Mosque w the gay pride flag that lets women lead the pray
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Khaki recalls a past congregant saying, “No wonder Muslim men don’t want women to lead prayer.
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They are overwhelmingly liberal and left wing, and see Islam as a progressive, emancipatory religion. The congregants are diverse, including recent immigrants and refugees, Muslims born in Canada that grew disenchanted with the faith, converts, and even non-Muslim allies. Everyone is invited to share their name, pronouns, and any prayers they may wish to offer. The sermon is followed by an open discussion: a non-hierarchal space where everyone can participate, more seminar than lecture. Others join the service through Skype, broadcast via a laptop at the front of the room. There is no gender segregation, and congregants sit in a circle on thin sheets and yoga mats they pull out from a closet at the beginning of the service, with pots of tea and mugs in the middle. At the Unity Mosque, anyone can give the call to, or lead, prayer. Women usually sit in another room, or at the back. The weekly Friday service in most mosques around the world sees a man give the call to prayer, another man give the khutbah (sermon), and rows of men sitting on rugs facing the speaker. There is always an acknowledgement of the traditional First Nations territory Toronto sits on, and occasionally an Indigenous elder friend of the mosque performs a ritual before the Islamic prayers begin. The service, which is held in a boardroom in an office building, begins with a list of guidelines stressing that “Islam is not a monolith.” This encourages people to preface any statements with “my Islam’ instead of “Islam says.” One critical rule is the lack of dress code: shorts are allowed, and women don't need to cover their hair. The Unity Mosque’s inclusive spirit is matched by its egalitarian practices, which, even among a religion as diverse as Islam, are unique.
Mosque w the gay pride flag that lets women lead the pray free#
Khaki keeps the mosque’s location secret, and vets anyone who wants to attend, because congregants “should be free to come into our space, and no one should be in that space that will tell them that they’re disgusting or immoral.” Queer refugee lawyer El-Farouk Khaki co-founded the Unity Mosque in 2009 because, “I tell you about how beautiful I think Islam is, but I show you.” He wanted to establish a safe space for queer Muslims, many of whom feel obliged to hide their identities when entering mosques or avoid them entirely.