Gender Jihad: Women Reclaiming Spaces in Mosques

By Mushtaq Ul Haq Ahmad Sikander, New Age Islam 14 June 2023 Women in Masjid: A Quest For Justice Author: Ziya Us Salam Publisher: Bloomsbury India, Delhi, India Year of Publication: 2019 Pages: 190, Price: Rs 499 ISBN: 9789388912013 ----- Women in Islam have been granted an equal status to that of men, but due to the patriarchal interpretation and institutional misogyny the rights of women have been curtailed. Muslim women have been marginalized doubly, primarily because of patriarchy and secondly due to the wrongful misogynist interpretation of Islam. This patriarchal interpretation of Islam has further, deprived the legal and religious rights of Muslim women, thus retrograding her status further in society and family. Muslims like any believers uphold their religion very seriously, so how the religion is interpreted to justify any ruling, is going to have huge influence, impact and repercussions for the genders. In a patriarchal system, both men and women are the victims, and it takes huge cudgels and strong activism to decimate it. Even when a gender just system that Islam espoused through Holy Quran and life of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), patriarchy still has not been annihilated. In fact patriarchy and misogyny is so strong that it made inroads in Islamic theology and Shariah was constructed on its basis. Thus, we have a skewed, biased, patriarchal, misogynistic Shariah and Jurisprudence. To understand the grave and gross roots of patriarchy, that have even rendered Islam as patriarchal by its misinterpretation. This misinterpretation certainly is manifested in the form of closing doors of mosques to Muslim women, particularly in South Asia. The debarring of women from mosques certainly is a manifestation of factual reality of considering them unequal’s. The Muslim women are not supposed to enjoy the right to worship in public spaces. This justification for debarring women has been articulated exploiting Islam. This exploitation of Islam to deprive half of the population, has led to the social conditioning that finds men in mosques and women praying in the confines of their homes. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) presented a model of mosque, where women used to pray. Thus, the author and veteran journalist Ziya Us Salam, in this book writes in the Preface “It is time for women to reclaim the space they have surrendered. And time for men to stand up against this injustice perpetuated in the name of faith.” (P-xv) In South Asia, we find mosques to be a monopoly of Muslim men. Women face a lot of problems while entering a mosque. The women are also excluded from the congregational Friday prayers too. Hence, women are deprived from the religious inculcation. They are not able to know more about Islam, through sermons delivered on Fridays. Muslim women further have been excluded from attending the funeral prayers, however they attend funeral prayers in Saudi Arabia. Also in Pakistan, a number of women participated in the funeral prayers of noted lawyer, human and gender rights activist Asma Jahangir. This is a revolutionary trend. This exclusion of women from mosques is not homogenous and holistic all-over South Asia, because mosques belonging to Ahle Hadith, Jamaat e Islami and Shias have spaces for women. They may not have been conceived and constructed keeping in mind the needs of women, but they do offer spaces to women. The mosques in U.S and U.K too have a space for women, playing area for kids and infants. But it is quite lamentable, that the South Asians belonging to the conservative misogynistic sects of Islam, who have settled down in Europe have again denied spaces to women in religious institutions. Some scholars observe that Hanafi juristic school of thought is prevalent in South Asia, be it in its Deobandi or Barelvi version, they have debarred women from mosques. But the practice of Hanafism, again is quite relative given its context. “Turkey, like India, has a huge number of followers of the Hanafi sect. However, what is followed in India is not necessarily followed in Turkey. Cultural relativity rather than principles of a sect is paramount.” (P-91). In South Asia, the followers of Abu Hanifa deprive space to women in mosques, that is allowed by Hanafis in Turkey, as they are different from each other. Now in Scottish Muslim community, women are demanding space in mosques as well as in decision making too. It is quiet an interesting campaign. Many progressive women scholars like Amina Wadud have been advocating for mixed gender prayers and she even led one such prayer, but for Ziya, “The mixed gender Saffs (Queue for the prayers) could well be the innovation the Prophet warned about.” (P-77) It is quite surprising, that such facts have been constructed as innovation by Ziya. Women like Umm e Warraqa (RA), used to lead prayers during Prophet (pbuh)s time, something that is skipped by Ziya. Similarly, Ziya is aware about the changes that are taking place in the Muslim communities in different parts of the world. Hence, the future looks bright, “If Indonesia-Sufi influences can be added, and Indian influences sandpapered away, the future may just be smoother than the past.” (P-83) However, it is a sad reality today that spaces for women in mosques are not abundantly available. To add insult to injury even the mosques that have been built by women during the medieval times, too do not concede space to women. It is indeed a catastrophe that women in this part of the world have to resist and fight for entry into Dargah Haji Ali, Sabrimala and now masjids. But, it is quite heartening to see that women are campaigning to reclaim their spaces in mosques, while using technology to break old misogynist stereotypes. This book is a must read for anyone who is involved in the gender just struggle and campaigning for the right of women to offer prayers in mosques. Now even the conservative All India Muslim Personal law Board (AIMPLB), too has accepted their defeat and conceded the ground, while stating that women can have spaces in mosques for prayers and they are advocating the same. This book, and pressure from the rightwing BJP certainly is making inroads to drive this change. The author needs to be congratulated for this work, that has highlighted the need for praying spaces in mosques for women. It is a step further towards the cause of Gender Jihad. ------ M.H.A. Sikander is Writer-Activist based in Srinagar, Kashmir URL: https://newageislam.com/books-documents/gender-jihad-women-mosques/d/129990 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism