Is gender-mixed salat in the Mosque forbidden in The Quran?
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I have studied in co-education schools and my teachers was mostly a female, teaching mix gender, therefore lady Imam is not a taboo for me as you are trying to paint, but I cannot forget the remarks of my different class mates when we are senior high school about the female teachers, we talked about their dressings their body parts and even enjoyed their thoughts in bed at night.
here in England we had two female teachers and I never heard anyone talking about them, as people do in pakistan, even if that was a class of 50 students. And majority were young men!
I highly appriciate all female teachers in pakistan who teach adult students! My sister also teaches Law students in university! I have great respect for all those ladies!
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like your stopping of women in mosque is based on quranic verse!
so the burden of proof is on whom?
rotflBrother you laugh a lot, it is good for health, but there should be a reason for it, i guess. rotfl
Wher did i stopped women to go to mosque based on any verse rotfl i cant see any rotfl i will be gratefull if you point out rotfl -
rotfl
Brother you laugh a lot, it is good for health, but there should be a reason for it, i guess. rotfl
Wher did i stopped women to go to mosque based on any verse rotfl i cant see any rotfli will be gratefull if you point out rotflso you believe in mixed prayers? ???
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IT'S TIME TO END GENDER SEGREGATION IN MOSQUES
This is going to be controversial.
I already know what many of you are thinking. ?This is haram/biddah/un-Islamic,? or ?you?re trying to westernize Islam!? or perhaps my favorite, ?This an example of people following their own desires over what God wants or commands.? Some go as far to call Muslim feminism an ?oxymoron,? or ?extremely stupid,? and some even say it?s a ?perversion? of Islam. I?ve heard it all before, so if you don?t have anything new to contribute in what I hope will be a civil/mature discussion about gender relations in Islam, please don?t bother commenting.
We all know what the stereotypes say about Islam and women. ?Islam oppresses/enslaves/subjugates women!? cries the Islamophobe, and in response, all Muslims ? female and male ? get rightfully offended. We get offended because we know our faith and our history. We know how the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, abolished sexist and misogynist practices, such as female infanticide, in order to promote women?s rights and gender equality. We know how the Prophet?s wife, Khadijah, peace be upon her, was an independent business woman who initiated a marriage proposal to Muhammad. We know that the Qur?an, unlike the Torah, does not blame Eve for the first sin, but rather makes it clear that Adam and Eve were both in the wrong and then pardoned. And while many of us dispute over how a woman is supposed to express the Islamic teachings of modesty, it is agreed upon that the Qur?an mandates women and men to be modest, respectful, and humble to each other.
We look around our community and know that the overwhelming majority of Muslim women choose whether or not they want to wear the hijaab (headscarf). We read our history books and learn about empowered Muslim women over the centuries such as the Prophet?s daughter, Fatima, peace be upon her, Rabia Al-Adawiyyah, Zeb-un-Nisa, and Razia Sultana. In modern times, we have seen female prime ministers of Muslim nations like Turkey, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Muslim women are athletes, journalists, authors, politicians, actresses, filmmakers, photographers, activists, bloggers, students, and teachers, among so many other things. With all of this in mind, it sounds like the Muslim community enjoys gender equality. Unfortunately, when we look closer, especially at our Mosques, we see a very contrasting picture.
Muslim Women in Mosques and Male Privilege
In the majority of Mosques, women are isolated in a separate room that is often smaller than the men?s section. In some Mosques, men and women are separated by a wall or barrier, while in others, women pray behind a curtain. I?ve been to some Mosques where a balcony is built specifically for women, which makes it easy for men to forget that women are in attendance and easy for women to feel like they have no participation in the Mosque. Some Mosques, mostly in Muslim majority countries (but in the West as well) may not even have enough space for women. Their argument is that women, unlike men, are not obligated to pray in Mosques. Women, according to them, can pray at home and take care of their ?womanly duties.?
