Daily News (New York, NY)

Loosening their religion
Sick of silence, Muslim women are shaking up the boys' club

By JORDAN LITE
March 3, 2005

"...Emboldened by the sudden public interest in these problems, and free in the United States to speak their minds without fear of the government reprisal that exists in many of their homelands, Muslim women have taken the lead in challenging the status quo.

They are taking on everything from women's role in the mosque to the anti-Semitism and anti-Christian attitudes some say are entrenched in Muslim communities..."

"...The women (and like-minded men) who are speaking out tend to be in their 30s, and their message embodies a generational clash between traditional Muslim immigrants and Muslims born or raised in the West, says Daisy Khan, executive director of the nonprofit American Sufi Muslim Association, which works to build understanding between American Muslims and non-Muslims.

It's precisely that disconnect that's fueling their activism, says Ahmed Nassef, editor-in-chief of the online magazine Muslim Wake Up!, which receives nearly 3 million hits each month.

"Women are taking the lead in this," says Nassef, noting that his new, left-leaning Progressive Muslim Union is dominated by young women. More than 1,000 similarly minded Muslims in dozens of North American cities have gotten together through the community-building Web site MeetUp.com, he adds..."

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