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.