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Woman and the Masjid between Two Extremes
Louay Safi

The masjid, better known in North America as the Islamic center, is the cen-
ter of spiritual, social, educational, and, most recently, political activities of
the American Muslim community. The masjid is also the place where
Muslims of diverse cultural and ideological backgrounds meet and interact.
The diversity of interpretations of Islamic sources and practices has created
tensions, particularly in Islamic centers where the tendency is to impose
strict interpretations about the appropriate place and role of Muslim women
in the masjid and the community. 

An increasing number of young Muslim women complain of restrictive
arrangements and practices, impeding their ability to fully participate in edu-
cational and social programs. Many masjids today restrict the main prayer
hall to men and assign women to secluded quarters. Women are asking out
loud: “Is this the place Islam assigns for us, or is it the imposition of cultural
traditions?” Some have even gone to the other extreme of rejecting all tradi-
tions and discarding all limits.

For Believing Men and Women
The masjid is a place for spiritual growth and development for all Muslims,
and should be equally accessible for both genders. The Qur’an has set the
spiritual and moral equality of men and women in explicit and unequivocal
terms:

Louay Safi is the executive director of the ISNA Leadership Development Center (ILDC),
Plainfield, Indiana.  He also serves on the board of several leading Muslim organizations,
including the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID) and the Association of
Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS), as well as on the steering committee of the Muslim-
Christian Initiative on the Nuclear Weapons Danger. This article, which originally appeared
at http://aninsight.org/2005/03/woman-and-masjid-between-two-extremes.html, is reprinted
with the author’s permission. It has been lightly edited.



Allah has prepared forgiveness and great rewards for the Muslim men and
women; for the believing men and women; for the devout men and
women; for the truthful men and women; for the men and women who are
patient and constant; the men and women who humble themselves; for the
men and women who give charity; for the men and women who fast, for
the men and women who guard their chastity; and the men and women
who are exceedingly mindful of Allah. (Al-Ahzab 33:35)

Both men and women, the Qur’an stresses, have a moral obligation to
develop themselves spiritually and morally, and to fulfill their social respon-
sibilities. The masjid is, and has always been, the center of moral and spiri-
tual learning and growth. 

Likewise, the masjid is a public place for discussing issues of public
concern and to respond to challenges facing the community. The Qur’an is
also clear on the equal responsibility of both men and women for develop-
ing the public good:

The believing men and women are protectors and helpers of each other.
They (collaborate) to promote all that is good and oppose all that is evil;
establish prayers and give charity, and obey Allah and his Messenger.
Those are the people whom Allah would grant mercy. Indeed Allah is
Exalted and Wise. (Al-Tawbah 9:71)

Promoting public good and opposing evil are public duties equally
required from men and women, and the masjid is the place where Muslim
men and women can meet to plan community development and devise
strategies for promoting public good.

The Prophet Affirms Equal Access
During the formative years of Islam women participated in public services,
and shared the main hall of the Prophet’s masjid. Sharing the main prayer
hall allowed women to fully engage in public debate and influence decisions
affecting their lives and the life of the community. When the second caliph,
Umar ibn al-Khattab, wanted to put a cap on dowry, he was challenged by a
woman, who stood up in the middle of the masjid and pointed out that his
proposed policy violated Islamic law. He conceded and the proposed policy
was never carried out.

Although the Qur’an is clear on the spiritual and moral equality of men
and women, the Prophet, recognizing the tendency of some men to be over-

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138 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 23:1

protective of their female relatives, cautioned the Muslim community
against preventing women from frequenting the masjid:

Ibn Umar narrated: The Messenger of Allah, peace be with him, said: “Do
not deprive women of their share of the masjids, when they seek permis-
sion from you.” Bilal said: “By Allah, we would certainly prevent them.”
Abdullah said: “I say that the Messenger of Allah, peace be with him, said
it and you say: ‘We would certainly prevent them!’” (Sahih Muslim, Book
4, Number 891)

Ibn Umar also narrated: The Prophet, peace be with him, said, “Allow
women to go to the Mosques at night.” (Bukhari, Volume 2, Book 13,
Number 22)

Sidestepping Established Principles
The argument against women sharing the main prayer hall is based on the
principle of “corruption prevention” (dar’ al-mafasid). The principle states
that “whatever leads to unlawful practices (haram) is in itself unlawful.” The
principle, though not widely accepted by Muslim jurists, has been exten-
sively used to limit actions that are otherwise lawful under the Shari`ah. It
was invoked by some jurists to reject the use of the radio, the television, the
press, and other inventions because these were used to promote corrupt prac-
tices. Indeed, by invoking the principle of “corruption prevention,” many
good practices and devices could be declared unlawful, including the use of
the Internet and popular governance, as both are open to abuse.

Employing the “corruption prevention” argument, a number of masjids
have decided to assign secluded quarters for women and have placed many
restrictions on women’s use of the masjid’s facilities. In recent visits to three
Islamic centers, several Muslim women complained bitterly to me about
their experiences with community leaders. They complained of their inabil-
ity to participate in general lectures and discussions, of the quality of the
quarters assigned to them, and of their reliance on audio and video systems
that frequently cut them off from the ongoing lectures or discussions. 

Assigning women to separate quarters during lectures and discussions
does not “prevent corruption,” but rather “prevents education and spiritual
growth.” I have heard many accounts of women completely immersed in
conversations about shopping and cooking recipes during public lectures.
The seclusion gives some women the feeling of distance and separation,
and some women conclude that the events that take place in the main hall
do not concern them. In such instances, the women’s quarters become less



friendly to women who want to concentrate on learning and community
issues.

Not all masjids embrace a mandatory seclusion policy. Many leading
masjids, such as the Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS), ensure that
women share the main hall, participate fully in learning and consultation,
and take active role in running the masjid. Women serve on the executive
board of ADAMS and on its board of trustees. Five of the 13 Board of
Trustees members are women, and the ADAMS vice president is a woman.
While ADAMS gives full access to women to use its main prayer hall, it still
permits women who want privacy to stay in a separate quarter, thereby
ensuring that those Muslim women with different needs and convictions
have place in the masjid.

Preventing women from exercising established rights or undertaking
duties cannot be justified under argument of “corruption prevention.” This
argument was used at the formative stage of Islamic society, but was
rejected by early Muslims. Abdullah bin Umar rejected this same argument
of prevention:

Ibn Umar reported: “Grant permission to women for going to the mosque
in the night.” His son, who was called Waqid, said: “Then they would
make mischief.” He (the narrator) said: “He thumped his (son’s) chest and
said: ‘I am narrating to you the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (may
peace be upon him), and you say: No!’” (Sahih Muslim, Book 4, Number
890)

Problems with Women’s Seclusion
Assigning women a separate and secluded space does not only go against
Qur’anic injunctions and the practices and directives of the Prophet, peace
be upon him, but is detrimental to the spiritual and moral growth of women
and the development of the community.

Preventing women from gaining direct access to the main hall of the
masjid, where lectures and study circles take place, deprives them from tak-
ing active role in learning. In addition to the psychological and emotional
feeling of not taking active part in the meetings, the ability to interact with
the speakers, to ask questions and offer comments, is impeded. 

Secluding women deprives the emerging Muslim community of a grow-
ing number of young Muslim women who do expect, and rightly so, that the
masjid does not take away their right to take active part in serving the com-
munity. When legitimate expectations are not met, and when the customs

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140 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 23:1

and cultural traditions are given priority, they often force women to stay
away from the masjid, and hence from Islamic learning and activities.
Elevating the cultural traditions and customs of immigrants works against
the very mission of the masjid, as it becomes an impediment for educating
people of other faiths about Islam. Historically, Islam found home in differ-
ent communities throughout the world because of its ability to accommodate
local customs and cultures, as long as they are not in conflict with Islamic
teachings. Immigrant communities would be betraying their mission and
trust if they insist on imposing their customs and cultural traditions. 

Women and Masjid’s Governance
Women’s leadership in the community is another contentious issue. Women
have assumed, in some Islamic centers, key leadership positions by serving
on the executive boards and leading key committees, while they are kept at
arm’s bay in others. Although Islam recognizes the capacity of women to
enjoy equal moral responsibility, as we saw earlier, many Muslim commu-
nity managed, nonetheless, to curtail women’s participation in public duties
on social and rational grounds. The degree of limitations placed on women’s
ability to serve in public capacity varies across historical periods and fiqhi
schools. 

Early jurists disagreed as to whether women can assume public office;
while Ibn Jarir al-Tabari placed no limitations on women’s right to assume
the post of judge in all legal matters, al-Mawardi contended that women can-
not be allowed to serve as judges under any circumstances. In between
stands Abu Hanifah, who allowed women to serve as judges except in cases
involving commercial deals.

To their credit, early Muslim jurists recognized women’s rights to serve
in public capacity at times when many women had limited involvement in
public life and limited exposure to public service. Contemporary Muslim
jurists should ensure that the original Qur’anic position of equal spiritual and
moral rights and obligations is respected and advanced in today’s society.
This is more pressing today as the question of women capacity to exercise
leadership and serve the community is put to rest through impressive track
record of Muslim women achieving in the academia, professional work, and
community service.

Our masjids must reflect the leading role played by American Muslim
women by ensuring that they are represented on the masjid board and join
the ranks of leadership. The importance of women taking active part on the



executive board and in executive committees is further underscored by the
need to represent concerns that cannot be expressed except by women, who
feel the impact of decisions made by the masjid on the quality of life and
participation of other women. 

Swinging to the Other Extreme
Several feminist Muslims, supported by a network of progressive activists,
have been pushing the pendulum to the other extreme. Their solution for
limiting women to secluded quarters and their marginalization in ultra-
conservative masjids is to open the masjid to a mixed congregation led by
women. The Progressive Muslim Union has already announced a mixed
congregation to be led by Amina Wadud this month in New York. It is unfor-
tunate that Muslim feminists are following in the footsteps of their secular-
ist precursors, breaking all traditions, and engaging in experiments that
break with formative principles and values. For individuals and movements
interested in reforming attitudes and practices to take the opposite extreme
can only hurt the reform agenda already underway throughout North
America. 

The recent push to break with community and tradition goes far beyond
any reform agenda. Reform requires that one articulate the foundational
principles and then engage the larger Muslim community in dialogue to cre-
ate a new awareness and to translate the articulated principles into a living
tradition. Reform aimed at critically engaging Muslim traditions must stick
closely to the Qur’an and prophetic practices in order to clarify Islamic
injunctions and established prophetic traditions. The Progressive Muslim
Union’s leaders have apparently decided to push the envelope beyond all
limits and operate in revolutionary, rather than a reformist, mode.

It is quite apparent that Muslim reformers, concerned with evolving the
practices of the American Muslim community and ensuring the full and
meaningful inclusion of women in community life, must navigate their way
by maintaining a middle ground away from extremist tendencies and the
extremely conservative tendencies that are obsessed with preserving cul-
tural traditions even at the expense of distorting Islamic teachings, and from
extreme liberal outbursts that want to break fully with all traditions and
delve into an empty space with no directions and road signs.

Safi: Woman and the Masjid between Two Extremes 141