Muslim Women’s Religious Leadership: The Case of Australian Mosques

Abstract

In the history of all religions, there has been a male monopoly over religious leadership. In most Muslim societies in particular, men have enjoyed indisputable authority over religious leadership roles in the spaces of worship and communal gatherings. However, in recent decades, some Muslim women have contested this ownership and have taken up space in mosques and other religious spaces to teach and lead prayer for other women or for both genders. Yet, women’s religious leadership roles in contemporary mosques in both Muslim and Western countries are contested. Research on this topic in the Australian context is limited to very few studies. In this article, I will review the historic debate around female religious authority—particularly women’s leadership roles in the mosque. The relationship between Islam, gender and religious authority, as well as the initiation of female Imams, will also be explored. Online written interviews were conducted with twenty Muslim women drawn from three Australian Muslim online Facebook groups to determine how these women perceive female religious authority and, in particular, how they view female Imams leading prayer in the mosque. Building on the participants’ narratives, the paper investigates the didactic potential and challenges that Australian Muslim women may have with regard to greater inclusion in religious authority and decision-making positions.

1. Introduction

Religious authority in Islam, similar to other religions, has mostly been held by men. Throughout most of Islamic history, women were excluded from mosques and other religious spaces. This has hindered their ability to gain Islamic knowledge and authority (Kalmbach 2012), despite the fact that women’s religious authority is legitimate under Islamic law (Kloos and Künkler 2016). However, despite all the efforts to exclude women from religious authority, Muslim women have not been completely excluded from the learning and transmission of Islamic knowledge. They have often shown the capability to implement Islamic authority and have occupied various religious roles which challenge Islamic gender norms (Kalmbach 2008). In particular, over the last few decades, there has been greater participation among women in Islamic education and knowledge, globally speaking (Liberatore 2019). Women with substantial, recognised religious education finally have access to career paths that have long been allocated to male scholars (Kalmbach 2012). As Kalmbach (2012) highlighted, this significant increase represents a main change in the structures of Islamic authority and restricts male control of religious leadership. It has also been followed by global discussions on gender equality and female empowerment that have created greater debate about Muslim women and leadership (Liberatore 2019).

However, despite these changes, Muslim women’s authority does not go beyond female-only spaces such as female-only congregations (Fazaeli 2020). Historically, those Muslim women who held religious authority or were preachers and interpreters of the Quran remain largely unknown, and religious scholarship has hardly documented their activities (Fazaeli 2020). As Noor (2017) suggests, the reason for the unfamiliarity among Muslims with female Islamic scholarship is because it has not been documented sufficiently. Furthermore, female scholars were marginalised by the patriarchal structure of Islamic scholarship in the later periods of Islam (Noor 2017).

Muslim women’s religious leadership roles in contemporary religious spaces in both Muslim and Western countries are contested. A number of studies acknowledge Muslim women’s exclusion from mosques and the decision-making roles in religious spaces (Ghafournia 2020; Nyhagen 2019; Woodlock 2010a, 2010b). Muslim women’s views on women’s access to religious authority deserves specific scholarly attention. In particular, research on the topic in Australia is very limited. Largely missing from the literature is the analysis of the growing acceptance of women’s leadership roles within religious spaces that have traditionally excluded or marginalised them. This research tries to open the discussion for a group of Muslim women to express their views on female religious authority and leadership roles, particularly in mosques. Informed by online written interviews with twenty Muslim women who are the members of three Australian Muslim online Facebook groups, this article delineates how these Muslim women perceive and engage in leadership roles, as well as how they support or challenge the patriarchal gender norms in religious authority, particularly in mosques.

2. Background

2.1. Islam, Gender and Religious Authority

Women researchers in religious studies (Alpert 1997; Daly 1973; Gross 1993; Palmer 1994) have explored women’s religious leadership roles across various historical contexts, as well as emerging movements. These scholars have challenged the gender politics of religious exclusion and inclusion by utilising different theoretical and methodological approaches (Naidu and Hoel 2013). While acknowledging women’s experiences and narratives in various religious traditions, these scholars created empowering counter-narratives that revealed discriminatory and patriarchal accounts of women’s religious roles and capacities (Naidu and Hoel 2013). In line with these scholarly works, women from different religious backgrounds have also questioned the patriarchy by holding positions of religious leadership. They navigated various roles, from providing informal religious advice in home-based settings to developing alternative pathways that were more women-friendly and inclusive. Despite these efforts, different religious traditions still utilise theological arguments to justify the male monopoly of religious leadership roles (Hoel 2013).

