Louay M. Safi, Ph.D., is the author of "Peace And The Limits Of War: Transcending Classical Conception of Jihad," "Tensions and Transitions in the Muslim World" and "The Challenge of Modernity." He contributed this article to Media Monitors Network (MMN) from Indiana, USA. Dr. Louay M. Safi serves as the executive director of ISNA Leadership Development Center, an Indiana based organization dedicated to enhancing leadership awareness and skills among American Muslim leaders, and founding board member of the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy. He writes and lectures on issues relating to Islam, American Muslims, democracy, human rights, and world peace. His is the author of eight books and numerous papers, including Tensions and Transitions in the Muslim word, published by University Press of America, 2003. 

The Masjid, better known in North America as the Islamic center, is the center of spiritual, social, educational, and, most recently, political activities of the American Muslim community. The Masjid is also the place where Muslims of diverse cultural and ideological backgrounds meet and interact. The diversity of interpretations of Islamic sources and practices has created tensions, particularly in Islamic centers where the tendency is to impose strict interpretations about the appropriate place and role of Muslim women in the Masjid and the community.
An increasing number of young Muslim women complain of restrictive arrangements and practices, impeding their ability to fully participate in educational and social programs. Many Masjids today restrict the main prayer hall to men, and assign women to secluded quarters. Women are asking out laud: is this the place Islam assigns for us, or is it the imposition of cultural traditions? Some have even gone to the other extreme of rejecting all traditions and discarding all limits.

For Believing Men and Women

The Masjid is a place for spiritual growth and development for all Muslims, and should be equally accessible for both genders. The Qur’an has set the spiritual and moral equality of men and women in explicit and unequivocal terms:
Allah has prepared forgiveness and great rewards for the Muslim men and women; for the believing men and women; for the devout men and women; for the truthful men and women; for the men and women who are patient and constant; the men and women who humble themselves; for the men and women who give charity; for the men and women who fast, for the men and women who guard their chastity; and the men and women who are exceedingly mindful of Allah. (Al-Ahzab 33:35)
Both men and women, the Qur’an stresses, have a moral obligation to develop themselves spiritually and morally, and to fulfill their social responsibilities. The Masjid is, and has always been, the center of moral and spiritual learning and growth.
Likewise, the Masjid is a public place for discussing issues of public concern and to respond to challenges facing the community. The Qur’an is also clear on the equal responsibility of both men and women for developing the public good:
The believing men and women are protectors and helpers of each other. They (collaborate) to promote all that is good and oppose all that is evil; establish prayers and give charity, and obey Allah and his Messenger. Those are the people whom Allah would grant mercy. Indeed Allah is Exalted and Wise. (Al-Tawbah 9:71)
Promoting public good and opposing evil are public duties equally required from men and women, and the Masjid is the place where Muslim men and women can meet to plan community development and devise strategies for promoting public good.

The Prophet Affirms Equal Access

During the formative years of Islam women participated in public services, and shared the Masjid of the Prophet’s main hall. Sharing the main prayer hall allowed women to fully engage in public debate and influence decisions affecting their lives and the life of the community. When the second Caliph Umar bin al-Khattab wanted to put a cap on dowry, he was challenged by a woman, who stood up in the middle of the Masjid and pointed out that his proposed policy violated Islamic law. He conceded and the proposed policy was never carried out.
Although the Qur’an is clear on the spiritual and moral equality of men and women, the Prophet, recognizing the tendency of some men to be overprotective of their female relatives, cautioned the Muslim community against preventing women from frequenting the Masjid:
Ibn Umar narrated: The Messenger of Allah, peace be with him, said: Do not deprive women of their share of the Masjids, when they seek permission from you. Bilal said: By Allah, we would certainly prevent them. 'Abdullah said: I say that the Messenger of Allah, peace be with him, said it and you say: We would certainly prevent them! (Sahih Muslim Book 4, Number 891)
Narrated Ibn Umar: The Prophet, peace be with him, said, "Allow women to go to the Mosques at night." (Bukhari Volume 2, Book 13, Number 22)

