True Geordie asks Mohammed Hijab about Islam and Homsexuality

Summary

The video discusses the establishment of a Masjid and Dawah Center in Norway, aiming to guide Muslims back to the core of Islam. It delves into Islamic views on homosexuality, explaining that while feelings are not condemned, acting on them is considered a major sin. The speaker contrasts Islamic ethics with Western moral frameworks like utilitarianism and deontological ethics, arguing that even within these Western perspectives, a case against homosexual practices can be made based on harm principles and societal stability.

Takeaways

• 🕌 A Masjid and Dawa Center is being established by Muslims in Norway, aiming to bring the Muslim community closer to the essence of Islam.
• 💰 The speaker encourages generous donations to support the Masjid, promising that Allah will reward those who give.
• ❌ Islam forbids the practice of homosexuality, although it acknowledges that individuals may not be in control of their feelings.
• 🛡️ The speaker clarifies that committing homosexual acts is considered a major sin in Islam but does not expel someone from the faith.
• ⚖️ In Islam, homosexuality is ranked very high on the hierarchy of sins, similar to murder and adultery.
• 📊 The speaker discusses the ethics of homosexuality from both utilitarian and deontological perspectives, common in Western philosophy.
• 🧠 From a deontological viewpoint, if everyone engaged in homosexuality, society would face challenges, making it morally questionable.
• 🔍 The speaker questions the harm principle in utilitarian ethics, suggesting that homosexual practices could lead to harm, such as increased disease spread.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 The traditional family setup is argued to be superior to homosexual relationships, especially concerning child development and societal stability.
• 🛑 The speaker emphasizes that their argument against homosexuality is based on Western ethical frameworks, not solely on Islamic teachings.

Q & A

What is the purpose of the Masjid and Dawa Center being established by brothers and sisters in Norway?

The purpose of the Masjid and Dawa Center is to act as a beacon of light, calling the Muslims in Norway back to the essence of Islam.

How does Islam view the practice of homosexuality?

Islam forbids the practice of homosexuality but not the feelings. Acting upon homosexual desires in a penetrative way is seen as a major sin.

Does practicing homosexuality make someone an ex-Muslim according to Islam?

No, practicing homosexuality does not make someone an ex-Muslim or cause them to leave Islam. They are still considered Muslims but have committed a major sin.

How does Islam categorize the severity of sins like homosexuality and adultery?

Islam considers both homosexuality and adultery as major sins. In some Islamic schools of thought, homosexuality is ranked very high in severity, comparable to murder.

What is the harm principle in utilitarian ethics?

The harm principle, part of utilitarian ethics, suggests that individuals can do whatever they want as long as they do not harm others, aiming to achieve the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

What is deontological ethics and how does it view certain actions?

Deontological ethics, spearheaded by Immanuel Kant, asserts that some actions are always categorically wrong. For instance, lying is always wrong because if everyone did it, society would not function properly.

How does the speaker use Western ethical frameworks to argue against the practice of homosexuality?

The speaker uses both utilitarian and deontological ethics to argue against homosexuality. From a deontological perspective, if everyone practiced homosexuality, society would not continue. From a utilitarian perspective, the speaker argues that homosexual practices can lead to harm, such as the spread of diseases and potential negative impacts on family stability.

What is the speaker's argument regarding the impact of homosexual relationships on children?

The speaker argues that data shows children in homosexual relationships are more likely to engage in delinquency, have lower educational levels, and face more psychological issues compared to children in traditional nuclear families.

Why does the speaker refer to utilitarian and deontological ethics in the discussion?

The speaker refers to these ethical frameworks to demonstrate that, even from Western ethical perspectives, one can argue against the practice of homosexuality.

How does the speaker address the potential criticism of 'reverse engineering' their argument?

The speaker claims that they are not reverse engineering but rather using widely accepted Western ethical standards to show that an argumentative case can be made against homosexuality based on those ethics.

Outlines

00:00

🌟 Establishing a Masjid and Islamic Center in Norway

The opening paragraph discusses a new initiative by the brothers and sisters in the slum and Nap from Norway to establish a Masjid and a Da'wah Center. This center aims to act as a beacon of light, guiding Muslims in Norway back to the essence of Islam. It encourages generous donations, promising that Allah will reward them abundantly. The discussion then transitions into the topic of homosexuality from an Islamic perspective, explaining that while Islam forbids homosexual acts, it does not condemn individuals for their feelings. It emphasizes that acting on homosexual desires, particularly in a penetrative way, is seen as a major sin. However, it clarifies that committing such acts does not excommunicate one from Islam.

