Homosexuality is not an Optional Act
Arshad Sulahri
Homosexuality is not a sin. God created us to b homosexual, and the feelings of homosexuality are natural .Many saints have also been gay. These arguments were made by Muhammad Sufyan (pseudonym) in the response to a question about how long you have been suffering from homosexuality. Sufyan says many holy figures, including Madhoo Laal Hussain and Mahmood Ayaz, were gay.
Encouraged by the conversation with Sufyan, I searched for many homosexuals and asked them the same questions. Most of the answers were similar to Sufyan’s.
Forty-five-year old Tanveer (pseudonym), a resident of the Posh area in Islamabad, has formed a large network of gays, which also holds regular meetings. With great difficulty he (Tanveer) agreed to negotiate with me .He is highly educated, married and have three children. Tanveer says it is wrong to say that bad company and friendship with older boys create an element of homosexuality. On the contrary, whether he is gay or not!
Answering a question about himself, Tanveer said that , “he liked boys since childhood’’.’We were three same age group friends, which I would bring home. Give them gifts and other things of mine. The long wait for the day to come at night is simply because the company of your friends will be available in the morning. “We still meet today,” Tanveer also said.
Hafiz Noor (pseudonym), one of Tanweer’s friend ( who also leads imamate in Madrassa), said in a conversation that, “he agrees with Tanweer. Homosexuality is not an optional act. Hafiz Noor, in the light of his personal experiences and observations, said that he was personally incapable of practicing homosexuality.Living in a religious environment, I have tried many times to withdraw but to no avail. On the question of sin (on the behalf of religion), Hafiz Noor gave his views that sin is to harm someone. But it is a matter of love. And love is not a sin.
Tanveer also talked to some of his friends on the phone and asked them for a meeting with me. It was in Islamabad that I had the opportunity to meet Saif in the Imam Bari area. Saif’s hometown is Mandi Bahauddin. The feminine element is predominant in Saif.
“Allah has made me like this,” Saif said in a very interesting conversation. I didn’t want to be born that way. If God has placed homosexuality in my nature, then my action may be disliked by someone, but they are not in the category of sin. Sin is when you have the feelings to hurt someone. When you have satisfaction, there is happiness. If I am satisfied then who else is to interfere in my life?
Saif said the biggest sin is raping a three-year-old girl. Sexually abused to young children is a crime. Saif also termed intimacy with his wife without her consent as a sin and said that if homosexuality is a sin or an unnatural thing, then many animals are homosexuals too. They should also be preached. Animals should also be stopped. “We are also human beings,” Saif said Just because we are different does not mean that do hate us. Be separated from other humans. Be considered untouchable. This is inhumane behavior. We don’t need to understand, our society need to!
Saif cried after telling his story. The fact is that, as a society we need to at least maintain a humane relationship with homosexuals. Don’t deprive them of mother’s love and father’s affection. Cherish brother and sister relationships. After all, why don’t we think as human beings? Why do we sacrifice our blood relations for the sake of religious interpretations and due to the oppression of society?
