Liberal Berlin mosque to stay open despite fatwa from Egypt

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Liberal Berlin mosque to stay open despite fatwa from Egypt

Post by DJKeefy »

The founder of a new liberal mosque in Berlin that allows men and women to pray side by side has vowed to press on with her project even though the institution has been issued with a fatwa from Egypt and attacked by religious authorities in Turkey within a week of its opening.

“The pushback I am getting makes me feel that I am doing the right thing,” said Seyran Ateş, a Turkish-born lawyer and women’s rights campaigner, who does not wear a hijab. “God is loving and merciful – otherwise he wouldn’t have turned me into the person I am.”

The Ibn Rushd-Goethe mosque, named after a Muslim philosopher who defended Greek philosophy and a German writer fascinated by the poetry of the Middle East, opened its doors in Berlin’s Moabit district a week ago on Friday.

Housed in the side-building of a Protestant church, the mosque is open to Sunni, Shia, Alevi, Sufi and other interpretations of Islam but rejects visitors wearing the burqa or the niqab, which founder Ateş has describes as a “political statement”. On its opening day, a male and a female imam jointly led Friday prayers to a crowded room.

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A week later, the white-walled prayer room was noticeably emptier, with the seven-strong congregation almost matched by the number of security staff who guarded the exits and entrances with blue plastic covers over their boots.

Ateş, 54, said many of the previous week’s worshippers had decided to stay away because they feared incrimination against themselves or their families. Her own relatives in Turkey had asked her to drop the project because they worried about arrests.

The lawyer, who is currently training to become an imam, said she had received “300 emails per day encouraging me to carry on”, including from as far away as Australia and Algeria, but also “3,000 emails a day full of hate”, some of them including death threats.

Egypt’s Dar al-Ifta al-Masriyyah, a state-run Islamic institution assigned to issue religious edicts, issued a statement on Monday declaring that the Ibn Rushd-Goethe mosque’s practice of men and women praying side by side was incompatible with Islam, while the legal department of Egypt’s al-Azhar university reacted to news from Berlin with a fatwa on the foundation of liberal mosques per se.

Turkey’s main Muslim authority, Diyanet, said the new mosque’s practices “do not align with Islam’s fundamental resources, principles of worship, methodology or experience of more than 14 centuries, and are experiments aimed at nothing more than depraving and ruining religion”.

A social media post circulated among Germany’s Turkish diaspora community showed a photograph of a foot hovering over three copies of the Qur’an scattered across the floor at the mosque, claiming that they had been placed there by “Ateş and her accomplices”. One visitor at the inaugural event told the Guardian that she saw the books being placed on the floor by a man purporting to be a journalist.

Some Turkish media have even accused the project of ties to the movement of Fethullah Gülen, subject to a crackdown in the country after the attempted coup of 16 July 2016.

“In my darkest dreams I wouldn’t have expected that Turkey would try to portray us as Gülenists, claiming that I had praised Gülen in my speech,” said Ateş. “I have nothing to do with their movement. On the contrary: they represent an interpretation of Islam that is too conservative for us.”

She started Friday’s prayer session with an appeal for those critical of the mosque’s mission statement to say so in the open, saying: “I hope that this time people are brave enough to show their true face. Allah knows their true face anyway. And it is Allah to whom they are accountable, not us.”

Ateş, who moved to Germany as a child and came of age during Berlin’s counterculture scene of the 1980s, narrowly survived a shooting at an advice centre for Turkish women in the city’s Kreuzberg district when she was 21.

Describing the founding principles of Ibn Rushd-Goethe, she said: “Our idea of liberal Islam is that unlike orthodox and conservative practitioners, we do not believe that the written records of the Qur’an should be transferred word-for-word to the 21st century. We ask ourselves what the intentions were at the time and which parts can translated and explained in the 21st century.

“We want to work together with conservatives to do something against Islamist terror, to show that Islam is also a very peaceful, mystical and spiritual religion. Many people adhere to the Muslim faith not because of Isis or the Taliban or whatever, but also because it is a beautiful religion.”

One of the worshippers at Friday’s prayer was a British Sufi called Umar, who is usually based in south-west England but was visiting Berlin for the weekend and decided to visit the mosque after reading an interview with Ateş.

The 30-year-old said he did not have a problem with men and women praying side by side: “It’s dangerous to say there are definitive rulings,” he said. “We do not have the prophet anymore. These are confusing times for Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Anything we can do to improve accessibility is a good thing.”

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/ ... urqa-niqab


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Re: Liberal Berlin mosque to stay open despite fatwa from Eg

Post by Horus »

At least someone is trying to move Islam into the 21st century. :urm:
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Re: Liberal Berlin mosque to stay open despite fatwa from Eg

Post by Hafiz »

I thought I’d check out the Egyptian organization that issued the Fatwa.

They have a web site which is as informative on some things as it is obscure on others.

Its an organization established by the Egyptian state.

It discloses no names of its board/staff/researchers.

You can E-mail them for a fatwa – (a few lads might now be jamming them for the next few decades now that their role has been brought to attention).

It is part of the Egyptian Ministry of Justice.

It claims to be big on scholarship but publishes in no scholarly journals and has published no books. Its rulings rarely, if ever, contain references to published scholarship as an intellectual basis for its rulings.

It adds to confusion by being one of many who can publish world wide fatwa’s.

If it has published a fatwa on the Germans it has forgotten to post it in its fatwa section.

It is not clear what happens if its fatwas differ with for example, the Grand Mufti, Al Azhar or any of the others

Very helpfully it publishes this advice:
“Refuse intellectual dependence on leaders and elders. God Most High says: And they will say, Our Lord! Lo! we obeyed our princes and great men, and they misled us from the Way (Q 33:67). The Qur’an levels the responsibility for such dependence: but they did follow the command of Pharaoh, and the command of Pharaoh was no right guide. / He will go before his people on the Day of Resurrection and will lead them to the Fire; and wretched is the place where they are led (Q 11:97-98).” Maybe it should apply this advice to itself. On the other hand the government of Egypt might have a view on this matter and might need to bring this body into line by getting them to issue a fatwa obliging obedience in all cases.

There is also ‘helpful’ advice on the right to attend worship of menstruating women, images on TV and in photographs, can you allow the mother of your dead wife to continue to live in your house and does she need to be covered, are dogs and cats impure, is singing allowed, the buying and selling of dogs, do angles refrain from entering places where there is a dog, if you live in England and your dog has a bad cold can you give it alcohol for treatment, the just distribution of war booty, using Quran verses as ringtones and many other vital matters of morality, good living, life and death. Clearly dogs are a big bit of Islamic theology.

Its web site is in error when it states “the door of slavery was sealed in the 19th century with the consensus and approval of the Islamic world”. In fact slavery was only finally and formally abolished in Saudi in 1962 and may have existed into the 20th century in other Muslim countries such as the Sudan.

With an organization such as this the future of Islam is clear. http://www.dar-alifta.org/default.aspx

Their idea about what constitutes morality is as revealing as it is narrow.

On the issue of men and women praying together its important to note that conservative sects within western Jewry seperate the sexes.
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Re: Liberal Berlin mosque to stay open despite fatwa from Eg

Post by Mad Dilys »

Men and woman pray together inside the Grand Mosque in Mecca.
Smile! It confuses people
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Re: Liberal Berlin mosque to stay open despite fatwa from Eg

Post by Horus »

Mad Dilys wrote:Men and woman pray together inside the Grand Mosque in Mecca.
But do they not have to use a separate section from the men?
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Re: Liberal Berlin mosque to stay open despite fatwa from Eg

Post by Dusak »

I was told that they do ''pray together'', but the women are on a separate level.
Life is your's to do with as you wish- do not let other's try to control it for you. Count Dusak- 1345.
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Re: Liberal Berlin mosque to stay open despite fatwa from Eg

Post by Horus »

That was my understanding Dusak, so not quite "praying together" ;)
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Re: Liberal Berlin mosque to stay open despite fatwa from Eg

Post by BENNU »

Muslim author and activist Sherin Khankan talks to Farhad Mirza about her experience of opening Denmark's first women-led mosque.

https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/socie ... emale-imam

In August, Sherin Khankan, a well-known Muslim author and activist, opened Denmark's first women-led mosque, in a bid to "challenge patriarchal structures", and create a dialogue between religion and politics.

