As I read the first chapter of “Homosexuality in Islam,” I found myself invested in the tension between the claims of the author and the actual descriptions of homophobia in Morocco. Specifically, the case of Mehdi. The author asserted that Islam was not vehemently anti-gay in theory. For Mehdi, both Mehdi, his lawyer, and the author claim that the ways in which Islam is practiced in Morocco, it is not safe for homosexuals. The author then goes on to describe the issues of abuse that gay people face at the hands of authority figures.
The tension between the praxis and actual message the author is trying to perpetuate are contrasting views. I am eager to read more about the other applications of the readings of the Qu’ran and hadith and etc so I can better understand the argument being proposed by the author. Another interesting topic described in the reading that parallels the tensions of homosexuality, is the controversy of the hadith. What is it about the hadith that makes it valid and traceable?
