Usmani links decriminalisation of gay sex to social decline

Pakistani religious leader Muhammad Taqi Usmani linked the decriminalisation of same-sex relations to what he sees as moral decline in society. The mbl.is report said he delivered a religious lecture on October 21 at a gathering of the Grand Mosque on Bústaðavegur in Reykjavík, described as Iceland’s largest Muslim religious community.

Usmani, 83, is an Islamic jurist and former judge. He is influential in the Deobandi movement within Sunni Islam and has for decades served as a religious adviser and supervisor to financial institutions operating under Sharia law. He has also urged governments of Muslim-majority countries to take military action against Israel.

In his book Takmilah Fath al-Mulhim, Usmani defends the death penalty for apostasy. He rejects the interpretation that the punishment applies only when someone who leaves Islam also takes part in rebellion or terrorism, arguing instead that apostasy itself is grounds for the penalty.

Usmani interprets the Quranic principle that there is no compulsion in religion as meaning that people outside Islam should not be forced to convert. He argues that it does not give Muslims the freedom to leave the religion, and that freedom of thought has limits set by divine revelation.

In the same work, he defends punishments including amputation and stoning, while saying that strict conditions govern their use and that doubt can prevent them from being imposed. He argues that the punishments are justified and serve as a deterrent.

In Islam and Modernism, Usmani criticises the decriminalisation of same-sex relations in Britain, describing legal reforms concerning gay people as harmful effects of Western modernity and linking them to what he sees as moral decline. He also criticises calls to legalise abortion.