In Islam, the Shariah expicitly stipulates the death penalty for various acts such as killing another human, adultery (a married person or previously married person having sexual intercourse with a person who is not his spouse), and this includes homosexuality. ofcourse death sentences are not thrown left and right at every accused, there have to be conditions met for such sentences to be given and/or the person acknowledging doing the act. But this isnt the place to go into that. However yes in Islamic law homosexuality that is proven in court without a shadow of a doubt holds the sentence of death in Islam. And so long as a person lives in an Islamically governed land, they are choosing to live there under such laws. If they do not wish to live under such laws they are not forced to live there. Same goes for Muslims who might not like the laws in a secular country, they still have to abide by them, unless they choose to leave to an islamic land.
Applying the death penalty to those who committed Homosexuality isnt something only restricted to Islamic Law, actually it was the norm in the past.
Heres something i came across on a website through a random google search:
The rise of intellectualism and the Protestant Reformation did little to change attitudes toward homosexuality. The Spanish Visigoths punished homosexuals by castration. The Reformation brought stronger condemnations of those who commit homosexual acts. France punished homosexual behavior with loss of the testicles for the first offense, loss of the penis for the second offense, and death by burning at the stake for a third offense. Henry VIII outlawed homosexuality in England in 1533 with penalties including loss of property and death. Police monitored Molly Houses, or brothels for male prostitutes, and those who visited were put to death. This practice continued until the early 1700s.
The earliest record of someone receiving the death penalty for homosexual acts in what would become a part of the United States was in St. Augustine, Florida in 1566 when a man was executed by the military. The United States maintained the death penalty for convicted “sodomites” until about 1779 when Thomas Jefferson proposed that Virginia drop the death penalty for the crime and replace it with castration. Some states have revised the punishment for sodomy over the years, and some states and localities have passed laws protecting those who commit homosexual acts.
The Revolution in France brought an end to criminal laws regarding sexual activities in 1810 under the Napoleonic Code. England abolished the death penalty for acts of homosexuality in 1861.
Laws today are obviously very different compared to the past as governments have turned more secular and liberal and have completely separated itself from religion and/or the church. However, with Islam, Law and faith are completely interlinked. There is no such thing as secularism in Islam. Islam isnt just faith and spiritualism, it is a complete way of life, a governing every aspect from law to how we run our household to how we engage in business to how we use the washroom!
I should also point out that Incest is alot like homosexuality. While laws are changing for homosexuality, incest is still considered against the law and subject to jail time in the western governments, that is ofcourse if one is found guilty for it. Perhaps in the next 50 years we will see those who practice incest try to advocate it through the same means gays and lesbians have advocated for homosexuality and rights to marry, through rights of freedom and whatnot.
Im sure many will have all sorts of comments to my reply, but i thought i should be straight forward on the Islamic prespective on this issue. Im not sure what the catholic stance on homosexuality is, i presume the Pope and the church is against it. But i did come across the penalty for homosexuality in the Bible.
“If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable.
They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.” [Leviticus 20:13 (New International Version)]
Last point, torture and abuse is completely forbidden in Islam, even if its towards a criminal. How a government and its authorities conduct itself, even if they claim to be following Islam, is not proof for what Islam teaches, just as christian governments are not proof for what christianity teaches.
I would also like to point out as a side note, Iran is a shia government. The Shia faith is completely different from that of what the majority of Muslims in the world (ie. Sunnis) follow.
