A local mosque in Bristol has used `Eid celebration to open a new space for women to pray in the mosque, following many requests for one.
Easton Jamia Mosque in Bristol will also offer children’s activities and street stalls on St Marks Road.
“There was a lot of demand that we need to open up a space that was dedicated to the sisters and children,” said Abdul Malik, chair of Easton Jamia Mosque, The BBC reported.
“There are a lot of people who want to use the mosque who maybe don’t want to come to the men’s section.”
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Muslims pray five times a day, with each prayer made up of a series of postures and movements, each set of which is called a rak‘ah.
The five prayer times are divided all through the day which starts with Fajr prayer at dawn.
While men should pray at mosque, there is no obligation for women to pray in congregation. Yet, many Muslim women feel asked for their special place inside the mosque to feel connected to the community.
“But we feel that as a mosque, if there is the demand, of course we should accommodate that,” Abdul Malik added.
“I think on St Marks Road we’ve always been a community that comes together, where diversity is celebrated.
“Today is about bringing the Muslim community together but it’s also about showing off the mosque and making sure everyone knows that this space is available to them.”
Women & Mosques
Muslim scholars have treated the issue of women’s places at the mosque with more and proper attention and have maintained that Muslim women should be allowed to frequent mosques, and it is impermissible to prevent them from doing so, either individually or collectively.
Rather, there should be a suitable places for women in the mosque, and they should be encouraged to go out to it so that they, like men, can bring about desired interests and objectives behind frequenting Allah’s places of worship, especially in the present age.
In this age, and especially in countries with Muslim minorities, it is more proper that the mosques’ main entrances be open for both men and women, even if circumstances necessitated reserving an additional door for women only.
The majority of mosques have different areas for both men and women. Yet, some mosques are going extra mile to cater to its members.
In 2019, Utah Muslims started building their “women-friendly” Utah Islamic Center which included two domes and equal men and women prayer sections.