Woman imam leads Friday prayers in Kerala mosque
Until last week, Abdul Azeez Moulavi, who is also a member of the society, had been leading the Friday prayers at the mosque.
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Jamitha said she had faced threats to her life in the past when she spoke against the priests on instant triple talaq and religious conversion. (Express photo/Nirmal Harindran/Representational)
A Muslim woman in Kerala associated with a progressive religious organisation has created a history of sorts by leading Friday namaz at a mosque in Malappuram district. On Friday, K Jamitha (34), the general secretary of the Khur’aan Sunnath Society, led the namaz at Vandoor in Malappuram. The Friday prayers, held on the premises controlled by the society, was attended by 50 people. Normally, men lead the Friday prayers at mosques.
Jamitha later said: “The Muslim community is under the clutches of priests who are against progressive thought and movements in the community. They are dead against changes and progress. The Quran does not differentiate between man and woman. It speaks only about the faithful. But Islam has become a religion in which women are being oppressed. By leading the namaz, I wanted to fight against the dominance of priesthood in the community.’’
The Khur’aan Sunnath Society interprets Islam based on Quran. Until last week, Abdul Azeez Moulavi, who is also a member of the society, had been leading the Friday prayers at the mosque. At Vandoor, all denominations of Muslims have separate mosques. So, the incident did not trigger any protests.
Jamitha said she had faced threats to her life in the past when she spoke against the priests on instant triple talaq and religious conversion. “After leading the namaz, I haven’t got any threat from anyone. The orthodox elements in the community are not ready to face an ideological discourse on the issue. They would try to physically target me or tarnish my image by character assassination,’’ Jamitha, who was a teacher at private school, said.
Sunni leader Nazar Faisy Koodathai said the society does not have any backing from the Muslim community in Kerala. “This is a stray incident, which does not have the backing of religion. Community leaders and scholars would do better to neglect this development. We don’t even want to debate this deviation,” he said.
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