First U.S. mosque to do away with gender segregation

The second mosque in the United States led solely by women held its inaugural service in California on Friday, but unlike a Los Angeles congregation that opened two years ago, the new female-led Muslim house of worship in Berkeley is open to both genders.

The Qalbu Maryam Womens Mosque is a place for women to worship in the sanctuary, to not be hidden away in dank rooms, said Rabia Keeble, founder of the Berkeley mosque.

Many mosques around the world admit men and women, but most segregate the genders.

At the Women’s Mosque of America in Los Angeles, male worshippers over the age of 12 are excluded, making the new Berkeley mosque the first of its kind in the country.

Religious leadership

Ms. Keeble is a 40-something convert from Christianity with a masters degree in religious leadership from the Starr King School of Ministry, a seminary affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley, which has donated space for the mosque.

At Qal’bu Maryam, there is no imam, as the cleric who conducts worship at a mosque is called. Rather, female lay leaders will rotate in leading the prayers and the talks.

About 50 or so women and men, including Muslims, Christians and Jews, attended the jummah or traditional Friday service.

The Quran does not directly address whether women can lead congregational prayer, according to many traditional Islamic scholars. Some argue the Prophet Mohammad gave permission to women to lead any kind of prayer, while others say that he meant to restrict women to leading prayer at home.