Religious authority, as defined by Hammer (2012a), Bano and Kalmbach (2012), can include ritual/spiritual leadership as well as the provision of religious advice. Religious authority has various sources in Muslim communities. For example, the Quran talks about scriptural authority, as Muslims believe it offers divine direction for humanity. Prophets are charismatic human authorities who have a distinctive relationship with the divine. Different forms of religious authority originated from various sources, experiences and knowledge that describe the Islamic tradition. These diverse forms of leadership have also been shaped by various traditions and cultures across centuries and geographic spaces (Jalalzai 2021). In particular, the exclusion of women from religious authority is linked closely to the Islamic understanding of gender. The Islamic notion of gender varies based on geographical and historical contexts, but the majority of Muslim traditional scholars believe that women are prohibited from religious leadership due to their presumed deficiencies in crucial authoritative qualities such as reason and wisdom. They believe that these are qualities with which men are naturally equipped (Jalalzai 2021). Therefore, various forms of leadership should be considered as part of a broader gender equality agenda (Duderija and Rane 2019).

Historically, it is well documented that, before the sixteenth century, there were numerous female religious figures who were prophets’ companions, the transmitters of the Hadith1 and scholars (Auda 2017; El-Ali 2022; Kalmbach 2012). For example, Ahmed (1992) explained how the prophet Muhammad appointed Umm Waraka as the Imam for her household including both men and women. Following the prophet’s time, the male scholars of the Hadith learned most of the Ahadith from their female companions. There are many historical examples of women who became famous preachers (Krausen 2013). These historical examples give legitimacy to Muslim women’s ongoing claim to gender equality in religious settings (Ghafournia 2020). In particular, over the last few decades, these claims to religious authority in different forms, such as women-only mosques and the emergence of women Imams2, have been mainly coming from Muslim women living in the West (Hammer 2012b). These Muslim women have set up their women-centred interpretation of Islam based on the lives of women who were prophets’ companions (Fazaeli 2020). Scholars such as Wadud (2006), Barlas (2006), Hassan (1999), Mernissi (1991a), Badran (2011), Mir Hosseini (2011) and Lamrabet (2016) have attempted to challenge patriarchal interpretations of Islam and re-interpret main Islamic sources, mainly the Quran, based on justice and gender equality (Al-Sharmani 2014). They all see Islam as a gender equal religion. These scholars are among those who have challenged patriarchal interpretations of the Quran about female religious authority. They argue that the main sources of Islamic teachings, particularly the Quran, consider justice as the only principle for gender relations. Therefore, they present a gender inclusive concept of religious leadership (Bøe 2020).

Amina Wadud is undoubtedly the most distinguished female scholar who has legitimised female religious leadership. She engaged with Islamic sources from a woman’s perspective. She reclaimed the Quran as a main source of authority in Islam (Calderini 2021). Wadud (2006) challenges the conventional gender roles in Islam and explains that Muslims and their interpretations of their religion should be changed to reveal the real spirit of the Quran, which is justice and gender equality (Elias Jenner 2020). For Wadud, the Muslim community comprises brothers and sisters who obey Allah, while having equal rights to authority, leadership and interpretation. Wadud acknowledged that Muslim men have occupied a long-lasting monopoly of powerful roles and leadership. To challenge this patriarchal structure, Muslim women must have the same access to different opportunities and leadership roles. Consequently, Wadud practised her belief by leading the first mixed-gender prayer in New York on 18 March 2005 (Elias Jenner 2020).

2.2. Initiation of Female Imams

A significant part of the debate around women’s religious leadership roles in Islam has been around the role of the Imam (Bøe 2020). Activism for female Imams is one main indicator of a historical and complex negotiation of gender norms within the Muslim world (Sharify-Funk and Haddad 2012). Currently, the term ‘Imam’ means guide—specifically, prayer leader—but it can also be defined as a Muslim community representative. However, in the case of women, some Muslim scholars, including female Imams, choose the more inclusive term of faith leader rather than ‘Imam’. However, ‘Imam’ is the most common term used for religious leaders (Calderini 2021). Amina Wadud is the first Muslim woman, in the contemporary context, who claimed the title of Imam and led a mixed-gender prayer. Wadud’s action initiated a debate around the opportunity for women to claim authority, which has historically been allocated to men (Guardi 2015, p. 1446).

Wadud’s actions not only created a huge reaction but also led five other American Muslim women to lead mixed-gender prayers (Sharify-Funk and Haddad 2012). Since Wadud’s prayer, in Scandinavia, at least four women have claimed the title of Imam, and others have either been permitted the title or claimed it in their local communities. Likewise, in Germany, at least three women claim the Imam title (Petersen 2019). However, some women deliver the khutbah3 and lead prayer without claiming the Imam title (Petersen 2019). Wadud’s Friday prayer has a close link with community leadership. For those Muslim women who protested against women’s lack of presence in religious spaces, the main target was the exclusion of women from Muslim communities (Duderija and Rane 2019). It signifies a symbolic moment for those promoting the inclusion of Muslim women in roles of religious as well as community authority (Jalalzai 2021).

