Public attitudes toward homosexuality in the Muslim world underwent a marked negative change starting from the 19th century through the global spread of Islamic fundamentalist movements such as Salafism and Wahhabism, and the influence of the sexual notions and restrictive norms prevalent in Europe at the time: a number of Muslim-majority countries have retained criminal penalties for homosexual acts enacted under European colonial rule. However, homosexual relationships were generally tolerated in pre-modern Islamic societies, and historical records suggest that these laws were invoked infrequently, mainly in cases of rape or other "exceptionally blatant infringement on public morals". Homosexual acts are forbidden in traditional Islamic jurisprudence and are liable to different punishments, including stoning and the death penalty, depending on the situation and legal school. The conceptions of homosexuality found in classical Islamic texts resemble the traditions of Greco- Roman antiquity rather than the modern understanding of sexual orientation. Homoerotic and pederastic themes were cultivated in poetry and other literary genres written in major languages of the Muslim world from the 8th century CE into the modern era. There is little evidence of homosexual practice in Islamic societies for the first century and a half of the early history of Islam (7th century CE), although male homosexual relationships were known and discriminated, but not sanctioned, in Arabia.
However, some hadith collections condemn homosexual and transgender acts, prescribing the Islamic death penalty for both the active and receptive partners who have engaged in male homosexual intercourse. Within the Quran, it is never stated that homosexuality is punishable by death, and modern historians conclude that the Islamic prophet Muhammad never forbade homosexual relationships, although he shared contempt towards them alongside his contemporaries. The Quran narrates the story of the "people of Lot" destroyed by the wrath of God because the men engaged in lustful carnal acts between themselves.
Sign up for them.'s weekly newsletter here.Attitudes toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and their experiences in the Muslim world have been influenced by its religious, legal, social, political, and cultural history.
State Department spokesman Ned Price in a statement. “We are concerned by detentions of students and other demonstrators and strongly condemn the anti-LGBTQIA rhetoric surrounding the demonstrations,”' said U.S. In tandem with that pledge, Biden’s State Department issued a statement condemning Erdogan’s actions. Since then, Erdogan has engaged in a systematic purge of officials seen as disloyal.Įrdogan enjoyed a close relationship with Donald Trump but is likely to find a less friendly reception with President Joe Biden, who issued a memo on Thursday affirming the administration’s commitment to fighting for LGBTQ+ equality around the world. Human rights groups believe Erdogan’s actions are part of an attempt to further consolidate power, a process that accelerated after a failed coup in 2016.
Also the same year, 25 students were arrested and forced to stand trial for holding a Pride parade at Ankara’s Middle East Technical University. Istanbul Pride was banned for several years, and when protesters marched in 2019, they were met by police firing tear gas and plastic bullets at marchers. Public attitudes are generally harsh toward LGBTQ+ people in Turkey, which has no federal laws protecting queer and trans people from discrimination.
International human rights group say the charges are “baseless” and “absurd.”