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[my_innersanctum]

Okay, i'll go.

Comments

[susannah]

I'm really grateful for your post. It is gracefully written and intelligent. I found myself 'receiving' a lot of what you were saying.

Now some little questions, if you feel you want to comment (obviously no obligation):

I am a transsexual woman. What would be my place within Islam? Would I be regarded as sinning against the order of creation? Would I be accepted as a woman?

I've been wondering about these questions for some time.

[my_innersanctum]

i appreciate your open honesty on this subject and i'll approach it with the same open honesty. homosexuality is a lifestyle that is not supported in islam. the story of lot and his family is told here and still holds the same meaning today that it did then. i found a link below with the muslim telling of the story of lot included as part of the information provided (just scan down the article). we're also cautioned against making permanet changes to ourselves that would change what god gave us to begin with except for medical reasons. i don't have the depth of understanding nor the religious education to discuss this at length and with any amount of background info to provide. but, i do know that though islam does not condone homosexuality it doesn't give us the right to harass, molest, or otherwise harm people who have made the choice to purse a homosexual lifestyle or to take it a step further a transexual lifestyle. i recommend making an appointment with a local mosque and seeking a discussion with the imam there to better

[susannah]

You have. Thank you.

[susannah]

Oh, one other thing. Transsexualism is about a person's gender, not their sexual orientation

[my_innersanctum]

point taken. i hope it made it pretty clear this is an injunction against practice and lifestyle. i understand what was ment by transexualism, however, you'll not find that word in torah, bible, nor quran. we have a well-known example of a prostitute stopping to give water to a thirsty dog and god forgiving her and giving her a place in janna (paradise) for he rhumanity. we have the example of another woman in haddith also who tied up an animal and didn't feed nor water it and god condemned her to hell fire for her inhumanity. only god can determine final disposition of the soul. there are many mainstream people in this world doing heinous things and many people taking different paths that are questionable with more humanity in their hearts than many others have in their pinkies. see my point? so, not to debate the issue, i presented a very rudimentary and academic response to your question and only someone with far greater knowledge and understanding of quran/haddith/islam can truly give a better exegesis. uhm, the best way

[susannah]

All your comments have been helpful and have displayed integrity, and I thank you.

[secretshadowss]

my_innersanctum can you tell me where I can find this passage about the prostitute giving water to a thirsty dog? I have a Qur'an

[my_innersanctum]

it's in the hadith, and frankly it depends on which publication of the hadith and which collection you have as there where it would be located. i'm not sure that it's mentioned in koran.

[hotcoffeems]

I am very late to this discussion -- just happened to notice it, honestly, and the one and only thing I'd add to it is that Iran has actually grappled with this issue, and has come up with an interesting resolution to the issue of transsexuality in Islam:

this blog entry gives the basics.

While not entirely unproblematic (it suggests homosexuals undergo gender reassignment, and it also pretty much is ensured you undergo the full surgery), it is...a pretty humane approach.