There is not much disagreement among premodern and modern Islamic scholars in terms of women leading other women in congregational prayer (Auda 2017). However, the majority of premodern legal scholars concur that women should not lead mixed-gender prayers, particularly Friday prayers (Elewa and Silvers 2010). There have been various reasons and justifications for the disagreement. Fear of Fitnah (sexual temptation) and the ability of women to arouse temptation in men has been the common reason (Anwar 2013; Bano and Kalmbach 2012; Katz 2014). Namely, “female intrusion into male space is seen as potentially sexually enticing” (Woodlock 2010b, p. 51). However, this view has been challenged with the claim that men can be fitnah to women too—not just the other way around. Therefore, both men and women have a reciprocal responsibility in managing sexual attraction (Bano and Kalmbach 2012). Moreover, impurities related to bodily functions such as menstruation and post-partum bleeding have been considered a cause of impurity for women and have thus prevented them from leading prayers and even from entering the mosque (El-Ali 2022). However, as Calderini (2021) puts it, purity can be interpreted as a manifestation of believers’ obedience to God. Early Islamic scholarship did not indicate that any human being is essentially impure. Purity law in Islam was originally very egalitarian (Katz 2014). Another reason for excluding women from leading prayers is the perceptions and expectations of the proper roles of men and women and strict division of labour. Women’s roles are associated with private and domestic spaces, and they are not expected to have a role in religious ceremonies, social gatherings and decision making in public spheres such as mosques (Bano and Kalmbach 2012). However, evidence from the Prophet’s time suggests otherwise. The Prophet consulted with women and listened to their complaints. He mentioned regularly how women in Islam are truly important (Amin 2020). Furthermore, there is a belief among some Muslims that female Imams are not as knowledgeable as men. Calderini (2021) explored in detail how, in Islamic history, there were cases of underaged Imams, Imams with disabilities and female Imams. Additionally, El-Ali (2022) stated that women scholars and teachers of mixed-gender gatherings expanded in great numbers in the Muslim world until the sixteenth century. These historical examples signify that knowledge is the main characteristic of an Imam despite different social statuses based on age, gender and physical abilities. Personal religious piety has also been one of the major requirements of the Imam and is strongly connected to Qur’anic knowledge. The emphasis on both piety and religious knowledge as features of the best Imam is constantly present in the Ahadith (Calderini 2021).

3. Method

This study is part of a larger qualitative research project that explored Muslim women’s experiences with their local mosques as well as their views on gender segregation4. This paper focuses on women’s views about female religious authority and leadership roles, particularly in mosques. This is qualitative research based on a thematic analysis of online written interviews with twenty Muslim women who are the members of three Australian Muslim online Facebook groups—the Progressive Muslim Women of Australia, the Muslim Collective (Sydney group) and the Islamic Community Academic Network (ICAN)—as well as some other Muslim women active on Facebook who were referred by the first group of women in the sample (snowball sampling). Snowball sampling is a strategy to find respondents whereby the researcher asks participants if they might know of other potential participants who would be willing to participate in the research. This recruitment approach tends to be effective when existing interviewees are likely to know others who may fit the research criteria (Patton 2002).

The inclusion criteria for the study are women who:

(1)

Are a member of Facebook;

(2)

Are Muslim (convert or non-convert);

(3)

Are aged 18 years or above;

(4)

Live in Australia;

(5)

Attend their local mosque.

After obtaining research ethics approval from the University of Newcastle Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC no H-2020-0255), I initially shared a post with the three above-mentioned Facebook groups. After the approval of the post by the group administration, the participant information sheet (PIS) and research flyers were posted to the groups. The women who were interested sent a message to the researcher through Facebook and provided their email addresses. The questionnaire and consent form were emailed to each participant, and the completed questionnaire and signed consent form were emailed directly back to the researcher.

The data analysis methods employed thematic analysis, whereby specific themes were first identified and then these small-scale categories were merged into the main themes. All of the data categories and coding were developed using NVivo 12 software.

4. Findings: Analysis and Discussion

4.1. Demographic Profile

The sample includes a culturally diverse population comprising twenty Muslim women from nine different ethnic backgrounds: ten women born in Australia, two from Bosnia, two from Afghanistan and one each from Malaysia, Sudan, Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon and New Zealand. The average age of the sample was 41 within a range of 19–69 years. Of the 20 women, 16 had a university education. Eighteen women were working in professional positions. Seven women were Muslim converts and thirteen were non-converts. Eighteen were Sunni and two were Shia Muslims. In order to maintain the women’s privacy, pseudonyms were chosen for each participant.

Three prominent themes emerged from the analysis of the research participants’ views of religious leadership in the mosque: (1) views on women leading mixed-gender prayers; (2) views on women-only mosques; (3) views on women’s decision-making roles in the mosque committees. The women’s contributions are broken up into illustrative quotes that indicate particular themes. The aim in presenting their detailed narratives is to ensure that these women are not depersonalised in the process of being objects of study.

