Peaceful Religion Watch
Charles Johnson
Fri Mar 18, 2005 at 8:08 pm PST • Views: 428
A female Islamic scholar led a mixed-gender prayer service in New York today: Islamic woman sparks controversy by leading prayers. (Hat tip: Oldengr.)
NEW YORK - (KRT) - Defying centuries of Muslim tradition and sparking a firestorm of controversy, a prominent female Islamic scholar led a mixed-gender congregation in prayers here Friday to assert the theological validity of female-led prayer and to challenge the widespread belief that only men may be imams.
Amina Wadud, an African-American professor of Islamic studies at Virginia Commonwealth University and author of “Qur’an and Woman: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman’s Perspective,” also delivered the Friday sermon in a service conducted solely by women.
“I don’t want to change Muslim mosques. I want to encourage the hearts of Muslims, both in their public, private and ritual affairs, to believe they are one and equal,” said Wadud before the service.
A representative of the Religion of Peace™ also showed up, to call for Amina Wadud’s death. In New York.
Only a handful of protesters showed up outside the event and they conducted a counter prayer service on the sidewalk, led by a young American man who would only give his name as Nussruh. “These people do not represent Islam,” said the clearly furious Nussruh. “If this was an Islamic state, this woman would be hanged, she would be killed, she would be diced into pieces.”
He’s right, of course.
Frank says: