*No question about her conviction* http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Tuesday/National/2481871/Article/index_html
*MUSLIM scholar on Islamic history, Dr Amina Wadud, adjusted her beige shawl from slipping over her cotton batik blouse while correcting the generally perceived view that she was the first woman to lead a prayer.* "I wasn't the first. Women have been leading mixed gender prayers long before I had. It was just not publicised. "There is no ayat in the Quran, no hadith, or sunnah which prohibits a woman from leading a prayer," she said. Such is the conviction of this controversial Muslim figure, who led a mixed gender congregation in New York in 2005. What followed immediately after was a barrage of criticism, and also praises, for practising what she believed in -- that the Quran did not condone patriarchy. But it had not been easy for Wadud to convince the Muslim masses that women could lead mixed gender prayers. It took her 11 years of theological research into Islamic leadership, based on the Quran, hadith and sunnah before she led a congregation. "We used the Meccan line for the prayer," she said, explaining that the saf (prayer lines) of the congregation had men and women praying in the same row as opposed to the customary practice in many mosques of men filling in the front rows while women were either at the back or in a separate section. Wadud, a former lecturer on Quranic Studies at the International Islamic University, is a key speaker at the five-day Musawah conference on Equality and Justice in the Muslim Family in Kuala Lumpur. Born as Mary Teasley to a Methodist minister, Wadud was an undergraduate at University of Pennsylvania when she visited a musollah (a centre for Muslims) in Washington DC to get some reading material on Islam. "I walked away saying the shahadah (declaration of faith) and a book on how to pray." It was a non-Muslim friend who presented her with a copy of the Quran with English translations and this gave her a life-long personal relationship with the holy text. Living in Libya and her stint in Egypt, including a year of attachment of studying the Quran at Al-Azhar University, gave her an understanding of the holy text. She eventually became fluent in Arabic. Her dissertation Quran and Woman: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman's Perspective (Oxford Press 1992), was published while she was lecturing in Malaysia. "When I wrote it, I was not thinking of making changes. I didn't know anything about feminism. I was writing about myself as a woman and a believer." Wadud, who speaks sporadic Malay, described Malaysia as a model country when it comes to people from different religions co-existing harmoniously. "In the US, for example, there is only Christmas, as compared to Malaysia celebrating Wesak Day, Chinese New Year and Deepavali, apart from the Muslim celebration (Hari Raya Aidiliftri). I think it is important to understand that we live with other religions too." She also said Malaysia had a headstart when it came to women's issues. "You have women holding important posts in the civil service and commercial sector. There are women in business and policies on women. Malaysia is ahead of other countries." On the negative perception of Islam that it is associated with terrorism, Wadud said this was confined to a small group of people. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
