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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Women Build Own Mosque |
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| timbuktu |
| 12/22/03 at 07:35:04 |
| [slm] don't know where this should go: Naseeha, Bebzi, Akhwat or Ummah. Mods feel free to move it around. [center]http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/1649/context/outrage[/center] Women Build Own Mosque Run Date: 12/20/03 (WOMENSENEWS)-- A group of women in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu have decided to build the first all-female mosque in the country to counteract what they say are male-dominated rulings by "jamaats," congregations that meet in mosques and settle disputes. Chaaya, an organization of village women, obtained the land and the permission to build the mosque, which will house its own jamaat, reported the Hindustan Times. Under Islamic law, women are normally banned from entering a mosque. The group of women took action after finding that the male-dominated jamaats often handed down verdicts favoring men in family disputes, particularly in divorce cases. "When a man seeks divorce, only his case is heard by the jamaat. The wife is never called for a hearing, saying that women are not permitted inside mosques, where jamaats usually sit," said Sherifa, who convenes Chaaya. Members of Chaaya believe building their own mosque is crucial to obtaining fair decisions in marital and divorce matters. "A survey conducted by us showed that in one out of every five Muslim households, there is at least one case of desertion by the husband or instant talaq (divorce) or second marriage by the man, citing some mental or physical disability of the first wife," said Rasheeda, a Chaaya member. "And when these matters were taken to the police station, they asked us to settle them with the jamaat, which are controlled by men." |
| 12/22/03 at 07:35:37 |
| timbuktu |
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