Who's Amina Wadud III

[InterFaith]

How "Progressive" Is Dr. Amina A. Wadud?

by Karen English
Secretary General, Jamaat al-Muslimeen

When I received an enthusiastic e-mail from a friend at the beginning of the month about Dr. Amina Wadud's plan to lead Jum'aa prayer, I had to ask myself [and I'm not alone]: Why this? Why now?

During the 24 years that I have been Muslim, never once have I heard another Muslim woman express a desire to lead the Muslim prayer during juma'aa nor have I heard any expression from a sister wanting the prayer to be led by a woman. And, I have to admit, such a notion never even crossed my mind. There are so many other issues that warrant attention.

Yes, I agree with Dr. Wadud about issues of separation overkill between brothers and sisters. Some brothers do seem to make a display of their piety for the sake of other brothers, yet probably manage quite well mixing it up on their jobs or in university classrooms. And, as an African American, I'm as sick as she is about the racism among Muslims.

Yet, why does this groundswell of attention and focus on Dr. Wadud seem so manufactured? She is a learned Muslim, granted, and I do get the feeling that she sees this as a kind of calling. However, I believe Amina Wadud's campaign is a divisive diversion. It seems as calculated as what I imagine takes place in the newsroom at CNN when they're deciding what will be news and what will get barely a mention. The Schiavo woman is a huge story, Iraq gets the backburner coverage. Understandably, CNN's goal is to keep the attention off the fact that two years down the road things are not turning out as the architects of the invasion of Iraq had planned.

Dr. Wadud's campaign reminds me of this. When she could be organizing from her influential position letter writing campaigns to our senators and representatives about the plight of poor Jose Padilla or Ahmed Abdel Sattar, or any other of our political prisoners futilely numbering their days with tally marks etched on their prison walls, she chooses, instead, to pour her energies into being the first woman to lead prayer before a mixed congregation.

I went to the hyperlink included in the e-mail and came across the website "Muslim Wake Up!" Catchy name and we do need to wake up. However, "Voice of America," the United States' propaganda tool abroad, did a positive piece on the website and that gave me a bit of pause.

Muslim Wake Up! led me to the "Progressive Muslim Union of North America". This is an organization that is (in their own words) looking for a way for people to practice Islam and be Muslim according to their own definition of what that means.

Its principles include: affirming the diversity of inspirations including secular and humanist values(?) shared by many Muslims today(?); calling for critical inquiry and dynamic engagement with Islamic scripture; believing that there are multiple paths that lead to truth; supporting the political separation of religious institutions and state functions and the strict neutrality of the state on matters of religion. In other words: they're advocating what they feel is an American Islam. High on the list of priorities is eradicating "anti-Jewish bigotry" and promoting acceptance and validation of homosexual Muslims.

I clearly don't get why Amina Wadud and The Progressive Muslim Union of North America have chosen these issues but I do see what they have in common. None of these issues serves nor brings together the Muslim community. To the glee of the American power structure, they do just the opposite.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY:
Dr. Amina A. Wadud in New York Times: Immediately after Dr. W. led the "Juma' prayers" at a heavily guarded location in New York, the New York Times gave full and supportive publicity to the event. How many Muslims and Islamic events have been publicized in the NY Times in the last 10 years? Try getting even a pro-Islam letter published in the NY Times and you'll understand what we mean.

Related Links:

Who's Amina Wadud II

Who's Amina Wadud