great religions, Islam, Christianity and Judaism. The constant tradition of the scriptures in these religions, especially the traditional texts condemn homosexuality. Before examining what Islam says about al-liwât (homosexuality) or the âmal (practice) of Qaum Lût, we shall quickly cast a glance at the Christian and Jewish view. One Christian view sees the heterosexuality alone as divinely willed and homosexuality as a reflection of the flawed and broken nature of the world after the fall. Therefore, homogenital acts are condemned as contrary to human nature. In Roman Catholic teaching, they are described as 'intrinsically evil' because sexual intercourse (which can be morally good only in marriage) is ordained for the two purposes of union with the beloved and procreation.

Christian judgement relies heavily on biblical texts that are traditionally understood as clearly and unequivocally condemning homosexuality. There are biblical sanctions that impose the death penalty for homosexuality, mostly as proof of their conviction that it is a moral evil. At one time the Church endorsed publicly the death penalty for homosexual people, and "AIDS" is considered as God's punishment.

St Thomas Aquinas used the physical act of insemination to distinguish natural from unnatural sexual acts. The bottom line for this analysis is the possibility of insemination. Those acts that promote insemination, according to St Aquinas are natural and, therefore both moral and good; those acts that impede or eliminate insemination are unnatural and, therefore, both immoral and bad. The argument here rests on whether or not one is convinced that the possibility of insemination is or should be a requirement for the moral acceptability of sexual intercourse.

The American Lutheran Church in 1979 issued a position paper on homosexuality stating that homoerotic behaviour was wrong, but that celibate homosexual people do not violate the Lutheran understanding of Christian behaviour. The statement also urged local church support for gay and lesbian civil rights.

The Lutheran Church in America (LCA), in a 1970 statement entitled Sex, Marriage and Family, stated that "homosexuality is viewed biblically as a departure from the heterosexual structure of God's creation."

American Baptists do not give official recognition to their gay and lesbian caucus and a 1988 resolution of the Southern Baptist Convention, after ten minutes of debate, condemned homosexuality as an abomination in the eyes of God, a perversion of divine standards and a violation of nature.

As far as Judaism is concerned, there is no direct unanimous Jewish answer for gays. For Traditionists, homosexual behaviour is forbidden. The so-called compassionate see it as an illness and the rigorist look at it as a sin, and the commended therapy ranges from counselling to stoning. The prohibition on homosexual relations in halachah, the Jewish law, is based on the explicit prohibitions of Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13. Certain narrative passages are also associated by traditional Jewish commentators with homosexual acts, including Gen. 9:22, 19:5, 39:1 and Judges 19. While only male sexual relationships are