The mosque scene in the Western world is way different than what it was just 10 years ago. Around twenty years ago, there were not that many mosques in the United States or Canada. Immigrants often held prayer services in homes, when their Muslim community was small. As the Muslim community grew and the need to have a bigger and better place to pray, mosques were built. As the Muslim community faced backlash from communities in building the religious buildings, Muslim woman fought to be included in the Muslim community. Many American Mosques are founded by women. There still is an issue today in equal treatment for women in a mosques. Thanks to some of the women I mention below, women in the mosque have been able to gain equal spaces and participation on Mosque boards.
Women are the Future of Islam by Sherin Khankan Khankan is the founder of Mariam Mosque in Copenhagen and one of the world’s only female imams. This book is her journey to founding her mosque and becoming an imam, despite the death threats and attacks from the Leftist and Muslim parties. She addresses issues of radical Islamic and European groups, the right for Muslim women to divorce, and she dreams of educating a new generation of female imams.
Born with Wings by Daisy Khan A spiritual memoir of one woman who learns what Islam means to her while she and her husband fight for the right to establish the Ground Zero Mosque in New York City. An important book that sheds light on one of the most important time periods in Muslim American history.
Threading my prayer Rug by Sabeetta Rettman This is a book on a Pakistani American woman who moved to the United States during the 1970s. Rettman and her husband dealt with the challenges of raising two children up in American culture. During this time period, she was able to rediscover her religious side and help found a mosque. Creating the mosque from an old warehouse. From holding Ramadan in her house to helping establish the Ground Zero Masjid, the reader will learn what it’s like to be a Muslim woman in America.
Standing Alone by Ara Nomani There is no way to follow the American Muslim scene without hearing about Ara Nomani who created the Bill of Rights for women in Mosque. While I don’t agree with Nomani politically, her biography is a must read for Muslims and non-muslims alike. Nomani becomes a single mother, takes her baby on Hajj, and fights for equality in Mosques. The men of the mosque in 2004, the same mosque her father helped found, signed a petition to have her removed from the place of worship.
“The voices of women have been silenced through centuries of man-made traditions, and we are saying, no more, enough is enough, we are going to take our rightful place in the Muslim world. We are reclaiming the place that the Prophet Muhammad and Islam gave us in the seventh century, and we are going to be part of the solution…” state Nomani
Women are the Future of Islam
Laughing all the way to the Mosque by