(In the Name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful)
(Peace be upon you)
I am not a scholar. That said, I believe scholars use the ayat (verse) 4:59, "O, you who have believed, obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and
obey those in authority..."
Even within a
shariah (Islamic law)-ruled state, no one is allowed to practice vigilantism, otherwise what is the function of the state?
Also, the
shariah (Islamic law) does not give anyone permission whether in a
shariah (Islamic law)-ruled state or not to practice vigilantism.
Let them do what they want. Prophet
(peace and blessings be upon him) said, “There should be neither harming nor reciprocating harm.”
How does what they do affect Islam? The more hatred comes out of their mouths and their limbs, the more people become curious about Islam, and the more people convert to Islam. You do know that conversion rates to Islam have been growing despite the Islamophobic rhetoric in the public? In fact, in article about Muslims having doubled in the U.S. since 9/11, Dales Jones, data analyst and mapping specialist for the Religion Census, said, "Persecution is sometimes good for a religious group — in the sense of being able to attract more followers, for some reason. Rarely is opposition a very effective tool in stopping the growth of a movement."
Also, in the same article, "Dr. Ihsan Bagby, associate professor of Islamic studies at the University of Kentucky, agreed that any negative sentiments against Islam has only built up resiliance in the Muslim community. 'You get stronger with resistance,' he said. 'If everything is just peachy keen, it's hard to grow. I think the anti-Muslim atmosphere in certain segments of the public square have actually made Muslims more religious.'"
Yes, ethically, they should not try to offend. However, legally, they have a right to do whatever they want.
Yes, just say, "peace," as recommended in the Quran (25:63). I may not be understanding your question correctly.
However, I will try to answer what I think you are asking.
In a
Khilafat (Caliphate),
shariah (Islamic law) would be practiced. In
Khilafat, some things would be illegal already and therefore breaking the law would a prosecutable offense and a person may or may not be punished accordingly depending on whether one is caught or not and what the outcome of the trial is and whether or not a guilty verdict is given.
However, in the absence of
shariah (Islamic law)in a non-Muslim land, there is no state-implemented understanding of
shariah (Islamic law). Therefore, on an individual level you can adhere to the limits of
shariah (Islamic law); however, you will not be Islamically allowed the right to impose any penalty as such a right belongs unique to the Khilafat (Caliphate) as a nation-state, which penalty in a
Khilafat (Caliphate) would be subject to the judgment of a
qadi (judge).
Control yourself would be the way to approach the situation. Muslims are currently analogously from my POV in the Meccan period of the life of Prophet
(peace and blessings be upon him) as there is no Khilafat with which Muslims can seek to redress their grievances. So, Muslims must be patient until we can with Allah's heavenly support have in Mahdi
alayhis salaam (peace be upon him) and Second Coming of Jesus
alayhis salaam (peace be upon him) and see the evils in the world addressed.
A person can be gay and not act on his same-sex attraction in which his/her being gay is irrelevant.
Unless there are four witnesses and a trial in which a judge renders a guilty verdict or a voluntary confession, there would be no way to tell who is gay and who is not. Suspicion is
never enough in
shariah (Islamic law).
Even, for example, you strongly believe that a person is gay and this person confesses to you that he's gay and commits sodomy,
unless this person confesses to a legal authority in a Khilafat like a qadi (judge) that he committed the sin of sodomy, he'd STILL not be punished because his confession to you doesn't count. If you still decide to accuse him, you would need to bring three other witnesses to testify that he committed sodomy and all of you would have to testify that all of you saw penetration happening in the anal orifice, otherwise you knowing this fact STILL doesn't amount to any punishment. And if that is the case that you were unable to produce three other witnesses and you testified that you did see penetration, the criteria isn't met to enable any punishment. And since you were the person who accused this person (even if this accusation is 100% true), you would be the one punished with 80 lashes for accusing an "innocent" person.
In the Quran, we have been warned against being suspicious lest we wrong someone inadvertently.
No. Because non-Muslims get to practice their own religion or no religion within the
shariah-based land in a
Khilafat (Caliphate) and they will have the opportunity to do with the person as befits their religion or no religion.
As Muslims, we must always speak out against anything that harms the individual on a spiritual level. I doubt there would be an openly gay community in a
Khilafat (Caliphate) as promoting any such activity would probably constitute a
fitna (i.e. strife, sedition), and probably the
Khilafat (Caliphate) would deal with it accordingly.
You are to adhere to
shariah (Islamic law) on an individual level, which I have said before and will repeat again, here means keeping your
salat (prayer), fasting,
zakat (charity), behaving modestly, dealing honestly with finances, etc. However, as I have stated before, any rights that belongs exclusively to the
Khilafat (Caliphate) such as punishing transgressors would not belong to you whether you are in a Muslim or a non-Muslim land.
God-willing, you now understand better the matter. Also, I ask you to seek clarification on such matters from Islamic scholars, as they will God-willing explain to you such things in detail in perhaps a much better manner than I can as a layperson myself.
Best wishes,
(And peace be upon you)
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