Gay for a day!

Meet, Rasheed (his middle name). A member of the local mosque committee group. A reformed Muslim, and an ex-con! Yep. Rasheed had to do time in jail for some crazy things he engaged in while he was younger. He repented and vowed to never ever go back to it. Since he admits it was an eye opening experience having faced near death several times in the big hose.

But, that's not so interesting, what is more interesting is that he admits that he has engaged in homosexual activities while in Jail, so I decided to put the concept of "once gay, always gay" to the test and I decided to ask him a few questions, and I wasn't very surprised since I personally, do not believe that homosexuality exists outside of people's heads!

Asking Rasheed about his experiences wasn't that easy. He's a married man now, with two beautiful little kids, and a lovely understanding wife that he adores. They're planning on having two more kids. They hope one of them is going to be a girl, and they already picked a name for her; Aisha. 

Rasheed, started talking, with a great deal of shame about his experience in Jail. He used to be a member of a gang and after several brushes with law enforcement he was sent to do time in jail. Where he continued to be a member of gang.

He admits that he eventually raped, got raped and engaged in consensual homosexual activities with other inmates. But once he was released. He would seek women and only women. And never tried or thought of soliciting sexual favors from men.

He was sent to the big house again, where this time he met some Muslim brothers. Few months later he became a practicing Muslim, and severed all his ties to gangs and other illegal activities. He proceeded to earn a collage degree and decided to get a decent job

So I asked if he has any urges to be with other men or if he finds men interesting in anyway. He replied by saying that he has never liked the whole concept of other men. He had to do what he had to do when he was in need or he would never had done that. He also said that after the whole sexual craze matter has subsided. He wasn't feeling those needs. He found solace in the his belief. He found the comfort that he was seeking and no longer had animalistic urges. But most importantly, he changed the type of people he hanged out with. The new group embraced him despite his previous mishaps, as the path to repentance is always open and clear

So I asked if he was reformed gay. He answered, that he was never gay!

This whole discussion solidified my belief that homosexuality doesn't exist! It's a sexual preference, orientation. But NOT a religion or a way of life. It's not a bug or a disease. It's people deciding that they want to do one activity in one way and not the other. Its exactly like people preferring to eat chicken breast over chicken thighs.

I also remember this kid who had some homosexual tendencies or behavior while we were growing up. Many years later, he's an alpha male with 3 kids and lives (and loves) his wife! It was just a phase

Finally, the last example was someone I knew personally back at school, he used to also enjoy being with "boys", then found a nice girl, and closed the whole chapter on his life that he doesn't even remember anymore.

Religion's position:

My religious take on this is simple. Religion recognises that homosexuality posses a great deal of temptation for some people (and not so much for others) just like the temptation of gambling, drugs and alcohol. And the religion's position is clear. It's NOT ALLOWED.

By that it means that combating the urges is actually an act of piety, and people will be rewarded for confronting and defeating their demons.

There were Homosexual activities being practiced ALL over history. Since the dawn of time. Humans have engaged in these activities and they are a natural part of our existence. But they're not allowed religiously.  Just look at the Bible, you will notice that the world was pretty much an R rated place!

So?

Everything I said above doesn't mean that ANYONE is allowed to discriminate against gays based on this sexual orientation. It might be a sin, but that doesn't mean that a person engaged in this is a bad person, less human, or beyond redemption. Being Gay starts with a choice and end as an addiction. It's NOT a disease, and it's not something that is genetic!

I think enough has been said about how this is not the person's fault. And how some people tend to be homosexual by nature. I don't believe either is true. I think it's just a way to justify it, a coat hanger for guilt to allow people engaging in homosexual activities to face shame, social rejection/discrimination and guilt.

"It's not our fault" , "God made us like that"

It's not a fault. It's a personal sin (religiously) and all religions have provisions for people who want to repent. Or who are willing to live with their sin. Without losing their religious belief. Many know that gambling is a sin, but they do it anyway! The society doesn't look that harshly down on those. And I really wonder why! Gambling is as much a sin as engaging in homosexual activity is.

People need to let it be!

As for all the hetro people out there. Let it be. Seriously, as long as you are NOT being directly affected by this. Let it be! If someone wants to become gay, they will. And if someone wants to become straight. They will, regardless of anything!

Interestingly, women have a lower percentage of homosexuals than men! But that's a whole other subject