Sidestepping Established Principles

The argument against women sharing the main prayer hall is based on the principle of “corruption prevention” (dar’ al-mafasid). The principle states that “whatever leads to unlawful practices (haram) is in itself unlawful.” The principle, though not widely accepted by Muslim jurists, has been extensively used to limit actions that are otherwise lawful under Shari’ah. It was invoked by some jurists to reject the use of radio, TV, press, and other inventions because these were used to promote corrupt practices. Indeed, by invoking the principle of “corruption prevention” many good practices and devices could be declared unlawful, including the use of the internet and popular governance, as both are open to abuse.

Employing the “corruption prevention” argument, a number of Masjids have decided to assign secluded quarters for women, and have placed many restrictions on women’s use of the Masjid’s facilities. In recent visits to three Islamic centers, several Muslim women complained bitterly to me about their experiences with community leaders. They complained of their inability to participate in general lectures and discussions, of the quality of the quarters assigned to them, and of their reliance on audio and video systems that frequently cut them off from the ongoing lectures or discussions.

Assigning women to separate quarters during lectures and discussions does not “prevent corruption” but rather “prevent education and spiritual growth.” I have heard many accounts of women completely immersed in conversations about shopping and cooking during public lectures. The seclusion gives some women, particularly the feeling of distance and separation, and some women conclude that the events that take place in the main hall do not concern them. In such instances, the women’s quarters become less friendly to women who want to concentrate on learning and community issues.
Not all Masjids embrace a mandatory seclusion policy. Many leading Masjids, such as Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS), ensure that women share the main hall, participate fully in learning and consultation, and take active role in running the Masjid. Women serve on the executive board of ADAMS and on its board of trustees. 5 of the 13 Board of Trustees members are women, and ADAMS vice president is a women. While ADAMS gives full access to women to use its main prayer hall, it still permits women who want privacy to stay in a separate quarter, thereby ensuring that Muslim women with different needs and convictions have place in the Masjid.
Preventing women from exercising established rights or undertake duties cannot be justified under argument of “corruption prevention.” This argument was used at the formative stage of Islamic society, but was rejected by early Muslims. Abdullah bin Umar rejected this same argument of prevention:
Ibn 'Umar reported: Grant permission to women for going to the mosque in the night. His son who was called Waqid said: Then they would make mischief. He (the narrator) said: He thumped his (son's) chest and said: I am narrating to you the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him), and you say: No! (Sahih Muslim Book 4, Number 890)

Problems with Women’s Seclusion

Assigning women a separate and secluded space does not only go against Qur’anic injunctions and the practices and directives of the Prophet, peace be with him, but is detrimental to the spiritual and moral growth of women and the development of the community.
Preventing women from gaining direct access to the main hall of the Masjid, where lectures and study circles take place, deprives them from taking active role in learning. In addition to the psychological and emotional feeling of not taking active part in the meetings, the ability to interact with the speakers, to ask questions and offer comments, is impeded.
Secluding women deprive the emerging Muslim community from a growing number of young Muslim women who do expect, and rightly so, that the Masjid does not take away their right to take active part in serving the community. When legitimate expectations are not met, and when the customs and cultural traditions are given priority, they often force women to stay away from the Masjid, and hence from Islamic learning and activities.
Elevating the cultural traditions and customs of immigrants works against the very mission of the Masjid, as it becomes an impediment for educating people of other faiths about Islam. Historically, Islam found home in different communities throughout the world because of its ability to accommodate local customs and cultures, as long as they are not in conflict with Islamic teachings. Immigrant communities would be betraying their mission and trust if they insist on imposing their customs and cultural traditions.

