Blindspot!
From Issue: 588 [Read full issue]
Mosque Space
The Mosque is a religious space expressing a certain idea of authority, the substance of a discourse, and distribution of roles. Those three aspects are essential: they have an impact on Muslims' collective psychology and they radiate attitudes and behaviours in daily life. From the beginning, the place's accessibility, spatial distribution, and the involvement of women and men took on specific significance: the Prophet's mosque welcomed women, their educational commitment was similar to men's, and their social role was naturally recognized, like that of Um Salamah and Fatimah.
Mosques today are essentially men's place, and this does not correspond to the higher objectives of Islam's message. Indeed, some Prophetic traditions (ahadith) express the idea that it is preferable for women to pray at home, but the bulk of Islam's message as well as the Prophet's practice suffice to show that the mosque's space must absolutely be open to women. In the Medina mosque, men would line up in front and women at the back, because the postures of prayer require modesty. They were together in the same place, and women could express their views. In the course of history, the spaces have been separated, with sometimes different entrances to make access easier: those evolutions can be understood (they are due to culture, and to the considerable number of faithful flocking around bigger mosques) and it would be difficult to reverse the trend as far as space management is concerned (even though it would be a necessary step). However, what remains imperative is to allow women equal access to a place of worship that is clean, well-kept, and equipped with the sound system equal to that of the men's facility. This is not so today: not only do some mosques simply have no facilities for women, but when these are available, their state of upkeep is often shocking. During festival times, when the number of faithful increases, women's facilities may actually be taken over by men while women are invited to pray elsewhere or at home. In some Muslim countries or communities, women wait in the car while their husbands, brothers, or sons pray: nothing is available for them, and sometimes the time for prayer goes by and they cannot pray. This attitude speaks volumes about the underlying state of mind: this is simply not acceptable!
Compiled From:
"Radical Reform: Islamic Ethics and Liberation" - Tariq Ramadan, pp. 221, 222