Depending on how big or wealthy the Mosque is, some Muslim women may be lucky enough to get a sound system and a television in their rooms so that they can hear and see the imam deliver his khutbah (sermon) during Friday prayers. Sadly, as most Muslim women know, Mosques are infamously known for their poor sound quality and malfunctioning televisions. But it?s more than just about bad sound or vision. An article from ?Islam for Today,? describes the discriminatory setting that Muslim women experience in Mosques
?mong those mosques that do let women in, I?m sorry to say that most of the ones I have seen relegate the women to an inferior status. They banish them to basement rooms or other segregated spaces. Too often the second-class spaces allotted to the women are poorly maintained, uncomfortable, cramped, filthy, or otherwise substandard, while the men reserve the best areas for their exclusive use. This kind of treatment makes the preaching about women?s status being equal in Islam sound awfully hollow. Too many places don?t allow women any chance to speak and be heard, let alone have any say in the way the mosque is run.
Muslim women never give sermons or lead prayers, unless it?s front of an all-female congregation and the men can?t hear/see them. While men are limited to speaking to men only, they have better access to the imam and can make announcements to promote events after the Friday prayer. If a Muslim woman wants to announce an upcoming event, she must do so through a man. In other words, she cannot even announce something in her own words or voice. On important Islamic events and holidays, a Muslim woman?s spiritual experience is significantly affected by the gender segregation. Krista Riley, a Muslim feminist and contributing writer of Muslimah Media Watch, shares her experience
On the 27th night of Ramadan ? the night most widely believed to be Laylat-ul-Qadr, the Night of Power ? I went to the mosque for tarawih prayers, in which they would be completing the recitation of the Qur?an that they had been doing all month. This experience, of praying together on this special night as the Qur?an is completed, is a beautiful and powerful one. At least, so I am told.
What happened in reality is that the women?s section, far too small to fit all of the women who had come that evening, was crowded and uncomfortable. I ended up having to pray close to the elevator, on the marble floor, because that was the only place left when I got there; I had people walking around and in front of me all evening. On top of that, it was NOISY. Several families had brought their small children, who were all sent up to the women?s section (where the ?children?s area? was, although few children stayed inside it), and who were yelling, crying, and even running around at various points throughout the prayer. While I could hear the emotion in the Imam?s voice as he recited, I could barely focus on his words, because of all of the noise and activity around me. When the prayer was over, I could not get out of that mosque fast enough. It was, without a doubt, the most stressful prayer experience I have ever had. Far from being inspired, I was annoyed, agitated, and more than a little bitter.
Krista added that she later spoke with a male friend who had no idea about the chaos she experienced. This reveals the male privilege that too many Muslim men are utterly oblivious to. As Krista explains ?Completely disconnected from the women?s space, the Imam and his male followers had the luxury of truly focusing on the beautiful words whose revelation had begun that same month, so many centuries before.?
Muslim male privilege is a reality that cannot be denied, but it often seems difficult for many Muslim men to understand. Muslim men do not have to worry about having enough space in the Mosque nor do they have to worry about easy accessibility to the imam or shaykh. Although women have religious and Qur?anic classes, they cannot have the same aspirations as men, such as becoming an imam or shaykh. As a result of male-dominated spiritual leadership, men can abuse their power and preach sexist interpretations of Islam in order to control women. Muslim men also have better chances of establishing positions on the administrative board and do not have to worry about being discriminated against because of their gender.
Prior to reading Muslim feminist literature, I was virtually unaware of the sexism that took place within our community, which exposes my own male privilege. Some Muslims do not consider it sexism, however, and they often present theological arguments to justify segregation. For example, a study called ?Mosques, Collective Identity and Gender Differences Among Arab American Muslims,? by Amaney Jamal, reports that female Mosque attendance is considerably lower than male attendance, but the opposite argument would be that women are not obligated to attend Mosques as men are. To justify the partition, the argument is that segregation is about modesty and respecting the opposite sex. Some Muslims believe it is impermissible for a woman to lead men and women in prayer or give a khutbah because their voices and physical appearances can be ?distracting.? While I strongly value the teachings of modesty in Islam, I argue that the manner in which most Mosques practice segregation actually sexualizes gender relationships in ways that many don?t realize.
