Female-led prayer draws Muslim ire

[igloo]

Female-led prayer draws Muslim ire

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

March 20, 2005

CAIRO - Muslims in the Middle East yesterday denounced a mixed-gender Islamic prayer service led by a woman in New York, saying it was a violation of the religion.

Amina Wadud, a professor of Islamic studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, led the Friday service before a congregation of 150 men and women at Synod House at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Manhattan, an Episcopal church.

Three mosques had refused to hold the service, and an art gallery backed out after receiving a bomb threat. Organizers said the service was intended to draw attention to the inequality faced by Muslim women.

The Egyptian newspaper Al-Messa reported the service on its front page, with the emphatic headline: "They are tarnishing Islam in America!" It referred to Wadud as "the deranged woman." Soad Saleh, who heads the Islamic department of the women's college at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, condemned the act as apostasy, which is punishable by death in Islam. She said a woman's body "stirs desire" in men.

Others suggested the event was a U.S. conspiracy to mold Islam into a secular religion. "Those who defended this issue are violating God's law," said Grand Mufti Abdul-Aziz al-Sheik in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. "Enemies of Islam are using women's issues to corrupt the community."

Muslims are required to pray five times a day. On Friday, the Muslim holy day, many try to perform their midday prayers at a mosque. A male imam leads the prayer, followed by lines of men and, behind them, women. Sheik Sayed Tantawi, head of Egypt's Al-Azhar mosque, the leading Sunni Muslim institution, said Islam permits women to lead only other women in prayer.

Many of the women who attended the New York service were modestly dressed and, in accordance with Islamic tradition, covered their hair with the hijab, or head scarf. Wadud said the Islamic holy book, the Quran, puts men and women on equal footing, but men have distorted its teachings to leave women with no role other than "as sexual partners."

[g420]

yet another example of how backward these "people" are

[jtk4]

thats like priest denounces gay other gay priests. Its par for the course ya know. I mean that did not shock you right.

[CHRles]

Yup, that society has a long way to go where women rights are concerned.

As for the comment that "a woman's body "stirs desire" in men", that obviously isn't necessarily true. Some bodies appearantly stir suicide bombings in that society... Besides, what are they all gay? What's wrong with desire?

Get with the times! Christianity and Judaism came up with that "a woman's body "stirs desire" in men" crap ages before Islam. Doesn't mean that it's relevant today.

Besides, what does a woman praying have anything to do with a womans body? Was she praying in the nude? Did her cleavage show during the ceremony? When Muslim males prey does their body stir desire in women?

Excuses excuses excuses, and more excuses. They'll come up with the lamest excuses to keep things from progressing, ie changing for the better.

[kramadas]

thats like priest denounces gay other gay priests. Its par for the course ya know. I mean that did not shock you right.

Yup, I agree.

I'm not really in the know regarding christianity, but how many female priests can actually give communion? Or how many have done in the past? And I'm not sure I know too many female rabbis either. Actually, wait, I know of no female rabbis.

We need to draw ALL religions out of the dark ages, because for one reason or other they're all still there. Hell, religion itself is a relic of the dark ages. If its not gender discrimination, its sexual orientation discrimination. Christianity actually goes around preaching that homo-sexuality is a SIN and that two guys cannot get married because its a sin under the eyes of "God". Or how about IMAX theaters in the south cannot show any movies that even mention evolution because it runs contrary to the notion of creationism. Creationism - another virus thats taking hold of this society. I'm fine with people having their own theories, but to dispute hard scientific fact because of faith, and to have all textbooks marked with "evolution is only theory, not fact"?!?! WTF! I propose that all religious texts, be it bible, koran, gita, torah, etc, be marked with "religion is only theory, not fact"!

[CHRles]

I like what you wrote Raver Mania, good point.

What gets me is the religious extremists threatening to take terrorist measures on places that are open to progressive ideas. And they're doing it in the United States! Shame on them!

I don't mean to get all melodramatic here, but this country, as much as the world likes to criticize it, was founded on freedom. You have freedom of religion, and freedom of prosecution. In earlier times people came to the United States who believed in Christianity, but not necessarily in Catholicism. The USA was their sanctuary where they could be allowed to believe in whatever they chose to believe.

This country was also among the first to truly liberate women from being second class citizens. Hell, go to some of the most advanced and western countries in Europe today, like Germany, and you'll still find that a lot of women aren't part of the workforce.

Now what did this Islamic woman do that was so wrong? She still belives in her religion, but she's fusing it with modern ideas. We're living in modern times, and I think it's totally legitimate of her to do as she wishes.

You can choose to agree or disagree with her, but you cannot threaten violence and terrorist action against her. Those that do, those cowards who are scared of progress, ought to be kicked out of this country immediately.

[mahalomenehune]

wow a violation of the religion, thats terrible