Non-governmental organisations working in Arab countries often face government restrictions, and those working for LGBT rights face the additional problem of social stigma. Some groups therefore approach the issue more obliquely, for example by focusing on sexual health and HIV prevention, or campaigning for “personal rights” in general.

Eunuchs often acquired influential positions administering wealthy Muslim households. The mukhannathun were less respectable, with a reputation for frivolity and loucheness, though they seem to have been broadly tolerated during the earliest years of Islam. They appear not to have been associated with homosexuality during the prophet’s lifetime, though later they were. Researchers who study human sexuality believe that sexual orientation can grow and change in a person’s lifetime. Having feelings about or having a sexual experience with a person of the same sex does not necessarily mean you are homosexual. It is common for people to experiment with their sexuality. This occurs more often during adolescence and young adulthood. Path to well being

Since you’re important to me, I want to let you know that I’m bisexual. I’d appreciate your support.”

Salter M, et al. Gay, bisexual and queer men's attitudes and understandings of intimate partner violence and sexual assault. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 2021; doi:10.1177/0886260519898433. If you come from a culture where alcohol consumption is forbidden, it will be difficult for you to become an alcoholic, no matter how your body metabolizes alcohol.For me, The Onion's haiku like satirical headlines say it best: "Mistranslated myths of nomadic desert tribe taken at face value", and "Fundamentalist Aesopians Interpret Fox-Grape Parable Literally" Put another way, it is not that we have gained some new insights into what the biblical text means based on the study of the Hebrew and Greek texts. Instead, people’s interaction with the LGBT community has caused them to understand the biblical text differently. This means that rather than interpreting their sexuality through the lens of the Scriptures, they are interpreting the Scriptures through the lens of their sexuality. This is the guaranteed path to deception. It is always difficult to select verses from the Bible and hold them up as the true word of God if you are going to ignore other opinions which are now considered old fashioned or incorrect. Slavery is justified in the Bible, yet the modern world sees this as unacceptable. Surely the point is whether you are a good Christian, not who you choose to sleep with. What if it’s a loving, committed relationship?” The idea behind this objection is that same-sex mating is just like marriage — except that it’s with the same sex. It isn’t. Research by Alan R. Bell and Martin S. Weinberg shows that “close-coupled” homosexuals don’t stop cruising, they just cruise less. Homosexual activist Andrew Sullivan say that heterosexuals should learn from the homosexual example to get over their hang-up about marital faithfulness. The committed homosexual relationship is a myth. Sexually transmitted infections treatment guidelines, 2021. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/std/treatment-guidelines/default.htm. Accessed Dec. 9, 2022.

But although the rulings can easily justify surgery in intersex cases, it’s more difficult to apply them to gender dysphoria. A controversy in Egypt during the 1980s involved a 19-year-old student who had been diagnosed with gender dysphoria (or “psychological hermaphroditism” as the doctors called it at the time) and underwent male-to-female reassignment surgery.

These, very noticeably, are in the diaspora rather than the Muslim heartlands, but the diaspora is where Islam is forced to confront reality – not in the countries where it is protected and privileged. Muslims at large are part and parcel of this world. Before a similar law might pass one day in Egypt, Turkey, Iran, or Pakistan, etc., Muslims too need to be integral to that global struggle for civil liberties, as they continue their conversations to learn to respect and honour their fellow human beings without wondering what their gender or sexual orientation might be. People adhere to cultural constraints of monogamy despite being attracted to people other than their spouses. You shouldn’t impose your morality on other people.” Who is imposing what on whom? These days you can’t even see a Calvin Klein commercial without being bombarded with homosexual imagery. Pedophile organizations regularly march in Gay Pride parades. If you tell your dormitory authorities that you don’t want a roommate who digs your body, you may be required to attend pro-homosexuality re-education sessions. As it happens, Islam has case histories in this area which make it accommodating in some ways, though not in others. Reports from the prophet’s lifetime show he was familiar with three types of gender diversity beyond the usual male-female binary.