The Case Against Partition
There is a lot of evidence from the Hadith (sayings of the Prophet) that barriers did not exist during the time of the Prophet. Interesting enough, a Hadith narrated by Ibn Abbas, the paternal cousin of Muhammad, reported that a woman used to pray directly behind the Prophet while he led prayer. Muslim feminist and filmmaker, Zarqa Nawaz, points out in her documentary film, ?Me and the Mosque,? that women used to speak up at Mosques and even refute the speaker if they had to. For example, after the Prophet?s death, a woman challenged the Caliph, ?Umar bin Khattab, by citing the Qur?an after he tried to reduce the mahr, a monetary gift a man gives to a woman before marriage. It was ?Umar who was ultimately responsible for relegating women to separate rooms.
As I mentioned, separating the sexes on the basis that women and men are physical (read sexual) distractions to one another sexualizes gender relationships (it?s really presented as women being distractions to men). Like all societies, gender socialization is no different in the Muslim community. Men and women are conditioned by socialized gender roles and expectations, i.e. men are the breadwinners and women are the homemakers. I remember at a Youth Group meeting, our Mufti was teaching Muslim male adolescents that their primary focus (after being a good Muslim) was on establishing a career that (1) required the least amount of work and (2) paid the most amount of money. He stressed that careers were important because it enables Muslim men to get married, and settling down with a family is what all Muslims should aspire for. When we spoke with our Youth Group about dating, I only heard condemnations and unrealistic lessons on how to avoid girls and keep interactions as minimum as possible. Women were not being presented as individuals, but as temptresses who are after a man?s purity/virginity. Women, according to the coordinators at my Mosque, need to be avoided until a man is ready for marriage.
Sobia Ali, a Muslim feminist who has also contributed to the aforementioned Muslimah Media Watch, shares her perspective on the sexualization of Muslim women (emphases added)
The reason Mosques segregate is so that men and women do not get distracted by each other. However, the greater concern is with men?s distraction. The segregation is MAINLY so that men are not distracted by women ? more specifically women?s bodies. It is not women?s mere presence, but rather seeing her body, or hearing her voice which could distract him. Why? Because men could be sexually attracted to women?s bodies and this will interfere with his worship. Therefore, knowing this, and then being forced to be in a completely different space than men, does nothing but remind me that my body, my female form, is a sexual distraction to the men in the Mosque. This of course makes me feel like a sex object or sexual being.
The moment we say a woman?s voice may tempt a man, we are making a sexually-charged remark. We are opposed to the idea of a woman leading prayer because we immediately think that men will ?check her out.? Yet we never seem to realize that women can be attracted to the voice of a Muslim man too. I remember in my freshman year of college, some Muslim girls I knew were raving about how beautifully a Muslim man was reciting the Qur?an during prayer. And there was more to it than just appreciating his spirituality and devotion. ?Well it?s different for men,? I remember a Muslim friend telling me once. ?Men are weaker, and they?re easily attracted to the opposite sex.? Somehow, when I see or hear about Muslim women swooning over, say, Nasheed artist, Sami Yusuf, I find my friend?s statement hard to believe (a Nasheed is an Islamic song, so it?s not like Sami Yusuf is singing in the same genre as Justin Timberlake!).
Why do we treat gender interactions as a potentially sexual act? Are Muslim men so weak that they?re unable to control their urges? Are Muslims supposed to get married based upon socio-economic compatibility over Love and friendship? I remember a fellow Muslim told me, ?Just find someone you?re compatible with, don?t wait to fall in Love.? At the Mosque, I made a comment once about how I Love Lebanese food, and the response was, ?Oh, we?ll have to find you a good Lebanese sister for you, insha?Allah (God willing).? I?ve noticed that a ?good Muslim wife? in the eyes of the Muslim men at my Mosque is someone who is obedient, religious, wears hijaab, and knows how to raise a family. God forbid if there is anything about romance or a woman?s individuality/personality. Why aren?t we taught about the Love that hazrat Khadija and Muhammad had for one another?
