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Friday Prayers Led by
Women
3/9/2005 - Social Religious - Article Ref: IC0503-2635
Number of
comments: 55
Opinion Summary: Agree:15
Disagree:30
Neutral:10
By: Dr. Aslam Abdullah
IslamiCity* -
On March 18, Dr. Amina Wadud will give the
Friday sermon to a mixed gender audience at Sundaram Tagore Gallery in New York.
She would also lead the Friday prayer to a joint congregation of Muslim men and
women. Dr. Wadud, an Islamic studies professor in the department of philosophy
and religious studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, is nationally and
internationally known for her book "Quran and Woman: Re-reading the Sacred Text
from a Woman's Perspective." She knows the meanings and implications of her
ijtihad in the eyes of God, and she will be judged according to that. Those who
disagree with her ijtihad would be judged according to their own understandings
as well.
This controversy cannot be cast as Islamic or un-Islamic,
because there is no one to judge people's actions and intentions but God
Almighty. However, what one can discuss is the effectiveness of such an action
in proving points pertaining to the status of women in the eyes of God or
believers.
If it is meant to prove to God that He created everyone
equal, then it is futile. He already knows that everyone is equal, and the
spiritual status of people in His eyes is not determined by where people stand
and how they stand, but what they do.
If it is meant to prove to
adversaries that women's equality cannot be compromised, then again it is a
futile effort, especially in a country where the First Amendment allows each
individual to express his or her individuality in whatever manner and form as
long as it does not violate the laws of the land. In this Christian majority
country, people have the right to produce movies against Jesus or burn the
national flag or even burn the religious scriptures. Similarly, Muslims who want
to practice their religion in a particular form can do so without any
restriction as the law of the land allows them to so.
However, if
the purpose of the organizers is to improve the status of the average Muslim
women, then this is neither the issue nor the place to make the
point.
Some Muslims and Muslim organization will simply describe
this action as un-Islamic and will urge their followers to oppose it tooth and
nail. Perhaps they may even impose more restrictions upon women who want to use
Masjid facilities to express their spirituality.
Those who describe them
selves as moderates would most probably remain quiet, as they don't want to
alienate either traditional or so-called progressive Muslims.
In a
global community where 73 percent of women are illiterate, the controversy about
women leading the prayer or giving Friday khutbah is irrelevant. In an ummah
where 64 percent of women live below the poverty line, this controversy is
useless. And in a nation where a large percentage of women suffer from lack of
adequate health care, this controversy is a non-issue.
Those who
are seriously concerned about improving the status of Muslim women should devote
themselves to identifying with the impoverished, underprivileged and powerless
women that are scattered all over the world. To talk about equality in a country
that protects equality through constitutional means is a meaningless effort.
However, to identify with those who suffer at the grassroots is
heroic.
Muslim women who suffer from all kinds of
ills that a patriarchal society has imposed upon them have often been betrayed
by those who claim to be religious leaders, or by those who want to denounce
religious establishment for its lack of commitment to Islam. Indeed, both have
betrayed Muslim women. During the last several decades, both have watched Muslim
women lose their dignity while they have conducted debates about Islam and its
relevance for the world at large. Both have failed to identify with those
invisible beings whose whole existence has become subject to the prevailing
ignorance.
True empowerment will not come from imposing this new
controversy. Rather, it will come when intellectuals who are genuinely concerned
about the plight of women identify with the disadvantaged women masses. The real
battle is not in mosques here in the United States which guarantees religious
freedom. Everyone is entitled to do whatever he or she wants to do. The true
battle is against those centuries-old traditions and attitudes that have
deprived women of their creativity and role in the reconstruction of a new
civilization that can surpass all previous civilizations. It is time that we
realize what our priorities are, and devote our intellectual and material
resources to execute them.
However, if Muslims continue to
introduce and focus their attention on irrelevant media attention grabbing
controversies, it will take away from the task of focusing on the real plight of
women and other issues that should be addressed.
The divine teachings are
for guidance, and not for settling one's personal differences. Much of what we
see in our organized activities is nothing but a reflection of our egos and
super egos. We fail to do the most obvious and fight over the most trivial,
because it serves our egos to see people humiliated, or degraded or proven
wrong. We have got to change our entire attitude to the divine message if we
truly want to be ambassadors of Islam.
The world needs a group of
selfless people who can share the divine teachings with the rest of humanity -
beyond their personal likes, dislikes and egos. Until that sincere group emerges
and takes its rightful place in the community, we will continue to be plagued
with non-issues and trivial controversies.
Dr. Aslam Abdullah is editor of the Muslim Observer and director of the Islamic Society of Nevada, Las Vegas, as well as the director of the Muslim Electorates Council of America.
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