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Traditionally expected to worship only at home, many socialize, volunteer, pray in man's realm
By Hadeel Al-Shalchi
Associated Press
Published on Monday, Jan 05, 2009
CAIRO, EGYPT: Amira Khairy is mobbed by housewives kissing her cheeks in greeting as she arrives to give a lesson on reciting the Quran to women at the Al-Sedeeq mosque in a Cairo suburb. Students set up chairs for the class, and soon the hum of chanting female voices fills one of the building's larger chambers.
As many as 1,000 women might show up for the Quran lessons or twice-weekly religious lectures by women. On any given day, several hundred women buzz around the mosque, organizing clothing drives, cooking meals for the poor or teaching women to read.
All the activities are organized by women — not the mosque's male administrators. On one recent day, the only men seen in the building were workers doing renovations and worshippers who popped in to perform one of the five daily prayers required by Islam.
It's a startling sight in Egypt, where mosques have long been a man's realm. The few Egyptian women who appeared at mosques in the past had come to pray — usually in small, partitioned-off corners — or to make appeals at the shrines of holy figures, hoping for marriage, pregnancy or good grades for their children.
While men often socialize in mosques, women have traditionally been encouraged to practice their religion at home, where they can care for their children and husband.
''When I was young, we wouldn't even go to pray in the mosque,'' said Khairy, the teacher. ''It was a place for us to tour on holidays, like visitors.''
Now, with religiosity increasing in Egypt overall, more women want to engage in public prayer, increase their knowledge of Islam and do volunteer work in the community. Many Egyptian women already have had to balance their traditional place in the home with public roles at universities and jobs, so they tend to ask, ''Why not a place in the mosque as well?''
These women aren't Western-style feminists seeking to change the faith's teachings on women. But their presence is challenging assumptions on women's place and turning some mosques into women-friendly social hubs.
While no statistics exist on the increasing number of Egyptian women praying outside the home, several religious scholars in Cairo say there's a clear trend of more women attending mosques and playing a greater religious role.
Khairy is typical of many of the new breed of religious women. She is in her 50s, studied engineering at a university but rather than pursue a career, she married and stayed home to care for her children. About 10 years ago, she wanted to deepen her faith, so she and a group of women started meeting in each other's homes to memorize the Quran. More women joined the study circle, and several years ago they began meeting at the newly built Al-Sedeeq mosque.
Egypt is one of the most progressive Middle East nations on the issue of women attending mosques. In the Persian Gulf, many mosques have no space dedicated to women, and more women can be seen at prayers or Friday sermons in Egypt than in many other Arab countries.
Still, Egyptian women are often told, even by some female Islamic thinkers, that they should stay at home.
''The best place for a woman to pray remains her house,'' said one of them, Souad Saleh, who teaches at Cairo's Al-Azhar University, the pre-eminent Sunni Muslim institution for Islamic studies.
''It is better spiritually and generally more appropriate, since she will always be distracted by her children. There is really no need for women to go to the mosque,'' Saleh said.
CAIRO, EGYPT: Amira Khairy is mobbed by housewives kissing her cheeks in greeting as she arrives to give a lesson on reciting the Quran to women at the Al-Sedeeq mosque in a Cairo suburb. Students set up chairs for the class, and soon the hum of chanting female voices fills one of the building's larger chambers.
Get the full article here.
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