Sir Iqbal Sacranie, the head of the Muslim Council of Britain, said that same-sex relationships risked damaging the foundations of society, and scientific evidence showed that homosexuality carried high health risks.

His comments were condemned last night by gay rights groups and MPs from the three main political parties, who said that Sir Iqbal was swimming against the tide of public opinion.

Speaking about civil partnerships, the first of which took place in Britain last month, Sir Iqbal said: “It does not augur well in building the very foundations of society: stability, family relationships. And it is something we would certainly not in any form encourage the community to be involved in.”

Asked on the BBC Radio 4 PM programme if homosexuality was harmful to society, he replied: “Certainly it is a practice that in terms of health, in terms of the moral issues that comes along in a society, it is. It is not acceptable.

“Each of our faiths tells us that it is harmful and, I think, if you look into the scientific evidence that has been available in terms of the forms of various illnesses and diseases that are there, surely it points out that where homosexuality is practised there is a greater concern in that area.”

Peter Tatchell, the founder of the gay rights group OutRage!, said: “It’s tragic for one minority to attack another minority.”

Alan Duncan, the most prominent openly gay Conservative MP, said: “This is an absurd medieval view. One should separate the religious from the secular. Such general condemnation is no longer acceptable in a civilised modern world.”

Stephen Pound, the Labour MP for Ealing North, said: “It’s a cruel and vicious blow to strike against people who are born the way they are. We are living in 21st-century northern Europe, not 7th-century Arabia. It may come as a shock to Mr Sacranie, but I know many gay Muslims who are living perfectly normal, decent lives.”

Evan Harris, the Liberal Democrat spokesman on human rights, said: “To imply that homosexuality itself was unacceptable is a form of intolerance that’s deplorable.”

The advent of civil partnerships has been criticised by other religious leaders. Cardinal Keith O’Brien, the leader of Scottish Roman Catholics, used his New Year’s Day sermon to say that their introduction was partly responsible for us living “at a time when the truth of marriage and family is obscured and distorted”.

Almost 700 civil partnerships were entered into on December 21, the day they became legal in England and Wales.

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Science News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• Litvinenko murder suspect's peace offer
• Low rollers seize chance to scoop £5m on the nose
• I wish I were Chancellor now, says Ken Clarke