JEDDAH, 15 November 2004 â Police in Bahrain arrested a woman on Friday for disguising herself as a man and trying to deliver the Friday sermon at one of the largest mosques in the island state, Asharq Al-Awsat reported yesterday. ìThe 40-year-old woman, who had put on an artificial beard and mustache and was wearing full male dress, took her place in the first row of the mosque packed with 7,000 worshippers, and intended to deliver the sermon before the prayer,î the paper said quoting Sheikh Adnan Al-Qattan, the mosqueís imam. The people who had assembled there for prayer did not take long to discover that the new ìimamî was a woman and stopped her from climbing the ìmimberî or podium used by the imam to deliver the sermon. The woman is now under detention at Houra police station. One of the worshippers prevented the ìimamî from getting into the mimber. ìIn the ensuing jostle, the womanís beard fell off and this revealed her gender,î Qattan said. The woman was so powerful that four men could not control her. Finally, the worshippers overpowered her and handed her over to police. ìThe woman had prepared a sermon to deliver at the mosque,î the imam added.
Go Girl. Some news reports are saying she was mentally unstable. If so, can a sane woman please stand and deliver? A while back there was a rights of women in mosque email going around, anyone has a link to it? I am too busy to hunt that down.
Ah. Zack always has the goods.
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I want to see the text she prepared.
Yeah, when I read about this in the local papers a few days back I immediately recalled Asra Nomani’s “Take back your mosque” movement. But there aren’t enough details about this story yet. I’m still trying get to the bottom and find out what the actual deal is. Interesting.
Perhaps you should check Asra Nomani’s credentials before supporting her cause. I for one do not think I want to be one of those rallying behind a woman who wants to lead a prayer along with her illegitimate son.
Dan: You are more than welcome not to support her cause, just as she is more than entitled to promote it. And I have the right to withhold my judgement on anyone besides myself.