Woman imam prompts review of real 'truths'

Woman imam prompts review of real 'truths'

Ati Nurbaiti, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

I would fight for my daughter's right to equal opportunity, to
equal rights in marriage and to divorce, and to make up her own
mind when voting. But leading a prayer gathering of men and
women? Now hold your horses ...

The possibility of a woman leading mixed gender prayers has
only become a bit of a nagging question sometimes. Catholics and
Christians have had their movements demanding that women be
ordained as clerics, but never Muslims, or so we thought.

Then about two weeks ago a report surfaced concerning an
organization called Muslim WakeUp! and its plans to have a woman
serve as imam and lead a joint congregation of men and women at
Friday prayers on March 18 in New York City. What? The next day
it became clear, it really did happen.

The photographs showed that behind Wadud, a professor of
Islamic studies, were men and women, and they weren't separated!
Blasphemy, shouted the demonstrators outside the synod house at a
church in Manhattan where the event took place (a church, at
that!). It was the only place that was willing to host the event
after death threats were made to those in charge of a venue that
had been proposed earlier. Hell awaits you, screamed one of the
placards.

Not only was there a woman imam leading men in prayer, but the
men and women were standing side by side, the women were not all
at the back -- a few were even in the front rows -- and some of
the more brazen women in the congregation weren't even wearing
headscarves! All unheard of in Islamic practice, from what we
know of it in this country, at any rate.

Those who say that a female imam leading mixed gender prayers
is permissible cite historical studies which they say reveal that
there was indeed a woman imam at the time of the Prophet
Muhammad; but all of his comments about the issue were burnt
(nice excuse for not providing evidence, the critics may say).

The organizers said that the leading of the prayers by Wadud
was an important landmark in their effort to "reclaim the voice
that the Prophet gave us 1,400 years ago." They had reason to
feel a sense of achievement, having gone ahead with the event
despite all the threats. One protester said, "In an Islamic
state, she (Wadud) would have been hanged."

Now, if you were told what is perceived to be the truth from
an early age, whether it's that the earth is flat, or that it's
prohibited or haram for women during menstruation to touch and
read the Koran (it's not, snorts my religious friend), then of
course you tend to believe it -- thus the protests were
understandable.

But how do you deal with this gap in the understanding of
Islam, even among Muslims themselves? From the perspective of a
woman in Indonesia, the issue here is not really about seeking
immediate answers -- let's leave that to the experts.

The issue is rather: This time around, could we actually hear
out all the arguments? Without too much condemning, shouting,
cursing and threatening until we just think it's a waste of time
even trying? After all, not many of us may really harbor
ambitions to become imams, first because most of us are not that
religious let alone knowledgeable enough to be a decent leader of
a big gathering, and, second, we come from a generation that
"knows" that women imams are only allowed to lead female-only
congregations.

The reason why we would be watching whether the public would
really be able to hear out all the arguments is because so far it
has not been allowed to do so. Consider the shelved draft of the
new Islamic law code drawn up by the Ministry of Religious
Affairs. We didn't even get the chance to discuss it. We only got
to hear how "satanical" and "comical" it was. The drafters, among
other things, were trying to have polygamy banned -- to the quiet
delight and relief of many women and the shock of many men.

But while debates rise and fade on religious issues, what
remains is skepticism, particularly among women, regarding all
that we've been hearing touted as "truths" in Islam.

Take polygamy. One sometimes hears the indignant -- or the
hushed -- view of housewives, female students and professionals,
who point to the second part of the sentence in the verse of the
Koran that allows polygamy ("as long as you can be fair" to all
your wives). These are women who know that the requisite for
polygamy of being fair to all the wives is rarely cited compared
to the first part of the verse saying that men can take up to
four wives.

This has contributed to skepticism and curiosity among some
women here -- "Ooh, what else are they hiding from us?" They're
all ears -- but shy away when all they hear is cursing instead of
rational argumentation on various controversial issues. At least
they now have an alternative view to that of the supposedly noble
sacrifice of the woman. Try telling girls and young women the
stories of the "highly virtuous wife" (usually a Javanese) who is
so "virtuous" that she even seeks out a younger companion for
their husband when she can no longer "sufficiently" care for him,
and they might just throw up in your face.

Back to the female imam, it's been an eye opener just to learn
about some of the pros and cons. Consider, for instance, the poor
men who won't be able to concentrate on their prayers with a
woman bowing and kneeling right in front of them, and this view
does not only come from the men classified as the experts. The
woman's body is private, even if veiled, they say. Another view
says it's not that women are less worthy of becoming imams, but
that they have a different role.

On the other hand, women like Wadud insist that women's voices
have long been "marginalized" in Islam.

So there you have it, a bit from both sides on a divisive,
complex issue. From the wider perspective, this is what we need
-- to hear out various arguments on different interpretations of
sensitive subjects, those who claim to be right and what others
see as plain wrong. Please, don't just hang us for wanting to
know.