I recently read this woman's piece in the NYT regarding the takeover of her mosque by fundamentalists who were'nt really in the position to do so (there is a non-for-profit board and these individuals did not follow the bylaws previously set up).
I am not sure if I agree with her about wanting to pray right next to a man; even a Western women could understand the whole "undressing me with his eyes" icky yuck yuck feelings you can sometimes get from men. In my mind, when I was praying and should be focusing my thoughts on my worship, I would be thinking eeewwwww he is touching me, eeeeewwwww he could be thinking sexy thoughts about me. Would he probably be? NO - but it would interfer with my ability to enter deep meditation/prayer and let my Theta brainwaves flow (a real upside to deep meditation and prayer).
I go to a very liberal mosque and my Imam is one of the few US Islamic clerics that serves as a bridge between the Islamic World and the Western one. While during Friday prayers women and men are separated, we still pray in the same room, with the women praying behind the men.
I do not go to mosques where women are regulated to smaller rooms which are usually the most pitiful of the bunch - I find it depressing. It is an aggravating logic, but it happens mostly for the reason that men are "obligated" by the Q'uran to attend Juma prayers, and for women it is electionary (good deeds, but still only electionary). With this in mind there are usually more men in attendance. Since there are more of them they get "better" prayer quarters.
I agree the whole thing about a woman's voice being sexually provactive is unfair and annoying. As if a good Muslim female is going to start panting hard and heavy into the microphone! Islam implores Muslims to take responsibility over their thoughts and actions, idealogy like that I feel undermines that purpose. That woman should come to my mosque - heheheheh we even have a woman Sheika so she could hear the call to prayer with a woman's voice!!!