Who?s Afraid of Amina Wadud and Female Imams?
Amina Wadud is a Muslim feminist and scholar who made international headlines when she led Friday prayer for a mixed-gender congregation in New York on March 18th, 2005. Over 100 Muslim women and men participated in the prayer despite the controversy and protests that took place. The Muslim protesters held signs reading, ?Mixed congregation today, hell-fire tomorrow,? and one of the speakers was a young Muslim man screaming his head off about how Amina Wadud is a ?prostitute? and ?whore.? Apparently, if a sister in faith is doing something conservatives disagree with, the best way to teach her about modesty is to degrade her sexuality. Who objectifies who again?
Wadud?s prayer was not the first female-led mixed-gender congregation in Islamic history, but it was the first that received international attention. Most of the outrage comes, unsurprisingly, from Muslim men, who argue that Islam does not permit a woman to lead a mixed-congregation. These reactions are interesting to me because I believe they reveal an underlying fear of empowered Muslim women.
It is always irrational when men get offended by feminist movements. The fear that women want to ?enslave men? is a result of the bruised male ego. Men often neglect the fact that women have been treated as property, non-equals, and sex objects for centuries (and still are) by a male-dominated world. A lot of men, whether they?re conscious of it or not, do not want to give up their position of power and they?re afraid of losing their dominance over women. In the case of Amina Wadud, some Muslims argue that a female imam contradicts Islamic Law, but will not bother to read her book or alternative arguments, as if Islam is a monolith and only has one rigid interpretation.
Are we really taught that hazrat Khadijah was an independent tradeswoman and yet women are not allowed to lead prayers? Are we really taught that ?paradise is at the feet of your mother? by the Prophet, and yet we can?t listen to a Muslim woman deliver a khutbah because of whatever ?genetic disposition? she has as a female? Can we really believe that Fatima Zahra, the daughter of the Prophet, will be the first person to enter the afterlife, and yet the voices of Muslim women are completely shut out at Mosques? How can we truly follow the Qur?an, which teaches that men and women are equal spiritual beings, when our community treats women as intellectually inferior to men?
The Muslim Ummah can never move forward or become enlightened unless we evolve spiritually, empower Muslim women, and truly practice gender equality. Allah gave us brains and encourages us to our reason and logic. Instead of raging against Muslim women leading prayers, why aren?t we focusing on the horrible sexual double standard that takes place in our community? What about the Muslim men who fool around with multiple women, but then eventually settle down with a virgin Muslim woman? It is impossible to deny that Muslim women are far more stigmatized and penalized if their shortcomings are discovered by their male counterparts. Why don?t the angry protesters at Amina Wadud?s prayer express their outrage at their Muslim brothers who get drunk, sleep around, and deny the rights of their sisters?
Moving Forward
First of all, we need to get rid of this notion that ?feminism? is a bad word. It?s not. Feminism is about promoting the respect, dignity, and equality of all human beings ? women and men. Second, Muslims need to stop associating feminism with ?Western decadence,? or ?Western liberalism,? which usually means ?secularism.? Muslim feminist values are rooted in Islam, not in something external. I believe with all of my heart that Islam is a perfect religion that teaches gender equality, but Muslims are not perfect, which is why it?s important to address these issues.
Mosques need to be more inclusive of Muslim women. Muslim women should be encouraged to be leaders in our communities, as imams, scholars, educators, directors, activists, artists, and so on. I personally believe in removing the barrier and having Muslim men and women praying in the same room ? with men on one side and women on the other. Separate rooms should be made to accommodate for the Muslims who have more conservative views or want privacy.
