This is the article that appeared in the October 2023 edition of Catalyst, our monthly journal. The date that prints out reflects the day that it was uploaded to our website. For a more accurate date of when the article was first published, check out the news release, here.
Several hundred American Muslim scholars and preachers have signed a statement affirming Islamic opposition to the radical LGBT agenda. Most of what the statement says could be accepted by orthodox Catholics, Protestants and Jews.
“Today, Islamic sexual and gender ethics are at odds with certain recently popular societal views, causing tension for Muslims between their religious beliefs and societal expectations. At the same time, public disapproval of LGBTQ practices, beliefs, and advocacy is increasingly met with charges of intolerance and unwarranted accusations of bigotry. More troubling still, there is an increasing push to promote LGBTQ-centric values among children through legislation and regulations, disregarding parental consent and denying both parents and children the opportunity to express conscientious objection.”
The statement is peppered with quotes from the Quran restating God’s definition of humanity as consisting of male and female. Old Testament verses found in Genesis say the same.
There is nothing incendiary or irresponsible about the statement. The signatories simply wanted to go on record respectfully disagreeing with transgenderism, the ideology that falsely claims the sexes are interchangeable. They are not, and every honest person knows that sex is binary—we are either male or female.
What is particularly impressive about this document is that it is not at all defensive. People of faith, in this instance Muslims, who refuse to bow to elitist conceptions of sexuality should rightly object to accusations of bigotry made against them. They are merely being faithful to the tenets of their creed, and to common sense, as well.
We need to have more interaction between the leaders of the Abrahamic religions—Christianity, Islam and Judaism—on these current moral issues. If we stand together, we can defeat the zealots who want to push their radical agenda on us.
