WOMEN IN MOSQUE: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY OF MUSLIM WOMEN EXPERIENCES AT TWO MOSQUES IN SOUTH FLORIDA

Women's participation and roles in contemporary mosques in Western nations differ from that of many Muslim-majority countries. Yet, women’s presence and function are contentious within and outside Muslim communities, and research on the issue is limited. Most extant research on Muslim communities and religious institutions comes from Europe. Moreover, while seeking an opinion or firsthand knowledge of religious opinions in Muslim communities, the male voice takes precedence. This qualitative research investigates Muslim women’s experiences at two mosques in south Florida. I aimed to gain a better understanding of mosques’ impact on women’s religious practices, their adaptation to American society, and their views on male-dominated religious places, including the topic of gender segregation. By using narrative data collected from participant observation and interviews with informants, this study demonstrates that Muslim women at these south Florida mosques engage in their religious and social activities, creating a meaningful space to worship in the mosque while following the dominant patriarchal norms in the religious institution. The findings from this study also highlight the need for a more extensive quantitative analysis of women's demands for inclusion and equality in mosques and Muslim men's (including imams') responses to such requests as well as the significance of generational, age, and national-ethnic differences when it comes to the issue of gender in mosques.