Malaysia’s National Fatwa Council, its main body of Islamic jurisprudence, issued an edict banning so-called “TomBoys”. For those unfamiliar with the term, a “TomBoy” is a girl that is at least somewhat masculine in appearance and in demeanor. A “TomBoy” often is a fan of physical male sports such as, say, American football. Although it can carry carry a homosexual connotation, in the United States “TomBoy” most often does not mean lesbian.

But Malaysia’s Islamic clerics disagree. Reasoning that girls who act like boys with regards to sports and clothing might end up mimicking boys in sexual preferences as well, the National Fatwa Council banned “TomBoys” on the grounds that the consequential homosexual actions are prohibited under Islam.

Harussani Idris Zakaria, the mufti of northern Perak state, stated that a growing number of Malaysian girls behave like “TomBoys”, and that some of them engage in homosexual behaviors. Though homosexuality is not banned in Malaysia, but it is in effect illegal due to a law that prohibits sexual acts “against the order of nature.”

Any edicts issued by the National Fatwa Council are not legally binding, so “TomBoys” are not banned but the Council does argue they should for they make conducive immoral behavior.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s a law or not. When it’s wrong, it’s wrong. It is a sin,” Harussani told The Associated Press. “Tomboy (behavior) is forbidden in Islam.”