A Statement from the Organizers of the March 18th Woman-led Jum’ah Prayer

Fundamentally, this event is about Muslim women reclaiming their rightful place in Islam. It is not about any specific person or personality. Our sole agenda is to help create Muslim communities that reflect the egalitarian nature of Islam.

This event is not a protest, and the Muslims who will be gathering on March 18th will come together in worship of God. This is a spiritual convening—nothing more, nothing less.

Those who will gather for the prayer later this week will do so as a result of deeply held convictions that are rooted in our faith. Our understanding of the Qur’an and of the Prophetic tradition has led us to the same conclusions about the admissibility of female-led prayer that led the great Muslim jurist, historian, and Qur’anic scholar Al-Tabari to hold the same view 1,100 years ago.

We love and care deeply for our community, and we understand that good people will arrive at varying conclusions regarding the Islamic basis for female-led prayer. This is not an attempt to “change” Islam, nor to condemn others who interpret our religion differently than we do.

If Muslims are to rise to the many challenges that face us, we must create safe spaces for dialogue among ourselves—silencing opposing views accomplishes nothing except the growth of resentment and driving more people away who feel marginalized. As a community, we need to acknowledge the richness of our faith and the multiplicities of interpretation that have existed within our tradition.

Unfortunately, instead of engaging in thoughtful discussion, a small minority within our community continues to favor intimidation and threats over conversing with, to use the words of our Qur’an, “that which is more beautiful,” billati hiya ahsan (Qur’an 16:125).

As a result, due to security concerns, the owner of the space that had originally offered to host the Jum’ah can no longer do so.

We are committed to holding a congregational prayer that ensures the safety of all the women, men, and children in attendance. For this reason, after consulting with concerned members of our community as well as law enforcement authorities, we have decided not to publicly announce the new location for the prayer. Those who are interested in attending must fill out the form below, and we will contact them directly with more information.

We are also looking to make arrangements for an Internet broadcast of this historic event, and more information will be published on the details of the broadcast as soon as we have them.
Finally, we want to thank all our supporters in the Muslim community who have sent us messages from around the world expressing their solidarity with us and our intentions.

God willing, the day will come when Muslims anywhere in the world will be able to stand in worship of the One God without fear or intimidation.

In order to attend the historic congregational prayer on March 18th, everyone must submit the form below.

If you would like to attend the female-led mixed-gender Friday prayer on March 18th in the New York City area, please fill out the form below, and we will get in touch with you soon. Because our paramount concern is the safety of our congregants, we may not be able to accommodate everyone. None of the information you provide will be made public, and we will need a separate form filled by each individual who seeks to attend. If you have any questions about the event, email prayer@muslimwakeup.com.