WOMEN IMAMS

In a country with about 21 million Muslims, women also have their

own mosques to worship in

China distinguishes itself in the Muslim world with a long tradition of

female imams.

These imams or ahong – a Persian derived word – perform many of

the same duties their male counterparts do. They lead prayers and
teach the Qur'an but can’t lead funeral rituals or wash male corpses.

"In a country with about 21 million Muslims, women also have their
own mosques to worship in – another practice different from other
countries," said Shui Jingjun, of the Henan Academy of Social
Sciences who co-authored a book on the subject. Women
administered these mosques and women serve as the imams there.

In many other countries women attend the same mosques as men but
pray behind partitions or in separate rooms. Many women’s mosques
in central China began in the late 17th century as Qur'anic schools for
girls. Then about 100 years ago, they evolved into women’s mosques.

Female imams can earn as little as $40 a month which is one-third of

what’s earned in other jobs. This wage is not enough for women who
need to support their families. This worries third-generation imam
Sun Chengying who has been practicing for 21 years.

“I haven’t had any students since 1996,” she said. “Women don’t want
to be imams anymore, because the salaries in the mosques are too
low. No one is willing to do it.”

But the state-controlled Islamic Association of China has given

political help to establish some women’s mosques in northwest
China, where historically there were no such mosques.

While most Muslims in central China support female mosques, some

Muslims who live closer to China’s border with Pakistan and
Afghanistan don’t approve.

"Educating Muslim women is an important job," said Guo Baoguang

of the Islamic Association of Kaifeng. But Baoguang admitted he was
criticized for organizing religious education forums for Muslim men
and women to participate in together.
Guo dismissed comments that women shouldn’t take part in social
activities and should be restricted to the home.

“Given the fast development of China’s economy, and as its political

status rises, I think Chinese Islam will become more important in the
Islamic world,” Guo said. “The development Chinese Islam has made,
like the role played by Chinese women, will be more accepted by
Muslim elsewhere in the world.”

While Muslims may debate about whether women can be imams,

Morocco became the first country in the Arab world to officially
sanction training female religious leaders in 2006.

Original Source: ILLUME

Posted by Serenity at 5:51 PM 4 comments
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Labels: Female Imams in China, Female mosques in China, Islam and
female leadership