Kerala imam is firm over move to allow women into mosques - The Times of India

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In a path-breaking move, the Palayam imain defied protests and
announced special arrangements for prayers in the mosque by Muslim
women in this city during the Ramzan period.

The Sunny Yuvajana Sangham (SYS) launched a fiery protest against
the imam, P K.K Ahmedkutty Maulavi. The district sangham leaders
claimed the imam was not vested with powers to Initiate such
action. They said the imam did not enjoy the ecclesiastical powers
that an Archbishop commands among the Christians.

But none of the 286 Muslim jamaaths in Thiruvananthapuram district
backed the SYS in the campaign against the imam who is known to be
a progressive scholar and is respected for his erudition.

Replying to the protesters who marched to the mosque some days ago,
the imam asked the leaders if they could produce solid evidence
about the impropriety of his action. "No holy book prohibits women
from praying in the mosque. The right of women cannot be denied
merely because this practice has not been prevalent," he said.

The district SYS president Abu Saiyed's contention that there
should' be -no break in the tradition barring women from praying in
the mosque, did not cut ice with the imam.

The imam announced that henceforth women would be allowed to pray
in the mosque at any time they chose, not just during Ramzan.
Several women are now seen accompanying their husbands to the
evening prayers.

"Some misguided and ignorant people continue to cling to their
obsolete beliefs which do not have the sanction of religious
authority. We will not do anything un-Islamic but equality between
genders is not questioned in the holy scriptures. why complain
then?" he told The Times of India when asked his opinion of the
protests. The imam recalled that there had even been a demand for
the use of the Arabic language in the mosque instead of Malayalam.
He declared that he would not budge from his stand.

The imam's action has been hailed by women's organisations in
Kerala. Subeda Hassan, a bank employee, remarked, "The imam sahib
has done us a great service. The protesters should know that they
are born of women. Why the discrimination?"

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