Muslims need to remember what their religion teaches them. If Muslim men really understood modesty and humility, we?d be showing so much more respect to women. If a Muslim woman leads prayer or gives a khutbah, we should not be thinking sexual thoughts. If a man has sexual thoughts going into the Mosque, nothing ? not even a barrier ? is going to stop him from having sexual thoughts or desires unless he restrains himself.
Lastly, the phrase ?tear down the walls of separation? is an Islamic mystical (Sufi) expression used to convey the passionate longing that exists in our Souls ? longing for the Divine, longing for Oneness, longing for self-actualization, and so on. Beyond the physical, beyond gender, and beyond this shell we call ?body,? there is a Being at the center of it all. It is not your mouth or tongue that speaks, but rather your Being from within ? that mystery we call ?heart? and ?soul.? The Qur?an teaches gender equality, and yes, women and men are different in many ways, but rather than limiting ourselves to roles based upon gender expectations, we should emphasize on celebrating and appreciating our differences. If we do not actively oppose the sexism and misogyny in our communities, it will persist and only move one step closer to becoming permanent.
?Verily, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in their hearts? ? Qur?an 1311
http//muslimreverie.wordpress.com/2009/10/31/its-time-to-end-gender-segregation-in-mosques/
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Rasul Hamsa
I highly appriciate all female teachers in pakistan who teach adult students! My sister also teaches Law students in university! I have great respect for all those ladies!
every one is not as saint as you..
and talking about England, please I don't understand in which world you and Leyna live in
How FIVE teachers at ONE school all seduced pupils
By Rachel Porter
Last updated at 132 AM on 12th February 2010Read more http//www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1250060/How-FIVE-teachers-ONE-school-seduced-pupils.html#ixzz0t5KTNpbf
Shall i laugh now? i guess NO -
every one is not as saint as you..
its not about being saint its all about being sane!
In pakistan we are brain washed to think about women in a particular way! But still you are more powerful than your brian! You CAN change!
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Rasul Hamsa
so you believe in mixed prayers?
What do you mean? It is not possible, it will lead us to the presnt day church situations, where to attract member ship they are printing nude Calendars, Oh tHat Mouzna of Amina Wadud, I just can't take her out of my mind? don't you understand? that is not possible? why try a failed example of west?
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What do you mean? It is not possible, it will lead us to the presnt day church situations, where to attract member ship they are printing nude Calendars, Oh tHat Mouzna of Amina Wadud, I just can't take her out of my mind? don't you understand? that is not possible? why try a failed example of west?
and where exactly it is (mixed prayers) forbidden in quran? rotfl
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Rasul Hamsa
What do you mean? It is not possible, it will lead us to the presnt day church situations, where to attract member ship they are printing nude Calendars, Oh tHat Mouzna of Amina Wadud, I just can't take her out of my mind? don't you understand? that is not possible? why try a failed example of west?
Are the nude calendars of Jesus, Mary or the WRVS ladies? Do you have a link to that or would than only link to your imagination?
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Rasul Hamsa rotfl
and where exactly is it allowed rotfl
so you agree that it is not at least forbidden in quran!?
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Ayisha
Are the nude calendars of Jesus, Mary or the WRVS ladies? Do you have a link to that or would than only link to your imagination
Offcourse your imagination has a limit when we talk about west, but when it comes to Muslims...no boundaries
? Erotic Bible Calendar by Church Youth Group Dvorak Uncensored ...
3 Dec 2005 ... A German Protestant youth group has put together a 2006 calendar illustrated with erotic scenes from the Bible. ... Other church traditions see no conflict between nudity and worship. .... Special Deals 4U ...
www.dvorak.org/.../erotic-bible-calendar-by-church-youth-group/Now we have people who claim that everyone is part of the church, that pornography for the cause of Christ, and that it?s all good and not over the line.
www.minthegap.com/.../church-women-raise-money-with-nude-calendar/ -
IT'S TIME TO END GENDER SEGREGATION IN MOSQUES
?Verily, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in their hearts? ? Qur?an 1311
Peace,
Respect.I agree, 100,000%.
