Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Women and Mosques in the UK

'Do not prevent the she-servants of Allah from Allah's Mosques.' (Reported by Al-Bukhari)

Sadly, it seems this hadith has yet to be heard by the Muslim men in certain areas of the UK. Even more sad is that the behavior demonstrated by these "men" in the video below is the exactly what fuels the Amina Wadud/Asra Nomani problem crew.





(Jazaks to Jameelah Shukri and Juweria Vora for reminding me of the
ongoing strife of our sisters out in the UK.)

5 comments:

Mohammad Mertaban said...

Subhan'ALlah. This is one of the most disgusting videos I've ever seen. it is sad what sisters really have to go through in certain areas just to be able to perform basic obligations such as prayer. May ALlah (swt) guide us all to the true path of Islam.

Yesi King said...

Wow this is sad, however it’s not too far from home...where I live there is an Islamic center. Once, when I had just converted, I went to try and pray there. They turned me away and said they had no room there for women to pray. I was shocked. I was like what do you mean? How can you not have room for women to pray? Anyway, I don't know if that's still the situation but alhamdulillah it was freaky to experience that as a new muslim. Unfortunately though I have seen similar things amongst some of the muslim community as well. It seems to be much of the older people though, but not all.
Oh and Zahra, you not all muslims consider Amina Wadud/Asra Nomani a ‘problem’.

Zahra Billoo said...

Yes, but I personally do. I, as a believer in the equal (but not always identical) rights Allah (swt) provides us, see them as a problematic figures.

I empathize with their concerns but strongly disagree with their methods. The bigger problem is the ignorant Muslims (more often than not the Muslim men) who make Wadud/Nomani seem like a solution to distraught women.

Anonymous said...

What do you do when someone has a different mentality than you do? Jump over the fence, break down the door, and have your way? ...

The only thing the women did that I would commend was the passage of leaflets, and going to the board meeting to explain their position. Did you notice at the meeting it was a loud cat fight "rarr" I feel these things can be handeled calmer than that.

I feel, although they had the right to do what they did, there may have been a better way to go about doing it.

Yes, you can't deny a women from going to the masjid, and yes, it is better for a woman to pray at home. Here's the hadith brother, if you deny that, it's on you. Peace.

Mohammad Mertaban said...

"What do you do when someone has a different mentality than you do? Jump over the fence, break down the door, and have your way?"

Unfortunately, although not pleasant, when you are an oppressed group, these are some of the methods used to portray your disagreement. There are other methods that can be used, but this is one that those sisters chose to use. There is nothing wrong with their method. The brothers from the masjid needed to realize how important of an issue it was to them, and obviously if they have had this masjid there for this long w/out any place for sisters to pray, then someone has to lay it down for them. These are some of the same methods that Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, other political leaders, and their followers have used to express their opinions and have been successful at attaining their goal.


"The only thing the women did that I would commend was the passage of leaflets, and going to the board meeting to explain their position. Did you notice at the meeting it was a loud cat fight "rarr" I feel these things can be handeled calmer than that.

I feel, although they had the right to do what they did, there may have been a better way to go about doing it."

I would definitely not say that this was the most perfect way of addressing this issue, but we don't know the entire situation. I would not be surprised if they had tried beforehand with the "calm" method and got nowhere, which led them to get a little more aggressive about the issue.

"Yes, you can't deny a women from going to the masjid, and yes, it is better for a woman to pray at home. Here's the hadith brother, if you deny that, it's on you. Peace."

You said it yourself. You cannot deny women from going to the masjid period, EVEN IF their prayer is better at home. In our society, the brothers do not provide the same services that the masjid does at their homes for their wives. At the masjid, sisters can learn tajwid, gain Islamic knowledge, and meet other sisters. If these services are not provided at home by the man, then the sister is entitled to attend the masjid.