Historic occasion as Open Mosque prayers to be led by all-women group

Cape Town - In an unprecedented move, Jumuah Friday congregational prayers by The Open Mosque will on Friday be led by an all-female group.

This will be held and hosted in conjunction with the Oxford Institute for British Islam (OIBI) and is set to be streamed to a worldwide audience.

In a statement, the Open Mosque – described as autonomous, non-sectarian, gender-equal, inter-racial and unaffiliated to any specific school of thought (madhab) ideology or denomination – said they were happy to co-host the historic open-air service.

“For the first time, the weekly Friday worship in Islam will be led and performed exclusively by leading feminist Muslim scholars for a non-segregated and entirely mixed-gendered congregation.

“Professor Elham Manea, from Zurich University, who specialises in Shari'ah Law will deliver the khutbah (sermon) on Women and the Mosque and also conduct the congregational prayers. Ani Osman-Zonneveld, a noted Islamic activist and acclaimed singer, will melodically recite the adhan or call to prayer.

“This historic open-air religious service takes place in the lovely tranquil gardens of St John's College, Oxford University at 1pm UK time (2pm SA time)…It is a gigantic step in advancing genuine female empowerment and gender parity in Islam,” the statement read.

Reacting to the planned event, the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) said they “reserve our comments on the matter at this time”.

Cape Town Ulama Board’s Mufti Sayed Haroon Al Azhari said their views did not align with that of the Open Mosque.

“Islam has and will always hold diverse views, which may or may not be accepted by other Muslim persuasions. The Cape Town Ulama Board together with the vast majority of the South African Muslims do not align with the views of the open mosque.

“Discussions of Islam, gender-politics and women (who are also Muslim) form part of a greater and politically-charged discourse in which Islam is largely described as archaic.”

According to the OIBI’s website, it conducts weekly hybrid Friday prayers at 1pm with Cape Town’s Open Mosque, based in Wynberg.

Detailing what to expect from the event, the website read: “These liberal and progressive prayers and forward-looking sermons are derived from an exclusive Qur'anic-centric provenance. They combine the sacred scripture's pertinent spirituality with topical worldly secularity.

“Original, solely scripturally-based,, thought-provoking theological analyses are complemented by salient philosophical input and intrepid politico-social commentary.

“With this bold and novel approach, OIBI's trailblazing Friday congregational service embraces both uplifting spiritual facets as well as conspicuous secular dimensions.”

Cape Times