Salaam alaikum everyone, insh'Allah you're all doing well and are in a great state of health and iman.
One of my friends on Facebook shared an interesting article about some changes that are going to be made to Turkish mosques. Read it HERE
Personally, I'm very happy that something like this is going to be done. Mosques are not only for men...but for men AND women! Unfortunately, this is something that a lot of people seem to have forgotten in our ummah, which is so sad. Not having a separate wash room for women to make wudu is just absolutely ridiculous. It's also unacceptable for men to be offered a wide, open, clean, and beautifully ornamented space in which to worship Allah(swt), yet all women get is a cramped, dirty little corner. A lot of people seem to use the excuse that it's "better for a woman to pray at home anyways" not to offer nice women's areas in mosques. However, these same people also seem to forget that the Prophet Muhammed(saws) said “Do not prevent the female servants of Allah from the Mosques of Allah.” [Sahih Muslim, Book 004, Number 0886] However, this is exactly what these people are doing by not providing an acceptable prayer space for women within the mosque!
As for taking down the barriers...personally, I like having a barrier. I know that some sisters do not, and feel that it is sexist, but I find that it helps me to concentrate, and I like the added privacy. I'm also aware that in the time of the Prophet(saws), men and women didn't have any barriers between them in the masjid. However, I have been to masjids both with and without barriers...and I always felt weird at the ones that didn't have at least a curtain separating the brothers from the sisters...mostly because certain brothers can't seem to be able to keep their eyes to themselves, may Allah(swt) guide them -_-' All the mosques that I've been to in Morocco have a barrier, but you can still hear the imam nice and clear. Usually, the women's areas in Moroccan masjids are on a balcony above the men, and have a decorative wall in front of them so that brothers below cannot see in. They have also all have had separate toilet and wudu areas, separate entrances, and they have all been clean and spacious (with the exception of a few which were a bit crowded...but it might have just been because it was Ramadan, and the mosques are always crowded during Ramadan...heck, I had to pray Eid al Adha prayer this year on the SIDEWALK outside the masjid because there were so many people attending, subhan'Allah!) Anyways, Morocco gets a thumbs up in my book for their women's areas in their mosques. Heck, a lot of them are 100 times better than some of the women's areas I've been to in AMERICAN mosques.
In short, I'm so glad Turkey has decided to make its mosques more women friendly, the way mosques should be.
Very interesting blog! I stumbled upon it while viewing your Arabic writing vids. Am not Muslim but am very interested in Islamic art and culture.
ReplyDeleteYukirat: Thank you so much for stopping by my blog and for taking a look at my (very old LOL) videos ^_^ I'm really glad you found them interesting! I think that Islamic art, like all art, can be admired by anyone for its beauty, regardless of religion or culture.
ReplyDeletei did not complete reading the article because it's too much ..lol. but i think i refer this to the Islamic waken up in turkey with the coming of an Islamic party to the leadership . for you in morocco,it was not really surprising me that the mosques there are set up great for women to come to pray daily, because women there are participating more in the society and the society have less sensitivity toward women going out to pray that you can find bigger and much more sensible in other places.
ReplyDeleteIt's true that women tend to be a lot more active in society here in Morocco as compared to a lot of other Muslim-majority countries, so I guess it does make sense. I myself prefer praying at home, but I do occasionally go to the mosque, especially during Ramadan and Eid, but I do like having the option of a nice, inviting prayer space in the mosque if I do choose to pray there. Btw, I'd be interested in knowing how the mosques in Saudi are. I've heard that in some areas there are men-only mosques that don't even have a space for women to pray in...is that true?
Deletemuch like any mosque in your mind ! :D , Saudi Arabic is much different in building designs and roads than all of north Africa, in north Africa the buildings are more liked to be European style, either french or Spanish or Italian or even Turkish like in Egypt for instance. in Saudi the modern cities and buildings are big and wide with less decorations you can say it's more like Canada and the united states than Europe . with mosques, mosques here are big and less stylish comparing to mosques in north Africa, less colors, you can say only 2 or 3 colors you see in the whole mosque, less decorated without any islamic calligraphy and if there is, there would be only one writing upon the Imam place ( al Miharb ). you can summarize this to mosques here are built on Salafi, Wahhabi way in building mosques ( dunno if you know what does this mean ), some mosques have places for women some do not, but if there is a place for women it would be the second floor most likely . it is funny is not it? the mosques are Salafi and the buildings and roads are American .. :D anyway this is Saudi. hope this answers you a bit .
DeleteThat's really interesting! All the mosques I've seen here have the women's area on the second floor...and yes, they're VERY ornate and elaborate. That's interesting that Saudi mosques tend to be very plain and minimalist...I guess so as not to distract people from their prayers? And yes that is kind of ironic lol. Maybe I'll do a post with pictures of some of the different mosques in Casablanca...if I can manage to take some without looking like a weirdo tourist HAHAHAHA XD
Deleteexactly !! for not to distract prayers while they're praying. Salafi najddi (najed is the name of the hill in middle of the Arabian peninsula where the Wahhabi came out from, just the opposite of "Hijaz" which is the name of a series of mountains strap in the west side of Arabia, and within them Mecca & Madinah are located ), i said salafi are so strict when it comes to inside mosques, they follow what the prophet's companion "Omar" recommendations in building mosques say not to add "red and yellow " colors so you abstract prayers attention while they're whispering to God.it's more like conservatives Muslims who care about this and it came from both side, i mean this love for plain un-ornated buildings came from both side , religion and nature way, people of Arabia love most of things plain and simple in their life,if you ever have a look to old mosques here like 150 years and prior you would see a building that only exist and belongs to the first Islamic century!! , just plain and simple walls made of mud and hays and the ceiling is either big tree trunks or just palms leaves!! they do not like decorations much and this flow was doubled with religion, hope u got my point . but this actually does not apply or work with the two holy mosques in Mecca and Madinah !! they both are tremendously so decorated and ornated since a very long time ago prior the Wahhabi conservative brain had gotten formed .
DeleteWe women of Pakistan also don't go to Masjid.Few are arranging but it is all very new to us.
ReplyDeleteInteresting article.
Follow each others blog.
Thank you for coming by my blog and commenting :) That's interesting that women in Pakistan don't go to the mosque...is it more because of the cultural attitude there that prevents them from doing so, or because they prefer to pray at home?
DeleteI will definitely check out your blog, insh'Allah :)