A few days ago, a friend posted the following video about
the efforts of the Deputy Mufti of Turkey to improve the women’s prayer areas in
Turkish Mosques:
My friend lauded the efforts as a positive development
and at first glance it does seem like a commendable initiative. However, after
thinking about it, I must disagree.
I won’t critique the overt Western bias in the newscast. Media in the West has an established agenda
when it comes to covering the Muslim world – namely, the attempt to project
Western liberal values onto a ‘backwards’ society. So when the news team who
produced this short piece presents the female Deputy Mufti as a purveyor of some
enlightened way and every other schmuck who questions her as an ignoramus, I’m
not surprised.
And without sitting down and talking with the Deputy
Mufti herself, I cannot possibly understand her motivations and rationales for
leading this drive, so I’m not interested in criticizing her.
My reproach is for all of us Muslims in the West, who may
see such a project and, based on our Western values and beliefs, immediately
judge it as being a positive development for our misguided brethren in the
Muslim world. We feel at ease in imposing our ‘civilized’ interpretations of
Islam upon the backwards Muslim societies, like some twisted manifestation of the White Man’s burden - let us call it the Western Muslim's Burden.
Afghanistan and the issue of female education is another example of the Western Muslim's Burden . We all started salivating when the West rang the bell calling for
educating the young girls of Afghanistan. I recall hearing khutbas and reading articles about the role of education and knowledge in Islam and how the Taliban's efforts against female education were antithetical to Islamic teachings.
And so without
realizing that fundamental societal issues needed to be addressed first, great
initiatives were undertook to quickly open girl’s schools. All this effort was
misdirected and misspent with increased tension and strife between the US-backed
government and the more conservative elements of Afghan society.
Let us not repeat such dog-and-pony shows across the
Muslim world.
Look, I’m all for efforts to make North American and
European Masjids more women-friendly. For too long, sisters have been huddled
into basements, behind barriers, and up on balconies – the same sisters who are
actively participating in their work environments, universities, and all other
areas of greater society. The dichotomy between these two worlds is so great
and contradictory that it is has become unsustainable.
Originally, during the first generation of immigrant
Muslims in the West (from the late sixties to the early nineties), Muslim women
were coming from societies in which female participation in Masjid affairs, and
to an extent in greater society, was very limited. And so, Masjids were built
and organized to simply maintain that social structure.
As the first generation of indigenous Muslims grew up and
this crop of Western-Muslims began to see the contradiction between the
segregated role of women in the Masjid and the more egalitarian role of women
in Western society, something had to change. And thus was born the movement to
make the Masjids more women-friendly.
This recent movement hasn’t arisen in a vacuum. The
social context has defined it. Muslim men and women have become acclimated to a
more liberal stance on women’s role in society, thus allowing them to embrace
the concept of a Masjid more amenable to women’s participation.
But can the same be said for Turkey?
One needs to simply peruse the headlines to see that
honor-killings and apostasy issues are still taking place in Turkey. Female literacy rates as well as employment rates are low especially when compared to
their Western counterparts. Governmental positions held by women, salary gap between men and women, number of women shelters and other key indicators are similarly tilted
against women. As much as the Turkish government may try to convince the world
that Turkey is ready to join the EU, its people are still grounded in a more
Eastern, traditional worldview.
Has the Turkish population internalized Western values,
such as women’s rights, before initiating this project for women-friendly
Masjids?
Now you may counter that removing the barrier or
increasing women’s involvement in Masjid affairs are not exclusively Western
values - that they are Prophetic values, as can be readily found in the Seerah
of our Beloved Prophet (saw). Fair enough, but the social context of the
Prophet’s time allowed for such practices (It could be argued that women in Muslim
Arabia 1400 years ago were treated better than in most modern Muslims
countries). It must be noted that in cases where the Prophet introduced
concepts and ideas counter to prevailing social customs, such as abolishing
slavery or prohibiting alcohol, it was done in a gradual manner so as not to
upset the delicate balance of society.
So, if our objective is to (re)introduce the Muslim world
to liberal values that are native to our tradition, then we must seek to do so
in a holistic, foundational manner, avoiding the headline-grabbing,
West-appeasing initiatives that will do nothing to change society and may even
result in alienating the masses.
9 comments:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K44_GTueMm4
your argument is the same stuff that would have kept slavery in the US for a couple more hundred years because people weren't ready to do the right thing or apartheid in south africa. Never to early to do the right thing. Holding off to not upset a balance that wasn't meant to be in the first place is why it take someone who is will to shake things up and ruffle some feather and make people uncomfortable to get thing where they need to be.
AA-
@Hitec, thanks for the link. These progressive Muslims have been around for a while and every so often they pull these PR stunts, just to make themselves feel relevant.
@Naeem, apples and oranges bro. My argument is to focus on the disease itself (misogyny, chauvinism) and not the symptoms (inadequate prayer rooms, right to drive, etc.) It's not about upsetting people or making them uncomfortable - the Prophet (saw) himself did that when it came to fundamental issues. My point is that we need to get to the root of the issue and not misdirect our energies on feel-good stories.
Good post Mash'Allah and I agree with what you're saying. It's like you can't cure the symptoms without the addressing the underlying cause. And I find it interesting what you say about the evolution of mosque culture in the US. Now I have a question, do you think American mosque culture is ready for another evolution? I ask because my friend and I have been discussing about the possibility of opening up an Islamic center exclusively for Muslim women in America, where they would be able to learn and engage in Islamic/charitable activities and find a safe space to discuss pressing personal/social issues without having that space infringed upon. We got this idea from the all-female mosques we read about thriving in China (of course we wouldn't call our center a mosque and we wouldn't completely exclude men, but we feel there is a need for something just for women that could complement, instead of overtake the activities of traditional mosques/Islamic schools. Just putting this out there, would love to receive feedback from others about this idea!
Her stance - that women should be allowed to pray within the Musalla is in fact the Sunnah. She is not asking for men to pray exactly next to the women.
AA-
@R, sorry for the late reply, but the idea of a sister's only center is very much needed. I'm not sure it has to be a masjid, not because of any fiqhi issue, but merely because what would be the added benefit of making a ladies only masjid versus a ladies center?
@Abu Layth, yes I agree that its the way the Sahabah used to pray in the Prophet's masjid. I alluded to that in my post, namely that authentic Islamic teachings need not rest on Western values to gain any semblance of respect. But I still believe that we need to pick our battles and in societies where acid-throwing and honor-killings and overall general mistreatment of women is predominant, women's prayer space is a misplaced initiative.
Given your concluding statement, can you provide one or two suggestions on what, practically, should be done?
AA Anon,
Such a general question can only get a general answer, no?
It all depends on your personal circumstances - where you are, what you're capable of, etc.
Regardless, it all comes down to education. Each of us needs to do our part in increasing the education of the Ummah - through our circles of influence.
Wa alaikum salaam brother,
Shukran for your reply and I agree about not calling it a ladies' masjid. We definitely won't do that, opting to maybe refer to it as more of an educational/community center for Muslimat.
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