Islamic Council Wants Buggery Law To Remain
Published:Wednesday | June 3, 2015 | 3:43 PM
Acting President of the Islamic Council of Jamaica, Al-Hajj Mekaeel Maknoon, said yesterday that the Islamic community in Jamaica is against the repeal of the Buggery Act.
Speaking at a Gleaner Editors' Forum, he indicated that homosexuality goes against Islamic beliefs .
"The Creator has already made his judgement on that in Sodom and Gomorrah. We do not have anything to add to that, He has said it is the most unnatural act ... . His judgement is that it is unacceptable," he said.
The Imaam outlined arguments against the repeal of the Buggery Act.
"People have a right to have desires; that is the human right. It's not a human right that you have to impose your desire on other people. It is not your right to create a situation which is, in essence, by nature, diametrically opposed to the continuity of the human race," he said
According to the acting president, "the country cannot look at the situation and say you are allowed to do what you want to do until it starts to affect 90 per cent of the country and then we start to take action ... 90 per cent of Jamaicans do not engage in this behaviour and we need to respect their wishes and not legislate something like this."
inherently wrong
Maknoon spoke to the morality surrounding homosexuality indicating that it was inherently wrong.
"Something is either inherently wrong or right and furthermore, you cannot impose on 90 per cent of the Jamaican people, a conduct that they find abhorrent. It is unacceptable," he said.
He went on to explain, however, that Muslims do not discriminate against homosexuals.
"The man who is gay, I don't have the right over him. If he chooses to live that life, that is his life; your way is your way ... . We will not excommunicate a member who is gay, that is his life and he is accountable to the Creator of the universe," Maknoon said.