05:00

🧭 Ethical Perspectives on Homosexuality in Islam and the West

The second paragraph delves deeper into the ethical and moral considerations of homosexuality. It compares Islamic views with Western ethical frameworks, namely utilitarianism and deontological ethics. Utilitarianism, spearheaded by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, focuses on achieving the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Deontological ethics, introduced by Immanuel Kant, considers certain actions categorically wrong if universally practiced. The discussion argues that from both ethical perspectives, one could question the morality of homosexual acts. It presents arguments related to potential harms, such as the spread of diseases and the impact on family stability. The paragraph concludes by stating that even from a Western ethical standpoint, traditional family setups are seen as superior, suggesting that Islamic viewpoints can align with these ethical theories.

Keywords

💡Masjid

A Masjid, or mosque, is a place of worship for Muslims. In the script, it is mentioned that the brothers and sisters in Norway are establishing a Masjid which will also function as a dawa center, serving as a beacon of light to call Muslims back to the essence of Islam.

💡Dawa Center

A Dawa Center is an institution dedicated to the Islamic mission of inviting people to understand and embrace Islam. In the video, the Masjid being established in Norway will also serve as a Dawa Center, emphasizing its role in educating and guiding the Muslim community.

💡Homosexuality

Homosexuality refers to the romantic or sexual attraction between people of the same sex. The script discusses the Islamic perspective on homosexuality, stating that while the feelings are acknowledged, the practice is forbidden in Islam, and it is considered a major sin.

💡Major sin

In Islam, a major sin is a severe transgression against God's commands. The script highlights that homosexuality, alongside other actions like cheating and usury, is considered a major sin in Islam, ranking high in the hierarchy of sins.

💡Utilitarianism

Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that promotes actions that maximize happiness and well-being for the majority. The script contrasts Islamic views on homosexuality with utilitarian principles, explaining that from a utilitarian perspective, one could argue that homosexual practices might cause harm to society.

💡Deontological ethics

Deontological ethics is a moral philosophy that emphasizes the inherent rightness or wrongness of actions, regardless of their consequences. The script references this ethical framework to argue against homosexuality, suggesting that if everyone practiced it, it would lead to societal dysfunction.

💡Harm principle

The harm principle, central to utilitarian ethics, asserts that individuals are free to act as they wish unless their actions harm others. The script challenges the application of this principle to homosexuality, questioning whether it truly avoids harm, citing disease transmission as a potential issue.

💡Jeremy Bentham

Jeremy Bentham was a philosopher and the founder of modern utilitarianism. The script mentions his contribution to utilitarian ethics, which influences contemporary Western moral philosophy and is used to examine the morality of homosexuality.

💡Immanuel Kant

Immanuel Kant was a philosopher known for his work in deontological ethics. The script references Kant's categorical imperative, which argues that actions are morally right if they can be universalized without contradiction, using this to critique the practice of homosexuality.

💡Nuclear family

A nuclear family consists of two parents and their children living together as a unit. The script argues that, based on utilitarian principles, the nuclear family setup is superior to homosexual relationships, suggesting that children fare better in traditional family structures.

Highlights

Your brothers and sisters in the slum, nap from Norway are establishing a Masjid a dawa Center.

This Center, this Masjid, this educational institution will act like a beacon of light calling the Muslims in Norway back to the essence of Islam.

Give generously and Allah, azzawajal will give you even more.

Islam forbids homosexuality as a practice, not as a feeling.

If someone feels a certain way, it is forbidden to act upon it in a penetrative way if you're a man or have sex with another man.

Practicing homosexuality is seen as a major sin in Islam, but it doesn't mean that someone practicing it becomes an ex-Muslim or leaves Islam.

There is a hierarchy of sins in Islam, and homosexuality ranks very high, up there with murder.

Adultery, such as a man cheating on his wife, is also considered a major sin in Islam.

Usury, like getting a loan from the bank with interest, is seen as a major sin as well.

Western ethics often operate on two major pathways: utilitarianism and deontological ethics.

Utilitarianism, spearheaded by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, focuses on achieving the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

Deontological ethics, spearheaded by Emmanuel Kant, asserts that some actions are categorically wrong, regardless of consequences.

From a deontological perspective, homosexuality could be seen as wrong because if everyone practiced it, society would not be able to continue.

From a utilitarian perspective, one could argue that homosexuality harms society more by way of disease or impacting family stability.

Data suggests that children in homosexual relationships are more likely to engage in delinquency, have lower educational levels, and more psychological issues compared to those in nuclear families.

