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It
was April 22, earth day and
here we were, a motley crowd of some 40 people gathered in a backyard
– close to earth. Although the meteorologists had predicted rain, the
skies were bright blue, the sun shone and there was a slight breeze. I
felt the heavens smiling on us and I took a deep breath of peace. The
time for Friday prayers was near.
I
wasn’t so calm three weeks ago when Tarek Fatah, founder of the Muslim
Canadian Congress (MCC) asked me if I would lead a mixed gender prayer
for the community. My first reaction was to say no because I wasn’t
ready to be part of media frenzy. So Tarek took the petition to my
husband who convinced me that it would be a natural progression of the
work I do in interfaith, to actually lead a prayer for my own community.
I thought about this deeply and realized that there are many Muslim
women who don’t have a safe space in which to pray, so this might open
some doors. Once my intention was clear in my mind, I agreed. My sons
were concerned for my safety, but once I made the decision, I left the
rest up to Allah, praying for guidance and strength.
My
trepidation was not unfounded because the venue had to be changed twice
before it could be considered safe. We finally ended up in Tarek’s
backyard which had been cleaned up in a record one hour and had carpets
laid out in a row.
About
40 people turned up, more men then women surprisingly, and it was a joy
to note the diversity. It was also remarkable to note that this was not
a ‘reactionary’ crowd or a battle of ‘progressive vs
conservative’ because there was an Imam and women in hijab in the
group. I was humbled as I stood before the congregation on this landmark
occasion. I thanked them for their trust and confidence in inviting me
to lead them in prayer. “Your faith today” I started by telling
them, “is the only criterion really required in Islam to empower a
person to lead prayer. This is especially heart-warming for me as I’ve
lead prayers in churches, synagogues and temples and feel honoured as I
stand here with my own community”.
I explained how we would
proceed. A young man called out the azaan (call to prayer) and I gave
the sermon beginning with the first verse from Sura Nissa (the chapter
on women in the Quran).
O mankind fear your Guardian Lord who
created you from a single person, created out of it His mate and from
them scattered like seeds countless men and women – fear Allah through
whom you demand your mutual rights and be heedful of the wombs that bore
you for Allah ever watches over you.
I
continued “So we know
at this moment Allah is watching over us and I believe from my heart and
soul that Allah made us equal in creation and wanted all of us to have
this equality that is denied to many women today. What we are doing
today is not re-inventing our own tradition, rather following in the
teachings and role models of our faith. And how auspicious is this
occasion today, being the birth anniversary of our beloved Prophet who
is a mercy for all humankind.”
The fact that this
momentous event was taking place on the birth anniversary of my beloved
Prophet Mohammed, was a sign of great blessing for me. Yet I knew that
some of these brave men and women, who were here to support me, may have
doubts and in the second half of my sermon, I allayed those fears. I
said “I’m often asked where I get the strength of conviction that
I’m doing the right thing. I’m inspired by the first woman of Islam
– Hazrat Khadija – Uumul Momineen – mother of believers – it is
said that her wealth could cover the grounds around the Kaaba – yet
she donated her assets to build that small Muslim community which
desperately needed her support. I’m motivated by Bibi Fatima who
relayed the Prophets sermons to the larger community and tradition
records that when she entered the room, the prophet stood up in respect
for his daughter. I draw strength and courage from Bibi Zainab who shook
the court of Yazid with her impassioned khutba after the tragedy of
Karbala. Here we see a woman building an empire through her financial
status, a woman stabilizing that empire though her piety and a woman
shaking an empire though her passion for truth and justice. And of
course, I’m impressed by Hazrat Ayesha, a theologian and narrator of
hadeeth.”
By this time I could see
some eyes were getting wet – the message was getting through. I ended
with the following words: “Today it doesn’t matter who leads
prayers. This event is just to break the domination of a few misguided
bigots who try to reduce God to a policeman and who’s only interest in
‘profit’ is the kind that comes out of their bank account. Each one
of us today is empowered to take with us a message of peace, justice,
equality, tolerance, compassion and open mindedness. This
is not my message or that of our host – this is the message of the
book” We ended with a dua, but as we rose to our feet to meet and
greet each other, I was overwhelmed with tears and so were others. Some
of the women told me they had not prayed in years and were ecstatic to
come back into the fold. For at least one person, this was their first
congregational prayer so this auspicious occasion was blessed from the
inception and became a ‘first’ for many of us, held together by love
of Allah and His Prophet.
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