LGBTQ and Islam Revisited: The Days of the Donald
Published: December 14, 2017 • Updated: November 1, 2022
Authors: Dr. Jonathan Brown and Dr. Shadee Elmasry
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Archived: August 30, 2021
(Update: Aug. 30, 2021) Following a debate that took place at the Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America (AMJA) in 2016 regarding how American Muslims could maintain their commitment to Islam’s normative position on marriage and sexuality while also practically navigating the political challenges in the United States associated with defending Muslims’ safety and religious rights against rising Islamophobia, Yaqeen Institute published a scholarly debate on the subject between Dr. Jonathan Brown and Dr. Shadee Elmasry. Dr. Brown, who had already published his views elsewhere, stridently upheld the orthodox Islamic sexual norms while, following other leading American Muslim scholars, advocated the path of political accommodation to secure reciprocal rights for Muslims as a religious minority. Dr. Shadee Elmasry argued that no such accommodation is warranted. Given the subsequent cultural and political developments, Dr. Brown no longer holds this position. He agrees that his earlier treatment of the subject has been rendered obsolete by Supreme Court rulings that entrench and enforce understandings of sexual and gender identity in law.
