FIRST WOMAN TO LEAD FRIDAY PRAYERS IN UK Raheel Raza, a rights activist and Toronto-based author, has been asked to lead prayers and deliver the khutbah at a small prayer session in Oxford. Raza, 60, is part of a small but growing group of Muslim feminists who have tried to challenge the mindset that has traditionally excluded women from leadership roles within the mosque. They argue that nowhere in the Koran are female imams expressly forbidden. Instead scholars rely on the hadiths (the words and sayings of the Prophet Mohamed) to exclude women – although Muslim feminists and some progressive scholars argue that even these are not clear enough to say with confidence that women are altogether banned. Ms Raza received death threats after leading a mixed-gender prayer congregation in Toronto five years ago. It was a very profound experience, Ms Raza said yesterday in a telephone conversation from her home in Toronto. Its not about taking the job of an imam. Its about reminding the Muslim community that 50 per cent of its adherents are women who are equal to men. Women are equally observant, practising Muslims who deserve to be heard. independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/first-woman-to-lead-friday-prayers-in-uk-1996228.html
Posted on: Fri, 22 Nov 2013 18:58:31 +0000