Peaceful Muslims view US LGBT issues as 'completely insane,' says Muslim leader

Suzette Gutierrez Cachila Friday, May 27, 2016

An American Islamic scholar said peaceful Muslims living in other countries think the LGBT issues plaguing the American society today are "completely insane."

Sheikh Hamza Yusuf, who attended the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission on Monday, May 23, was asked how Muslims viewed the transgender bathroom issue, particularly the directive given by Pres. Barack Obama that public schools should adjust their bathroom policies to accommodate gender identity.

Hamza Yusuf, the renowned American Muslim leader, speaks on education and diversity at La Cigale hotel in Doha, Qatar as part of the 6th annual Doha Academy Education Conference. 25 April 2010, 20:35 | Wikimedia Commons/Omar Chatriwala

"Even to think about thinking about it is probably difficult for a lot of Muslims. In the Muslim world ... they think we're a society that's gone completely insane," Yusuf told the panel called "With Liberty and Justice for All: Why We Should Pursue Religious Freedom for Everyone."

When it comes to homosexuality, Muslims generally share the view of loving the sinner and hating the sin, as many Christians would put it. The traditional Islamic view is that being attracted to the same sex is not sin in itself, but acting on that attraction could be sinful, Yusuf explained.

"That's something I don't really see anybody in normal Islam compromising on," he said. He told the panel that he is concerned about the impact of such things on the culture of younger Muslims.

Catholic Archbishop William Lori, who also attended the panel, said Obama's transgender bathroom decree brings up the problem of narrowing the distinction between sex and gender.

"We are imposing upon our society a confused and confusing anthropology and we muddle what it means to be a human person," Lori said. These things, he said, could give rise to long-term problems in the future.

The letter from Obama that was sent to public schools was also sent to Catholic schools, which is why the Catholic Church leaders are concerned. However, it does not stop the church from reaching out to the transgender, Lori explained.

Yusuf emphasized the need for religious colleges to find unity at a time like this "because we're under siege increasingly, not just about this issue but many other issues."