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 Imama Maryam Mirza
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Keeping the female faith
`Muslim brothers and sisters, we must all help Islam move
forward' 20-year-old's address at mosque breaks new ground.
NICHOLAS KEUNG
IMMIGRATION/DIVERSITY REPORTER
The rare sound of a woman's voice at the microphone caught
everyone's attention; even young children stopped playing and
looked up to see who was talking.
Up at the front of the United Muslim Association mosque
yesterday, a confident Maryam Mirza delivered part of the Eid
al-Fitr sermon. In doing so, she marked the end of Ramadan
(the month of fasting) and what many called a new beginning
for Muslim women as she took on a role traditionally left to
men.
"For our survival in this world, humans must change with the
times or we'll be left behind," the 20-year-old Markham woman
told the 200 people at the service. "The same concept can be
applied to religion. Muslim brothers and sisters, we must all
help Islam move forward, and I believe we are doing just
that."
Mirza looked at the silent crowd from behind the microphone
and continued: "I want to thank our leaders for making changes
outside of the norm. We must continue to educate ourselves and
initiate change in our community and in our religion. This is
all possible while still staying within the teaching of the
holy Qur'an."
Mirza's 10-minute speech, following Imam Jabar Ally's prelude,
drew tears from her mother Nazreen, who sat in the front row.
"I am very proud of Maryam. It's very emotional for me to see
my daughter setting the stage being the first female to come
out and give a sermon," explained the Guyana native. "This is
a breakthrough for Muslim women. Maryam was sitting next to
me, preparing for it. She said she was so nervous that she was
going to throw up. I could feel her cold hands. I'm just glad
she did it."
The move by the Etobicoke mosque, near Highway 27 and Finch
Ave. W., was sure to attract criticism from conservative
Muslims, congregation member Zaheer Majeed said.
"Gender question is a big issue in Islam. We always talk about
women being equal in Islam, but sometimes in practice, it's
just not there," lamented the 55-year-old man. "Men my age
carry a lot of baggage. Not only do they feel challenged and
insecure about this, most feel men's position is threatened."
Not for Esmile Ghanie.
"Gender is always a yes-and-no kind of debate. But the debate
has to start somewhere," said the 41-year-old father of three
young girls. "I think today's sermon was fantastic. It was
very enlightening to see a woman taking part in the ceremony.
Maryam can be a good role model for other girls. If she can do
it, they can do it, too."
News of Mirza's delivery of the sermon also attracted guests
from other mosques, who showed up to support and congratulate
the association's move.
"This is history for me. It is a great way to start the Eid
celebration," said Faizal Kayum, who attended yesterday's
service with his son Azeem. "The religion has been dominated
by males. It's about time for women to step up to the plate."
Imam Ally said he hopes the congregation, whose members mostly
come from Guyana and the Caribbean, can start a wave of
positive change for women within the Muslim community.
"Women themselves contribute greatly. Think of any jobs that
women can't do?" Ally said in his address.
"Ask Allah to allow you to have an open mind to give these
sisters a chance to express themselves
Professor Leonard Swidler, Ph.D, S.T.L., LL.D., LL.D.
Professor of Catholic Thought and Interreligious Dialogue
Co-Founder/Editor, Journal of Ecumenical Studies
Founder/Director, Institute for Interreligious, Intercultural Dialogue
Religion Department, Temple University Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA
Tel: 215-204-7251 (Off.); 215-477-1080 (Home); Fax: 215-204-4569
E-mail: [email protected] Web:
http://astro.temple.edu/~dialogue/Swidler
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