Born in Denmark to a Syrian Muslim father and a Finnish Catholic mother, Khankan is a sociologist of religion and philosophy, specialising in contemporary Islamic activism in Europe and the Middle East.

She is the founder and co-chairperson of Critical Muslims, an organisation that promotes female Muslim leadership, and has also stood for parliament as a candidate for the Radical Left Party.

With Maryam Mosque (the name alludes to Mary, the mother of Christ - a prominent figure in Islam and Christianity alike), Sherin and her fellow imams aim to build inter-faith bridges, provide a more welcoming atmosphere for female worshippers, and illuminate the theological diversity of the Islamic faith - frequently over-looked in an increasingly Islamophobic environment in Europe.


Could you tell us about your journey to becoming the first female imam in Denmark?



Khankan: Back in August 2001, I founded Critical Muslims, an association that promotes female Muslim leadership. We have a Sufi-oriented approach to the interpretation of Islam, and we believe in the separation of religion and politics; in the sense that we believe it is possible to be a Muslim and a secular at the same time - depending on how one defines secularism.

We define secularism as a debate between religion and politics, as opposed to the traditional definition of secularism as non-religiosity.

Then 9/11 happened, and suddenly the whole debate became centred on fear. People started to see Islam as a threat to western democracy, and I felt like this debate was lacking in nuance, given the vast diversity of religious belief within Islam.

Some forms of Islam might pose a threat to Western democracies, but others do not - however, this view of Islam as a static, homogeneous belief system is terribly flawed. So, I wanted to nuance the debate on Islam in Denmark, because I was experiencing how Islamophobia was starting to grow and manifest itself in Western societies.

In 2006, I wrote an article, titled The Muslim Manifesto, in which I raised the question of female imams and the need for institutionalising Islamic feminism. Last year, I felt the time was ready and I started to search for a building. I think that for a movement to become powerful, it needs to be institutionalised.

What we do in the Maryam mosque challenges the patriarchal structures of religious institutions. I wrote an article about it, and surprisingly, a donor called us and offered a building that was previously used by Spanish consulate. And here we are.

Challenging these deeply embedded patriarchal structures has provoked the outrage of some of your critics, such as Imam Waseem Hussein, chairman of Danish Islamic Centre, who believes that there is 'no need for a women's mosque'. What do you think constitutes this anxiety?

Yes, when you change these structures, you change the balance of power, and this why some people oppose what we are doing. But we are not here to de-legitimise any other mosque. This is simply about focus, about addressing an unmet need.

If a woman could lead the prayer at the time of the prophet, she is more than capable of doing it in Denmark in 2016


So, where are we on this theologically?

Since the time of the second caliph, Umar [634-644 CE], many Muslims have institutionalised the idea that an imam can only be a man. If you look at Islamic history, the first mosque was established by the Prophet Muhammad in his home - and he had allowed his wives Aisha, and Umm Salama to lead women in prayer.

This is written in the Hadith collection [traditions attributed to Prophet Muhammad], and Kitab-al Tabaqaat al-Kabir, a biographical lexicon by Ibn Saad (784-845 CE) that chronicles the lives of Muslim women in Medina at the time of the Prophet. Of course, this particular volume is excluded from the main literature on the subject

There is also the hadith of Umm Waraqa, a woman who had wanted to accompany the prophet to war, but was instead asked to stay back and lead prayers - which were mixed-congregation - at a mosque established in her home. This mosque was large enough to have an official status. We know this because there were two muezzins [people who deliver the call to prayer] there, so this was not a small, private congregation.

