A majority of American Muslims support same-sex marriage, according to a poll by the Public Religion Research Institute.
The poll found that a slim majority of Muslims (51 percent) favour same-sex marriage, but only 34 percent are opposed; 15 percent offer no opinion on the issue.
The Institute surveyed more than 40,000 Americans from across the United States about their views on social issues throughout 2017.
The findings come despite the fact that an overwhelming consensus of Islamic scholars agree that homosexuality is prohibited in Islam and, if practised, is a major sin.
The PRRI said: “Most religious groups in the U.S. now support same-sex marriage, including overwhelming majorities of Unitarians (97 percent), Buddhists (80 percent), the religiously unaffiliated (80 percent), Jewish Americans (77 percent), and Hindus (75 percent). Roughly two-thirds of white mainline Protestants (67 percent), white Catholics (66 percent), Orthodox Christians (66 percent), and Hispanic Catholics (65 percent) also favour same-sex marriage.”
Overall, 61 percent of Americans support equal marriage according to the poll, with majority support in 44 of the 50 states.
The liberal views of American Muslims contrast sharply with that of British Muslims.
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In 2016 an ICM poll asked British Muslims to what extent they agreed or disagreed that homosexuality should be legal in Britain. 18% said they agreed and 52% said they disagreed, compared with 5% among the public at large who disagreed.
Almost half (47%) said they did not agree that it was acceptable for a gay person to become a teacher, compared with 14% of the general population.
