The conceptions of homosexuality found in classical Islamic texts resemble the traditions of Greco- Roman antiquity rather than the modern understanding of sexual orientation. Homoerotic and pederastic themes were cultivated in poetry and other literary genres written in major languages of the Muslim world from the 8th century CE into the modern era. There is little evidence of homosexual practice in Islamic societies for the first century and a half of the early history of Islam (7th century CE), although male homosexual relationships were known and discriminated, but not sanctioned, in Arabia. However, some hadith collections condemn homosexual and transgender acts, prescribing the Islamic death penalty for both the active and receptive partners who have engaged in male homosexual intercourse.
Within the Quran, it is never stated that homosexuality is punishable by death, and modern historians conclude that the Islamic prophet Muhammad never forbade homosexual relationships, although he shared contempt towards them alongside his contemporaries. The Quran narrates the story of the 'people of Lot' destroyed by the wrath of God because the men engaged in lustful carnal acts between themselves. Attitudes toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and their experiences in the Muslim world have been influenced by its religious, legal, social, political, and cultural history.
