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Homosexuality

Since times immemorial, humans, in their wisdom have chosen to be discreet about sex & reproduction. Private parts have been hidden from view in almost every civilization and sex is done privately, away from public view. Christianity had gone to the extreme, where it declared sex to be unholy & made celibacy a requirement of holiness & priesthood. Jews have a tradition of engaging in sex while wearing clothes. Islam also calls for sex to be done in private. I am sure that if humanity could make-do without sex, Christianity would have banned sex for all Christians and maybe even Islam & Judaism. Even until now, where many societies have progressed by leaps & bound in openness & promiscuity, public sex and even public nudity have still failed to take root in a big way in any part of the world.

What is the wisdom of such a position on sex by humans? In this regard, it may be understood that sexual activity is an addiction (verily a corruption) and a great distraction from the business of life. The lure of sex is so strong that if left uncontrolled, it could keep people sex bound & hopelessly addicted, thereby adversely affecting their normal duties of life. Also, public sex & licentiousness evokes strong feelings of repulsiveness, jealousy & moral corruption among others in society. It is well known that the unfortunate Iranian Islamic revolution was caused in part due to the rampant public immorality & debauchery prevalent during the previous autocratic ruler Shah’s regime. And therein lies a great lesson for humanity; irritating public consciousness with such seemingly meaningless issues are enough to create anarchy which can have disastrous consequences for order & justice in society. Also, from all of above, it is my view that it is desirable to keep nudity & sexual activity away from the sight of public. Prophet Mohammed in one of his hadith said that women (& thereby sex) were the greatest fitna (seduction or addiction) that he was compelled to leave behind with his (male) followers.

So as per above, it is noted that it is a good practice to keep sex segregated away from public. It is even desirable that society need not be cognizant of any sex between genders and particular individuals and much attention is not given to this issue. It is a well-known Arab custom that Arab males, in their discussions & conversations keep away from the topic of their wives. Wives & sex issues etc are not discussed. It may also be in part due to the fluid situation of matrimony in Arabs (given the polygamy, divorces etc.) and their un-trusting nature. But however, society is not able to make-do without recognizing marital liaisons & hence heterosexual sex. This is because heterosexual union brings forth offspring and for the purpose of defining the rights & duties of man, woman & offspring (family laws) marriage is required to be recognized. The functions, status & expectations from each entity connected with the heterosexual union is different, and hence formalizing it is necessary to shape a proper contract for defining roles, conduct, divorce & inheritance etc.

Now, when we come to the issue of homosexual union, situation is entirely different. Firstly, homosexuality itself occurs not as a rule but as a very small exception in humans. Jury is still out on whether homosexuality is natural or a perversion of humans. Some scientists hold that “it is virtually impossible for homosexuals to exist because of the theory of evolution. If there has ever appeared a homosexual gene in all of the hundreds of millions of years of the history of life on earth, then it was at a very great disadvantage to reproduce itself (especially a male homosexual gene). The odds that such a gene could survive for even a few generations are infinitesimal. Also, there is, in each of us, a strong repugnance to the thought of relations with the same sex. Again evolution places this in us to assist the survival and propagation of the species. However, it is possible to exert one’s will and overcome this repugnance”. In this case, what is called homosexuality is nothing more than a perversion, that is, a decision to engage in a form of sexual activity which directly involves this repugnance and humans who choose to override it.

Be that as it may, even if we consider that homosexuality is not a perversion (which I consider it to be) but a natural occurrence in few humans, yet, in view of what I mentioned earlier, there is no need for humans to be cognizant of homosexual unions, leave alone formalize it in form of gay marriages etc. A homosexual union’s only purpose & only result could be sex between two same sex people. Homosexual union cannot bring forth any offspring, nor do its partners have differing roles, status & expectations unlike the heterosexual union. Thus, any marriage contract & family laws with marriage, divorce & inheritance etc. are not required at all to be formalized via a gay marriage. Thus there are no valid reasons for society to take up the issue & formalize gay marriage. However, gay sex evokes the same feelings of repulsion & contempt in people, even more so than heterosexuality. Thus in order to avoid risk of moral corruption in society and there being no good reason to be cognizant of homosexual unions, human society must keep away from legalizing gay marriages & recognizing homosexual union. Homosexuals may continue to do their (dirty) work in private as long as they do not violate rights of others. There is no need to impose their (corrupt) morality on society, which will violate the morality of public which in US will be a violation of the 1st Amendment.

