Point to the Moderates

Muslim Group Picks First Woman Leader

[Ingrid Mattson is the] first woman president of the largest Muslim group in North America...

American Muslims hold varied cultural views on the proper role for women in the faith and disagree on how to interpret Quranic verses about the subject.

Most recently, the community has been debating how far mosques should go in separating men and women during worship and whether women should lead mixed-gender prayer. There is no tradition of women imams, or clerics, at mosques. Still, women have had prominent roles outside of ritual services, founding and leading some Islamic groups throughout North America.

'My position is that women can do virtually everything else that Muslim men can do, but leading the prayer is always relational,' she said. 'It should be about who's in the room.'

While this may not be 'liberal' by American standards, it does demonstrate that devout Muslims can choose to be people of faith and have more moderate views of the role of women than Americans generally associate with the religion.

Moderates in Islam do exist, and in larger numbers that we may know. We must continue to encourage these moderate groups, and cultivate friendships with them. This path- making friends- is a viable method towards the reduction of the terrorist threat. War is not the only means.

GP