Muslim Women Masjid Project: More Mosques in India Open Doors For Muslim Women
09 April 2023
• Muslim Women Masjid Project: More Mosques in India Open
Doors For Muslim Women
• SumayyaVally, The Woman Behind The World's First
Ever Islamic Arts BiennaleIn Saudi Arabia
• Iran Installs Cameras In Public Places To Identify
Women Not Wearing Hijab
• Shunning Hijab Will Lead To Persecution Of Women,
Says Iran's Top Cop
• Afghan Religious Scholars Criticize Taliban’s Ban On
Education For Girls, Women
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL:
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Muslim Women Masjid Project: More Mosques in India
Open Doors For Muslim Women
Shruti Sonal
Apr 9, 2023
This Ramzan is different for many women as their
struggle to get access to masjids is yielding results
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This Ramzan is different for many women as their
struggle to get access to masjids is yielding results
This is the first Ramzan that 34-year-old Ayesha
Izhaar is offering Namaz at the mosque. The Bengaluru-based teacher would
regularly offer her prayers at mosques when she was living in the UK as a
student but back home, options were limited. “I could not understand why I
could offer Namaz in mosques in a western country with a much smaller Muslim
population, but not at home,” says Izhaar.
Through the Muslim Women Masjid Project (MWMP), which
fights for accessibility to places of prayer, she finally got to know about a
mosque which had a separate section for women to offer their prayers. “In
November 2022, I visited a mosque in JP Nagar. I was amazed by the number of
women who had come from all economic stratas,” Izhaar recalls. Since then, she
has found a mosque closer home, and goes every Friday. During Ramzan, the
festivities are heightened, and Izhaar has made friends in the mosque. They
discuss faith, but also their lives, careers, and education.
The MWMP is helping many others find women-friendly
mosques by making a list across 15 cities in India. The team also conducts
coordinated visits to different mosques, and regularly holds discussions with
local masjid committees to ask for better facilities for women. The seeds for
this were sown in a study circle for Muslim women, started by Sania Mariam in
2020. The circle was initially formed to discuss religious and academic texts.
In one such discussion, however, the participants started talking about the
limited access to mosques for Indian women. There was an outpouring of emotions
and several women recalled their experiences of offering namaz in mosques
abroad. “We then started questioning why similar options do not exist in
India,” says Mariam, who’s currently pursuing her PhD in international
relations.
Winds of change are blowing across the country. In
February, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board told the Supreme Court that
the entry of women in mosques was permitted. In March, in a historic first, the
Aishbagh Eidgah in Lucknow created a separate section for women to offer
Tarawih. Tarawih refers to nightly prayer during Ramzan, which involves reading
long portions of the Quran and performing cycles of movement.
“While it’s not possible for small mosques to create
separate sections for women, we realised that the Eidgah was big enough to do
that,” says Maulana Khalid Rasheed FarangiMahli, the imam of Lucknow Eidgah and
chairman of the Islamic Centre of India.
He adds that ever since the announcement, women have
come in huge numbers to offer their tarawih at the eidgah, adding to the spirit
of Ramzan festivities. “Koi naya step hotahaitohuspe initially
UngliyaanTohUthTi Hi Hain (when you take a new step fingers are raised
initially),” he adds. However, he is undeterred by the opposition and plans to
push for a facility for women to offer Jummah prayers.
Elsewhere, the struggle is taking other forms. In
Kerala, Huda Ahsan, director of the Khadija Maryam Foundation, is leading the
charge to create a women-only mosque. In the planned mosque, the imams, devotees
and committee members will all be women.
“We didn’t want the token gesture of someone allowing
us a small space in a mosque or anyone’s sympathy,” says Ahsan, who first
ideated the mosque as part of her architectural thesis project. The process of
raising funds for the construction is underway.
Making the space exclusive to women, Ahsan adds, was a
crucial step in ensuring that decision making power is not usurped by the men.
“We wanted to make it clear that we don’t need anyone’s permission to do this.”
MWMP has a different approach, opting to counter
resistance within the community through dialogue. Ayesha Manzoor, the Assam
coordinator for the project, says even among the women who came to the mosque,
there were doubts about whether this was permissible under Islam. In order to
quell such doubts, Manzoor and others have turned to citing scholarly works.
One such work is Ziya Us Salam’s book ‘Women in
Masjid: A Quest for Justice’, first published in 2019. “As far as women’s entry
into mosques is concerned, there is not one verse in the Quran that prohibits
women from going to mosques. They have merely been exempted from going to
mosques compulsorily and been given a choice. It’s as simple as that,” Salam
explains.
