Writing a post about Haj and Umrah clothes a while back made me realise how much I miss Makkah and Medina. I have never done Haj but I have been to Umrah many times, Al hamduliAllah. I miss the mosques only though, not the people, not the city, not the shops. And that's a shame because the Prophet (S) loved these holy cities. There is a reason why I leave with such a bitter taste in my mouth and that is because of the unjust oppression that women are forced to put up with from so called 'men of religion'. Ha, not my religion, because as far as I can tell, women were brought their rights more that 1000 years ago before they were so rudely ripped away.
Enough of my rant, I'll give you some examples and you can make of them what you will. Makkah first, I think.
1/ Generally, families go to Umrah together and a family usually consists of an equal number of males to females yet the space put for women in the Haram is ridiculously small, especially in the courtyard where the Ka'bah is. I can't explain how claustrophobic it is in what I can only describe as a cage they have placed for women. If you want fresh air, you have to tilt your head directly up - that's how condensed it is. The funny thing is, they went and got rid of the underground zamzam well that was in the courtyard to 'make more space' yet when this space was made the women's area suddenly decreased to almost half its size. Meanwhile, men get to strut around and take their pick from the vast courtyard.
You will recognize the women's area from the condensed mass of black in the courtyard...
BEFORE the removal of zamzam, still small but a shade better than whats coming:
AFTER the removal, almost the size of the Ka'bah itself:
Even within the mosque, men always get a larger area and of course, the best views of the Ka'bah. Oh and did I mention, the women's area generally isn't quite and peaceful but alive with the sound of screaming babies and children running around you while you're trying to pray.
2/ Man of 'religion' seem to think they have some divine right to stand by the Ka'bah and hit it whenever someone tries to make supplication against it, particularly on one side. Did Allah (SWT) not grant use this ancient house to be the closest place to Him on earth? What right do these men have to prevent us trying to get close to our creator?
3/ Ever heard of 'Maktabat Makkah' meaning 'the bookshop of Makkah'? It's on the grounds of the Haram and it's the birthplace of our Prophet (S). Today, it's a rundown building that sells shabby books. No women are allowed in of course.
4/ What infuriates me more than anything though, is how much they have catered for women in areas not religious. The new 'grand' Zamzam towers hotal (meters from the Haram) that certainly towers over the Ka'bah like some big ugly monster has filled its lower floors with western shops - debanhams, starbucks, the body shops, gold shops, makeup shops to name a few. Yes men shop too, but most of the shops are for women. I love shopping but I don't deny it is the place of the devil and it diverts your attention from Allah (SWT) to superficial rubbish. When in Makkah, you should spend MOST of your time on Allah but these people are actually making that easy for men to do and difficult for women. I have vowed I will never enter that shopping center that is so close to the Holy Ka'bah I consider its existence in such a place, haram.
I could go on but Medina still to complain about..
1/ The grave of the Prophet (S) is open to men from dawn right the way through to after Isha' prayer. Women? The opening hours are 2 hours in the morning after Fajr and a couple of hours after Thur prayer. Hmm why give the women the earliest and hottest part of the day? Shouldn't it be split 50/50 so men and women have access all day..
2/ Most of the time women have their bodies searched like in airports before they are allowed entry to the masjid. Men aren't.
3/ Women are lectured before going to pay their respects to the Prophet (S) about how you shouldn't visit graves and how it's not needed for women to visit the grave of the messager of Allah (S). Have they not read Surat At-Takathur? Men aren't lectured.
4/ Again, the men's area is vast and there is plenty of space to go around them. Women have a fraction of this even though they have to take the children as well..actually I remember a funny story about children in a women's area - this women tried to bring her 9/10 year old son in but got stopped while being searched saying he 'knew at that age' and wasn't allowed in. It made me laugh at first but then I realised they must be really sick minded to think that.
5/ A graveyard next to the Masjid called Baquee' is full of the graves of the companions and relatives of the Prophet (S) yet the graves have been flattened and only men are allowed in to pay their respect.
I'm not sure what they want women to do exactly. It's normal for a human to want to worship, that's how Allah (SWT) created us. Insh'Allah we are worshiping Him but when these people forbid the normal for women by imposing on them so many restrictions, people fall into the abnormal. And this is what has happened in so many Muslim countries.
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