Balancing homosexuality and Islam? Impressive!

The service, known as a nikah, is a Muslim matrimonial contract. The personal account of the couple's meeting and instant connection could easily be believed to be between a man and a woman, not between two members of the same sex: " 'We met about three years ago, at an iftar - a breaking of fast during Ramadan. I think a lot of Muslims find that time of year very spiritual and very enlightening, and so I think that's why our relationship developed, because we spoke about our faith. Eventually we went on a date.' " The couple though, are without a doubt homosexual. The fact that couples just like Asra and Sarah, the couple we just heard from, are looking for religious bonds is an amazing and legitimate goal. Gay British Muslims are increasingly pushing for the right of marriage. And not just any marriage! They could be bound by a more liberal marriage, but they really want a MUSLIM homosexual marriage, and what is wrong with that? Nothing. The speed the couple seemed to move at, with Sarah proposing on the first date, is explained by the fact that relationships in general are a serious matter. The fact that the couple wanted to keep things as "pure as possible" is something to be celebrated. If a couple is that respectful to religious rites, why then can they be rejected? Not knowing much about the nikah service, investigated a little: it's normally given, as are Christian marriages, to heterosexual couples. It doesn't necessarily require an Imam though, but just some one, as the BBC article says "knowledgeable enough about the Qur'an". The by-the-book nature of Sarah and Asra's service is a beautiful thing and a testament to religious homosexuals not just of the Muslim faith, but of every faith! However, Asra and Sarah's story isn't perfect: Asra's parents were against the whole affair as 'religious Muslims' and did not attend the nikah (wedding). Not going to a daughters wedding on religious grounds is disturbing though! It's something that only really happenes once, just like in heterosexual unions. An argument of homosexuality being against the tenents of Islam is true, not knowing much about the Muslim faith I wouldn't feel comfortable trying to argue for or against it though. However, the Imam Daayiee Abdullah said something in the BBC article that really resonated with me: "By not allowing same-sex couples to wed... there is a direct attack on the Qur'an's message that each person has a mate who is their 'comfort and their cloak'. However, instead of Islam being harsh on gays, some say that it is actually the reverse: gays are strongly Islamophobic. Sarah and Asra agree, going a step further: lamenting the incidence of gays actually believing you can't believe in anything. I would lament on this point myself, looking from the outside in. Yes, Religion is sometimes not very supportive of LGBTs and their rights. However, that is not to say that you cannot be gay and religious. Faith in God is often times very straining. I would encourage homosexuals to come to God and ignore the loud personal prejudices that many groups raise. There is no reason why any group should not come to God. For this reason I applaud Sarah and Asra, and all of those just like them in their success.