah سبحانه وتعالى must also contrary to human nature. One of Allah-given human natures by creating men and women to preserve the human offspring with its humane dignity, as stated in the first verse of Surah an-Nisaa.
يا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذي خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ نَفْسٍ واحِدَةٍ وَ خَلَقَ مِنْها زَوْجَها وَ بَثَّ مِنْهُما رِجالاً كَثيراً وَ نِساءً وَ اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ الَّذي تَسائَلُونَ بِهِ وَالْأَرْحامَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كانَ عَلَيْكُمْ رَقيباً
“O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah , through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer.”
Tough sanctions in the form of the death penalty or exiled for the perpetrator of liwath (homosexual) is none other than to stamp out the deviant nature and realize the ultimate goal of Islamic Sharia (maqoshid sharia) in maintaining the nasab (offspring) of human. The rise of the LGBT community in a society will lead to human depopulation. The LGBT people are impossible to produce offspring, let alone a good offspring, who live in a good neighborhood.
- Revitalizing the ’amar ma’ruf nahiy munkar (commanding the good and forbidding the evil) in the Muslim society. Dr. Adian Husaini said that the best form of care to the perpetrators of homosexual is to realize them about their deviant behavior, then support them to be able to recover and get back to their nature. Rather than give them motivation to keep ailing from such deviant behavior and justify it in the name of human rights. Our Prophet ﷺ compared the life of the Islamic society as a group of people living in a boat which reflects that a society has a collective responsibility to prevent the munkar or evil. The duty of ’amar ma’ruf nahiy munkar upon the Muslim society and every believer would be a strong immune system to prevent the spread of social diseases.
- Educating the Ummah that the ideas and concepts of human rights that are often used as the argument by LGBT activists are in contrast to the concept of Islam and even are hazardous for the humanity itself due to the selfish individual freedom concept which is the spirit of it. The extreme freedom concept contained in this idea makes individuals unconcerned with people’s welfare, let alone the future generations. On the other hand, the banner of ‘human rights’ are actually the US political tool to control the Islamic world, as seen from the US double standards in assessing the implementation of human rights.
- Calling and urging the rulers of Muslim countries to unite under the shade of Islamic Khilafah, as indeed it is the true shield of Muslims that will ensure the honor of Muslim generations in the sublime human dignity and prevent them falling into animal behavior such as LGBT. In the words of Uthman (ra) “Surely Allah gives authority to the ruler to eliminate something that cannot be eliminated by the Qur’an.” Wallahu a’alam
Fika Komara
Member of Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir