By The Rational Orangutan
This letter is a response to the article entitled “How should Muslim doctors deal with the LGBT issue?” by Dr Rafidah Hanim Mokhtar, Dr Samsul Draman and Dr Anis Safura Ramli, which FMT published on Aug 10.
First of all, there is no such thing as a Muslim doctor, a Buddhist doctor or a Hindu doctor if you’re talking about the medical profession. Adding words like “naqli” and “aqli” does not make the profession “Islamic”. The medical profession is quite established, and it doesn’t require any religious influence in it.
Doctors should practise evidence-based medicine and leave out prejudices. They are ethically required to refrain from giving their “professional” opinion on religion, politics and social issues such as LGBT rights.
The three authors of the article are absolutely right in pointing out that it is a doctor’s duty to inform the public of high-risk behaviours that contribute to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. They are also right about the LGBT group being at high risk.
But the fact remains that most incidences of HIV/AIDS happen among heterosexuals. So, are we going to say that heterosexual people should not have extramarital sex? Of course not. People are going to have sex no matter what.
What medical professionals can do is promote education on how to prevent sexually transmitted diseases. They don’t have the right to state opinions on extramarital sex or sexual preferences.
No doctor should succumb to confirmatory bias, adjusting evidence to his or her pre-existing beliefs. The fact remains that homosexuals have always existed and will continue to exist.
In psychiatric medicine, homosexuality is no longer considered a mental illness. The American Psychiatric Association in fact removed it from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 1973.
We are also seeing the rise of organisations that claim to cure homosexuality by conversion therapy. Again, this is highly unscientific. Many states have started banning this practice in the US in the belief that it causes more harm than good.
You simply can’t force someone to go against his or her innate sexual preferences. Homosexuality is not a disorder and there is no need for any cure or rehabilitation.
If we take these “Muslim doctors” seriously, we will go further down the spiral of fundamentalism. Soon they will start quoting their religious scriptures on how to punish LGBTs. Next, are we going to throw homosexuals off the highest building like the Islamic State did?
They should instead talk about the discrimination children face in schools because of gender dysphoria, about how these children are affected psychologically, about the high incidence of suicide among LGBTS, about how families are oppressing their children or disowning them.
The whole point of fighting for LGBT rights is to increase awareness and acceptance and to prevent discrimination and hostility against LGBTs.
When doctors unprofessionally talk about LGBT rights in the light of religious beliefs, they not only bring the discussion back to square one but also support the continued stigmatisation of LGBTs. The trouble is that opinions given by respected professionals are taken seriously by the public.
You can give your opinion as a citizen or as a Muslim, but as a doctor, you should just stay out of discussions on LGBT rights.
The Rational Orangutan is an FMT reader.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.