4.2. Views on Women Leading Mixed-Gender Prayers

As mentioned earlier, the main controversy about female religious authority roles revolves around female Imams leading mixed-gender congregations. Despite the common conservative views about women’s religious leadership roles in the Muslim community and the support of the male monopoly of these roles, there has been surge in Muslim women’s claims to religious authority (Bøe 2019; Kalmbach 2012). In particular, the emergence of women leading mixed-gender prayers in North America and Europe can be considered as signs of a challenge to the monopoly of male leadership roles. The opinions on mixed-gender prayers are divided. Notably, half of the women in the study agreed that women should lead mixed-gender congregations:

I agree with women leading prayers. My mum lead prayers for her children, both boys and girls. I lead prayer with my convert husband. We have knowledge and skill to lead prayers.

(Aziza, 33)

Why not! Muslim women should challenge the role of men being Imam forever! Women can lead any kind of prayers.

(Badra, 69)

In my personal opinion, I encourage that, especially women in the Islamic world have proved that, and they have had successful jobs experiences in different fields. I think if women lead the prayer, the men in the Islamic society would have more respect to them outside the mosque, and they would listen and treat women as equal to them.

(Donya, 50)

Excellent, it is an ideal! Women are capable of leading prayer; some women are even more knowledgeable than men. It is just patriarchal attitudes that prevent women leading prayers.

(Nadia, 45)

Most of the participants focus on the knowledge and capability of women to support their agreement with women leading prayers. Religious authority originated from various sources—mainly, knowledge of the Islamic tradition (Jalalzai 2021). Muslim women have been able to gain religious knowledge, which has engendered the development or expansion of female learning circles (Jouili and Amir-Moazami 2006; Liberatore 2019). Present scholarship sees a relation between knowledge attainment and changes in religious authority for women’s contributions in the development and transmission of religious discourse (Jouili and Amir-Moazami 2006). One strategy for women to claim religious authority has been to challenge current and past male interpretations of religious sources. This has created new knowledge which is based on the specific viewpoints of female scholars of religion. Such knowledge is directly connected to Islamic feminism and has been rising since the 1990s (Al Fassi 2020).

A few women were not sure about the idea and believed they needed to do more research on the topic.

I’m not sure about the scholarship around this—I know of the Amina Wadud issue—and whilst I don’t have a problem with women lead prayers for women only—I am not sure about mixed congregations—although there is a Hadith about getting the most learned person to lead the prayer—it didn’t say the most learned male to do so…but I would need to read up more on it—however it’s not an issue that has overly bothered me to make run to the books to do some research. I also know Amina Wadud, and she is no dummy—so I am assuming she has some scholarship behind her.

(Noor, 57)

One woman accepted the idea on one condition:

I have never attended a prayer in the mosque where a woman has led or thought about a woman leading prayer. I believe it is okay for a woman to lead the prayer, if she is leading from the women’s section of the mosque and not standing in front of the men.

(Jane, 28)

Here, the traces of conservative views on women’s roles in mosques can be viewed. This tendency can be explained based on the common practice of gender segregation in mosques. In particular, in Australian Muslim communities, the idea has not been challenged. Most mosques have separate spaces for men and women (Ghafournia 2020). Although Muslim women participate in mosques, they are not often engaged in the decision making in places of worship (Rane et al. 2020; Sohrabi 2016).

On the other hand, some interviewed women (seven) expressed negative views regarding women leading prayers in mixed-gender congregations. They underlined various reasons for their views. A prominent reason for their argument against women leading prayers was based on the teachings of Islam—mainly, Hadith and Sunnah5:

It is not part of the Sunnah. Men should lead prayer. Women may lead other women in prayer or lead their children prayer in their household if they have no sons that are able to.

(Therese, 23)

I do not agree with the concept or notion of women leading men and women. It was not something in which our Prophet taught us or demonstrated to us, and none of his wives did so either- whom we take as our ultimate role models.

(Shakufa, 36)

This is in line with current progressive scholarship, which states that most of the justifications for the male monopoly of religious leadership are based on Hadith and Sunnah (Duderija et al. 2020). There has not been any reference to the Quran. As Calderini (2021) explains, conservative scholars and opponents of women’s religious authority have not referred much to the Quran in the debate around female religious authority. They base their argument mostly on the Ahadith. Contemporary Muslim women scholars and female Imams reclaimed the Quran to support female leadership and authority roles (Calderini 2021). Moreover, there has been some selective choosing of the Hadith. As mentioned before, it has been well documented following the Prophet’s time that male scholars of the Hadith learned most of the Ahadith from female companions. There are many historical examples of women who became famous preachers (Krausen 2013). Through the analysis of Quran and Sunna, it is clear that the female companions and family of the Prophet had a significant role in expanding religious knowledge and Islamic scholarship (Alwani 2020). For example, four of the Prophet’s wives and two of his companions became famous religious teachers (El-Ali 2022).

