a bit more from google

quote:

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In the small town of Pudukottai in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, a big revolution is underway. In a two-storey, red-brick house, a group of Muslim women are sitting together, discussing plans to build India's first women's mosque.

Aneesur Rahman Azami is the director of the Islamic Research and Guidance Centre. He says the women's demand for their own mosque is against Islam.

"Islam doesn't allow women to build their own mosque. And if they do, it throws up many questions. Will they have a woman Imam?

"If yes, then there's the issue of purity - a woman can't lead the prayer when she's menstruating."

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quote:

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The head of an influential Muslim body in Madras, Badar Sayed, says the campaign is a retrograde step.

"We'll sit in our own corner and pass judgments, but where do we meet? Who will play the arbitrator?

"We need to fight alongside people. We can't just separate ourselves and put the clock back 100 years."

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put the clock back? what is he talking about? women were not allowed in mosques a hundred years ago.

quote:

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posted by michelle:
Then some other woman who ISN'T menstruating can lead the prayer. Can a mosque only have one Imam?

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michelle, that's one suggestion. the other is that these men obviously need to learn that menstruating isn't a dirty disease.

and i'm pretty sure a mosque can have more than one imam. i've never been asked that question before, but now that i think about it, i recall hearing different voices doing the city-wide prayer call at the different prayer times from the mosque that was closest to my house in the UAE. i remember because my mum and i would often comment how strong and loud one imam's voice was, and how weak the other's was. so, that mosque had at least 2 imams.