UK Muslim leader slams “harmful” civil partnerships

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The leader of the main British Muslim group slammed new gay civil partnership laws as “harmful”, saying that homosexuality is “not acceptable”, immoral and dangerous in terms of diseases.

Iqbal Sacranie, head of the Muslim Council of Britain, said that such civil partnerships shook the "very foundations of society".

"This is harmful," he said. "It is something which is not acceptable in Islam in the same way it's not acceptable under Christianity, Judaism, in other divine religions," he added.

"Each of our faiths tell us that it is harmful and I think, if you look into the scientific evidence that has been available in terms of the various forms of other illnesses and diseases that are there, surely it points out that where homosexuality is practiced there is a greater concern in that area."

The civil partnership law grants gay couples the same rights as married heterosexuals in areas such as employment, property, pensions and inheritance.

It came into force in Britain last month.

"It does not augur well in building the very foundations of society -- stability, family relationships. And it is something we would certainly not in any form encourage the community to be involved in," Sacranie said.

Source: AFP