Among the women who disagreed with women leading prayers, one woman highlighted the role of culture as well as Islamic teachings in rejecting the idea:

Culturally, I do not think Muslim cultural thinking can be changed. Fiqh wise, as a follower of the Jafari school, women can give speeches in masjids [mosques] but not lead prayers.

(Sonya, 29)

As mentioned earlier, historically, religious discourse around gender has been shaped by patriarchal local cultures. As Islam expanded territorially, religious rhetoric around gender became increasingly affected by the patriarchal structures of the local cultures to which Islamic norms were being adapted (Fazaeli 2020). It has gradually been combined with different local cultures, and, consequently, its teachings and principles have been interpreted in various ways according to each context (Hélie 2021). These cultural beliefs and practices have been gradually replaced as religious values and norms.

Another reason for disagreement was the notion of sexual temptation caused by a female Imam leading a mixed-gender prayer:

Though overall I don’t think a woman should be leading men in prayer, just the timbre and gentleness in her voice is enough to distract their [men’s] minds and libidos. Seriously, there should be at least one strong and righteous man amongst them to conduct the prayer.

(Aliya, 32)

Fear of sexual temptation by women has been one of the common reasons given for preventing women from praying at the mosque (Anwar 2013; Bano and Kalmbach 2012). There is a belief that men leading payers is the Islamic standard in order to avoid women’s temptation. In this view, women are mostly responsible for causing any temptation, so they need to be cautious that men are not tempted by their presence, as men have no control over themselves (Anwar 2013). To the author’s surprise, this orthodox justification of gender segregation is still common among Muslim women.

For a few women, the reason for not approving of a female Imam leading a mixed-gender congregation is the natural differences between men and women based on their biology and, consequently, their different roles and responsibilities:

Men have been called by Allah to be responsible for women and children—this puts them in a position to step up and take it seriously… Due to this position, they are natural leaders and should be given the right to lead.

(Aliya, 32)

Islam excuses women from praying during their menstrual cycle. In mixed prayer cases this will advertise a woman’s personal situation to all the men in the community. This will also mean there is a need for more than one Imam to be around to cover those days of absenteeism. Prayer times are also problematic. For women to be leading Fajr [morning] prayers can be difficult if a woman is pregnant, breast feeding a new baby. Or has multiple children. Imagine dragging the whole family to Fajr prayer.

(Huda, 50)

Huda continued by describing the idea of mixed-gender prayers as being unsavoury and uncomfortable for women:

I am not sure there is anything within the faith tradition that prohibits it. However, for practical reasons I think the idea is unsavoury. For me leading a prayer with men standing behind a woman while she does Rukuh6 and Sujud7 is not comfortable for women and perhaps for men. I will not be advocating that any time. If the idea is to be considered not in an ad hoc basis but leading to women becoming Imams then there are a lot of considerations which makes the prospect unsavoury.

(Huda, 50)

For these women, men’s monopoly of the role of Imam is justified based on biological differences between men and women. As Duderija et al. (2020, p. 30) argue, male superiority in the premodern Islamic tradition has shifted to other areas of social life. One clear example is the strong relationship between masculinity and men’s entitlement to spiritual and religious authority over women. Therefore, male superiority is supported by biological differences, and the natural roles cannot be challenged (Duderija et al. 2020). This view develops a static understanding of private and public realms which has been the main basis in religions for justifying gender inequality (Bano and Kalmbach 2012). Consequently, in communities where men are regarded as the natural leaders and decision makers in the public and religious spheres, there is no doubt that mixed-gendered prayers can be seen as an unsavoury and surprising practice (Jouili and Amir-Moazami 2006). This idea can also be due to the lack of any visible example of mixed-gender prayers or female Imams in Australian Muslim communities.

For a few women, while they accepted the idea of women leading mixed-gender prayers, the idea of a female Imam was very controversial and unusual:

I completely agree. But I think women leading mixed prayers would be seen as extremely controversial to most Muslims.

(Maria, 42)

It would be very unusual; however the world is changing, laws and people are adopting to new world. I think it would mean tremendously to a female world in Islam religion.

(Sarah, 35)

As mentioned before, women’s claims to religious authority have often been considered a radical response to traditional Islam. These claims faced a strong backlash from conservative Muslim communities as well as male religious authorities who found it unusual and controversial (Noor 2017). These women’s assertions of religious authority are indications that Muslim women are developing religious knowledge and authority (Kalmbach 2012). The acknowledgement and legitimisation of different forms of female religious agency and the push for gender justice have become long-lasting features of the religious life in Muslim communities in both Muslim countries and Western contexts (Duderija et al. 2020).

