Is it Qatar or Is It Islam?
The world’s greatest sporting tournament is about to kick off in the Gulf state of Qatar. The awarding of the 2022 FIFA World Cup to Qatar has been controversial from the get-go.
Critics point to the lack of transparency in awarding the tournament to a tiny country that is among the minnows of the football (soccer) playing nations of the world. The horrendous conditions that many of the workers who built the stadiums and other facilities for Qatar 2022 had to endure also attracted criticism.
It is, however, on the issue of LGBT rights that FIFA copped the most flak. Qatar regularly imprisons homosexual people, often submitting them to horrific ‘conversion therapy’ in the process. Needless to say, visiting gay football fans could find themselves seriously on the wrong side of Qatari law, should they engage in any public displays of affection.
In commenting on Qatar’s atrocious human rights record on this issue, media commentators, and even some football players, are treading a very fine line in attempting to not seem critical of the ideology behind Qatar’s stance. For example, the captain of the French football team, Hugo Lloris, gave the following reason for his pre-tournament decision not to highlight LGBT rights during his visit: “When we are in France, when we welcome foreigners, we often want them to follow our rules, to respect our culture, and I will do the same when I go to Qatar.” Quite apart from the fact that many French citizens would find the assertion that French Muslims are somehow forced to assimilate laughable, we should also challenge the notion that the problem is merely a cultural one.
The fact is that the Qatari’s are simply seeking to be obedient to the clear teachings of their ‘prophet’.
Homosexuality is seen not only as morally reprehensible by Islamic law, but as a very serious crime that should be severely punished. The four Sunni and the Shi'a legal schools differ in terms of the exact nature of this punishment, but none of them propose a tolerant ‘live and let live’ attitude. It is, in fact, difficult to see how devout Muslims could ever come to a place of acceptance and tolerance given the vigorously homophobic attitudes expressed in the Qur'an and hadiths. A representative sample of verses in which such attitudes are expressed will be presented below:
• If two men among you are guilty of lewdness, punish them both. If they repent and amend, Leave them alone; for Allah is Oft-returning, Most Merciful. (Qur'an 4:16)
• We also (sent) Lut: He said to his people: "Do ye commit lewdness such as no people in creation (ever) committed before you? For ye practise your lusts on men in preference to women : ye are indeed a people transgressing beyond bounds. And his people gave no answer but this: they said, "Drive them out of your city: these are indeed men who want to be clean and pure!" But we saved him and his family, except his wife: she was of those who legged behind. And we rained down on them a shower (of brimstone): Then see what was the end of those who indulged in sin and crime! (Qur'an 7:80) This is one of four occasions in the Qur'an where the story of Lut (Lot) is recounted. Each time the sin of the people of Lot's city is identified as homosexuality, and each time we are reminded that Allah punished them for this homosexuality by raining fire and brimstone on their city, utterly destroying it.
• The Prophet cursed effeminate men, those men who are in the similitude (assume the manners of women) and those women who assume the manners of men, and he said, "Turn them out of your houses." The Prophet turned out such-and-such man, and 'Umar turned out such-and-such woman. (Sahih Bukhari 7:72:774)
• Narrated By Abdullah ibn Abbas: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: If you find anyone doing as Lot's people did, kill the one who does it, and the one to whom it is done. (Abu Dawud 38:4447)
• Narrated By Abdullah ibn Abbas: If a man who is not married is seized committing sodomy, he will be stoned to death. (Abu Dawud 38:4448)
These Qur'anic verses and Hadiths go a long way to explain why it is incredibly difficult to be a homosexual person in an Islamic society, including Qatar. Gay people must live in an environment where their actions are not only viewed as morally wrong but where simply being who they are can be regarded as a serious crime, often attracting the full force of the law.
Those on the political left have long been acting as if support for LGBT rights and cheerleading for Islam are totally compatible activities. By awarding the World Cup to Qatar, FIFA may have done us all a service in exposing the fallaciousness of this position. However, a serious debate can only occur if we constantly point to the root cause.
In a word, it is Islam, not ‘culture’.
For an in-depth investigation of the truth-claims of Islam, please see my book ‘Questioning Islam - Tough Questions and Honest Answers About the Muslim Religion’
Kind regards,
Peter
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