Turkish mosques begin makeovers to accommodate, welcome women

PRI – Friday, 22 June 2012 (originally published 18 Jun)

A woman reads from the Koran at the Suleymaniye mosque in Istanbul, where the women’s section is at the back of the enormous open prayer area, but separated from the men’s sections by wooden screens. Image: Jodi Hilton

In Islam, men and women are expected to pray separately. For a long time, in Turkey at least, that meant men prayed at the mosques and women, well, didn’t. But as Turkey becomes more affluent and Islam plays an important role in the government, there’s an effort underway to change that and welcome them at the mosques.

The project is called “Beautifying the Mosques of Istanbul for Women” and it’s trying to change how Turkish women pray.

Kadriye Avci Erdemli, the Deputy Mufti of Istanbul and one of Turkey’s highest ranking female religious officials, organized a study of 3100 mosques and was apalled by what she found . . .

. . . read complete article . . .

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