4.3. Views on Women Only Mosque

The push for female Imams has, in some cases, led to women-only mosques. Women-only mosques have been established in different countries mainly as a response to “Muslim-wide negative socio-cultural attitudes towards female participation in rituals in the mosque” (Calderini 2021, p. 141). As Bano and Kalmbach (2012) articulate, strict gender segregation and women’s exclusion from religious spaces in Muslim communities have led to the initiation of women-only mosques both in the West and in Muslim countries. Furthermore, the unsatisfactory situations of praying spaces for women in mosques or even the nonexistence of prayer facilities are other reasons for establishing women-only mosques (Calderini 2021). In the context of Europe and North America, media coverage on the debate about women’s spaces and roles in mosques have led to different ways of addressing this issue in Muslim communities. One strategy has been to initiate women-only mosques (Calderini 2021).

However, it cannot be denied that women-only mosques enable women to acquire skills such as prayer leadership, counselling and the involvement in the mosque’s various activities, funding and authority. All of these skills can be empowering for Muslim women, even outside of the mosque context (Calderini 2021). However, the role of female Imams, particularly their audience, has been the centre of debates. The idea of women-only mosques in which the audience is just women has become less controversial, particularly in Muslim countries with strict gender segregation (Le Renard 2012).

In this study, similar to the views on women leading mixed-gender prayers, the women expressed different views regarding women-only mosques. The majority (n = 13) agreed with the idea. The participants talked about two main reasons for accepting women-only mosques. Most of the women who accepted the idea believed that it is more comfortable and non-confrontational:

I think women only mosques would be a good way for women to develop the capabilities to run a mosque in a non-confrontational way.

(Maria, 42)

I have participated in women only spiritual gatherings and prayers led by women. I have enjoyed being led by a woman and in all honesty, slightly uncomfortable when a man is invited to lead female congregations.

(Jamila, 37)

These views of women-only mosques being comfortable and non-confrontational seem to originate from the common hegemonic prescriptions of gender segregation in Muslim religious spaces such as mosques (Ghafournia 2020; Nyhagen 2019). For some women, women-only mosques are a space where they can feel safe and valued. There is an assumption that these gender spaces are safe from the male gaze, interference and possibly harassment (Calderini 2021). Though the women in the study did not explicitly talk about feeling safe, it might be one of the reasons that they feel comfortable in the space.

A few (n = 4) women, in addition to being comfortable with women-only mosques, believed that women are capable and knowledgeable and therefore can be Imams:

We are capable and should be able to lead women only congregations. It is insulting when a young teenage boy is given preference to knowledgeable and competent woman when it comes to leading female congregations and this has happened to me once. A young boy was asked to lead us in prayer and admittedly, I was slightly annoyed.

(Jamila, 37)

As discussed earlier, the women-only space can be beneficial for women to have better access to religious knowledge and opportunities as well to develop their leadership skills. It can develop into an environment to promote female agency and empowerment, particularly in the context of strict rules for women’s access to religious spaces (Bano and Kalmbach 2012; Calderini 2021). Possibly, these empowering skills for women can be transferred outside of the mosque context. Furthermore, if women gain more religious knowledge and skills, it can be a justification for the legitimacy of female religious authority (Calderini 2021), in either gendered or mixed-gender mosques.

Notably, few women, while agreeing with the idea of women-only mosques, were aware of the practice being in contrast with gender segregation, which they were against. They feel this contradiction clearly:

I would love a woman only mosque—and I know that it goes against everything I stand against around gender segregation—but just as we have women’s only gyms, we should have women’s only spiritual places too—because what has been provided is not adequate.

(Noor, 57)

I think the idea is Ok. There are a number of benefits to it. Women would feel more comfortable in their own space and will design the place for their needs so they will feel welcomed and can achieve the spiritual connectedness one seeks when going to the mosque. However, it further entrenches the gender segregation that is already problematic. It fragments the family unit along gender lines. Imagine a family going to prayer and having to take two routes and two cars and the children having to be separated. The current model of a single space is ok. With further improvements and an openness to feedback so women feel welcome, it can work.

(Huda, 50)

The idea of women-only mosques, in terms of women’s empowerment and gender equality, is a complex issue. Gender segregation, as Bano and Kalmbach (2012) describe, can be seen as a a double-edged sword because, while it can enable women to empower their agency, it also limits their leadership activities to mosque spaces only. As the women in the study elucidated, women-only mosques can validate gender segregation, particularly the implied acceptance of the relationship of women with sexual temptation (Calderini 2021). This belief is rooted in premodern views which position women as sexual beings. The female gender is identified as an irreligious land of sexual desire, which is the opposite of male knowledge, where men are the only agents of religious authority (Shaikh 2004). Women are supposedly a continual source of sexual attraction, even when they are worshipping God. This belief excuses men from accountability for their actions, while it positions the mere responsibility on women. This view has been challenged, and some would claim it has malicious intent (El-Ali 2022). Women and their uncontrollable sexuality are considered a threat to social and moral order. Therefore, there is a need for the strict regulation of female sexual desire by external precautions such as gender segregation (Mernissi 1991b).

