Recently Deddy Corbuzier apologized for his May 7 podcast with the provocative title “Tutorial on how to be gay in Indonesia”, featuring a German-Indonesian gay couple, Ragil Mahardika and Frederik Vollert, and took the episode off the air.

Why? Because the podcast had triggered a huge brouhaha from conservative Muslim groups and many netizens, who accused him of campaigning for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. Deddy denied it.

"From the start I said I don't support the LGBT community.” But then he said, “I simply see them as human beings; I’m just revealing the fact that they are around us, and I personally feel that I have no right to judge them," which seems very much like an implicit defense of LGBT.

Nevertheless, his apology and removal of the podcast drew criticism from LGBT groups as it gives the impression that “the sentiment and discrimination were justified”. Oh dear! It seems that Deddy was caught between a rock and a hard place.

Predictably, Muhammadiyah, Indonesia’s second-largest Muslim organization, and the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) condemned the podcast and the LGBT community in general, saying that they were abnormal, that they needed to be cured, not tolerated. Ho hum, got anything new and nice to say for a change?

Initially, I was pleasantly surprised when I read that Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD said, “There is no law to ensnare Corbuzier and LGBT perpetrators.” Was he actually defending LGBT? Then, I realized that he was implying that Indonesia needs a law to regulate what he deems to be deviant LGBT behavior.

Indeed, it has been Mahfud’s obsession since 2017, to pass a law which criminalizes LGBT. Hmm, why is he so afraid of LGBT? Is his masculinity threatened? Usually people who are so easily threatened have a very fragile sense of self.

As for Islam, there are actually no verses that unambiguously condemn homosexuality. In fact, I came across a hadith that is pretty cool about same-sex love.

Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that a man was with the Prophet when another man passed by and the former said, "O Messenger of Allah! I love this man [for Allah's sake]". The Messenger of Allah asked, "Have you informed him?" He said, "No". The Messenger of Allah then said, "Tell him." So he went up to the man and said to him, "I love you for the sake of Allah," and the other replied, "May Allah, for Whose sake you love me, love you."

Sure, it’s ambiguous, as it is not explicitly about sexual relations. But then, Hadith and the Quran are famously ambiguous and can be interpreted in multiple ways, which makes it possible to give them both positive and negative interpretations.  

By condemning LGBT identities, Muslims are giving Islam a bad name, exuding an aura of toxic pseudo-moralism and hatred instead of being the religion of peace Islam is supposed to be. Why can’t they learn to be like the Prophet Muhammad, who was admired for defending marginalized groups and peoples – poor women, widows, orphans – in short, those who were weak and vulnerable to discrimination. In today’s world, this would include religious and sexual minorities, such as LGBT, wouldn’t it?

If you had two friends, one who was always badmouthing others and another who was kind, loving and compassionate, which would you choose? Your choice would be a reflection of who you are. So the fact that so many Indonesians are homophobic is worrying. What does this say about us as Muslims? What does it say about us as Indonesians who claim to be ruled by law but instead are ruled by ignorance, hatred and a denial of science – certainly of evolutionary science.

One of the objections that some Muslims have about LGBT is that they don’t procreate. Hello, surely with overpopulation that should be a plus? Over time, the percentage of LGBT people in the world has remained constant at about 10 percent. If gayness had been a genetic defect, natural selection would have long wiped them out. So, nature sees LGBT as a necessity for human survival it seems.

James O’Keefe, a medical doctor, has an explanation. In his 2016 TED Talk titled “Homosexuality: It's about survival – not sex”, he starts by recounting how his eldest son Jimmy, who was 18 years old at the time, came out as gay as a teenager. He and his wife simply said, “We will love whoever you love”, which is the most amazingly heartfelt response a parent could give.

Jimmy has three younger sisters who adore him, as they can always rely on him for support. This made O’Keefe realize it wasn’t about sex but about the survival of the family. “Homosexuality is about genetically programmed altruism. Gays are designed by nature to help us be kind to one or another,” O’Keefe asserts. It’s a pretty bold and broad assertion, as both LGBT and heterosexual people are varied in nature – some are nice, some not so nice. But in Jimmy’s case, being free of his own family constraints, he could help other family members more, O’Keefe said.

I don’t have any gay members in my immediate family, but the story of Jimmy resonated deeply with me. I do have a gay elder “brother”: Dede Oetomo, one of the nation’s earliest campaigners for LGBT rights.

I first got to know him in the early 1980s. Our friendship developed, and he became my intellectual, emotional and spiritual brother. I send him drafts of things I have written, which he is well equipped to assess, as he has a PhD in linguistics, is a university lecturer and is very well read. But I also cry on his shoulder when I have family and emotional problems, and he gives sympathetic comments but does not try to give “solutions” like most heterosexual men would.

Dede has both male and female qualities, which most of us should actually have. I feel so blessed to have him as my true brother.

On May 17, the British Embassy flew the LGBT rainbow flag on the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOBIT). Yaaay for the British Embassy!

However, it really irked some Muslim leaders, who said the United Kingdom doesn’t respect Indonesia and its national ideology Pancasila, which they say upholds religious values that are against LGBT.

Since when is Pancasila against LGBT? If anything, its second principle, a just and civilized humanity, should be a clear defense of minorities, including LGBT.

To drive forward equality, the United Nations continues to work with LGBT people to ensure their human rights, legal protection and health care – something that the Indonesian constitution also guarantees. The UN Development Program works with 72 countries to this end. Unfortunately, due to government pressure, the program was scrapped in Indonesia in 2017.

On June 1, Indonesia celebrates the birth of Pancasila, while the entire June is Pride Month to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, which was a tipping point for the gay liberation movement.

So, starting this June, let’s celebrate a Pancasila whose principle of “unity in diversity” includes that of Indonesia’s LGBT family!  

***

The writer is the author of Julia Jihad.