Source: Reuters
By Lisa Fernandez | BERKELEY, CALIF.
The second mosque in the United States led solely by women held its inaugural service in California on Friday, but unlike a Los Angeles congregation that opened two years ago, the new female-led Muslim house of worship in Berkeley is open to both genders.
The Qal’bu Maryam Women’s Mosque “is a place for women to worship in the sanctuary, to not be hidden away in dank rooms,” said Rabi’a Keeble, founder of the Berkeley mosque, whose name means “heart of Mary” in Arabic.
Many mosques around the world admit men and women, but most segregate the genders. At the Women’s Mosque of America in Los Angeles, male worshippers over the age of 12 are excluded, making the new Berkeley mosque the first of its kind in the country.
“We uplift the female, and just as the Prophet loved women, we must follow in his footsteps and love ourselves and each other,” she said.
Categories: America, Mosque, The Muslim Times, USA, Women, Women In islam