In contrast to the majority of women who value women-only mosques, seven women completely disagreed with the idea. The main reason for their disagreement was the lack of inclusiveness of women-only mosques. The women acknowledged that the practice would exacerbate the gender segregation that is already happening in mosques:

Women only mosque will enforce gender segregation. It will be an excuse for men to have men only mosque. The mosque should be inclusive of all gender.

(Nadia, 45)

I have no problem with a female leading prayer. I think a female-only mosque is sad because it exists as a response to the lack of inclusiveness at other mosques. I personally would prefer an ‘inclusive mosque’ where believers and people interested in Islam are welcomed regardless of their gender or even sexuality. Some men are also supportive of women being more involved. It would be a shame to not include them.

(lilli, 44)

I disagree! Women only mosque would be good for learning and social purposes but ultimately a mosque is a place of community and to exclude either men or women would not be right.

(Therese, 23)

One woman in particular focused on the necessity of mosques being gender inclusive. She even declares her concern that gender segregation can lead to other exclusions based on ethnicity and race and will subsequently spread hatred and mistrust in the Muslim community.

I think all mosques should allow all genders to attend, once a community starts building for only one gender, a hatred and separation begins and spreads through the community. If you are building a mosque for only females it will expand to only a certain race of females and so on. I don’t agree with starting something that can have the potential to grow and negatively impact the community, this includes if an all-male mosque was built. I personally would prefer a male to lead prayer, only because that is what I am used to.

(Jane, 28)

I prefer to be with everybody at the mosque, husbands and wives, kids and parents and grandparents, it is a place where everyone should meet the others from the same community and practice their prayers, celebrations, social gathering, funerals so on. Mosque should be inclusive of all Muslims.

(Donya, 50)

This is in line with some scholarship (El-Ali 2022; Ghafournia 2020; Hussain 2009; Nyhagen 2019; Woodlock 2010b) that questions male-dominated structures and the current gender segregation in mosques. These studies mainly considered the practice to be a barrier to women’s inclusion in religious institutions. Furthermore, the women found that the practice undermines women’s dignity and sexualises them. For some, gender segregation is not practiced in any other institution in the wider community (Ghafournia 2020; Nyhagen 2019). Moreover, it is notable that gender segregation in mosques is not the only form of segregation. There are usually other forms of social segregation based on ethnicity or theological beliefs (Kamil and Darojat 2019). The exclusion of women in mosques based on linguistic and ethnic differences has been confirmed in some studies. For example, some participants in Woodlock’s (2010a) study confirmed that they did not feel welcome in mosques based on their ethnicity and language. Similarly, African American Muslim women in Prickett’s (2015) study distanced themselves from Muslim women from other ethnic backgrounds. The women’s wish for mosques to be inclusive of all Muslims despite differences is an indicator of recent changes toward progressive views of Islam. More inclusive mosques have been recently established in many Muslim communities in the West (Duderija et al. 2020).

The waste of resources was mentioned by one woman as another reason for disapproving of women-only mosques. She believed mosques, similar to some public buildings, should not be gender-specific.

There are some buildings which I feel should not be gender specific such as hospitals, government buildings and places of worship. In the case of mosques, having a gender specific mosque may exhaust the existing resources.

(Sakina, 45)

Another reason for the disagreement with women-only mosques was the belief that these mosques will damage family unity.

I do not see the need for a women only mosque, as the sense of “family” may be compromised. My family attends the mosque often as a family- especially in Ramadan, whereby the men split from the women within the same vicinity. This is convenient and practical- and reinforces the notion of unity on a family level and community level.

(Shakufa, 36)

Given the diversity of responses about women-only mosques, it is hard to claim that there is a united view in this regard. Perhaps the reason for this diversity is the lack of any real examples of women-only mosques in Australia. However, most of the women agree with the idea of women-only mosques, and none asserted that they would not attend this kind of congregation if they existed.

4.4. Women’s Decision-Making Roles in the Mosque Committees

Unlike the last two themes, in which there was a disparity between women’s views, most women (n = 17) agreed that they did not know any female members of mosque committees and believed that women do not have any decision-making roles in mosque management. This represents a real example of women’s absence not only in religious leadership but also in decision-making roles in mosques.

No and I don’t know anyone [women in mosque committee] … they are male only domains ….

(Noor, 57)

I have not been part of a mosque committee and I don’t know of any women who has. It would be very rare.