“However, in our country, it seems a man’s prayer is
more important than a woman’s prayer,” laments Salam, a long-term advocate for
greater accessibility of Muslim women to mosques. While maulanas themselves
take their wives along on umrah to Mecca, he writes in the book, they come back
to India and oppose their entry to mosques. Challenging this dichotomy,
therefore, is crucial to the fight for greater accessibility. He also adds that
guidance given to the community, an important part of sermons in mosques, would
be meaningless if they excluded half the community.
In terms of facilities, creating women’s sections in
mosques will not be enough. “Mosques also need to create a separate space
designed for women where they can wash themselves. Just like there are spare
caps for men, there should also be spare hijabs for women who wish to cover
themselves,” Salam adds.
Mariam also complains about the lack of facilities.
“Even though some mosques have sections for women, they are largely very
congested and unkempt and the quality of washrooms or audio systems isn’t
proper.”
While the roads taken by women across the country are
different, they all lead to the same destination: a right to pray publicly,
safely and freely.
Source: Epaper.Timesgrou
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SumayyaVally, The Woman Behind The World's First Ever
Islamic Arts Biennale In Saudi Arabia
By Elise Morton
09/04/2023
Sumayya Vally
- Copyright Lou Jasmine
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Changemaker, Pioneer, and One to watch.
These would all be fair descriptions of South African
architect SumayyaVally who is presently organising the world’s first Islamic Arts
Biennale in Saudi Arabia.
Born in Pretoria (1990), Vally co-founded the
experimental architecture and research firm, Counterspace, in 2015 and went on
to become the youngest ever architect commissioned to design London’s famed
Serpentine Pavilion in 2020.
This year, Vally has undertaken a new challenge:
designing the first ever Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah, Saudi Arab. Taking on
this role saw her reimagine Jeddah Airport’s mammoth Hajj Terminal – ordinarily
known for hosting hundreds of thousands of Muslims making their sacred
pilgrimage to Mecca – as a journey through centuries of Islamic creativity. The
Islamic Arts Biennale 2023 runs in Jeddah until 23 April 2023.
Euronews Culture spoke to Vally on the Biennale and
its mission, the oft-contested definition of “Islamic art”, and the perspective
she brings as a young, South African, Muslim woman spearheading such a seminal
art event.
I strongly feel that there is a need to acknowledge
that Islamic faith, Islamic practice and Islamic tradition can and should be
making a creative contribution to the world.
I have been thinking deeply about this opportunity to
create a temporary home, an entirely new physical setting, one which has such a
profound significance in the context of the Muslim pilgrim’s journey, in which
to invite artists and audiences to reflect on ritual – the sacred, the
personal, and the communal.
I think platforms for sharing ideas, pavilions, and
biennales, for example, are incredibly important in how they set the tone for
the future and how they allow us to project our imaginations into those spaces.
To understand that we have the opportunity to make the future of culture and
cultural typologies through these voices and perspectives, which reference and
resonate with such diverse geographies, is profound.
How do you see the significance of a woman, and
particularly a young Muslim woman, being the artistic director for this event,
both within the context of contemporary Saudi Arabia and contemporary Islam?
What does it mean to you?
My deepest strength is the confluence of lenses
through which I see the world - the woman in me, the African in me, the Muslim
in me and - these can be seen as limitations (and of course professionally they
are), but they are absolutely the reason I see the future of the world and the
visions I have for it in the ways I do.
I believe that hybridity is an incredible strength.
The biennale foundation team is made up of a cohort of (mostly) strong women,
all of whom are around my age and have cultural overlap with my background and
upbringing.
It has been incredibly special to see and truly
witness the value of our perspectives in putting forth a project that is
entirely different – shaped entirely from these authentic perspectives. I think
from the experience I’ve had with our team, if the future of culture is indeed
in these hands, we are going to see remarkable things happening from here.
Existing definitions of “Islamic art” often focus on
style, tradition, geography, pattern, and geometry. The ambition of this
biennale is to build on and challenge these criteria, expanding on the existing
canon of Islamic art, and to question the narrative, museological, and artistic
practices of this time. Islamic artworks may have surface similarities, but
what really unites them is inherent in how they are made, used, and understood.