Transcripts

your brothers and sisters in the slum

nap from Norway are establishing a

Masjid a dawa Center this Center this

Masjid this educational institution will

act like a beacon of light calling the

Muslims in Norway back to the essence of

Islam so give generously and Allah

azzawajal will give you even more you

debate you both debate at homosexuality

and you've talked to a lot of gay people

in your videos so yeah like what is that

what is Islam say about that and and how

do you guys view that in the modern day

I think that you know with homosexuality

obviously Islam forbids uh like

homosexuality as a practice not as a not

as a feeling because no one is you can

say someone is not in control of how

they feel in some cases and we accept

that so someone feels in a certain way

then it's forbidden to act upon it in

like in a penetrative way if you're a

man or so I have sex with another man

and so on now Islam forbids this

uh it doesn't mean that if someone

practices it by the way they become an

ex-muslim or that they leave Islam or

they excommunicate they're still within

the folders it's just seen as a major

sin there is obviously no therefore when

you say a marriage I say no are there a

number of hierarchy of sins okay yeah so

where would that rank high very high

like in one of the schools of Islam he

says up there with murder something wow

yeah it's very well what about manchine

on his wife or vice versa that's that's

a major scene as well yeah yeah so if a

man cheats on his wife it's a major sin

like is that on the same level yeah yeah

100 man both there are things that in

Islam that main people will not consider

it like for example usury like interest

getting a loan from the bank yes you

know things like that I've seen as major

sins on that kind of level as well so

there is a hierarchy that we have going

on which maybe some Outsiders when they

look at it they'll find it a bit strange

but having said that the argument we put

forward about homosexuality is this is

that there's two there's two major like

ethical Pathways in Western ethics yeah

you have something called utilitarianism

and you have something called

deontological ethics utilitarianism was

spearheaded by someone called Jeremy

Bentham and that was taken on board by

John Stuart Mill and it's being kind of

embedded into what is referred to in our

social liberalism yeah and the idea is

really it's the harm principle which is

that you can do whatever you want so

long as you don't have anybody else

and

we're trying to achieve the greatest

good for the greatest number of people

so that's one way of looking at morality

yeah that is the way of John Stuart Mill

and it's pretty much accepted now in

Western Society so when I say the

liberal ethic is dominant in the west

I'm talking about these Notions that you

can do whatever you want so long as you

don't have anyone else deontological

ethics is spearheaded by someone called

Emmanuel Kant and what he says is that

what he says is basically that there are

some things which will always be

categorically wrong

and uh if you imagine all of society

doing it uh and it leads to some kind of

impossibility that that thing is wrong

so for example he would say lying is

always wrong and there's no

justification even if death resulted as

a result of it the lying is always wrong

these are two ways of looking at it now

these are the two ways that moral

philosophers and ethicists in the west

have looked at the I'm saying on both

ways homosexuality as a practice there

is aspersion cast on the morality of it

I'll explain how

if we say from a deontological

perspective that the things that if they

were conducted by everybody that the

society would not continue or that

there'll be the impossibility in uh in

that sense

I either it was refer to as a

categorical imperative that's why

Emmanuel Cancer lying is wrong because

if everyone did it we wouldn't be able

to function as Society so suicide is

wrong because if everyone did it we

wouldn't be able to function there'll be

death then buy the same token or buy the

same logic then homosexuality would be

wrong because if everyone did it then so

that's the ontological route the more

the more popular route which is the

utilitarian route or the if you like the

liberal route now which is the greatest

good for the great stuff so long as

you're not harming anybody else we would

say there's actually aspersion cost

First of all how do you prove that the

harm principle is true as is there a

scientific way that you've come to to

prove that the harm principle is true

secondly

uh if even if we implemented the hum

principle on homosexuality the question

would be

uh could you make an argumentative case

that it actually harms more people by

way of disease or by way of contraction

of this or as we know from the NHS that

homosexual sex is more likely to spread

certain diseases and so on so could you

make a communitarian argument against

homosexual practice we would argue yes

you can and even if you argue on the on

the basis of families and so on we were

talking about the stability of certain

families

you could I would postulate and I would

argue that actually all of the data

almost without exception has shown that

homosexual relationships man man woman

woman

disadvantages the children more than a

nuclear family in this in what sense in

the sense of the child is more likely to

be to include themselves in delinquency

the educational levels more uh less

thing they're more likely to have

psychological pathology and so on so

even on a utilitarian basis we would say

that the traditional family setup is

superior

to

um the homosexual uh Lifestyle on those

two grounds if you're looking at even

from the Western lens we're not even

saying from the Islamic lens because all

we have to say is that God said so but

we're not going down that I'm saying

that if you look at a utilitarian lens

or from a deontological lens both would

point to the same reality but do you

think you're reverse engineering a

little bit of this and trying to sort of

make it more palatable for

you know when you're getting challenged

on it a sort of thing all I'm doing is

I'm using the ethics which are seen as

the most Superior ethics in the west to

show you that even based on those ethics

that you can make a argumentative case

against the practice of homosexuality

your brothers

and slam net from Norway are

establishing

this educational institution will act

like a beacon of light calling the

Muslims in Norway back to the essence of

Islam so give generously and Allah

azzawajal will give you even