(Sakina, 45)

Most women stated that, even if there was a woman in the mosque committee, they did not have any power in decision making or their contribution was not recognised:

Just one woman in our local mosque but it was just a formality as she and her decisions were ignored so she resigned. They used her to show to Australian community that women are participating in religious space decision-making was a complete hypocrisy.

(Nadia, 45)

The absence of women from these committees and the lack of feedback mechanisms and responses to women’s needs within the mosques I have been to is frustrating and disheartening… Equally the limited representation and participation of women to decision making roles on mosque board and committees is a discriminatory practice. Older women I know who have been involved with mosques for years because of their families connections to mosque trust and who have been involved in raising funds, organising food for prayers and catering for men’s needs in the mosque and looking after the women’s quarters are not recognised by mosque committees in the same way that men who have been in the service of the mosque are. The women who have toiled are usually forgotten. Their toil is expected but not recognised.

(Huda, 50)

The scholarship on women’s representation in mosque committees or boards is scarce. As Duderija and Rane (2019) argue, just few studies (Lewicki and O’Toole 2017; Woodlock 2010a, 2010b) present an anecdotal indication of Muslim women’s exclusion from decision-making roles in mosques. For example, Idriss (2017) cited a consultation conducted by the Muslim and Imams National Advisory Board in the UK, which reported that almost 78% of mosques’ responses stated that “there were no women representatives at mosque management levels and that only 17% said that women played some kind of role within their organisations, such as running Islamic classes for children or organising women’s activities”.

Moreover, Muslim women’s claims to mosque management can be regarded as part of the citizenship debate. According to Lewicki and O’Toole (2017, p. 153), citizenship goes beyond legal designations of nationality and can involve “the “ doing” and “ undoing” of social norms—the claiming of rights and the right to have rights”. In the context of Muslim women in the West, this points to the ways that they endorse their political agency by fighting their allocated roles by community organisations or those who monopolise the interpretation of Islam (Lewicki and O’Toole 2017). Therefore, inclusion in mosque committees can be part of Muslim women’s rights not only to religious leadership but also to public citizenship. As Predelli (2008, p. 243) puts it, “the integration and participation of women into Muslim communities and organizations may be equally important for an inclusive gendered citizenship”.

In the sample, just three women knew some women in their mosque committee and believed that they have positive roles in mosque management:

I have been part of committees who are affiliated with mosques. My experiences have generally been positive- whereby I felt included in the decision-making process.

(Shakufa, 36)

I have assisted the mosque with cleaning and open days, etc but I have not been involved with the mosque committee. There are women in my family who are currently involved in the mosque committee. They are very active and play a vital role in organising and running the activities organised by the mosque. I have not asked, but they are most likely to feel very included as they play in import role in shaping and implementing the decisions that are made.

(Jamila, 37)

It seems that some women were involved mainly in charity activities or some events in the mosque rather than in decision-making positions. Some argue that engaging in these kinds of activities and even joining the congregation can empower women and facilitate their access to decision-making roles (Abusharaf 1998; Ebaugh and Chafetz 1999). Others believe that this kind of participation in mosque activities has reinforced traditional gender roles for Muslim women (Haddad et al. 2006; Hammer 2012b). Most women in the study agreed on the restrictive role of side activities in the mosques which aggregate gender inequality and consequently prevent women from accessing decision-making roles.

5. Conclusions

This paper offers a brief exploration into the relations between gender and religious authority in Islam. It explores the views of a group of Muslim women on religious leadership roles, particularly in the mosque. The discussion of women in religious leadership roles has been a contested issue in many Muslim communities. Historically, cultural norms and traditions have shaped the common views of women holding religious leadership roles, which has led to the exclusion of Muslim women from these positions. The women in this study expressed diverse views regarding women leading mixed-gender congregations as well as women-only mosques. Notably, the male monopoly of the role of religious leader was justified by some women based on biological differences between men and women, as well as the Hadith and Sunnah. These conservative views can be explained due to strict gender segregation practices in mosques as well as a lack of any real examples of women leading mixed-gender prayers and women-only mosques in Australia. As of yet, the monopoly of male religious leadership roles has not often been challenged by Australian Muslim communities in the same way as it has by US and European Muslim communities. However, the majority of women were aware of the male monopoly of leadership roles in mosques. They all agreed that women are often excluded from decision-making roles in mosques, especially from mosque committees. They expressed the need for the inclusion of women in decision-making roles, though not necessarily religious leadership positions in mosques. They believed it would make a difference in terms of women’s access to religious knowledge and authority and consequently their sense of belonging to the community. While the majority of religious leadership roles are in the hands of men, there is hope that changes can happen in the structure of religious spaces in Australia. The change seems inevitable in Australian Muslim communities, similar to other Muslim communities. As Wadud (2021, p. 4) eloquently explains, “Muslim women’s voice and agency have reached a critical mass such that we will not be turned back despite efforts to that effect”.