Now, coming to the political aspect of movement for gay marriages, as hinted above, gay marriage movement becomes a convenient tool in the hand of unjust anarchists including Leftists & Rightists who like to create troubled waters in order to fish in them. If one looks to European history, it is noted that in the period from 1880-1920, Germany had a form of a Christian Socialist government based on a principle of love. Homosexuality & cross dressing were rife in this period. The term “transvestite” was coined in Germany at about this time. However, all the love & socialism irritated the Germans to such an extent, that in a reaction, they elected a monster like Hitler as leader and the disastrous consequences of that reaction (WW2) is there for all to see. Thus, the movement for homosexual marriage is simply another attempt by Leftists to fill us with anger and drive us over to cause anarchy (revolution for Leftists) which could facilitate them to seize power in our lands. This is exactly the reason why Leftists seek to champion Gay Marriage Rights issue while people for justice like me choose to oppose (legalization of) Gay Marriages & Homosexuality.

PS: These are my opinions based on my thinking, hope that gays understand & will not mind!

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Glorious Islam: Setting the record straight

Many Islamophobes and Sceptics of Islam say that with the dawning of internet & digital age, all information even to the minutest details about Islam is accessible to anyone ‘at the tap of a finger’. This is exposing Islam like never before, whereby its impression is taking a beating and which makes it crucial for Muslims to provide answers to the objections being formed in the minds of non-Muslims, or else be ready to accept the loss of credibility and allegations of Islam being a violent, fascist & bigoted ideology, which are sure to arise thereupon. In this regard, it is noted that to consider that there was wholesale ignorance about the principles & preaching of such an important religious ideology like Islam which is subscribed to by more than a fifth of humanity (22.74% to be exact) is an insult to the people of the pre-internet age. It is human nature to seek all vital knowledge which affects human life and any difficulty in doing so has never stopped humans from doing it. The intellectual movers & shakers of society have always known the main thrust of all the major ideologies being followed around the world. Lack of information has never stopped new ideologies from coming into being or old ideologies being critically examined and reformed. Rise of Abrahamic religions, Greek philosophy, Christian takeover of Roman empire, Spread of Islam, reformation in Christianity, Renaissance, Rise & fall of Socialism etc. have all happened in the pre-internet age. The Muslims who subscribe to Islam are humans too like the followers of any other religions and they are very profoundly affected by even the finer details of Islam. If any Islamic principle or practice were to be found to be too antagonistic, conflict producing or too impractical by them, they would have surely endeavored to have Islam reformed to emancipate their way of life which is based on following of Islam. In this regard, it is noted that Christians did find out by the 13th – 14th centuries, that their Catholic Christian faith which they followed was responsible in some way for the Dark Age which Europe was going through for centuries and they mobilized to rise against it and Christianity was subsequently reformed. Similarly, Hindus too understood the drawbacks of their faith and reformed themselves in the last two to three centuries. However, the fact that there has been no considerable resentment against Islam or Judaism for that matter and no major fractures in their followers on the issue of reformation have erupted indicates that these faiths have full mandate of their followers and do not hinder their followers in any major way which makes their lives difficult or awkward. At the least, it can be said that Judaism & Islam have withstood the test of time better than say Christianity or Hinduism.

There are 1.6 Billion Muslims in the world. All Muslims follow Islam voluntarily and without much resentment. Majority of Muslims live & let live in peace. Muslims participate in secular business freely and without any considerations and distinctions based on religion. It is also noted that Sunni Muslims do not have an Islamic State in any nation today. Only exception is Iran, which is a Shia Islamic State. Iran also does some politics in the sale of its oil by trying to sell oil in currencies other than the US Dollar. However, Sunni Gulf Arab states deal openly & secularly in the sale of their oil & gas. They have chosen to trade in US Dollars and have helped in shoring up the US currency despite the risks attendant with the US Dollar nowadays, where US has increased the supply of the currency controversially to save itself from economic collapse. All the Sunni nations are either Emirates (with tribal leaders being the Emir or head of state) or democracies/ dictatorships etc. Even the holiest Islamic country namely Saudi is not an Islamic State and there is no rule of clerics in Saudi. Saudi, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, Oman & Bahrain hold the major reserves of oil in the world and are never seen to bring any religio-political considerations in their oil trade. They have stood staunchly by the West even in the face of mindless Western bias for Israel and other anti-Muslim actions across the world. The world should be grateful to the Saudis for keeping away a cleric led Islamic government (like Iran) even though it is home to the holiest sites of Islam, and accepting the minor restrictions which Saudi has employed within its territory for the sake of this larger & more important objective.

