There are several videos on the recent protests against LGBTQ content in schools in places as far and wide as Ottawa and Michigan. In one video, kids are seen stomping on Pride flags.
Another video from Edmonton was about a teacher’s rant that Muslim youth do not support Pride even as others have shown support for Ramadan. There are also tweets that started drawing serious lessons from the rant, i.e., to be Canadian you must support Pride.
I think all of this has been needlessly exaggerated. I also think this us-versus-them binary needs to be broken if we are to avoid civil strife and maintain social cohesion. Moreover, I agree with the slogan, “leave the kids alone.” But not for the reasons espoused by the protestors. My thoughts are as follows.
First, organized anti-LGBTQ positions stem from Christian fundamentalists that are rife with homophobia and transphobia. Muslim immigrant families have jumped on the bandwagon. Having lived in South Asia and the Middle East, they should know better.
Gender variant identities like the hijras of South Asia and the khanith of the Middle East are well known. Even amongst the umbrella third gender category of South Asia, there are multiple identities such as the zenana, chava, kothi and so on. Five genders are recognized in the Sulawesi part of Indonesia.
Gender variant identities are also noted in Islamic jurisprudence. The mukhannathun (effeminate men) of Medina inhabited the social space during the time of the Prophet. Muslim jurists derived laws of inheritance, funeral, and prayer for the khuntha mushkil (ambiguous sex) individuals.
Muslims should be aware of texts that offered such individuals prayer space between the rows of men and women. The Kuwaiti encyclopedia of fiqh (jurisprudence) captures variant rulings on the marriage of such persons. Even in recent times, there was a fatwa (religious edict) by a Sunni group of clerics in Pakistan permitting them to marry. This is apart from the permission on gender reassignment surgery from the highest bodies of both Sunni and Shia Islam.
Thus, when Muslim groups in the West jump on the gender binary bandwagon, one wonders if they have been co-opted by “others” through fear-mongering. These others would include both the Christian right and the Muslim right. The latter goes against the accommodation of gender variant individuals in traditional Muslim societies and reinterprets Islam through a narrow prism of past hardline scholars whose writings feed into political Islam.
Second, instead of milking the frustrated teacher’s video, those who are circulating it should address it with husn al dhun (positive orientation). One teacher’s outburst should not be exaggerated by naïve twitterati. Just as the actions of an individual Muslim do not reflect the entire community, the same holds here. If anything, the teacher’s rant should allow one to reflect and discern if one is acting hypocritically.
In a pluralistic society, Muslim youth would have friends who bring their ham sandwich for lunch, may not believe in God, or have gay parents. This does not mean that Muslim youth would start eating ham sandwiches, stop believing in God, or believe in same-sex marriage. It simply means to accept diversity.
We do not have to accept someone’s lifestyle to be friends with them or to stand up for them. Even siblings in the same family would have variant economic, social, political, and religious views.
Just as non-Muslims respecting Ramadan does not mean that they would adopt the Islamic faith, so too Muslims showing up for Pride events does not mean that they would turn gay or adopt a gender variant identity. Only those who are insecure in their own beliefs would shun others or fail to show up for them. Thus, we can care for others despite ideological disagreement. In other words, the binary us versus them has no place in a pluralistic society.
Third, it is natural for parents to be protective of their kids. But here’s the thing: How many parents are really protecting their kids? Systemic grooming and predatory behaviour in the Catholic Church and Islamic madrassas are well known. Yet, both priests and Imams get away with sexual abuse behind the cloak of religion. And on some occasions, parents do not listen to the kids.
Moreover, if there is anything that needs to be worked on for the protection of kids, it is the family unit. This happens not by railing against Pride but by working against domestic violence, addressing the systemic poverty of single mother households, and ensuring that kids have education based on consent.
Age-appropriate curriculum on gender variant folks introduces students to a diverse world. In an age where information is at our fingertips, parents cannot keep their kids and youth ignorant of the realities of life.
This is especially so when youth struggle with their sexuality and gender in the corrosive closet out of fear of offending their parents. Even Muslim religious leaders acknowledge that some boys and girls experience same-sex desire in a religious setting, as they focus on memorizing the Qur’an.
Parents can therefore only do so much to “protect” their children. I am reminded of the dialogue between Sebastian and King Triton from the live action Little Mermaid:
King Triton: She wants a different life than I have planned for her.
Sebastian: She did try to tell you, Your Majesty.
King Triton: But I won’t be able to protect her anymore.
Sebastian: Well, it’s like I always say, children got to be free to lead their own lives.
This dialogue is reminiscent of the Islamic teaching that children are an amanah (trust) from God. Our job is to provide them with the best of our values. Whatever path they choose is not ours to dictate.
Thus, we should be introducing kids and youth to diversity in an age-appropriate manner. They should be allowed to make up their own minds in a pluralistic society.
To recapitulate, the Muslim position on gender and sexual variance is far more diverse than what conservative spokesmen would like us to believe. We should avoid divisiveness by exaggerating and break the binary between Muslims and the LGBTQ. And we should introduce our youth to diversity especially for those that are consumed by unnecessary guilt and shame in the corrosive closet.
Finally, Muslims would do well to not be co-opted by the far right. They should also recognize that helicopter parenting makes things worse. Instead of controlling and dictating, they should follow the slogan and leave the kids alone!
Support rabble today!
We’re so glad you stopped by! Thanks for consuming rabble content this year.
rabble.ca is 100% reader and donor funded, so as an avid reader of our content, we hope you will consider gifting rabble with a donation during our summer fundraiser today.
Whether it be a one-time donation or a small monthly contribution, your support is critical to keep rabble writers producing the work you’ve come to rely on as a part of a healthy media diet.
Become a rabble rouser — donate to rabble.ca today.
Nick Seebruch, editor