Best sentence written ever!
Glory be to God.
God bless you, sister.Peace.
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To be honest, I find some of the very explicit description of paradise, its women and the sexual pleasures supposedly awaiting men there, way more offensive and pornographic. http//www.imagebanana.com/img/q6owvuis/033102bad_1_prv.gif
And what about Sheikh Nefzawi's "The Perfumed Garden"?
Do you know why they are spending their whole life in Madares???
If the don?t get this reward they will never waste their time.
AT DISTANCE Virgins, Sex and Paradise
By Naomi RagenAn excepts from the Jerusalem Post, Columns Article, July 7, 2001
Italian translation by I.C.C.I.I.(September 6) Recently, Bob Simon interviewed Muhammad Abu Wardeh on Sixty Minutes. His remarks in Arabic were translated on the program as "God would compensate the martyr for sacrificing his life for his land. If you become a martyr, God will give you 70 virgins, 70 wives and everlasting happiness."
Now, Arab Americans are claiming in outrage that this is not only a mistranslation, but absolutely false. Maher Hathout, a Muslim "scholar" with the Islamic Center of Southern California, wrote in the Atlanta Constitution "There is nothing in the Koran or in Islamic teachings about 70 virgins or sex in paradise. This is ridiculous, and any true Muslim knows that."
Oh, really?
Sheikh Abdul Hadi Palazzi, head of the Cultural Institute of the Italian Islamic Community, and a true Islamic scholar, had this to say "The only ridiculous thing is that someone who claims to be an 'Islamic scholar' makes public declarations which prove beyond any possible doubt that he has never read the Commentary of Ibn Kathir and 'Sunan' of Imam at-Tirmidhi, which are basic books for the knowledge of Islam. Unfortunately, this attribution of chairs to ignoramuses seems to be the rule in American Islamic Centers controlled by the fundamentalist network of the 'Muslim Brotherhood.' "
According to Islam, Palazzi goes on to say, there are 72 wives for every believer who is admitted to Heaven, and not only for a martyr. The proof is a hadith which is collected by at-Tirmidhi in "Sunan" (volume IV, chapters on "The Features of Heaven as described by the Messenger of Allah," Chapter 21 "About the Smallest Reward for the People of Heaven," hadith 2687).
It is also quoted by Ibn Kathir in his Tafsir (Koranic Commentary) of Surah ar-Rahman (55), ayah (verse) 72 "It was mentioned by Daraj Ibn Abi Hatim, that Abu al-Haytham Abdullah Ibn Wahb narrated from Abu Sa'id al-Khudhri, who heard the Prophet Muhammad (Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) saying 'The smallest reward for the people of Heaven is an abode where there are 80,000 servants and 72 wives, over which stands a dome decorated with pearls, aquamarine and ruby, as wide as the distance from al-Jabiyyah to San'a.' Ibn Kathir explained in 'al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah' that al-Jabiyyah is the name of a suburb of Damascus.
"That those 72 wives are virgin is proved by the ayah 74 of the same Surah "No man or jinn has ever touched them before."
http//www.amislam.com/virgins.htm
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Leyna
Of course this is a very debatable issue, but quite an interesting idea.
That was what I was talking about.
afridi
Do you know why they are spending their whole life in Madares???
If the don?t get this reward they will never waste their time.
Totally nonsense, do not tell us about the culture of "Pakhtunkhawa", Pakistan is burning because of some rigid Pashtuns, former Russians and Arabs, not only Pakistan but whole the world.
And when it is said to them, Do not make mischief in
the land, they say We are but peace-makers.
Now surely they themselves are the mischief makers,
but they do not perceive.