Women and Masjid’s Governance

Women’s leadership in the community is another contentious issue. Women have assumed, in some Islamic centers, key leadership positions, by serving on the executive board, and leading key committees, while they are kept at arm’s bay in others. Although Islam recognized the capacity of women to enjoy equal moral responsibility, as we saw earlier, many Muslim community managed, nonetheless, to curtail women’s participation in public duties on social and rational grounds. The degree of limitations placed on women’s ability to serve in public capacity varies across historical periods and fiqh schools.

Early jurists disagreed as to whether women can assume public office; while Ibn Jarir al-Tabari placed no limitations on women’s right to assume the post of judge in all legal matters, al-Mawardi contended that women cannot be allowed to serve as judges under any circumstances. In between stands Abu Hanifa who allowed women to serve as judges except in cases involving commercial deals.

To their credit, early Muslim jurists recognized women’s rights to serve in public capacity at times when many women have limited involvement in public life, and limited exposure to public service. Contemporary Muslim jurists should ensure that the original Qur’anic position of equal spiritual and moral rights and obligations is respected and advanced in today’s society. This is more pressing today as the question of women capacity to exercise leadership and serve the community is put to rest through impressive track record of Muslim women achieving in the academia, professional work, and community service.

Our Masjids must reflect the leading role played by American Muslim women by ensuring that they are represented on the Masjid board and join the rank of leadership. The importance of women taking active part on the executive board and in executive committees is further underscored by the need to represent concerns that can not be expressed except by women, who feel the impact of decisions made by the Masjid on the quality of life and participation of other women.

Swinging to the Other Extreme

Several feminist Muslims, supported by a network of progressive activists, have been pushing the pendulum to the other extreme. Their solution for limiting women to secluded quarters, and their marginalization in ultra conservative Masjids, is to open the Masjid to a mixed congregation lead by women. The Progressive Muslim Union has already announced a mixed congregation to be led by Amina Wadud this month in New York. It is unfortunate that Muslim feminists are following in the footsteps of their secularist precursors, breaking all traditions, and engaging in experimentations that break out with formative principles and values. For individuals and movements interested in reforming attitudes and practices to take the opposite extreme can only hurt the reform agenda already underway throughout North America.

The recent push to break out with community and tradition goes far beyond any reform agenda. Reform requires that one articulate the foundational principles and then engage the larger Muslim community in dialogue to create a new awareness and to translate the articulated principles into a living tradition. Reform aimed at critically engage Muslim traditions must stick closely to the Qur’an and prophetic practices, to clarify Islamic injunctions and established prophetic traditions. The Progressive Muslim Union’s leaders have apparently decided to push the envelope beyond all limits and operate in revolutionary rather than a reformist mode.

It is quite apparent that Muslim reformers, concerned with evolving the practices of the American Muslim community, and ensuring the full and meaningful inclusion of women in community life, must navigate their way by maintaining a middle ground, away from extremist tendencies: away from extreme conservative tendencies obsessed with preserving cultural traditions even at the expense of distorting Islamic teachings, and from extreme liberal outbursts that want to break fully with all traditions and delve into an empty space with no directions and road signs.

Courtesy: Media Monitor Networks.  Thursday March 10, 2005




The Noble Qur'an which was revealed to Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) about 1400 years ago mentions how the sex of a human being is determined. The following two verses or Ayat of the Qur'an are very clear on this matter.(A. Yusuf Ali translation)
                            
                                                              "And of him He made
                                                Two sexes, male and female."   Surah Qiyamat (the                                                                                        Resurrection), 75: 39

In the above Ayah, " of him He made two sexes, male and female" means that of  the human male (he), He (Allah)
Created both the sexes male and female.  Hence   human male is responsible for the birth of a male child or a female child.  The human female is not responsible for the sex determination of the child.  However, in many Muslim countries the woman is blamed for the birth of a female child as in these countries they welcome the arrival of a male child.

