Gay Marriage: A Necessary Freedom

By Ali Hasan

As a co-founder of Muslims For America, I will be spending this upcoming year working with the Republican National Committee, building American Muslim Republican Caucuses state by state. But in a responsibility that I am more excited about, I will be spending the short term convincing Congress to not renew the sections of the Patriot Act that infringe upon any civil liberties.

As an American who was born and raised in the frontier of the American West, I have always grown up with a deep sense of pride and love for my country and its freedoms. It has often been said by many American historians that the Western United States simply celebrated freedom more openly, as it was the last land to be colonized, the last land to join the Federal Government, and today, the land that usually has the least amount of laws.

I grew up in a place where the Southwestern deserts met the Great Plains, all eclipsed by our natural skyscrapers in the sky, the Rocky Mountains. Liberty and freedom are celebrated deeply in Pueblo, Colorado. In the home of the cowboys, it was said that the Federal Government would not infringe upon our right to do and pursue whatever it was that brought to our life liberty and happiness, short of harming or taking someone’s life or stealing their property.

Thus, these homebred values are what give me a love for freedom. These values are what cause me to think that freedom in all forms, even if ugly, should always be granted without any restrictions, whether they be cultural, ideological, or even religious.

I believe it was the citizens of Nevada, in the 1920’s, who made the decision to make casino gambling and prostitution legal. While both are considered sins in most religions, it was the Nevada populace who made it clear that their state would not be hastened by laws that mixed governmental structure with religious order. After all, no one was forcing them to gamble or sell themselves – they were simply offering the freedoms of such things.

Thus, how can I, as an American Muslim who hates all forms of infringement upon my civil liberties, ever consider supporting bans upon gay marriage? Would not my own actions towards squashing the civil rights infringing parts within the Patriot Act be only ashes of hypocrisy within a large fire should I support the infringement of civil liberties upon other Americans?

The point is a clear one – if we as Muslims strive for equal rights within this country, then are we not hypocritical to go against the equal rights of others?

Let us not be confused here – yes, some Muslims are ardently against gay marriage for religious reasons. However, in allowing gay marriage, we would not be taking away the freedom of thought or speech against gay culture, no matter how hateful it may be. Nor would we take away the right to personally not recognize gay marriage, or banish it from one’s own home.

I like to fashion myself a cowboy, whose only cause is the cause of freedom. If people of the same gender marrying each other is too ugly for some, then their detractors should have the freedom to ignore such action.

No one is being forced to celebrate gay marriage or even recognize it. Thus, why should we encourage our Federal Government to ban it? After all, we should have the freedom to pursue what our religion dictates to be right. But what we don't need is a federal government that dictates whatever path it thinks God has created for Her people. To me, such an action is an insult against God and Her gift in granting us the freedom of thought.

We can all agree that God will judge us based upon the decisions we make individually and the pursuits we undertake personally. Would not the grand restriction of civil rights and its pursuits be the ultimate sin, since it would no longer allow for any of God’s creatures to actually pursue life’s activities with an individual conscience?

If ever I’m lucky enough to reach Heaven’s gates only to find this article to be sinful, my answer to Her will be, “But my Lord, at least I cultivated freedom for your creation.” And with Nevadans, I will stand proud.

Ali Hasan is Co-Founder of Muslims For America