(Al-Quran, Surah Al-Baqarah, Verses 11-12)
The Madrassaas most of them are doing fine job, they donot produce terrorists, only few of them are involved, most of them are located in Pakhtunkhawa that too which are being sponsored by different countries for their own purposes, Like Iran and, Saudi Arabia to have supremacy in Islamic world, that has nothing to do with Quran and ISlam,
I can debate with you on this specific subject of 72 virgins nonsense..., -
One of the biggest Israeli propaganda myths is the invention of 72 virgins as a Muslim reward for suicide. This has been repeated to the western world so often that most people accept it as fact. The media wants us to believe that there cannot be anything wrong about Israelis ? who must be seen as eternal victims ? to cause anyone to commit suicide as a means of striking back at them. Heavens no! The motivation for suicide bombings in Israel has nothing to do with Jewish treatment of Palestinians. Instead it has to do with the evilness of the Palestinians and their religious beliefs. This is the ?bill of goods? they sell the western mind while at the same time faking most, if not all the ?Islamic suicide bombings? to blame on Muslims.
Dr. Tahir-Ul qadri with huge following a Sunni
http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=26D5e0pqBf0&feature=related
Dr. zakir Naik with huge following all over the world a sunni
http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvzVzx1Imgg&feature=related
Javed Ahmed Ghamidi point of view on 72 virgins a SunniYou are just a propogator of Isreali Propoganda.
Most of the Madrassas are doing fine job, only very few in Pakhtunkhawa are teaching this 72 virgins lesson that too on backing of saudi arabia and Iran
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When Asra Q. Nomani and other women attempted to pray at Virginia?s notorious ?9/11 mosque,? an explosive scene ensued. Inside the protest movement dividing Muslim Americans.
FALLS CHURCH, Va.?Over the years, the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center, a mosque in suburban Virginia, down the road from a Sears, has welcomed some noteworthy congregants alleged Fort Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Hasan, some of the 9/11 hijackers, and Yemeni al-Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki?said to be an inspiring figure to both Hasan and alleged Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad.
This past weekend, though, six Muslim women and I received a very different kind of greeting. As part of a grassroots civil rights movement we call ?Pray In,? we walked through the front door of the mosque instead of a dingy back door designated for women. In the cavernous main hall we attempted to exercise our Islamic right to pray behind the men, instead of in the secluded ?sisters? section.? Some of us wore pink head scarves, the color we've chosen to symoblize our "pink pray-in" movement of Islamic feminism.
?Get out of here!? a man from the congregation yelled, lunging toward us, before being restrained by other men.
Attempting to desegregate Dar Ul Hijra, known in law enforcement circles as ?the 9/11 mosque,? is significant. The strict ideology of gender segregation we are challenging is part of a broader, problematic interpretation of Islam that I believe often incites violence against civilians, suicide bombings, and terrorism.We began our fight in February by challenging the segregation at the Islamic Center of Washington, a mosque with close ties to the Saudis and the strict Wahhabi ideology of Islam. But ever since I moved to the Washington, D.C., area in 2007, I have wanted to attend ?the 9/11 mosque,? in order to better understand what it preaches. I was afraid, but I overcame my hesitation after organizer Fatima Thompson, a convert living in the area, pulled together a group of women activists using Facebook.
The angry, violent response we received at the Virginia mosque is indicative of how threatened some men are by the presence of women in ?their? space. Standing in the front of about 100 men, many of them agitated, the imam, Shakir Elsayed, told the men, ?We have women who want to make a point.? Naively, we had expected a friendly welcome. Just weeks earlier, Elsayed had told a town hall meeting on women?s space in mosques that he invited women to pray in the main hall, but they preferred the privacy of the balcony. A few days after these remarks, Thompson called Elsayed to inform him that a group of women were planning to accept his offer and pray at his mosque. ?Go ahead,? he said.
But the day of our protest, he demanded we pray with our backs against the wall. ?The best rows for the women are the last rows,? he said, repeating a hadith, or saying of the prophet Muhammad, that some scholars, such as UCLA law professor Khaled Abou El Fadl, have refuted as inauthentic. Thompson bravely spoke up, referencing a hadith that recommends continuous lines without much space separating prayer rows. It was a modern day moment in the ?hadith wars? that have plagued Muslim communities since the death of the prophet Muhammad Muslims trying to establish authority and legitimacy through the supposed words and actions of Muhammad.