This is not to say that there is no violence in the Muslim world. Decades long war against Israel, Indian State in Kashmir, Muslims terrorist organizations and actions around the world are a fact of life. But even these actions must be seen holistically from geo-political point of view rather than the effect of Islam. Palestine, Kashmir & Iraq are all territorial wars. It is noted that the role of the opposite parties in these conflicts, namely the Israelis, the Indian state and the Shias has not only been equal if not more, but even the initiation of the conflicts is from their side and not from the Muslims/ Sunnis. The Afghanistan-Pakistan violence is the result of meddling by two cold war era superpowers namely the USSR & the US in the region. It started with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the subsequent events have spoiled the socio-political climates in both the countries mostly irreparably. The violence in the Muslim parts of Africa has more to do with the primitive & genocidal nature which Africans exhibit not only in Muslim parts but other areas such as Rwanda, Uganda, CAR, South Africa, Zimbabwe etc. In places like Burma, Srilanka & Thailand, it is not only Muslims but also the Buddhists who are equally responsible for the violence. Chinese suppression of freedom which affects not only Muslims, but even the Tibetans is responsible for the Uighur violence there. As per Islam, violent Jihad is only permissible to defend freedom & fight against oppression of Muslims, and most of the above Jihads can be seen to fall in this category. Any violence in the name of Islam which does not satisfy the above criterion cannot be deemed as a legitimate Jihad and is not supported by Islam. Islam cannot be held responsible for such illegitimate violence. Non-Muslim nations, heads of states and many non-Muslims who show an understanding and accommodation of Muslims do so not only because of political correctness or undue generosity & goodwill, but in consideration of all the above. They recognize the fact the Muslims by & large remain peaceful and that most of the violence associated with Muslims have many other reasons which go beyond the intransigence & violent nature of Muslims and the Islamic faith.

Writer has mentioned that the scriptural support to violence in Islam is the real culprit of all violence, which is now being exposed threadbare in the internet age and which required Muslims to take to reformation more than any moderation. Writer has referred to verses of Quran like 4:89, 8:12-13, 5:33 & 47:4 etc. to underscore his point. In this regard, it is noted that Islam is a religion which truly wishes for the benefit & welfare of its followers. It requires great commitment and loving faith on part of its followers to attain the same. Compulsion, coercion & force in matter of faith cannot work in any way with Islam, Islam clearly says that there shall be no compulsion in matters of faith. All proselytization and spread of Islam is supposed to be accomplished only by manner of dawah, preaching & voluntary acceptance. Even in this, preaching & dawah is restricted mostly to Muslims only. The most desirable way to influence & attract non-believers to Islam is by means of personal & communal example. It is noted that Romans accepted Judeo-Christianity as their religion not by the preaching by Jews, but by the communal example of the Jews who were the subjects of Romans in the times of Pontius Pilate. It is also said that majority of converts to Islam in Indian subcontinent was due to example set forth by Sufi saints mainly Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti (R.A.) of Ajmer. Thus, Islam was never supposed to be spread by force, leave alone to be spread by the sword. Writer will however say that even though what is mentioned above has some merit, it is wholly in contrast to the verses of Jihad against non-believers mentioned in the scriptures. The verses clearly ask Muslims to wage Jihad against unbelievers until all religion is for Islam. In this regard, it is noted as follows:

Prophet Mohammed had arrived as a Messenger of God with a special mission to establish the faith of Allah as a blessing for mankind. It was very important that Islam was established firmly & irreversibly in the chosen region well within the lifetime of the Prophet. Thus, Allah had issued some special directives to Mohammed PBUH, his companions & the early Muslims, directing them to make Jihad against the un-believer pagans of the Hejaz region until all religion in the Hejaz was for Allah. All these directives are contained in the Quran. Also, Mohammed PBUH was not the first Prophet who was issued with such special directives to spread religion. Earlier, such directives were given to Moses PBUH too, to establish Judaism firmly in the Promised Land. It is also noted that Moses actually committed the genocide of all Canaanites in the Promised Land to finish all opposition & challenge to Judaism. Thus, all directives in the Quran which call for Jihad against unbelievers are only limited to the Prophet & Muslims of his time. These directives are not at all applicable to later Muslims, forget Muslims of today who live 14 centuries after the time of the Prophet, when Islam is already firmly established not only in the Hejaz but has an extensive footprint around the world with 1.6billion Muslim followers. The above fact is confirmed by the sincere literal scholars of Quran. Javed Ahmad Ghamidi of Pakistan is one such scholar and the above can be confirmed from his websites and Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Javed_Ahmad_Ghamidi#Jihad . All extremist Muslims who cite Quranic verses as basis for their aggressive Jihad against the unbelievers are grossly in error and are in no way supported by Islam. Islam clearly directs Muslims to clearly state to those unbelievers who refuse to accept Islam: “Listen, O unbelievers, My faith is different than your faith; to you your faith & to me mine!” Thus, there is no compulsion on unbelievers in matter of faith. Muslims truly feel that Islam is a blessing for entire mankind and it is in the interest of all humans to subscribe to Islam. Making war with people to benefit the same people does not make any sense. It is also noted that Islam has 5 pillars or 5 main principles, but fighting of Jihad is not one among them. Even Jaziya or any other imposition on non-Muslims in an Islamic State is not religiously directed in Islam but is left to the authority of the Islamic State to decide. ISLAM PRESCRIBES NO PUNISHMENT FOR UNBELIEVERS IN THIS WORLD. Only punishments for unbelievers mentioned are by Allah on Judgment Day where unbelievers will be destined to Jahannum or Islamic Hell. But looking at these punishments from a practical/ legal point of view, the faith of Islam notwithstanding, they are totally imaginary, meted out by an imaginary God & administered in an imaginary place, and there seems to be no reason for unbelievers to complain about them as they do not believe in any of it in the first place. If unbelievers have a problem with Allah’s punishment to unbelievers, they could do well to convert to Islam to save themselves from the punishment. Also, those who say that Islam is fascist or racist forget that Islam allows all to convert to Islam & benefit themselves unlike other fascism like Nazism or Hindutva, where you could only be Aryan or Hindu upper caste by birth, but not by conversion. From all of the above, it is clear that any grouse or misgivings which non-Muslims have for Islam are without any basis and no reform is required in this regard.

