The Amina Wadud Controversy: Part II

Amina Wadud is on the advisory board of the Progressive Muslims Union, North America --- there are a number of articles circulating all over the web on this controversy. A couple of articles worth checking out are:

Do Female Prayer Protests Miss The Point? by Dr. Aslam Abdullah

Muslim women who suffer from all kinds of ills that a patriarchal society has imposed upon them have often been betrayed by those who claim to be religious leaders, or by those who want to denounce religious establishment for its lack of commitment to Islam. Indeed, both have betrayed Muslim women. During the last several decades, both have watched Muslim women lose their dignity while they have conducted debates about Islam and its relevance for the world at large. Both have failed to identify with those invisible beings whose whole existence has become subject to the prevailing ignorance.

True empowerment will not come from imposing this new controversy. Rather, it will come when intellectuals who are genuinely concerned about the plight of women identify with women at the grassroots level.

And Sunni Sister's blog on the issue My Prayer is the Prayer of a Woman:

Once, Yusuf ibn ‘Isam was questioning a teacher named Hatim at a circle of knowledge in a masjid in Khurasan. He asked him what is meant by having a spiritual experience in prayer, to which Hatim responded, “It means that you set the Garden of Paradise to your right, the Fire of Hell to your left, the Bridge beneath your feet, and the Balance beneath your eyes, and (that you worship) the Lord as if you could see Him, for, even if you do not see Him, He does see you.”

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “When performing the Salat, one is conversing intimately with one’s Lord.” (Bukhari, Muslim)