Woman imam prompts review of real 'truths'<\/p>\n
Ati Nurbaiti, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
I would fight for my daughter's right to equal opportunity, to
\nequal rights in marriage and to divorce, and to make up her own
\nmind when voting. But leading a prayer gathering of men and
\nwomen? Now hold your horses ...<\/p>\n
The possibility of a woman leading mixed gender prayers has
\nonly become a bit of a nagging question sometimes. Catholics and
\nChristians have had their movements demanding that women be
\nordained as clerics, but never Muslims, or so we thought.<\/p>\n
Then about two weeks ago a report surfaced concerning an
\norganization called Muslim WakeUp! and its plans to have a woman
\nserve as imam and lead a joint congregation of men and women at
\nFriday prayers on March 18 in New York City. What? The next day
\nit became clear, it really did happen.<\/p>\n
The photographs showed that behind Wadud, a professor of
\nIslamic studies, were men and women, and they weren't separated!
\nBlasphemy, shouted the demonstrators outside the synod house at a
\nchurch in Manhattan where the event took place (a church, at
\nthat!). It was the only place that was willing to host the event
\nafter death threats were made to those in charge of a venue that
\nhad been proposed earlier. Hell awaits you, screamed one of the
\nplacards.<\/p>\n
Not only was there a woman imam leading men in prayer, but the
\nmen and women were standing side by side, the women were not all
\nat the back -- a few were even in the front rows -- and some of
\nthe more brazen women in the congregation weren't even wearing
\nheadscarves! All unheard of in Islamic practice, from what we
\nknow of it in this country, at any rate.<\/p>\n
Those who say that a female imam leading mixed gender prayers
\nis permissible cite historical studies which they say reveal that
\nthere was indeed a woman imam at the time of the Prophet
\nMuhammad; but all of his comments about the issue were burnt
\n(nice excuse for not providing evidence, the critics may say).<\/p>\n
The organizers said that the leading of the prayers by Wadud
\nwas an important landmark in their effort to \"reclaim the voice
\nthat the Prophet gave us 1,400 years ago.\" They had reason to
\nfeel a sense of achievement, having gone ahead with the event
\ndespite all the threats. One protester said, \"In an Islamic
\nstate, she (Wadud) would have been hanged.\"<\/p>\n
Now, if you were told what is perceived to be the truth from
\nan early age, whether it's that the earth is flat, or that it's
\nprohibited or haram for women during menstruation to touch and
\nread the Koran (it's not, snorts my religious friend), then of
\ncourse you tend to believe it -- thus the protests were
\nunderstandable.<\/p>\n
But how do you deal with this gap in the understanding of
\nIslam, even among Muslims themselves? From the perspective of a
\nwoman in Indonesia, the issue here is not really about seeking
\nimmediate answers -- let's leave that to the experts.<\/p>\n
The issue is rather: This time around, could we actually hear
\nout all the arguments? Without too much condemning, shouting,
\ncursing and threatening until we just think it's a waste of time
\neven trying? After all, not many of us may really harbor
\nambitions to become imams, first because most of us are not that
\nreligious let alone knowledgeable enough to be a decent leader of
\na big gathering, and, second, we come from a generation that
\n\"knows\" that women imams are only allowed to lead female-only
\ncongregations.<\/p>\n
The reason why we would be watching whether the public would
\nreally be able to hear out all the arguments is because so far it
\nhas not been allowed to do so. Consider the shelved draft of the
\nnew Islamic law code drawn up by the Ministry of Religious
\nAffairs. We didn't even get the chance to discuss it. We only got
\nto hear how \"satanical\" and \"comical\" it was. The drafters, among
\nother things, were trying to have polygamy banned -- to the quiet
\ndelight and relief of many women and the shock of many men.<\/p>\n
But while debates rise and fade on religious issues, what
\nremains is skepticism, particularly among women, regarding all
\nthat we've been hearing touted as \"truths\" in Islam.<\/p>\n
Take polygamy. One sometimes hears the indignant -- or the
\nhushed -- view of housewives, female students and professionals,
\nwho point to the second part of the sentence in the verse of the
\nKoran that allows polygamy (\"as long as you can be fair\" to all
\nyour wives). These are women who know that the requisite for
\npolygamy of being fair to all the wives is rarely cited compared
\nto the first part of the verse saying that men can take up to
\nfour wives.<\/p>\n
This has contributed to skepticism and curiosity among some
\nwomen here -- \"Ooh, what else are they hiding from us?\" They're
\nall ears -- but shy away when all they hear is cursing instead of
\nrational argumentation on various controversial issues. At least
\nthey now have an alternative view to that of the supposedly noble
\nsacrifice of the woman. Try telling girls and young women the
\nstories of the \"highly virtuous wife\" (usually a Javanese) who is
\nso \"virtuous\" that she even seeks out a younger companion for
\ntheir husband when she can no longer \"sufficiently\" care for him,
\nand they might just throw up in your face.<\/p>\n
Back to the female imam, it's been an eye opener just to learn
\nabout some of the pros and cons. Consider, for instance, the poor
\nmen who won't be able to concentrate on their prayers with a
\nwoman bowing and kneeling right in front of them, and this view
\ndoes not only come from the men classified as the experts. The
\nwoman's body is private, even if veiled, they say. Another view
\nsays it's not that women are less worthy of becoming imams, but
\nthat they have a different role.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, women like Wadud insist that women's voices
\nhave long been \"marginalized\" in Islam.<\/p>\n
So there you have it, a bit from both sides on a divisive,
\ncomplex issue. From the wider perspective, this is what we need
\n-- to hear out various arguments on different interpretations of
\nsensitive subjects, those who claim to be right and what others
\nsee as plain wrong. Please, don't just hang us for wanting to
\nknow.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/woman-imam-prompts-review-of-real-truths-1447893297",
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