Very cool.
She is one of a growing number of Muslim women preachers in the Egyptian capital who deliver regular sermons in mosque halls, preaching about Islam, interpreting Koranic verses and advising people how to live as virtuous Muslims.
Similar gatherings at private homes are also becoming popular, catering to a growing number of young people who do not identify with radical preaching but do not subscribe to a Western style of living at odds with their conservative culture.
I’m always happy to hear women’s voices in any context, including the religious. These women naturally face a lot of nay-sayers, and their opponents apparently think it’s a better idea to make condescending comments about these women rather than oppose them directly:
Some scholars and sociologists have said the rising demand for women preachers has led to unqualified people taking on the role and the growing popularity of their classes was due more to their fulfilling a social need.
“Since the women’s arena is lacking in qualified people who have studied Islamic jurisprudence, that has given a chance for those less qualified to do so,” Saleh said.
Sociologist Saadeddin Ibrahim said the phenomenon had been growing among the middle and upper classes in the past 10 years and was “the functional equivalent of ladies’ bridge parties.”
“This is partly socializing and partly a game, a good deal of the preaching has that dimension to it, so it becomes attractive to join them. To learn to be preachers themselves as well as recipients has also become fashionable,” he said.
Right. They’re doing it because it’s trendy. Unlike the boys, who do it because they’re true believers.
via Broadsheet.