When we identify great artworks as “Islamic”, we are
simultaneously honouring historical traditions by keeping them alive, and
contemporary practices by giving them a history. It is important to situate
contemporary work in the historical narrative because it is only in context
that things can belong.
The works in the biennale are experiential – they put
forth an entirely different definition for Islamic Art – rooted in the
experiential, the oral, the aural, our ritual practices and the ingredients and
infrastructures of gathering and community.
For example, Cosmic Breath by Joe Namy choreographs
the adhan, or call to prayer, from 18 different locations, where one wouldn't
necessarily expect the call to prayer to be called – a parking lot, a gas
station, the side of the road somewhere, from across the world, Japan, Durban
in South Africa, Detroit. And he's recorded these and choreographed them so
that the call starts at the same time. And this is really reflecting on the idea
of cosmic breath, that every second of the day the call to prayer is being
called somewhere on Earth. And there are five a day, so when we stand up in
prayer, we're joining this undulating rhythm and this undulating call.
So many of our practices are not able to be held in
traditional archives because they're not written forms. They're spoken, they're
oral, they're passed down from generation to generation, from body to body.
Many of our artists are not only taking on these practices and interpreting them
in contemporary artworks, but are really deeply inspired by historic objects
and historic practices.
In the works curated for this biennale, faith is
resonant in the artists’ method of practice, regardless of their own faith or
background. For example, the work of South African artist Igshaan Adams, who
works collectively, weaving his tapestries together with a group of women from
his home community.
The subject matter of his work is Islamic, but there's
also something of a meditative nature in the way that he practises, and this
repetitive action of weaving is also a kind of spiritual practice. So, we chose
artists who have something of a spiritual nature that comes from the faith in
their practice.
My hope is that this biennale is an opportunity to
invite audiences to reflect on ritual, the sacred, the personal and the
communal - to build on that definition and to think through what Islamic Arts
means and can mean, for now and for the future. We have seen a true
cross-section of Jeddah come to experience the biennale – for many, this is
their first experience of art in a setting like this in their own context – we
have seen young and old people alike return to the biennale with their
families. It has also been very special to witness pilgrims come over from the
functioning airport across the road.
I have been avalanched with generous messages from
people who came to the opening of the biennale. Many of these messages
expressed a wish for the biennale to be in the West so that non-Muslims can
access it and learn more about Islam, and see it presented in this way: deeply
personal expressions from our artists about our ways of being.
As much as this biennale is an open hand and an
invitation for all – east, west, north, south – the power of seeing ourselves
represented in this way is also at the heart of the project.
I hope to convey the generativity of Islamic thinking
and practice and the diversity and breadth of the Muslim world through the
biennale. The philosophies of the Islamic faith offer the potential to think
about the future differently. I am thinking beyond the stylistic traditions
that have been called Islamic arts, and I have a deep interest in making a
contribution to the canon here, to learn from how the philosophies of Islam and
how the life of being a Muslim can inspire creativity and creative thinking.
Source: Euro News
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Iran Installs Cameras In Public Places To Identify
Women Not Wearing Hijab
April 08, 2023
Under Iran's Islamic sharia law, women are obliged to
cover their hair.
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In a further attempt to rein in increasing numbers of
women defying the compulsory dress code, Iranian authorities are installing
cameras in public places and thoroughfares to identify and penalise unveiled
women, the police announced on Saturday.
After they have been identified, violators will
receive “warning text messages as to the consequences”, police said in a
statement.
The move is aimed at “preventing resistance against
the hijab law,” said the statement, carried by the judiciary's Mizan news
agency and other state media, adding that such resistance tarnishes the
country's spiritual image and spreads insecurity.
A growing number of Iranian women have been ditching
their veils since the death of a 22-year-old Kurdish woman in the custody of
the morality police last September. MahsaAmini had been detained for allegedly
violating the hijab rule. Security forces violently put down the revolt.
Still, risking arrest for defying the obligatory dress
code, women are still widely seen unveiled in malls, restaurants, shops and
streets around the country. Videos of unveiled women resisting the morality
police have flooded social media.
Saturday's police statement called on owners of
businesses to “seriously monitor the observance of societal norms with their
diligent inspections”.
Under Iran's Islamic sharia law, imposed after the
1979 revolution, women are obliged to cover their hair and wear long,
loose-fitting clothes to disguise their figures. Violators have faced public
rebuke, fines or arrest.
Describing the veil as "one of the civilizational
foundations of the Iranian nation" and “one of the practical principles of
the Islamic Republic,” an Interior Ministry statement said on March 30 that
there would be no retreat on the issue.
