Women in Jama'at.

By now, many in the Muslim community have become aware of groups of women demanding their rights to make salah in full jama’ah in the masjid. While cultural tradition has women divided from men by use of a physical divider or even placing them in a separate room, they assert the belief that this is not part of the sunnah and is actually a form of bid’ah. Some have taken a distaste to their actions and the methods they utilize, others have lauded them and congratulated them on what is seen as a kind of bravery. They’ve not only taken an unpopular stance but they’ve also tried to revitalize a portion of Islam that’s been left behind. Though this in itself is has been worthwhile, there are other things in the actions taken by these groups that makes one wonder if their movement is purely Islamic or only partially so.
The first issue that comes to mind dealing with the Islamic legitimacy of this movement are the names that appear in the groups. Certain figures within the group have a history of being “cafeteria Muslims” using portions of Islam when it benefits them while leaving other parts of Islam out when it’s not so good a fit for their personal whims. On the issue of women, they say that Islam guarantees women’s rights, which is true, but they go further to try to stifle things Islamic claiming “Islam needs to be modernized” rather than “Muslims need to be modernized”. They see themselves as “progressive” but their form of “progress” is adapting themselves to what the status quo accepts whether it be right or wrong. These types are reminiscent of colonized subjects who saw progress and development as becoming closer in behavior to their colonizers while leaving their own native/cultural behavior in the texts of history. They are moved more from insecurity and with a desire to fit in rather than to be on firm and solid ground.
The second issue coming to mind deals with the reliance of the organizers on media to get their message spread out. There’s nothing wrong with using various sources of media, whether it be print, radio, tv, etc., to inform the public of what’s happening. The problems pop up when the media that’s being used is the same media that maligns the general Muslim public day after day. One has to wonder, if the media has been antagonistic towards Muslims repeatedly, what difference in approach would they take? Why would they lend a sympathetic ear to Muslim issues and spread it out to the public so the average person also has a sympathetic feeling? In reality, the same antagonistic media is going to use such a situation to benefit its own cause. So, as the media claims Islam is unjust to women and treats them as inferiors, these forms of media will use this movement as evidence of the unjust behavior towards women. A fair and as unbiased as possible hearing won’t be given and so relying on mainstream media outlets will serve more to denigrate Islam (as is continually being done) than to give a voice to the Muslimat who claim they want their rights.
As we are given rights in Islam, we ought to preserve them and if someone is taking them away from us, we have the right to have it returned back to us. However, we can’t claim that we’re preserving our Islamic rights when we’re least concerned about Islam and more concerned about the “rights” that fit our whims. It’s hypocritical to say that we support something or someone when we see great personal opportunities within it but then revoke our support of a thing when we don’t like it and it doesn’t allow us to do what our desires plead for. For the reasons outlined above, I’d greatly hesitate in supporting this movement because unfortunately, it seems like there’s more interest in doing the popular thing rather the Islamic thing.