                                  "That He did create in pairs,-male and female,
                            From a seed when lodged (in its place);  Surah Najm(the                                                                                     Star) 53:45-46

To understand Sex determination we need to understand the Chromosomes, particularly the X and Y chromosomes.
The accepted chromosome number for humans in 1935 was forty-eight. The year 1956 is considered to mark the beginning of modern human Cytogenetics. Until this time the number of chromosomes in the normal human cell was considered to be 48. Due to improvements in techniques it was discovered that the correct number is 46 (Tjio and Levan, 1956)
 Reference: Tjio JH, Levan A (1956) The chromosome number of man. Am J Obstet Gynecol 130:723-724   

What is a Chromosome?

A chromosome is composed of a very long molecule of DNA and associated proteins that carry hereditary information. The centromere, which is at the center of the chromosome, is a specialized structure that appears during cell division and ensures the correct distribution of duplicated chromosomes to daughter cells. Telomeres are the structures that seal the end of a chromosome. Telomeres play a critical role in chromosome replication and maintenance by counteracting the tendency of the chromosome to otherwise shorten with each round of replication.  
Chromosomes are composed of protein and DNA, and they are distinct dense bodies found in the nucleus of cells. Genetic information is contained in the DNA of chromosomes in the form of linear sequences of bases (A, T, C, G). The DNA in an individual chromosome is one, long molecule, which is highly coiled and condensed. The total number of bases in all the chromosomes of a human cell is approximately six billion and individual chromosomes range from 50 to 250 million bases. The DNA sequence for a single trait is called a gene. Each chromosome contains a few thousand genes, which range in size from a few thousand bases up to 2 million bases.  
During most of the cell cycle, interphase, the chromosomes are somewhat less condensed and are not visible as individual objects under the light microscope. However during cell division or mitosis, the chromosomes become highly condensed and are then visible as dark distinct bodies within the nuclei of cells. The chromosomes are most easily seen and identified at the metaphase stage of cell division.  
Sex Chromosomes X and Y
Somatic cell  is any cell other than a sperm or egg cell. Somatic cells in humans and most other animals are diploid. Diploid cells  are cells containing two sets of chromosomes.    Each somatic cell in humans contains 46  chromosomes which can be distinguished from one another by their appearance under a microscope. Chromosomes differ in size, position of the centromere, and staining pattern.  A pair of chromosomes that have the same size, centromere position and staining pattern are called Homologous chromosomes (homologues). The chromosomes of a homologous pair carry genes controlling the same inherited traits. Each locus (the position of a gene along the length of a chromosome) is in the same position on homologues.
One exception to homologous chromosomes for human somatic cells is the two distinct sex chromosomes which are important in sex determination. All other chromosomes are referred to as autosomes.  

Sex chromosomes in humans are the X and Y chromosomes.
*  Females have a homologous pair of X chromosomes.
*  Males have one X and one Y chromosomes.
*  Thus, humans have 22 pairs of autosomes and 1 pair of sex chromosomes.  
The special type of cell division that produces haploid cells is called meiosis and occurs only in the gonads (ovaries of the female and testes of the male). Meiosis in humans produces sperm and egg cells which contain 23 chromosomes. When fertilization occurs, the zygote contains 46 chromosomes and is diploid. The process of meiosis and fertilization are unique to sexual reproduction and all sexually reproducing organisms follow a basic pattern of alternation between diploid and haploid conditions. Haploid cell  is a cell that contains a single chromosome set.  
The number of chromosomes in human cells is 46 with 22 autosomal pairs (a total of 44) (one of each type contributed by the mother and one of each type from the father) and 2 sex chromosomes - 2 X chromosomes for females (one from father and one from mother) or an X and a Y chromosome for males (the X from the mother and the Y from the father). Sex chromosomes determine the sex of an organism and some other sex-linked characteristics.
In the process of reproduction, special cells are produced in males and females. Males produce sperm cells and females produce egg cells, or ova. The chromosomal makeup of these cells is interesting. Each sex cell from each parent contains only one member from each pair of chromosomes. Therefore, in ova or egg cells there are 22 autosomes plus an X chromosome. There are two types of sperm cells, each type carrying 22 autosomes plus a gender-determining chromosome, i.e., X or Y.  
The banding of chromosomes by using dyes was discovered in the late 1960's and before that cytogeneticists depended on chromosome length and position of a constriction to identify the individual chromosomes. The band width and the order of bands is characteristic of a particular chromosome - a trained cytogeneticist can identify each chromosome (1,2,3...22, X and Y) by observing its banding pattern under the microscope.