When Muslims today normalise and support patriarchal structures and institutions by not allowing women to give sermons or lead prayers, they are actually practicing the tradition of the second caliph, Umar, and not the Prophet himself. In Caliph Umar's time, house mosques developed into more official institutions. As people from different families and clans started to congregate together, the caliph excluded women from participating in Friday prayers.

It is important to understand that a mosque is a mosque and it fulfills the same purpose; whether in a house, or elswhere, it is still a place where we worship God as individuals, and community members. If a woman could lead the prayer at the time of the prophet, she is more than capable of doing it in Denmark in 2016.

Can you tell us about the experiences that made you, and other members of your congregation, feel excluded from male-led mosques, raising the need for Maryam Mosque?

The main idea of a mosque is to serve the community, so there has to be a need that the mosque fulfills. People are looking for a place to worship that champions inclusiveness, a place where they can worship without feeling judged or estranged.

Some of the mosques in Denmark have a traditional position on various issues and we have a new generation of Danish Muslims, some of whom feel alienated by these places.

They'll tell you that paradise lies at the feet of the mother, but they'll say very little on issues of real-life discrimination faced by many Muslim women


I guess people feel the need to have a deeper connection with the imam, and if you're a woman up in the balcony, and the imam is leading the prayer in the main hall, you feel a distance. There is no sense of a deeper communication between a female worshipper and a male imam, and I believe the job of the imam is not only to lead prayers and give sermons but to be a spiritual care-person.

That is the most important aspect of the job, and a bit more personal. Women who experience a crisis in their marriage, or are subjected to physical or mental violence, or who have questions on sexuality, identity, or raising children, prefer to speak to female imams because there is better communication between the two, and a greater sense of solidarity.

So we have found a niche, and we are trying to promote better communication between worshipers and spiritual care-takers. In fact, I am in my third year of becoming a psychologist-therapist, because I want to use cognitive tools in my work as an imam.

And of course, if a woman is not allowed to give a sermon, then all religious debates are filtered through the perspective of men...

Exactly. My next sermon at the mosque will be about women in Medina at the time of the prophet, and I don't think you'll find many male imams who give sermons on such issues.

They'll tell you that paradise lies at the feet of the mother, but they'll say very little on issues of real-life discrimination faced by many Muslim women.

Furthermore, we are trying to challenge Islamophobia. We believe it will be hard for people to hold on to the narrative that Islam is an oppressive religion, if they see Muslim women taking the lead and interpreting Islam in a way that is relevant to the dilemmas we face today.


Farhad Mirza is a researcher and journalist. His work has been featured in various media outlets including Al-Jazeera, Guernica Magazine and Middle East Eye.

Follow him on twitter @FarhadMirza01
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Re: Liberal Berlin mosque to stay open despite fatwa from Eg

Post by Hafiz »

Quote - Farhad ‘is mentioned in’ Middle East Eye and Al-Jazeera. Both are/were banned in Egypt. The third outlet Guernica is not currently banned in Egypt but does publish the writings of persons banned in Egypt and a deal of satire and cartoons about the leadership that would probably get you jailed if published in Egypt. I expect its likely to be banned in the future.

It’s a very small group of very liberal Muslims standing up to massive state and religious power and their chances of having a broader effect are close to zero.

Clearly the Turkish and other threats have led their group to dwindle to 7 persons which confirms other published views that Turkey keeps a very close eye on its overseas citizens and has the means to enforce its will in other countries.

Al Araby, which Bennu quotes, is also banned in Egypt and widely thought to be a brother support site.

So I think my point is that these people are under close scrutiny, their supporters have been frightened off by threats issued from ‘home’, they have been monitored and publicly denounced by the Egyptian state and they appear in magazines and newspapers that are banned, or soon will be, in Egypt. Their future seems clear.

To me the real story is not this is not about liberal currents in German Islam but rather that insignificant actions by marginal players in Europe are closely monitored by two governments which 'respond' massively and very quickly. The sub story is that these liberal ideas are otherwise published in web sites that are banned in Egypt which probably means that their views will not be known there nor will any news about the action taken to close them down. Its a near perfect information management system. Obviously some systems are working.
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