Imam Omar Suleiman on LGBT: "We Cannot Support It"

As a community leader, I've often shared videos from various Imams with my community and friends over social media. As of late, I've noticed accusations against Imam Omar Suleiman with claims of his alliance with LGBT groups, so I decided to do my own research.

I found that despite Imam Omar Suleiman's consistent and repeated stance on the Islamic position on LGBT relations being haram, there are some YouTube personalities who have continued to spread false information about his opinion on the topic. This article is a summary of my findings: a list of his consistent statements through the years on the topic with the hope to close the book on these horrible rumors and misinformation.

1. Islam21c Podcast: "Unscripted #51 | Sh Omar Suleiman on Haters, Activism & Being an Imam"

Date: June 2020

Imam Omar Suleiman was invited to the Islam21c podcast by Dr Salman Butt in June 2020. While on the podcast, Imam Omar said:

"...we cannot ever support anything [whether] religiously, politically, socially, culturally... that is opposed to the Quran and the Sunnah. Not in the capacity of LGBT politics or in the capacity of CVE or surveillance...we cannot support any element of it that is opposed to the Quran and the Sunnah."

He then went on to say that if we are to work with others who have differing beliefs than Muslims, it is critically important that we demonstrate our stance by changing the label of cooperation from interfaith to multi-faith. The reason for the change is to show that we are Muslims and we don't have to compromise our religion by mixing our prayers and values in order to cooperate with others. In other words, if there are common causes that we wish to cooperate on with others with different faiths, it has to be done while (1) acknowledging our differences in faiths and values including our views on LGBT and (2) ensure we cooperate on a very specific issue or topic (for example, police brutality) that is clearly a topic that Muslims want to be vocal on. If these two are not maintained, then that forum would be considered an "unhealthy table" for us to be at.

2. Setting Boundaries and Sacred Activism w/ Dr. Omar Suleiman & Imam Dawud Walid

Date: November 2020

In discussing the topic with Imam Dawud Walid, Imam Omar Suleiman opens the topic of working alongside groups who take on a host of causes, amongst them the LGBT cause. In his conversation, Dr. Omar Suleiman stated,

"...its very clear in the deen that any relationship outside of marriage is haram, that people are not to be blamed for desire. We're talking about in the pastoral sense, if they act on their desires in haram they're sinful and the hukm [rule] of that cannot be changed. Haram can never become halal..."

3. Faithful Activism article

Date: March 2020

On the Yaqeen Institute website, Imam Omar Suleiman states in :

"As Imam Dawud points out, this usually comes up specifically regarding coalitions that involve groups that also support LGBT causes that orthodox Muslims find objectionable. While some may distinguish the political from the religious, to ask Muslims to champion any right or cause politically that is in direct violation of divine revelation is unfair, unnecessary, and spiritually detrimental. Instead, Muslims should champion just causes that are of benefit to all people, rather than specific causes that may compromise their faith. This model proposed by Imam Dawud also gives room for Muslims to not be put in the position of being expected to support every cause of groups that support us and in fact find room to express opposition when necessary."

In the Appendix, Imam Omar references the readers to other well-known Imam's works on the LGBT dilemma.

4. MuslimMatters Article by Imam Omar Suleiman