Women’s Mosque of America

From Aljazeera America: First all-female mosque opens in Los Angeles, Long relegated to basements and balconies in their places of worship, women are front and center at LA mosque ~ by Nick Street

LOS ANGELES — The first women-only mosque in the United States opened its doors in Los Angeles on Friday with an inaugural jummah, or prayer, by Edina Lekovic of the Muslim Public Affairs Council. The mosque is housed in a century-old multifaith worship space near downtown. Originally built as a synagogue, Pico-Union is now the home of the nonprofit Women’s Mosque as well as several Jewish and Christian groups.

Even as the boards of directors at many American mosques are becoming more welcoming to women, the relegation of Muslim women to basements, balconies and other less desirable spaces in their houses of worship remains a common practice. That second-class status is the main force behind the founding of the Women’s Mosque.

Edina Lekovic, of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, said:

In mainstream mosques, women’s issues are usually a sideshow. Our intention is to help women read the Quran and interpret the scriptures and tradition for themselves. We’re doing this with an eye on empowering women to serve the broader Muslim community.

We applaud and celebrate these women.  No woman should feel like a "second-class sideshow" in her own faith tradition.