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Woman takes on mosque

Jul 18, 2004 7:38 am By Robert Spencer

An update on a story we have followed here: Asra Nomani’s courageous fight for equality of rights, or at least some respect, for women in a West Virginia mosque. From AP:

CHARLESTON, W.Va. “” Asra Nomani took a deep breath and entered the front door of the Islamic Center in Morgantown, W.Va., during Ramadan last year, shunning tradition and the women’s balcony to pray on the main floor.

The 38-year-old single mother had no intention of praying next to the men “” an act that would seem shocking to congregants. But she did want to see and hear the prayer leader, and was willing to break down gender barriers to do it.

She hopes her simple act will be the first step toward improving Muslim women’s rights at mosques across the nation. “To deny women access to space is to deny access to participation,” Nomani said. “We want voice and we want leadership.”

Although the Morgantown mosque never had an official [policy], it had become custom that women pray in the balcony and enter through a separate door “to protect their privacy,” said Christine Arja, a Fairmont lawyer and spokeswoman for the mosque’s executive committee.

“Many people don’t understand the manner in which Muslims pray,” Arja said. “We pray in a line with our shoulders touching and our backsides do go up in the air. Many women don’t want to be shoulder-to-shoulder with men.”

Still, in June “” less than a month after a new executive committee was elected, including the mosque’s first woman “” leaders clarified that women could pray behind men in the main prayer space. The mosque’s small membership is largely made up of West Virginia University students and staff.

“Less than a year ago they told me, ‘Sister, please use the back entrance,’ ” Nomani said. “Now they’re talking about greeting us at the door. This is an important victory toward removing the barriers that keep women from full participation.”

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