In regards to Abrahamic religions, which is also true for Islam, it is noted that the objective was to remove most superstitions by excluding multiple Gods & idols and have a single monotheist God instead, establish a code of conduct, morality & justice for the desirable way of life with the due sanction of the Omnipotent God and maintain a community which in turn upholds the supremacy of God, His moral code and the prescribed way of life. Abrahamic religions have been remarkably successful in achieving those objectives, much more than even the atheism of today which is an abject failure because it fails to commit to any morality or justice which is the reason why atheism has failed to take root in a big way amongst humans. It is shameful for atheism that Charter of Human Rights was derived not from any atheist manual but the ‘Ten Commandments’ of Moses, which has been directing humans not to kill, steal, lie or covet etc. since 3400 years ago from our present times.

Further, it is noted that even though Islam is routinely vilified for it, Islam does not call for death penalty for either apostasy or blasphemy. Muslims have gone overboard in inflicting punishments for both these issues. The above link about Javed Ghamidi confirms it, as well as this website http://kashifshahzada.com/tag/islamic-punishment-for-blasphemy/

Regarding many claims that Muslims are the first victims of Islam, it is noted that non-Muslims have no locus standi to complain in this matter as in case Muslims really feel the pinch from Islam, they are free to leave or rebel, which they have not done so far. Also, if Muslim women feel let down in Islam, they & their sympathizers in the community, namely their fathers, mothers, brothers and relatives who wish well for them are free to rise up & seek reforms which they too have not done. Islam has given women as much rights as they can hope to enforce with their power. Easy laws of marriage & divorce ensure that dowry, bride burning & female foeticide is suppressed in Muslims. Polygamy, even though allowed, is not the norm and monogamy is mentioned to be desirable. Polygamy & easy divorce also ensure that all opportunities are afforded to Muslims to have legal relationships and are not forced to leave religion & morality because of any excuse. Some reasons are well presented in this blog http://kashifshahzada.com/2011/09/10/plural-marriages-the-welfare-system-of-islam/ . Islamic banning of alcohol is one of the best directives of Islam. Disallowing of interest too is understandable as Islam believes in gold standard for currency and hence the concept of interest to match inflation doesn’t arise. Also, Islam wishes that no money be earned without any element of business risk. In regards to banning of homosexuality, Islam is not the only system which does so. Indian courts have recently upheld their age old decision to criminalize gay sex. Most religions disallow gay sex. There are deeper reasons for restraining homosexuality, which are discussed in my earlier blog here https://enli8ndmuslim.jux.com/4078313

In regard to the Hijab, it is clear that Quran does not make Hijab compulsory. Islam believes that preventing rapes is more effective than punishing them. We have already seen that even with all the strengthening of laws & increasing of punishments, rapes incidences have only increased. Many Muslim women do not observe Hijab while remaining comfortably in religion which include members of my own family.

Male & female genital mutilations are not compulsory but sunnahs . FGM is not at all practiced in Hanafi school which most Muslims of Indian subcontinent adhere to, so FGM is a non-issue with Indian Muslims.

I hope that I have answered most of the mischievous arguments of Islamophobes & Islam haters. However, I think that it would not be appropriate if I close without discussing the burning watershed issue unfolding before our eyes, namely the ISIS, the Iraqi Civil War and the attendant barbarism.

