c. 2006 Religion News Service

NEW YORK _ Feisal Abdul Rauf, the latest in a family line of imams, weaved through the crowd of chattering women, balancing four cups of coffee on a cardboard tray. Arriving at his table, where he was the only man, he passed the coffees around, wearing a sly grin.

The scene contrasted with popular notions of Islamic religious leaders clinging to antiquated gender roles, and Muslim women as sorely oppressed. A religious leader serving women may not be an image that comes to many minds _ either Muslims or non-Muslim.

Yet that’s exactly what happened this past weekend (Nov. 18-19), when close to 200 women from more than 20 countries gathered here for the Women’s Initiative in Spirituality and Equity. Their goal: to create an all-female Islamic council to advocate for women’s concerns, and fund women’s projects around the world, including scholarships to educate Muslim women.

The shura, or consultative, council envisioned here would re-examine religious texts that have been used to oppress women. It would also issue religious edicts, or fatwas, that reflect female interpretations on sex, marriage, divorce, household authority and other issues. The hope is those opinions would be considered by governments and religious authorities that make laws or render decisions to communities.

While participants projected an air of confidence and enthusiasm fueled by sisterly bonding and the discovery of new allies, many acknowledged internal divisions _ not to mention the challenges of confronting an entrenched patriarchy in an effort to persuade men to change their attitudes.

Muslim women were once afraid to discuss such practices for fear of “airing your dirty laundry,” said Ingrid Mattson, who in September became the first woman elected president of the Islamic Society of North America.

“I think we’re beyond that,” said Mattson, who also heads the Islamic chaplaincy program at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut. “Speaking publicly about issues of injustice is not a bad thing; in fact, it’s necessary to resolve them. The movement is the confidence to say, `Yeah, we can talk about these issues, and not fall apart and lose our faith.”’

While women said there was more than enough talent to create such a council, many questioned whether men would listen.

“We need more women interpreting Islamic law, but that in and of itself will not change how men behave,” cautioned Laila Al Zwaina, an Islamic law expert from the Netherlands who spoke at the conference.

In recent years, Muslim women have raised their voices against what they see as marginalization by almost exclusively male religious authorities who have interpreted Islamic texts in sometimes misogynous ways. As a result, women are denied leadership positions in American mosques, women are subjected to “honor killings” in Turkey and rape victims are punished for adultery in Pakistan.

Around the Muslim world, there are hints of change. Last summer, 50 women in Morocco graduated from a seminary previously reserved for men. In Turkey, religious leaders declared a number of misogynous sayings attributed to Muhammad to be invalid. And after Saudi Arabian leaders announced they would restrict women’s access to the Kaaba, one of Islam’s holiest sites in Mecca, worldwide protests forced them to reverse their decision.

“You have to fight for change,” said Zainah Anwar, an official with Sisters in Islam, an advocacy group in Malaysia. “Change comes with a fundamental belief that God is just.”

Rauf, the coffee-carrying imam, said patriarchy in the Muslim world is exaggerated and Muslim men are willing and able to accept women as equals. It’s just a matter of presenting them with women-friendly interpretations of Islamic texts, he said.

“Most Muslim men’s hearts are already there; what is needed is an explanation,” said Rauf, a New York City imam. “They know what is right. But they don’t have the Islamic arguments for it.”

Rauf said the Quran is replete with references to women’s equality. Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, whose ways Muslims try to emulate, sewed his own clothes, swept the floor and did other household chores, for example.

Yet Muslim women have their own internal divisions. Many women at the conference had sparred over whether women should lead men in prayer, and whether the veil is a tool of oppression or an expression of modesty. Indeed, bringing opponents under the same roof was heralded as one of the conference’s successes.

“There are clearly people who agree and disagree here, but everyone has the goal of gender equity,” said Saleemah Abdul-Ghafur, a Muslim American activist who last year helped organize a controversial women-led prayer session in New York.

“Those who are liberal among us have bent over backwards to accommodate conservative points of view, and we’re constantly apologizing for our liberalism, and we never get the same kind of tolerance and accommodation from them,” said Mona Eltahawy, an Egyptian journalist based in New York who has written in favor of woman-led prayer and against face coverings. “To sit down at a place like this, and say, `I disagree with you on everything, but at least we’re together and are able to have a civil conversation,’ that’s what you take home.”

Mattson, who opposes woman-led prayer, said getting the different ideologies under one roof didn’t mean unity. Then again, she said, unity isn’t necessarily the goal.

“I’m not afraid of conflict,” said Mattson. “I don’t believe in the myth of women’s solidarity, that we’re all holding hands and singing happy songs together. We’re going to disagree over issues, sometimes vigorously, and we shouldn’t fear that.”

KRE/PH END SACIRBEY

Editors: To obtain file photos of Ingrid Mattson, go to the RNS Web site at https://religionnews.com. On the lower right, click on “photos,” then search by subject or slug.