Women in the mosque: Taking back the mosque

Asra makes a stand

Asra Nomani (along with many other Muslim women and men) has a dream. The outspoken columnist and author made waves earlier this year with the story of how she took over the main prayer hall of her Morgantown, WV mosque, reclaiming for herself and all Muslim women a right that they clearly had in the 7th century. (Mosque leaders had told women to enter through a back door and pray in a balcony; the board has since reversed its position but has not enforced the ruling.) She noted that the problem of physical separation of genders in US mosques (usually in unequal circumstances) had increased from 52 percent in 1994 to nearly 66 percent in 2000, mainly because few dare to oppose conservative backers of the practice. This is all despite the fact that the Fiqh Council of North America opposes gender separation. “It is perfectly Islamic to hold meetings of men and women inside the masjid,” the mosque, says Muzammil H. Siddiqi, a Fiqh Council member. He adds that this is true “whether for prayers or for any other Islamic purpose, without separating them with a curtain, partition or wall.” Last Friday, in the style and tradition of the civil rights movement, Nomani and several other women turned that event into a program for action, marching on the Morgantown mosque and creating a national organization (Daughters of Hajar) to facilitate similar actions elsewhere. The group also plans to create two national multimedia campaigns: “Take Back Your Mosque”, which will help women claim their rights at mosques, and a “Wedding Night Campaign”, which will educate women about the rights Islam grants them regarding their sexuality. “The challenge today is the same as yesterday,” explains Nomani. “Can the voice of moderate, tolerant and inclusive Muslims define our mosque in Morgantown? If it can, it’s a victory for not only Islam but also the world.”

Shahed Amanullah is editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com.