First thing to be noted about ISIS is that it is war for territory & a civil war very much similar to the wars in Israel/ Palestine and the war in Kashmir. However, even though Palestine & Kashmir causes find many supporters, same is not true for ISIS, just because people fail to consider it as a justified war for territory. In the Iraq situation, the main culprit who drew first blood was the US, who did a crime against the sovereignty of Iraq by mounting an illegal aggression in the 2nd Gulf war to change the balance of power in the state by deposing Sunni leader Saddam Hussein and replacing him with the Shias. 2nd Gulf War had its roots in the 1st Gulf War, which was in turn brought about by the Islamic revolution which happened in neighboring Iran after which, Sunnis were forced to take up arms against the Iranian Shia Imperialistic designs in the region. The Shias have always nurtured their grudge against the Sunnis for centuries, and they renew their pledges against Sunnis every year by mourning for the dead of Kufa & Karbala, who were supposed to be killed by the Sunnis. Khomeini was clear in his intention to take over the holy places of Islam to fall under Shia control the Shias were the true inheritors of the Islamic traditions. It is also notable that amongst all the countries of the Middle East, it is only Iran which is pursuing nuclear weapons, whilst no Sunni state is doing so. What is the justification of Iran to acquire nuke capability? And how can the Sunni states fight back Iran if it brandishes its nukes against them? To make it worse, US action in the region, namely the illegal war on Iraq and & Israel’s vacation of Lebanese areas which gave boost to the Hezbollah has raised the specter of Middle East being engulfed by a Shia crescent. US has also not done anything to clip the wings of a wannabe nuclear Iran nor assisted the Sunni rebels of Syria who form a majority there to get rid of an Alawi, Bashar Al-Assad & bring about Sunni self rule in Syria. The situation in Middle East for Sunnis had indeed become very grim. Also, in Iraq, the Shias mercilessly & publicly executed the leader of Sunnis, Saddam Hussein, while the US did nothing to stop this humiliation. Shias also began to systematically marginalize and oppress the Sunnis in Iraq. Sunnis were totally deprived of any oil wealth or governmental support to the extent that even basic amenities like water & electricity were cut off from Sunni residential areas. All the other communities of Iraq, which included Shias, Christians & Yezidis supported the unjust Iraqi regime which oppressed the Sunnis. Thus there was a groundswell of resentment amongst Iraqi Sunnis against the regime and their supporters. On the other hand, Sunnis of the Gulf were desperate to find a counterbalance to restrain the imperialistic designs of Shia Iran in the region. Saudi foreign minister was tasked by the Saudi King to do whatever necessary to get Western support for deposing Bashar Al Assad’s regime in Syria, which would then get a country back in Sunni fold and thereby curb the growing Shia power. However, the US, which intervened in Libya etc. refused to do so in case of Syria. Prince Bandar took his own plane & flew unannounced into Russia one fine day to seek Russian support against Assad but Russia too refused citing US unhappiness. Thus, Sunnis did not get any outside support to fight Shia imperialism which was given a boost by the US invasion of Iraq. It was after exhausting all options that Sunnis have taken to this last option of forming a militia like ISIS and fighting back the Shia oppression. As it was difficult to make gains against the Assad regime in Syria, the Sunnis decided to shift the warzone to neighbouring Iraq where the Shias could be engaged to their advantage. The Jihad of the ISIS is against oppression of Sunnis by Shias and in defence and is therefore fully justified under Islam. Surely, the barbarism & war crimes of ISIS are not supported by Islam, but they too are understandable under the current circumstances. ISIS is fighting for the greater cause against oppression of Sunnis across the whole of Middle East with a mere 20-30,000 fighters. These fighters are poorly organized, without much equipment & do not even get a salary. Without the barbarism & the terror, the ISIS cannot hope to evacuate the towns & takeover the territory. ISIS has been disowned by all Muslims and damned by the whole world. But no one considers the reasons behind the rise of ISIS and the way it is acting. People far removed from the desperation of the battle-zone of Iraq give sermons, demonizing the ISIS, comparing them to Nazis. The other day, skeptic Muslim Salman Rushdie said that it is the lure of Jihad presented by Wahabi Salafi Islam which attracts British Muslims to ISIS. It is strange that such an imaginative person like him could not think that there could be some other compelling reasons which make the struggle of ISIS justified in the eyes of the broader Sunni Ummah.

 Muslims only need to adhere to the true tenets of Islam, while non-Muslims should ensure that they do not meddle in Muslim areas in ways which would lead to a backlash of violence by the Muslims.