The Muslim Response to Disney’s Light Year Is a Storm in a Teacup
By
Junaid Jahangir, New Age Islam
22June 2022
Many
Arab Muslim Men Greet Each Other With Kisses on the Cheeks, And Many Pakistani
Muslim Men Hold Hands to Show Affection for One Another
Main
Points:
1. More than a
dozen Muslim countries banned the Disney animation ‘Light Year’ for featuring a
lesbian kiss.
2. Clash of
civilizations seems to be strongest on LGBTQ rights.
3. Censor a
lesbian kiss is not about homophobia but about upholding Muslim values of Iffat
(chastity) and Haya (modesty).
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Recently,
more than a dozen Muslim countries banned the Disney animation ‘Light Year’ for
featuring a lesbian kiss. The movie caused a kerfuffle on social media, as
different Muslim individuals started posturing Muslim values on raising their
children. On the other hand, there are those who categorically brand such Muslim
positions as homophobic. This clash of civilizations seems to be strongest on
LGBTQ rights. However, on deeper reflection the whole issue is much ado about
nothing.
First,
public displays of affection (PDA) are frowned upon in Muslim cultures, as the
focus is on Tazkiyya Nafs (purification of the soul). The idea is to
confine sexual expression to the contract of marriage and to restrict elements
that stoke Shahwa (desire) in public spaces. Thus, if the kiss between
Cinderella and Prince Charming or generally between Disney Princes and
Princesses is redacted, then to censor a lesbian kiss is not about homophobia
but about upholding Muslim values of Iffat (chastity) and Haya
(modesty).
Second,
homophobia in terms of two men holding hands is a feature of Anglo-Saxon
societies. In contrast, many Arab Muslim men greet each other with kisses on
the cheeks, and many Pakistani Muslim men hold hands to show affection for one
another. This was noted by Muhammad Asad, who wrote about Arab Muslims in his
book The Road to Mecca, that:
“Their inner security could be observed in the way they behaved toward
one another: in the warm dignity with which they met or parted; in the manner
in which two men would walk together, holding each other by the hand like
children -- simply because they felt friendly towards each other.”
While Muslims may reject same-sex unions based on their reading of their religious texts, it does not necessarily mean that they are acting out of a callous hatred of LGBTQ individuals. All it means is that their morality is shaped by a tradition that does not allow space for such marriage contracts. This is not to say that there is no homophobia in Muslim countries. Indeed, homophobia is a universal prejudice that is virulently found in places like Russia and Jamaica, just as it is found in Muslim countries, where authoritarian leaders try to retain their legitimacy by targeting vulnerable sexual minorities. Thus, censoring the lesbian kiss is less about classic homophobia and more about Muslim leaders plucking a low hanging fruit to retain their legitimacy.
Third, Muslim countries have their own way of addressing the concerns of sexual minorities. After all, notwithstanding societal discrimination, at least based on religious texts, transgender folks have been accommodated by the highest of the Sunni and Shia religious bodies at Al Azhar in Egypt and Qum in Iran. In other words, thoughtful Muslim religious scholars remain attentive to the human rights of sexual minorities.
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Also Read: On Banning Disney's 'Lightyear' Over an Innocuous Kissing Scene
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However,
they also reject reshaping society by gender ideology or by a highly
individualistic narrative of minority rights that trumps the concerns of
traditional families in western spaces. Similarly, they reject what passes of
as “activism”, which uses abstruse words like “heteronormativity” and
“cisheteropatriarchy” and facilitates free sexual expression outside marriage
(the so called “open relationships”) or nudity at Pride Parades, which are
justified and celebrated in public spaces. Thus, censoring the lesbian kiss is
less about human rights and more about maintaining traditional Muslim values
against Fahisha (indecency) in Muslim spaces.
All of this
is not to say that Muslim religious authorities are vanguards of human rights.
For they have much work to do to find a reasonable solution to the concerns of
gay and lesbian individuals. While such scholars have every right to reject
western approaches and unbridled desires of human beings, they do have the
responsibility to offer Islamic equivalents on the issue of meeting genuine
human needs of intimacy, affection, and companionship. This could entail
multiple Islamic approaches like forbidding Muslims from spying on the private
lives of gays and lesbians through cell phone and online technologies, covering
their affairs through afw (forgiveness) and Darguzar Karna
(overlooking), and working towards establishing Islamic rules to bring order
into the lives of a hidden minority that is susceptible to sexual anarchy,
narcissism, objectification, self-loathing, constant infighting and
nit-picking, and sexual consumerism.
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Overall,
the public discourse that is often polarized between charges of homophobia by
so-called “activists” and by rigid callous behaviour of firebrand Muslims
should give way to a more nuanced approach on the matter. After all, Islam is
the religion of the Tariq Al Wasat (the middle path), which avoids
extremities, and offers a balance between individual human rights and
collective family values and responsibilities.
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Junaid Jahangir is an Assistant Professor of
Economics at MacEwan University. He is the co-author of Islamic Law and Muslim
Same-Sex Unions. With Dr. Hussein Abdullatif, a paediatric endocrinologist in
Alabama, he has co-authored several academic papers on the issue of same-sex
unions in Islam. He contributed this article to NewAgeIslam.com.
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-society/muslim-response-disney-light-year/d/127291
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