U.S. Muslim groups urge mosque rights for women

[PsychoDad]

More western muslim "innovation" :sarcasm:

U.S. Muslim groups urge mosque rights for women

Wed June 29, 2005 11:53 PM GMT+05:30
http://www.reuters.co.in/locales/c_newsArticle.jsp;:42c2ee1c:68bc40f78f79caf5?type=worldNews&localeKey=en_IN&storyID=8931275

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Leading Islamic groups in North America are telling their followers that it's time to make mosques more open to women, to return to an equality that marked the origins of the faith.

"There are confirmed reports that many mosques relegate women to small, dingy, secluded, airless and segregated quarters with their children," states a booklet published online and being distributed to mosques"

The booklet suggests women should be allowed to pray with men in the main hall of a mosque in a designated area that is not partitioned off and be given a safe and appropriate entrance to the buildings. It also suggests that at least two women be on every mosque governing board.
...
Some religious scholars argue that the separation is not based in the origins of Islam, or its traditions. Muslim men and women pray together in Saudi Arabia each year during the annual pilgrimage in Mecca, one of the five duties Muslims must fulfill during their lifetime.
...
Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Washington-based lobbying group that published the booklet and is distributing it, said women should be able to use the publication to force changes.

Written by the Islamic Social Services Associations Inc. and Women in Islam Inc., the booklet repeatedly quotes the Koran on women's rights and says that at the time of the Prophet Mohammad mosques were a center of community life where "all were welcome."