This is definitely a cultural issue that varies from country to country. For example female imam’s are common in China http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-06/23/content_8424881.htm

In what country? In the United States, freedom of religion is guaranteed. This is a good question for the many countries where Islam is the state religion. Their laws may prevent female imans.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_religion#Roman_Catholic

Why is “Can a woman be an imam?” a good question in the United States? What are the constraints? Women here are educated. In this country, what is to prevent a bold woman from becoming an iman? Who can stop her?

Khalid, for a women’s gathering a woman can lead prayers but for a mixed congregation a man is the imam. The answers to these questions should be sought in light of Quran and Sunna. Remember any change from teaching of Quran and Sunna is deviation or biddah, and is not progression or openmindedness. Sheila i would respectfully disagree it is not a culturai issue, it is a religious issue.

Sacha,
Thank you for you comment. I hope you read the quote above from the Grand Mufti of Egypt. The simple answer is there is no clear injunction in the Qur’an or the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet forbidding a woman from leading a mixed gathering in prayer and two early Muslim scholars (Tabari, Ibn Arabi) gave the opinion that it is OK. Hence the Grand Mufti’s opinion that it is up to the congregation.

My point, once we get past this historical and cultural hang up, is that we need to have women in the Mosque if Islam is to be revived. Revival of Islam starts with education and the first teacher (and the best teacher) is the mother. But how can she fulfill this responsibility if she is not very well versed in the Qur’an. Seeing how some (many?) male Imams have poor understanding of how to deal with women who come to the mosque, having women Imams will encourage more women to regularly attend the mosque and get educated in the Qur’an. And since women are the teachers of the next generation (as mothers) in the end will help everyone.

There is a second point I would like to add. Unfortunately in the past couple of hundred years there has come this notion that bida or biddah (which can be translated as innovation) is something really bad (kind of like here in USA the word Liberal is now an epithet). Historically Ijtihad was one of the central factors in Islam as a means of advancing Islamic thought, based on the Qur’an and Sunnah. There are scholars here in USA and elsewhere clamoring that it is high time we reopen Ijtihad which was somehow abandoned (by the Sunni schools) in the middle ages.

Finally, this is NOT a women’s rights issue. This is an issue on how are we going to revive the ummah. If you look at early Muslim history there were very large number of women scholars. As for women in roles of leadership, we need to remember that the first Qadi (Judge) appointed by Prophet Muhammad was a woman and her role in the rapid growth of the number of Muslims is not appreciated. Inshallah, I do plan on writing about that another time. Again thank you for expressing your opinion.

Davel-

Your response confuses me. Freedom of religion has absolutely nothing to do with the question posed. Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity, some Anglican provinces, the majority of the Southern Baptist Conference, Lutherans in the MO Synod, some Conservative Jews, Orthodox Jews, and many others do not allow the ordination of women. Many religions do not allow it based upon substantive issues as well as tradition, not because of a freedom to practice their faith as granted by the secular state.

Furthermore, what does the link have to do with the question at hand?

Wowee makes an interesting point comparing the traditions of faiths other than Islam. I have been so gratified since Burke became our “former” archbishop as I consider him to be an American version of the Taliban. His strident, hard right wing, patriarchal views were foisted on local Catholics for much too long, in my humble opinion. While some former Wall Street Journal writers may have loved him for “never backing down”, Burke is not missed by those who value religious tolerance in our beloved land of the free. Maybe the former archbishop could ask to work in Iran, where fanatical anti-female attitudes are currently entrenched!

whiterosesociety,

So I googled that. Nice. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Rose

But back to the topic. Thank you for your comment. We should try to make a distinction between conservative and rigid. It is OK to be conservative. It is rigid points of view that cause troubles (whether conservative or liberal) since no one has a monopoly on the truth and we all sometimes need to reevaluate our positions.

Iran is more in the conservative column and certainly a lot less rigid than many other present day Muslim societies. It has its problems primarily stemming from clergy being involved in politics (which a faction within the clergy is fighting very strongly). A recent Rick Steves (the travel guy) documentary on PBS was really excellent. http://www.ricksteves.com/iran/iran_menu.htm

Wowee,

I am just trying to inject a dose of reality into this blog. Khalid Shah seems to think religion determines what people do. How can a lifeless organization effect change? The opposite is true. People determine what religions do. If religion determines what people do it is only because people consent to it or they refuse to think.

The first amendment to our Constitution guarantees freedom of conscience, personal interaction with God that is otherwise known as faith.

Government religions use policies, procedures, rules and regulations - as all governments do - to compel conformance with stated beliefs. The link shows that islamic people use government to favor their religion more than other religions. However, that does not change reality. People, not religions, control what people do.

I am not religious but I think as long as you are a decent human being you should be allowed to try and succeed where ever you are, and in what ever you want.

I don’t agree with religions that don’t allow women to preach. I am pretty sure god wanted us to treat each other with the same respect we would treat ourselves with. Gender and race issues aside we are all human.

Davel,

Thank you for your comment. Perhaps it is a semantic difference. Religion as most people practice it, is institution based and globally one of the strongest institutional influence on people’s lives. There are problems though with different religious institutions. The Muslim version is not a hierarchical model. It is more like the Jewish model. And overall, at the present time, there are a number of institutional problems within the Muslim community. The idea of having Muslim female imams would, at least in my opinion, go at the heart of addressing a number of the problems currently facing the Muslim community.

I do want to make a perhaps related point. There have been comments by some on different blogs denigrating Islamic Shariah law. These comments are based in ignorance and having been exposed to some hate propaganda. It would be like someone made a case for how terrible US law is by pointing out how unfair is the sentences for drug crimes (crack vs cocaine which translates to whites vs minorities. The lopsided difference in the sentences is reprehensible and should be corrected). But a poor example is only given to misguide. US law is indeed one of the best in the world. Islamic Shariah law is also excellent. As an example I will give you the following historical fact. Muslims ruled parts of Spain for over 700 years until about 1490. One early center was the city of Toledo (Spain). But Toledo was not ruled by the Muslims after 1100AD. Yet Islamic Shariah law was implemented in Toledo till after 1600AD. Any thinking person should ponder why a dominant Christian Society(and later a complete Christian society) practiced Islamic Shariah Law for over 500 years. One unavoidable conclusion is that they really liked it.