Mideast Muslims outraged, see 'conspiracy' after woman leads prayers in U.S.

CBC ^ | 03/19/05 | NADIA ABOU EL-MAGD

[Pikamax]

Mideast Muslims outraged, see 'conspiracy' after woman leads prayers in U.S. 05:56 PM EST Mar 19 NADIA ABOU EL-MAGD

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Muslims in the Middle East on Saturday angrily denounced prayers led by a woman in New York City the day before as a violation of Islam.

One Egyptian newspaper, Al-Messa, reported the news of Amina Wadud leading Friday prayer services on its front page, with the emphatic headline: They are tarnishing Islam in America!

It referred to Wadud as "the deranged woman."

A female Islamic law professor condemned the act as apostasy, explaining that a woman's body "stirs desire" in men.

Some suggested the event was a U.S. conspiracy to mould traditional Islam into a secular American religion.

Wadud, a professor of Islamic studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, led the Islamic prayer service before a mixed congregation of 80 to 100 men and women at an Anglican church. Three mosques had refused to hold the service, and an art gallery backed out after receiving a bomb threat. Organizers of the prayer said it was intended to draw attention to the inequality faced by Muslim women.

"Women were not allowed to (have) input in the basic paradigms of what it means to be a Muslim," Wadud said after the service, adding that while the Qur'an puts men and women on equal footing, men have distorted its teachings to leave women with no role other than "as sexual partners."

But in the conservative Middle East, Wadud's prayer service was severely frowned on.

In Saudi Arabia, Grand Mufti Abdul-Aziz al-Sheik spoke out against the New York event in Friday prayers at a Riyadh mosque.

"Those who defended this issue are violating God's law," he said. "Enemies of Islam are using women's issues to corrupt the community."

Sheik Sayed Tantawi, head of Egypt's Al-Azhar mosque, the leading Sunni Muslim institution, said Islam permits women to lead other women in prayer but not a congregation that includes men.

Muslims are required to pray five times a day. On Friday, the Muslim holy day, many try to perform their midday prayers at a mosque. A male imam leads the prayer, followed by lines of men and, behind them, women. Most mosques have different halls, or different floors for the women, as well as separate entrances.

Soad Saleh, who heads the Islamic department of the woman's college at Al-Azhar University, considered the act an apostasy, which is punishable by death in Islam.

"It is categorically forbidden for women to lead prayers (if they include men worshippers) and intentionally violates the basics of Islam," she said.

Explaining why only men lead prayers, she said: "The origin is that the woman's body, even if veiled, stirs desire."

The most conservative Muslims also warn that women should not raise their voices as the sound can be seductive.

Abdul-Moti Bayoumi, of the Islamic Research Center at Al-Azhar, said Wadud had carried out "a bad and deviant innovation" that contradicted the Prophet Mohammed's sayings and deeds.

Not allowing women to lead mixed gender prayers "is not discrimination between women and men but is to safeguard men from being conflicted and torn by human desire while they are standing behind a woman while she's bowing and kneeling," Bayoumi said.

The prayer attracted news media attention in the Middle East,, including the two major Arab satellite networks, Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya, which covered the Friday service and reactions of those who attended.

One website known for postings by Islamic militants carried photos of women at the New York service who had failed to cover their heads, a normal requirement during prayer.

"This is the Islam that America wants," a contributor wrote Saturday. "I wouldn't be surprised if tomorrow one of those who call themselves Muslim would say that alcohol and fornication is halal (sanctioned by Islam), and that there is no need for legitimate marriage between men and women."

Saleh, the Al-Azhar professor, also suggested the prayer was a ploy to weaken Islam. "It's a foreign conspiracy, through secular (Muslim) organizations, to sow seeds of division between Muslims, to come up and preach with American or contemporary Islam," she said. "But God will protect his religion."

[humblegunner]

My favorite folks ping.

[USF]

Perhaps they think her perfume or new hairstyle is going to send her to hell.

[Petronski]

A female Islamic law professor condemned the act as apostasy, explaining that a woman's body "stirs desire" in men.

While that might be, it is not the fault of the woman.

[OK]

You beat me to it. Every day there seems to be a story about angry muslims this or that. Anger has no place in religion. God is love, period.

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Middle Eastern men seem to have an almost paranoid fear of women. You go, girl!

[Redcloak]

Muslims outraged

re·dun·dan·cy (ree-dun-dan-see)
n., pl. -cies.

1. The state of being redundant.
2. Something redundant or excessive; a superfluity.
3. Repetition of linguistic information inherent in the structure of a language, as singularity in the sentence It works.
4. Excessive wordiness or repetition in expression.
5. Chiefly British.
   1. The state or fact of being unemployed because work is no longer offered or considered necessary.
   2. A dismissal of an employee from work for being no longer necessary; a layoff.
6. Electronics. Duplication or repetition of elements in electronic equipment to provide alternative functional channels in case of failure.
7. Repetition of parts or all of a message to circumvent transmission errors.
8. Calling Muslims outraged, angered, enraged, flummoxed, bothered, or otherwise vexed.

[Fred Nerks]

Tabari VIII:62/Ishaq:496 “Ali [Muhammad’s adopted son, son-in-law, and future Caliph] said, ‘Prophet, women are plentiful. You can get a replacement, easily changing one for another.’”


Tabari IX:113 “Allah permits you to shut them in separate rooms and to beat them, but not severely. If they abstain, they have the right to food and clothing. Treat women well for they are like domestic animals and they possess nothing themselves. Allah has made the enjoyment of their bodies lawful in his Koran.”


Tabari I:280 “Allah said, ‘It is My obligation to make Eve bleed once every month as she made this tree bleed. I must also make Eve stupid, although I created her intelligent.’ Because Allah afflicted Eve, all of the women of this world menstruate and are stupid.”

[Marguerite]

Google Results for "Muslim outraged" - 292,000
;-)

[Joe 6-pack]

"...a woman's body "stirs desire" in men."

As does the color red...

[ken21]

they'll probably put a contract out for her head.

[Marguerite]

"This is the Islam that America wants," a contributor wrote Saturday

Wrong again.
America doesn't want ANY kind of Islam.
Neither does Europe.

[mrsmith]

A mosque letting a woman lead services.
This will drive religious bigots crazy. LOL!

But it was only to be expected by those of us who have faith in America.

[USF]

This will drive religious bigots crazy. LOL!

The reponse from Muslims is proving you correct.

[kalee]

It wasn't in a mosque.
It was in a building owned by St. John the Divine Episcopal Churrch in NYC.

[mrsmith]

You're right.

That good news too.

[ConservativeMind]

The Bible does not say women cannot do things worthy of God.

I merely stated that God demanded men be His spiritual leaders on Earth.

Of course, if you would like to encourage men to not be such godly leaders, you are free to do so.

[USF]

It wasn't in a mosque.

Because the Islamic bigots would not let her do in a Mosque. Look that their outrage!

[Marguerite]

How come that the Muslims are never outraged by their barbaric customs??? Ahurrah celebrations of the Shiite Muslims

[hoosierham]

If the precepts of their religion deny women certain things, then it is not bigotry but faithfulness they are displaying. There have been religions whose tenets were so repulsive to the rest of the peoples of the world that it was found necessary to destroy the people who refused to give up those beliefs. See Aztec sun god sacrifices,Carthage and sacrificing newborn children as a barbaric practice that could never be approved in a modern nation, uh well, only if it might affect the parents' lifestyle or desires or.....

I think the Nazis also demonstrated that evil will triumph unless resolutely confronted.