KOZHIKODE (KERALA): In a first for Kerala and perhaps for India, a Muslim woman led the Friday prayers on January 26 in Malappuram. State General Secretart of Qur'an Sunnath Society, Jamida said, “Nowhere does Islam stipulate that only a man can be an imam. The prayer was held at the organisation’s head office at Vengara, where a small group of men joined her, and ironically, there were no other women present. The act has predictably provoked negative response from conservative sections of the community who alleged a conspiracy by “anti-Islamic forces”.
Abdul Hameed Faizi Ambalakkadavu, State General Secretary of Sunni Yuvajana Sangham said, “Women can lead prayers for women but there is no tradition of a woman acting as imam for men. Islam has prohibited such male-female mingling to prevent chances of some wrong happening between them.” Jamida has revealed that following her prayers, threats have increased manifold against her, but she has decided to go ahead and organise such prayers in other parts of the state too.
'I have been criticised a lot by elders of various factions for taking this step. There are men who will not like women taking these positions and being empowered. But the Quran is clear - there is no discrimination between man and woman. They have equal rights,” she said. Jamida's achievement comes at a price. He has since a long time been receiving death threats for her strong opinion, and was even boycotted by several in Kerala capital Thiruvananthapuram. She had to initially leave the place and take shelter with a relative. It was after the Quran Sunnath Society invited her for a session that she gained back respect.
Established by Islamic scholar PK Abdul Muhammad Hassan Moulavi alias Chekannur Moulavi, the group is a revisionist Muslim sect in the state, that believes that the Quran alone matters and the Hadith are essentially extrapolations.
