“Had the privilege of visiting the first and only mosque in Cuba. This is the women’s section & men are to the right of this. There is a wall, but the front entrance and wudhu are the same door.” Photos of Mezquita Abdallah in Havana were submitted by Arshia Lakhani.

Odd Girl Out

Racial Inclusion in Sacred Spaces

Essay by: Yahsmin Mayaan binti BoBo

This is my confession: I have a deeply estranged relationship with the Muslim community. Rather than finding a safe haven, I often feel excluded, judged or downright bored when I attend a weekly sermon or special event. Yet and still, I desperately want to visit the masjid to meditate, offer prayers and supplications and even socialize with other Believers. I do acknowledge my need for community and my thirst for kinship. This is human nature but it is specifically my nature, as a convert.

Being segregated from men at the masjid is old news to me. In my twenty years of being Muslim, I have seen a plethora of dynamics and arrangements. I’ve been witness to close knit folks interacting comfortably with the opposite sex. And I’ve observed the absolute silence between the sexes and even a lack of acknowledgement for the women and girls present. I am not too hung up on this. As weird as it may seem, every community does things differently and I have little interest in changing that.

What bothers me most isn’t the seclusion of one gender with the other- it’s the unwelcome feeling I get when visiting an Arab masjid. It’s one thing to put up a partition; it’s entirely different to ignore visitors. No tasleem offered. No warm embrace among the faithful. Not for me at least. I live within a five minute drive from a local mosque. I seldom attend services because the women are, quite frankly, cold, abrasive or rude. In a place of worship whose language is Arabic, I am not acknowledged simply because I do not share their mother tongue. The last time I was there, an elder scolded me after I made prayer. My arms were apparently positioned wrong while in prostration. She did not look me in the eye, didn’t in troduce herself or give salaam. She only felt it necessary to check me on my movements.

Interactions like these may be further complicated because although I am dressed appropriately for any religious space, I am not donning all black attire. If my abaya has color, or my khimar is printed- I am invisible to them. For me, this is sexism. For sure, this is racism. Sadly, the competence in that particular community is painfully strained. Conversation about bigotry and discrimination simply doesn’t take form. Coincidentally, this mosque is in a Black community yet, its attendees have no interaction with the actual people who live there. Save for liquor sales, of course.

I have given up on the notion that women and men must share a room for congregational prayers. I have also abandoned the possibility that female elders at that mosque will ever acknowledge me. My hope is given to a younger generation of women living a bi cultural existence, who are enrolled in public schools, engaged in social media and do not fear their neighbors. I am counting on their inclusion. And, I am praying their influence reaches family members stubborn in their ways and rigid in their worldview. Because let’s face…our world is much bigger than the Arab microcosm. Our religion is truly global and transcends the ethnic constructs we so often lock ourselves into.

Here’s another confession: I am okay with entering from the side of a sacred space. As unpopular as that may come off, I’ve made my peace with it. But I am admittedly and emphatically not okay with being treated subhuman because my language is not Arabic and my garb doesn’t mimic theirs. I am not posing or playing dress up. I denounce any supremacist ideology whether it’s anchored to dogma or ancestry. If we acknowledge that we are created in tribes and pairs, when will our treatment of “other s”  catch up with this? Highly evolved communities aspire for Oneness. Refined individuals aspire to Oneness. It’s time we interrogate our (social) evolution, as a people, and confront the (spiritual) devolution of the spaces we named communal.

Yahsmin Mayaan Binti BoBo is a storyteller of sorts. Her work began in print journalism with an emphasis on art, culture and society. Most of her published pieces are magnified through the lens of hip hop culture. Yahsmin’s writings have been translated in three languages as editorial, profiles and interviews. In hiatus from journalism, she’s now telling her own story and intends to publish an anthology very soon.

“Jummah mubarak, but can we discuss these bars? Why?” Faryal Khatri from Indiana, US   

“The Sheikh Yusuf Mosque was was empty, so I took the mimbar for a speech!” -Photos by Alia Azzouzi in Cape Town, South Africa

“The Auwal Mosque was the first mosque built in South Africa in 1794. The ladies section was built after a donation of a woman; Saartje van de Kaap. I love the way the women’s section is integrated into the mosque with a balcony. The stairs that lead you to the women’s section go through the men’s section. There is also a picture of the first Quran [handwritten from memory by the first imam of the mosque, Qadi Abdussalam, while he was incarcerated as a political prisoner].” Photos by Alia Azzouzi. 

Learn more about the Auwal Mosque here:   

“On September 26, 1794, a Vryezwarten [Free Black Muslim], Coridon of Ceylon by name, purchased two properties in Dorp Street, Cape Town. Coridon was the first Muslim to own properties in Cape Town. On his death, his wife, Trijn van de Kaap, inherited the properties, as he had willed. In 1809 Trijn sold the properties to her daughter, Saartjie van die Kaap. In this regard, Saartjie, a rema rkable woman, made land available for the building of a masjid which was first constructed in 1794 with additions in 1807. A structural change - the construction of a mihrab [niche] indicating the direction of the qiblah - was made in order to convert the warehouse into a masjid. This masjid was established during the era of slavery, and established its roots in a climate of social and political prejudice.”

Images from the Soofo Saheb Mosque in Durban, South Africa shared by Alia Azzouzi.  

los-suspiros-del-moro:

clip from Imran J. Khan’s “Thank Allah it’s Jummah" 

starring a young Hasan Minhaj

@sideentrance

(Source: born-again-savage)

Assalamu alaikum mosque board members, imams, staff, and volunteers. Now is the time to redouble your efforts to build welcoming, inclusive mosques. When our interfaith allies call, welcome them. When non-Muslim women want to visit in solidarity, welcome them. When Muslim women need a safe space, welcome them. It is very difficult to be seen as a welcoming and inclusive space, however, if your mosque relegates women to a dank basement or makes women use the side entrance, which is far from the community - far from the brothers who may be able to come to their sisters’ aid if someone attacks them. PLEASE think about how your mosque is set up. Is it a safe space for your all your congregants? Is it a welcoming place for all your congregants, your visitors, your allies, and your neighbors? We’re entering a newly intensified era of anti-Muslim bigotry, and we know that Islamophobia in this country is gendered. It is Muslim women and girls who wear hijab that are often the firs t to be attacked. Is your mosque a sanctuary for us? Is it the place where we can seek refuge, support, and spiritual sustenance? If we knock on the door, will we be barked at to use a different entrance? Will you offer self-defense classes? Will your khutbas start with “Dear sisters and brothers?” Now is the time to redouble our efforts to build welcoming, inclusive mosques. I am here to work with you to make that happen.

Suroor Raheemullah