Source: The Times

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1974216,00.html

On January 7, 2006 The Times reported, "In the week that Sir Iqbal Sacranie, Britain’s most senior Muslim figure, described homosexuality as a harmful, immoral vehicle for spreading disease, the internet remains the only place where many gay or bisexual Muslims can truly be themselves.

Sir Iqbal is regarded as a moderate and his comments were the latest in a long line of similar statements from mainstream Islamic leaders.

These have in turn provoked outbursts of Islamophobia from sections of the gay community, with some activists at the Gay Pride parade last year berating Muslim marchers as 'suicide bombers' and a gay magazine categorising Islam as a 'barmy doctrine'.

Trapped in the crossfire, the vast majority of gay, lesbian and bisexual British Muslims live secret double lives or never acknowledge their feelings.

The Times contacted members of this underground community this week. Their testimony reveals a world where thousands of lives have been wrecked by sham marriages, elaborate deceptions, unacknowledged HIV and crippling loneliness." The article goes on to print various comments from members of the gay Muslim community in Britain.