http://www.arabnews.com/?page=13§ion=0&article=78796&d=5&m=9&y=2006
Tuesday, 5, September, 2006 (12, Sha`ban, 1427) Women in the Grand Mosque Aziza Al-Manie . Okaz The prayers in the two holy mosques can never be compared to conferences and forums held by people. At prayers we really cannot organize roles, define timings and arrange participation according to rank and importance. Praying at the two mosques is an ultimate act of worship that earns a person rewards multifold. Muslims always pray to God for His mercy and compassion and therefore they jump at the chance to visit either of the two mosques to worship. However, it has been heartbreaking and painful to learn of the proposed idea of shifting the present women's prayer area in the mataf (circumambulation area) at the Grand Mosque in Makkah to two other locations on the ground floor of the complex. Women are equal to men in their desire to be close to the Kaaba where their prayers are answered and where they can experience a better sense of devotion and closeness to God. Women are not all young beauties that rush to the mosque with an aim of seducing men. Among female visitors are the ill, the old, tormented widows, the handicapped and disabled, and the ones with problems desperately wanting God's help and mercy. They come from every corner of the world enduring the hardships of lengthy journeys and perhaps even spending their life's savings just to enjoy a few hours near the Kaaba. It seems that the panel that has made this suggestion is justifying their position on the basis of four things. To keep females away from crowded areas, to ensure privacy and safety, to ease the movement of people circumambulating around the Kaaba and to improve live broadcasting of the mosque through satellite TV. In my opinion, none of the above reasons are credible enough to implement the decision. Wanting to keep women away from crowded areas or achieving privacy are reasons that are neither rational nor logical. The Grand Mosque has a crowded nature. People visit the mosque day and night. Is preventing women from being in the mataf area the proper way of giving them privacy and safety from crowds? The idea poses another question. How come men's existence in the mataf area is not considered to be a source of crowding? There are no rules or laws that allow men the complete and exclusive possession of this holy area with the exclusion of women. We can't implement the same policies applied in ordinary mosques in the Kingdom to the Grand Mosque in keeping women in the areas at the back. It's a totally different case here that bears no comparison. As for improving the quality of satellite broadcasting, I don't think that this has more importance than females worshipping God in His mosque. Denying the rights of women being in the mataf is something that has never happened before in the history of Islam. Executing the decision will create a negative reaction among Muslim women around the globe. It will also confirm the assumption that Saudi Arabia is an extremist country that deprives women of their given rights. I hope that the authorities responsible for the two holy mosques give thought to this issue. I hope they look for more appropriate solutions to the issues they have stated - solutions that do not deprive any group of people of their rights. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ======================= Milis Wanita Muslimah Membangun citra wanita muslimah dalam diri, keluarga, maupun masyarakat. Situs Web: http://www.wanita-muslimah.com ARSIP DISKUSI : http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wanita-muslimah/messages Kirim Posting mailto:wanita-muslimah@yahoogroups.com Berhenti mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Milis Keluarga Sejahtera mailto:keluarga-sejahtera@yahoogroups.com Milis Anak Muda Islam mailto:majelismuda@yahoogroups.com This mailing list has a special spell casted to reject any attachment .... Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wanita-muslimah/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/