It urged citizens to confront unveiled women. Such directives
have in past decades emboldened hardliners to attack women. Last week a viral
video showed a man throwing yoghurt at two unveiled women in a shop.
Source: Ndtv.Com
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Shunning hijab will lead to persecution of women, says
Iran's top cop
Apr 09, 2023
Iranian women will be prosecuted and businesses could
risk being shut for failing to observe the country’s hijab rules, Iran’s police
chief said, escalating the regime’s crackdown on dissent against mandatory head
scarves.
Under the new law, Iranian women who refuse to wear
head coverings in public places or inside their cars would face court trials
and have their vehicles impounded, the semi-official Fars news agency reported,
citing Brigadier-General AhmadrezaRadan.
The move follows the death in custody of MahsaAmini,
22, in September who was arrested by the country’s so-called morality police
for allegedly wearing improper clothes. Her death triggered the biggest wave of
protests against the country’s clerical leadership since the 1979 Islamic
revolution.
The new measures will also allow the police to shut
any business whose employees fail to abide by compulsory hijab requirements,
the report said. The police plan to use “smart cameras and equipment” to
identify and send warnings to women in violation of the dress code, the police
said in a separate statement on Saturday.
The Shargh daily newspaper reported on Monday that
more than 100 stores and businesses were closed over the last month for failing
to comply with Iran’s Islamic dress code.
Authorities hanged four people in December and January
in connection with protests. Rights groups say more than 400 people died in the
regime’s crackdown on protesters and thousands more were arrested.
Source: Hindustan Times
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Afghan religious scholars criticize Taliban’s ban on
education for girls, women
Apr 8, 2023
JALALABAD, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan religious
scholars Saturday criticized a ban on female education, as a key Taliban
minister warned clerics not to rebel against the government on the
controversial issue.
Girls cannot go to school beyond sixth grade in
Afghanistan, with the education ban extending to universities. Women are barred
from public spaces, including parks, and most forms of employment. Last week,
Afghan women were barred from working at the U.N., according to the global
body, although the Taliban have yet to make a public announcement.
Authorities present the education restrictions as
temporary suspensions rather than bans, but universities and schools reopened
in March without their female students.
The bans have raised fierce international uproar,
increasing the country’s isolation at a time when its economy has collapsed and
worsenied a humanitarian crisis.
Two religious scholars who are well-known within
Afghanistan said Saturday that authorities should reconsider their decision.
Public opposition to Taliban policies is rare, although some Taliban leaders
have voiced their disagreement with the decision-making process.
One scholar, Abdul Rahman Abid, said institutions
should be permitted to re-admit girls and women through separate classes,
hiring female teachers, staggering timetables, and even building new
facilities.
“My daughter is absent from school, I am ashamed, I
have no answer for my daughter,” he said. “My daughter asks why girls are not
allowed to learn in the Islamic system. I have no answer for her.”
He said reform is needed and warned that any delays
are at the expense of the global Islamic community and also weakens the
government.
Another scholar, who is a member of the Taliban, told
the AP there is still time for ministries to solve the problem of girls’
education. ToryaliHimat cited ministries comprising the inner circle of the
supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, who is based in Kandahar.
It was on his orders that the government banned girls
from classrooms. Himat said there are two types of criticism, one that destroys
the system and another that makes corrective criticism.
“Islam has allowed both men and women to learn, but
hijab and curriculum should be considered,” said Himat. “Corrective criticism
should be given and the Islamic emirate should think about this. Where there is
no criticism, there is the possibility of corruption. My personal opinion is
that girls should get education up to university level.”
He made his remarks after another scholar, Abdul Sami
Al Ghaznawi, told students at a religious school that there was no conflict
over girls’ education. He said Islamic scripture was clear that girls’
education was acceptable. Al Ghaznawi was not immediately available for
comment.
Nadim appeared to target Al Ghaznawi by mentioning “an
honorable scholar” at the top of a video statement released on social media.
“You encouraged the people to rebel, so what is the
result?” Nadim said. “The result is that rebellion against this (ban) is
allowed. If people are encouraged to rebel against the system, will it benefit
Muslims?”
The minister was not immediately available for
comment. But his spokesman, Hafiz Ziaullah Hashimi, confirmed Nadim’s remarks
without giving further details about who they were directed at or the reason
behind them.
Source: Pbs.Org
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/muslim-women-masjid-project-india/d/129519