We inched forward?rather than backwards?but still stood about 10 feet behind the men, joining the prayer as it started. Before the last prostration, shouting broke out behind us and a group of men, including the mosque?s head of security, yelled at one of the women from our group, Ify Okoye, a Nigerian-American convert. They pushed her and she fled the main hall, worried about her safety. (Not long ago, Okoye courageously wrote a blog post protesting the "penalty box" behind which women are expected to pray at the Islamic Center of Washington.)
The prayers complete, men surrounded the women in our group, some of us still sitting on the carpet. ?Get up! Get up!? they shouted. Elsayed walked by, charging us with ?fitna,? a loaded word in Muslim communities that refers to people who cause conflict. It can be grounds for killing another Muslim. A member of the congregation responded, ?Go! Go! Go! You are not allowed here!?
Elsayed then told the men, ?This is what we talked about in the khutbah (sermon) yesterday ? They are among those people aligned with Satan and want to influence 1 billion Muslims.? We knew how significant that statement could be. We considered it a verbal threat, giving men grounds by which to assault us. In March 2010, a Saudi cleric said it was acceptable to kill Muslims?like us?who accept gender mixing.
Mosque officials called local Fairfax County police officers who arrived at the scene, telling us we had to leave or face arrest. Outside the gates, the scent of nearby honeysuckle bushes wafting toward us, Officer S.P. Regan handed Thompson and me trespassing notices that said we weren?t allowed back at the mosque. Our case became police report No. 20101350237.
Two nights later, after the shock of the event surpassed, Okoye filed assault and battery charges with Fairfax County Magistrate Claude Bradshaw, against the man who pushed her. She has a June 30 court date. Thompson and I filed complaints against the imam, Elsayed, for intimidation and assault. Our complaints are on file with the court.
Today, we are filing an additional complaint with the Council on American Islamic Relations, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that has built a reputation protecting the rights of women to wear head scarves, or hijab. In 2005, CAIR and other Muslim organizations released a report on making mosques ?women friendly,? asserting the right of women to pray in the main hall, behind men, but without a partition segregating them. The report urged mosque leaders to welcome women without "fear and anger." It recommended to leaders "Make available designated space for women in the main prayer hall."
Separation of church and state statutes can perhaps protect mosques from the reach of American non-discrimination laws, but I?m certain that the strides we made at ?the 9/11 mosque? will be part of a revolution, reclaiming Islam from the likes of Maj. Nidal Hasan and Anwar al-Awlaki.
Offering us some hope, before our contentious prayer in Virginia, two male worshippers turned around to discreetly express their feelings; they gave us ?thumbs up? signs. But then they disappeared anonymously into the lines, leaving us to fend for ourselves.
http//www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-05-17/showdown-at-the-mosque/
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Totally nonsense, do not tell us about the culture of "Pakhtunkhawa", Pakistan is burning because of some rigid Pashtuns,
The Madrassaas most of them are doing fine job, they donot produce terrorists, only few of them are involved, most of them are located in Pakhtunkhawa that too which are being sponsored by different countries for their own purposes, Like Iran and, Saudi Arabia to have supremacy in Islamic world, that has nothing to do with Quran and ISlam,
I can debate with you on this specific subject of 72 virgins nonsense...,MashaAllah, these Madrasas are doing very fine job; by producing practically uneducated, highly unemployable, ignorant sectarian Mullahs whose only vehicle of mobility is their narrow minded religious education which is the basic cause of sectarian violence in our society! well done!!
btw, are you unaware of Punjabi Taliban? and all other terrorist organisations in Punjab?
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You are just a propogator of Isreali Propoganda.
Most of the Madrassas are doing fine job, only very few in Pakhtunkhawa are teaching this 72 virgins lesson that too on backing of saudi arabia and Iran
who are you blinding to? we hear this 72 virgin nonsense in every other mosque, even here in UK!