June is the so-called PRIDE month but we all are PROUD Muslims throughout the twelve months and three hundred and sixty five days in the year, alhamdulillah. We as a Muslim are very clear to ourselves that LGBTQ+ movement is not aligned to our faith. Islam has clearly disavowed the same-sex relationships and altering one’s body based solely on personal feelings without the basis of solid foundation in biology. When we express our inability to support their cause, we often get a push back from the LGBTQ+ community. As a muslim, we are given a very clear boundary on what we can support and what we can’t. However, effectively communicating this can be challenging. As the saying goes, it's not only what you say, but also how you say it.
InshaAllah, here is a way to express our stance as a proud Muslim without being apologetic, but with clarity and conviction: First and foremost, it is crucial to recognize that the US Constitution explicitly protects my First Amendment right to practice my religious beliefs without any infringement. You can use that fact as the first line of defense. However, the arguments don't always go into what’s my right and what’s not. Rather, it comes more from an emotional angle. They put the facts of supporting Muslims and minority groups and in return they simply ask to support and be compassionate about their cause. Some of the common arguments put forth are:
“When Trump declared Muslim ban we stood by your side to support you as a marginal community and a minority in America.”
“When you asked us to be respectful during your fasting month, Ramadan, we showed respect and solidarity - even though we weren’t believers of your faith.”
“When you had Hijab day, we supported your right by showing up in your cause and putting on a hijab to show solidarity even when we don’t believe in your religion.”
“So why would you not show compassion, love and solidarity to another marginal community who are being oppressed and targeted for hate.”
“Aren’t you being unjust and unkind by expecting others to support you when you were the target of oppression and refusing to support the other marginalized community when they are calling out for help? Why can't you show reciprocity in your actions?”
Those are very emotional arguments. Avoid going into logical arguments. Like it or not: every side has logical reasoning and they also believe in their cause. So, any logical arguments would spiral into a bitter debate and you will end up spending hours without moving the needle towards your cause - unless the discussion is an open educational discussion to talk about the faith, biology, and societal impact. The biology and societal impacts are pretty strong arguments against such practices and we all should have that knowledge. However, most of the time, you will be confronted from an emotional angle rather than a rational reasoning debate. You should be educated on those rational aspects but I am pretty sure even the people who are pushing you to support their cause don’t have that detail of data or most of the time that doesn’t matter to them as they say: “that’s the way I feel”. And you can’t argue or win an argument of “feeling” with a factsheet even when you are 100% right.
Rather try a different approach. Here’s a conversation you can pursue with them: ask them if they believe climate change is happening. Then ask them if they know that 10% of Americans outright deny that climate change is real, while 14% of Americans believe that climate change has nothing to do with human actions. Ask them if they believe the Earth revolves around the Sun or the other way around. Then ask them if they knew that almost 20% of Americans believe that the Sun revolves around the Earth i.e. geocentric. Ask them if they believe the earth is sphere and round or it’s a flat body. Then ask them if they know that almost 2% Americans believe that the Earth is flat.
Now, the chance is very high that they believe the Climate change is real, the Earth revolves around the Sun and the Earth is in spherical shape. However, if they claim otherwise, please stop talking to them - they are ignorant and don’t have the intellect to have a sane-conversation and they need divine intervention to rectify their situation. Coming back to the point. Ask them if they want to support the cause of the climate change deniers, the flat-Earth claimers and geocentric believers. Stand with them to support their cause. Aren’t they the minority? Shouldn’t they support the minority causes, especially when the flat-Earth and geocentric believers are ridiculed and the media and the society is trying to suppress their voice? Unless they are hypocrites, they should get that immediately and the argument should stop there. And if it’s not and continue the hypocritical arguments: we don't argue those; rather we show the hypocritical nature of someone's belief and leave them to ponder. Humans are the most intelligent species and given time and Allah’s will, the chance is high that they will not be able to live with such hypocritical beliefs for long, inshaAllah. We continue to stand for our faith and justice. We stand with others in the society for the just causes but we can not bend our religion to support unjust causes.
Another side topic: never giveaway your right. We shouldn’t give up the space that is ours. The LGBTQ+ uses the Rainbow as their flag but we can’t give up and cave in. We shouldn’t stop using these God-gifted beautiful symbols that we experience through the rain-shine cycle. Nobody has the monopoly on anything that Allah has made pure for the human. Let’s reclaim it by using it for pure purpose.
P.S: there is another argument that needs a whole new discussion to disprove their claims so setting that aside for another day. It is something like: “If Islam can’t coexist with the LGBTQ+ movement then your religion isn’t compatible with twenty-first century modern America.” If you already know your ground to refute that bogus claim, well and good otherwise, just know that this is the very old technique that's been used for decades but they know nothing about Islam and the history of Islamic Golden Age before making such baseless claims.
References:
- https://www.newsweek.com/10-percent-americans-dont-believe-climate-change-15-percent-unsure-poll-1642747
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geocentric_model
- https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/yes-flat-earthers-really-do-exist/
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