Deoband’s Maualana lashes out at Shahi Iman and explains why Muslim women do not go to Mosques

New Delhi, Dec 06: In Islam women are not prohibited from going to the Mosque and the women had stopped going to the Mosque because he Imam of the Mosque would molest them, Deoband's Maulana Rao Musharraf said. His comments were made following the remarks made by Shahi Imam Shabbir Ahmed Siddiqui of Ahemdabad. He had said that giving tickets to Muslim women were against Islam.

Islam decrees equality of women. When women go to perform Hajj, there is no hinderance. Islam decrees both men and women going to perform Hajj. However there is no restriction in going to a Mosque. It is not written anywhere in the Quran and Hadith that women are restricted from going to a Mosque, he also said.

The Maulana further pointed out that women had become prime minsters in Islamic nations such as Pakistan and Bangladesh. When Sheikh Hasina can become prime minister of Bangladesh, Benazir Bhutto the head of Pakistan, then why not in India. Everyone is free in India and there is no restriction on anyone. Everyone can vote and contest elections, he also added. Such Maulanas make such statements to spread fundamentalism, he added. It is not just separatist, but conservative too he said and said that it is necessary to ban such statements of such Maulanas.

What Siddiqui said:

Siddiqui a day before the second phase of the Gujarat elections opposed the idea of giving tickets to Muslim women candidates. Those giving election tickets to Muslim women are against Islam, he said.

You just saw Namaz being offered. Did you see any women there, he asked. He told news agency ANI that if a woman coming out in the open like this was allowed in Islam, they would not have been barred from entering the Masjid. Why are they barred from entering the Mosques? This is because there is a place for woman in Islam. Hence giving tickets to them is like revolting against Islam, Siddiqui said.