Mosques using a literal interpretation of the Qu'ran to restrict women's rights are becoming more common in the UK, a former imam has said.

The comments, from a leading Islamic expert, follow revelations that some British mosques are commanding women not to go out without a male chaperone, not to wear jeans and to avoid Facebook.

Dr Salah al-Ansari, a senior researcher in Islamic studies at the Quilliam Foundation, said this misinterpretation of Islam, which take the Prophet Mohammed's words on the role of women out of their proper social and historical context, was "very irritating to moderate Muslims."

"This literalist interpretation has been on the increase since the 1970s onwards," he told The Independent.

"And even if it is not being published, it is being said behind closed doors, which is actually the more likely scenario. It is serious."

The Blackburn Muslim Association is one of the groups which has published orthodox rulings, including one on women not travelling more than 48 miles without a male chaperone.

Women’s Mosque of America Show all 10 1 /10 Women’s Mosque of America Women’s Mosque of America mosque10.jpg A mother and daughter sit in the mosque Reuters Women’s Mosque of America mosque9.jpg Women arrive at the mosque, many have travelled from different states and cities to attend Reuters Women’s Mosque of America mosque2.jpg Donna Auston, waits for the prayer service to start at the Women's Mosque of America Reuters Women’s Mosque of America mosque3.jpg A worshipper takes a picture Reuters Women’s Mosque of America mosque5.jpg Before the service Reuters Women’s Mosque of America mosque1.jpg Women chat before the service at the Women's Mosque Reuters Women’s Mosque of America mosque8.jpg Sana Muttalib, Co-President, and M. Hasna Maznavi, Founder and Co-President of the Women's Mosque of America Reuters Women’s Mosque of America mosque7.jpg Nia Malika Dixon opens up the prayer service at the Women's Mosque of America Reuters Women’s Mosque of America mosque4.jpg Nia Malika Dixon takes the prayer service at the Women's Mosque of America Reuters Women’s Mosque of America mosque6.jpg Women arriving at the mosque Reuters

Dr al-Ansari, who is a former imam at the London Central Mosque, said that rules on women's clothing were not written anywhere in the Q'uran.

Instead the rule was part of the hadith, which are a collection of stories told about the Prophet's actions that traditionally are held to be flexibly interpretable.

In the historical setting in which they were spoken and written, women often took a male chaperone with them because they were genuinely unsafe, Dr al-Ansari said. "In another story, the Prophet says he imagines a time when a woman can travel from Yemen to Mecca only with the presence of God.

"What we are criticising are these literal interpretations, they are not fitting with the modern day."

The Croydon Mosque and Islamic Centre also published a document entitled "Advice for the husband and wife," since taken down from the group's website, which said a woman should seek her husband's permission before leaving the house and "should not do so without his knowledge".

According to The Times, another article described modelling and acting as "immoral acts."