Currently, there are approximately 270,000 Muslims living in Denmark. 

One in particular, Sherin Khankan, had been feeling like a complete stranger in some of the mosques she had worshipped in. 

So like any activist leader, Sherin took action and she and three other women opened Scandinavia's first female-led mosque in Copenhagen.

Khankan said that she believed many mosques were “male-dominated and patriarchal places, where a man is at the speaking platform, a man leads prayer, a man is in focus and dominant.” The female founders of the Mariam Mosque, hope its existence challenges these existing patriarchal structures and creates discussion.

“We have normalized patriarchal structures in our religious institutions. Not just in Islam, but also within Judaism and Christianity and other religions. And we would like to challenge that,” Khankan said. She then explained the ambition in starting up what she is calling a feminist movement. 

In many mosques, worship spaces, and communities in general, males and females are separated. This separation may bring feelings of loneliness and disconnection to the community.

Khankan hopes her project will strengthen the relationship between those who practice traditional Islam and those who prefer a more contemporary practice of the faith.

The new Mariam Mosque will also be open to men except for Friday prayers, which will be for and run by females. Additionally, within the worship space, all imams will be female. Imams are the individuals who lead prayers and sermons during Muslim services and are seen as the spiritual leader in a community.

Many female scholars and females who practice Islam are in support of the new initiative. One high profile supporter is Shelina Zahra Janmohamed, the author of Love in a Headscarf. The author believes that the issue of having mosques that are more gender-equal is one that cannot be ignored.

Unfortunately, there has also been a lot of criticism because many traditional Imams are not happy that women will be their colleagues.

However, Sherin Khankan and her co-founders agree that such criticism is based on ignorance because there is some precedence and historical acceptance of women as Imams or religious leaders in some communities--there just isn't enough research on the topic and so there is not enough conversation about female Imams.  

Many traditional Imams have been known to avoid modern culture because of perceived ways that it conflicts with religion.

But here’s some surprising information: China has been all about women-led mosques for years. There have been women-led mosques in China for over 300 years! They are called nüsi and they are pretty neat!

Today, girls and women everywhere are challenging gender differences that are deeply rooted in tradition. They are searching for new ways to create a more gender-equal, modern world.

Sherin and her co-founders are not the only Feminist Muslims fighting to end marginalization within the community:

2003: Journalist Asra Nomani, demanded the right to pray in the main prayer hall (musallah) of her mosque and even drafted an Islamic Bill of Rights for Women in Mosques.

2010: Women activist Asra Nomani, argued that the women's spaces in mosques feel inferior and women should have the option to pray with the majority of men if they would like to. 

2011: Dr. Ihsan Bagby, a male professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Kentucky, was outraged with his research about imams in America and although his conclusion was incorrect, it introduced the conversation of discussing who Imams actually were in Muslim communities. 

2016: Latifa Akay argued that there is no religious reason for gender segregation, and that gender equality is very much a part of the Islamic tradition. “Having women as leading figures in Muslim communities and mosques should not be seen as something new or surprising,” she told Quartz.

Involving more women in management and prayer-leading roles in mosques is a small, but mighty step toward gender equality around the world. The global Muslim community today numbers around 1.6 billion. At the rate that it's growing, it is projected that by 2050 this number will peak to about 2.8 billion muslims around the world. 

Following in the footsteps of the Danish Mosque, similar organizations are being established in Berlin and Los Angeles, and there plans to create a similar mosque in the UK as well.

Many girls and women around the world face discrimination because of their gender, and many may not feel welcomed in certain places. But women like Sherin Khankan are changing this.

Following in Sherin’s footsteps, global citizens can unite with the same passion to make sure that every person gets an equal opportunity to develop into the best version of themselves.

TopicsFeminismDenmarkIslamgirls and womenWomen-led mosque

Editorial

Demand Equity

A female-led mosque opens in Denmark

By Gina Darnaud