A Model of Inclusion for Muslim Women

[rug]

By DIDI KIRSTEN TATLOW
Published: October 9, 2012

BEIJING — Could an old religious tradition from China help solve one of the world’s most pressing problems — violence committed in the name of Islam?

The irony of an officially atheist country possibly offering a way out of an international religious problem is intense. Yet that is what some Islamic scholars in China and elsewhere hope may happen as they point to a quietly liberal tradition among China’s 10 million Hui Muslims, where female imams and mosques for women are flourishing in a globally unique phenomenon.

Female imams and women’s mosques are important because their endurance in China offers a vision of an older form of Islam that has inclusiveness and tolerance, not marginalization and extremism, at its core, the scholars say.

Exact numbers are not available, but Shui Jingjun, a leading scholar of women in Hui Islam (the Hui are scattered across China and are distinct from the Uighur Muslims of the far western region of Xinjiang) estimates there are hundreds of female imams leading mosques around the country, educating boys and girls, and organizing social services in their communities.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/10/world/asia/10iht-letter10.html?_r=2&

[MineralMan]

1. Could be a model for the RCC, as well.

Women's Cathedrals, Women as Priests, A Woman as Pope.

Yes, good for the goose; good for the gander, I'd say.

[cbayer]

2. Great article.

If you haven't seen it yet, make sure to watch the 2 part Independent Lens called "Half the Sky". While hard to watch, it leaves some hope at then end. Many of the organizations actively confronting and trying to solve the problems of violence against and discrimination towards women are being led by religious organizations, and, in particular, religions women.

[rug]

3. I haven't heard of it. I'll keep my eye out for it.