"An Example to Live By": Asra Nomani at the ISNA Convention

By Sabreen Akhter

I’m not much for ISNA these days. Not all, but much of it seems to be about the same pundits and “Muslim Celebrities” you always see rehashing their brand of “Why Islam Rocks Our Worlds,” and “Why Everybody Got To Be Hatin’ On Us.”

This year, though I was excited to see that they had allotted a whole ten minutes to the revolutionary and inspiring activist, journalist, and author Asra Nomani. She was to be at the end of a hodge-podge of other presentations in a session entitled “Abstract Presentations III: Communicating With Our Neighbors.” She was presenting her newly researched proposal, An Islamic Bill of Rights for Women in the Mosque—a primer of ten basic rights for Muslim women in their masajid. Our little Chicago-based group AMAL (American Muslims for Activism and Learning) had the benefit of previewing her presentation at our monthly meeting two nights before, and her ideas and research had been very warmly received. Many of us were in the audience that day to support her and also to gauge the greater Muslim community’s response to her ideas.

There were about 150 people in attendance on that day in Room 23 at the Rosemont Horizon/Allstate Arena, and by the end, it was standing room only in the back. At the end of an hour of various presentations, including some wonderful ones about a youth interfaith association in Milwaukee and a new Muslims class in the Bay area, it was time for Asra to speak. She gave a very simple but powerful presentation on her Bill of Rights and explained the genesis of the project.

As this petite, lovely woman spoke in a gentle and measured tone, I noticed how she kept her head held so high, so regal, as if she was aware of what was about to come.

As she went on, there were audible rustlings throughout the hall, a certain palpable electricity was building. I wondered if this was why they had placed her last.

Question and Answer time began immediately after her presentation, and ten people lined up right away down the center of the hall. It soon became clear that all anyone wanted to talk about that day was Asra, as eight of the ten proceeded to address all of their questions/comments towards her.

The first three people immediately had wonderful positive questions and comments for her. There was an Asian American brother wondering how to explain to his non-Muslim co-workers why Muslim women seemed to be treated so badly in mosques all over the US, even though in theory they should not have been. An African American Muslim woman asked for Asra’s advice for a similar struggle for mosque equality that she was enduring in Boston. And an Arab American sister simply wanted to express her support and solidarity for Asra’s cause.

What followed was a very depressing demonstration of the “old guard” of Muslims and a confirmation of how desperately things need to change in the present moment. Two elderly Indian men followed, the first getting very worked up by the fact that Asra had not followed every mention of Prophet Muhammad’s name during her presentation with an obligatory salla'l-lahu 'alayhi wasallam, "may God's blessings be upon him." He stated he found it hard to believe anything she said because of this. How ridiculous, I thought to myself, that we are still caught up in judging each other’s spirituality and validity based on such superficial measures. How does that reflect an iota of what she may feel for the Prophet in her heart.

The next gentleman started off by saying that, although he agreed with most of what Asra had to say, he still did not feel that he needed to be subjected to seeing a woman’s hair or neckline at the mosque, much less “try to figure out the shape of her body.” “So look away!” I shouted from the audience. Immature heckling, you say? I concur… but damn if it didn’t feel good.

Next up was an Arab Muslim woman who practically bum-rushed the stage, grabbing the mike from its stand and planting herself in front of everyone for her diatribe. This should be good, I thought. After a prolonged and frenetic supplication in Arabic, she explained that in her home country, there was much more mixing in the mosques than there is here, but that she feels much safer and more pious when she is completely segregated from men, as she is here. “I don’t know why, but I just feel more weak in front of men,” was her concluding statement, to which several women from the audience shouted back, “Well that is just your upbringing, sister.” The funny thing is that, had she been listening, she would have noted that Asra not only advocates for the women who want to pray on the main floor with the men, but also supports the idea of a separate area for the women who choose to be segregated; choose being the operative word.

The final and perhaps most comical character was a young South Asian man who demonstrated almost seizure-like activity in his fury towards Asra’s ideas, shaking his head violently at the end, shrieking, “Man does not make the rules! Only God does!” Wow… since when do we have to wait for any man or deity to hand down rules as basic as common human decency?

The session ended on a positive note, as a young, blonde lady reminded us all of our inner modesty and “hijab as a state of mind.”

By the end of this charade, I was left with a pulsating headache and the grim realization that it seemed like the room was split in half regarding Asra’s Bill of Rights. Although there were many cheers at some of the positive comments directed towards her, there was an equal, if not greater, swell of support for those who did not align with Asra’s beliefs. I was truly stunned and disheartened by this—I had thought her presentation to be a basic reiteration of the rights guaranteed to us all by the Qur’an and the Prophet’s example, a call for us all to wake up, look with a keener eye at the injustices happening all around us in our own communities, and ultimately work to effect change. I still cannot believe how many people took issue with this, and how afraid so many are of any change at all.

The most remarkable part in all of this was how Asra responded to these “attacks” towards her. She handled every audience member equally, with the ultimate grace and presence of serenity, always thanking them and acknowledging where they were coming from, before explaining herself. Even though everyone around her was reacting poorly, including myself, her composure never failed. Now that, friends, seems like quite an example to live by.

Sabreen Akhter is a member of American Muslims for Learning and Activism (AMAL). She is a pediatric resident in Chicago.