French Muslim women push for ‘inclusive’ mosque in Paris
January 12, 2019 2023-06-13 12:54French Muslim women push for ‘inclusive’ mosque in Paris
Two Muslim organizations in France have launched projects to create “inclusive” mosques: spaces where women and men can pray together, and where female imams would be able to lead Friday prayers. There is some support for women imams in Britain and Spain, but so far Germany and Denmark are the only European countries that have more progressive mosques where women and men can pray side by side.
The Mariam mosque, which opened in Copenhagen in early 2016, welcomes worshippers of both sexes; Friday prayers are reserved for women. Berlin’s Ibn Rushd-Goethe ‘liberal’ mosque opened in June 2017. Prayers are held in German in a building belonging to the Protestant community.
Despite positive media coverage, its female imam, Seyran Ates, a well-known lawyer and human rights militant says she has suffered ongoing threats and lives under police protection.
