Homosexuality n Islam: Critical Reflection on Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Muslims by Scott Siraj al-Haqq Kugle was published by Oxford Oneworld in 2010. It is a non-fiction text that comes to 275 pages (main body) but goes up to 335 including the notes, bibliography. glossary and index, which illustrates the extent to which this text is well-researched and comprehensive. I will highlight some of the key arguments in the text, divided by chapter, and provide my own thoughts on how convincing Kugle's argument is.
He highlights the methods of coming to Islamic legal rulings and how they are negotiated, from Quran, hadith (reports of the Prophet Muhammad's words and actions) and reasoning of the various major schools of thought. These are divided into separate chapters. He makes the following significant points made in the respective chapters. "Liberating Quran: Islamic Scripture" points out that the story of Lot does not condemn gay people, as the crimes of Lot were not limited to sodomy and if their crimes included this element, it condemns rather the violence of the action. Furthermore, laws of previous nations are not necessarily applicable to Islamic law, as is the case for many other matters. "Critiquing Hadith: Islamic Oral Tradition" notes that there is no prophetic example to follow in terms of same-sex relationships (punishments or otherwise). It also highlights the prevalence of weak or fabricated hadiths. "Assessing Fiqh: Islamic Legal Reasoning" competently compares the logical reasoning behind the various schools of thought and thus explains their differing stances on same-sex sexual acts in relation to illegal heterosexual sex. Through these chapters he deals with the notions of prejudice, bias and inconsistency which then inform legal interpretations.
From these criticisms and analyses, Kugle goes on to offer his own suggestions on how to address same-sex relationships in contemporary society. In his chapter "Reforming Shari'a: Islamic Ethics of Same-Sex Marriage" he offers the possibility of legalising same-sex marriage in the Muslim community and argues how such a shift in approach to nikkah contracts will also benefit women (and feminists) as well as gay Muslims. His argumentation is compelling and informed, as he deconstructs the reasons not to do so competently.
Kugle's transgender argument is much shorter, being limited to the one chapter: "Reviving Spirit: Islamic Approaches to Transgender Experience" and is, for me, less convincing outside the frame of hermaphrodites. When I say "less convincing", that is not to contest Kugle's case for fair, human and compassionate treatment of people who choose to identify with another gender (and even surgically change their body with this intention), rather I mean that I do not know how such a decision can be deemed more than a "whim" in the Islamic perspective, and correspond to the essentialist notion of sexuality and gender that Kugle adopts. It is a complex matter and it requires more study, which Kugle at least offers a starting point for.
To conclude, Homosexuality in Islam: Critical Reflection on Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Muslims that provides essential insights into the contemporary reality of homosexual and transgender Muslims in the light of Islamic understanding. It explores the conflicts gay Muslims face due to cultural and social forces prejudicing Islamic interpretation and consequently human treatment of homosexuals. He offers strong and convincing arguments for his case, especially for gay Muslims, and does so by breaking down the multiple components that inform Islamic legal jurisprudence. Due to this, this book also provides much information and insight, for those who do not know, into the workings of the Islamic law (or shari'ah) and its many nuances- obviously with a limited focus on this topic.
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