A Muslim women’s organisation has said its intention was not to promote homosexuality after it posted an image of a woman in a “gay pride” hijab.
The Glasgow-based “Amina – The Muslim Women’s Resource Centre” posted the image on its Facebook page on Saturday with the caption “Happy #GlasgowPride! Love to all those celebrating! #Inclusion #Diversity #LoveIsLove #LGBTQ+ #Pride.”
But the post went on to provoke angry comments from Facebookers such as:
“Seriously? I think Amina MWRC need to review their policy and how reflective they are of the community!”
“The people of Lot were destroyed by a wrathful God.”
“Taking a key tennent of Islamic faith and ridiculing it. Time to rethink whether you really do represent Muslim women.”
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“If you wanted to support Muslim women you would advise them sincerly that this is haraam, not celebrate the haraam that they do. Why celebrate them taking steps towards Jahannam?”
In response to the comments Amina issued a clarification yesterday which read: “We are aware that our recent post in relation to Glasgow Pride received a number of different reactions, some of which questioned our stance as an organisation. For over twenty years Amina MWRC has been in the unique position of being able to provide support services aimed at Muslim women in Scotland.
“These services are run with an Islamic ethos in mind. We recognise that the post in question may have seemed like a departure from this Islamic ethos. However, we would like to reassure the Muslim community that this is not the case.
“At Amina we do not claim to be scholars ourselves but outsource scholarly questions to qualified persons. What we hope we do is foster a culture of inclusiveness so that anyone, regardless of their background or sensibilities, will feel comfortable seeking help and support from us in their time of need.
“By posting in relation to Glasgow Pride, our intention was not to promote homosexuality in any way. We recognise that there will be people who may identify as lgbtq+, but who still wish to maintain a relationship with God and identify as Muslim. From this perspective, we would like to be there for anyone who identifies as a Muslim woman.
“We will not shut the door on people due to their sexual orientation; we are all part of one human race and are in need of support from time to time.”
On its website Amina says that it is a national organisation which annually works with 4000+ Muslim and minority ethnic women, providing a range of services and support across Scotland through its three office bases in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee.
Amina says that its vision is for an inclusive world where Muslim women are empowered to fulfill their aspirations. It says its mission is to empower, inspire and support Muslim women by working with partners to influence and create change in society to ensure that their voices are heard and needs are met.
The homosexual act is considered a major sin by a consensus of Muslim scholars based on Quranic and Prophetic evidence.
