Muslim women

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.

The number of Islamic schools continues to increase in the United States and the majority of these schools are led by Muslim women (Islamic School League of America, 2021). Whether women in general or Muslim women specifically, research on women in leadership remains sparse; the need to document the stories of these leaders is imperative. Muslim women are targets of negative imagery in the media and are sometimes secondary players within their own communities because cultural traditions often overshadow religious rights. Islam is clear on the position of women as equal to men as illustrated in Surah 33 Verse 35: The submitting men, the submitting women, the believing men, the believing women, the obedient men, the obedient women, the truthful men, the truthful women, the steadfast men, the steadfast women, the reverent men, the reverent women, the charitable men, the charitable women, the fasting men, the fasting women, the chaste men, the chaste women, and the men who commemorate Allah frequently, and the commemorating women; Allah has prepared for them forgiveness and a great recompense. As the above verse clearly identifies the status of men and women in the Quran, often Muslim communities, like much of the world, tend to judge women and treat women differently than their male counterparts. The reality is that both Muslims and non- Muslims have misconceptions about the position of women in Islam. This study provides a platform for Muslim women leading Islamic schools, their perspective, and is founded in a framework centered on Prophetic characteristics of leadership.