Sex Determination

Sperm and egg cells are called gametes and are distinct from somatic cells with respect to their chromosome number.  Each human gamete contains a single set of 22 autosomes and a sex chromosome (either an X or a Y). Gametes in humans and other organisms are haploid.  
Haploid number: The number of chromosomes in a haploid cell (designated N). The haploid number of humans is 23. Sexual intercourse allows a haploid sperm cell from the father to reach and fuse with an egg cell from the mother in a process called fertilizationFertilization is the fusion of a sperm cell and an egg cell to form a zygote.
Zygote  is a fertilized egg cell  and it contains the two haploid sets of chromosomes from the gametes and is diploid.
Half of the genes carried on the chromosomes are contributed by the mother (set of chromosomes from the egg cell) and half by the father (set of chromosomes from the sperm cell).
During development from a zygote to a sexually mature adult, the zygote's genetic information is passed with precision to all somatic cells by the process of mitosis. Sex organs, which form during development, then produce new gametes which can initiate a new cycle.
A human's sex is predetermined in the sperm gamete (spermatozoa).  The egg gamete mother cell is said to be homogametic, because all its cell possess the XX sex chromosomes. Sperm gametes are deemed heterogametic because around half of them contain the X chromosome and others possess the Y chromosome to compliment the first X chromosome. In light of this, there are two possibilities that can occur during fertilization between male and female gametes, XX and XY. Since sperm are the variable factor (i.e. which sperm fertilizes the egg) they are responsible for determining sex.  

Chromosomes X and Y  
Chromosomes X and Y do not truly make up a homologous pair. They act similarly in their roles, but they are not homologous (the same). The X chromosome in humans is much longer than the Y chromosome and also contains many more genes. These genes are said to be sex linked, due to the fact they are present in one of the sex chromosomes. During fertilization, when the opposing homologous chromosomes come together, the smaller Y chromosome offers no dominance against the 'extra' X-chromosomes as indicated below.  
Sex Linked Characteristics
These sex linked genes on the X chromosome display a number of characteristics. The following are some examples of phenotypes as a result of these genes:
Red-Green colour blindness and  Hemophilia - (a condition which prevents the clotting of the blood)

Humans usually have 46 chromosomes per diploid cell consisting of 22 sets of autosomes and a set of sex chromosomes - either XX or XY. In the usual course of events, individuals with the karyotype 46, XX are female and individuals with 46, XY, are male.

The question arises as to how the sex of an individual is determined. Is sex determined by the number of X-chromosomes - with one X you are male or with 2 X's you are female? Or is sex determined by the presence or absence of the Y chromosome - the presence of a Y makes for a male or the absence of a Y produces a female?
The answer was provided by individuals resulting from non-disjunction of the sex chromosomes. Some individuals have 45 chromosomes and have only one X chromosome; other individuals have 47 chromosomes and have two X-chromosomes and a Y. The table below indicates the sex of these individuals. ___________________________________________________________________________________________

Chromosome Constitution       Name of Syndrome                 Sex of Individual      Frequency in Population
            46, XX                            Normal                                       Female                                 0.511 *
            46, XY                        Normal                                       Male                                    0.489*
            45, XO                            Turner's Syndrome                     Female                                1 in 5,000
            47, XXY                          Klinefelter's Syndrome              Male                                   1 in 700
____________________________________________________________________________________________
* Female (46, XX) and Male (46, XY) frequencies taken from US Census projection of July 1, 1966 with no correction for chromosome constitution.
It is clear that the presence of a Y chromosome is necessary for male sexual characteristics to develop.

NewerStories OlderStories Home