A Sexist Ideology was put forth by the Shahi Imam of the Jama Masjid in Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad: “Those who select Muslim women to run for office are against Islam and are weakening the religion”, stated the chief cleric of the Jama Masjid in Ahmedabad on Sunday, a day prior to the second phase of Gujarat elections. This remark has erupted a controversy.
Apart from the objection to giving women a ticket he additionally states, “Are there no men left that you are bringing in women?
“If you talk about Islam, see there’s nothing more important in this religion than namaz. Did you see any women here reading the namaz? If it were okay for women in Islam to come in front of everyone, they wouldn’t have been stopped from doing so,” Shabbir Ahmed Siddiqui told news agency ANI.
“They are stopped from coming to mosques to read the namaz because women have a particular position in Islam. That’s why, those who give election tickets to Muslim women, are rebelling against Islam,” the Shahi Imam said.
Also, Read: Mainpuri By-polls: Voting Begins For Lok Sabha Seat, 6 assembly seats across 5 states
To this Shazia Ilmi is an Indian television journalist-turned-politician and a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) reciprocates, “It is strange that someone is saying that Muslim women should not seek tickets. Does he want to make females invisible? Does he not want women’s political participation? Does he know anything about his own religion? Does he know that many Muslim women have been heads of their respective states, Presidents and Prime Ministers over a period of time?” Ilmi said in a self-made video.
Additionally she states, “You don’t even know that in most Muslim countries, women offer Namaz. I have myself offered namaz at Al-Aqsa mosque (Jerusalem). I don’t understand which religion you are talking about. It seems you want to create your own version of Islam. This religion is of women as much as it is of men,” Ilmi said.
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
