Thread by @SideEntrance

I don't normally respond to criticism given in bad faith, but i do try to engage with sincere critique given in good faith. I recently came across someone saying Side Entrance is only about shaming mosques. That is absolutely not the intention nor the impact of this work.

The intention behind Side Entrance is to highlight Sunnah-contravening spaces for women in mosques, the barriers some communities place on women from fully accessing their rights to Allah's house, and - importantly - sharing best practices of mosques doing it right.

Another intention was to highlight these unequal - and sometimes literally dangerous - spaces women are sometimes relegated to pray in, for our believing brothers to see so that they may take up the Quranic injunction (9:71) to be loyal allies of believing women.

A third intention was to create a space of catharsis for women who - in 2012 when this project was launched - were often gaslit if and when they spoke of negative experiences at the mosque. Can't really argue with photographic evidence...

I often keep the names of the mosques with bad spaces for women anonymous. This is either due to the request of the photographer, or bc it seems to me that the mosque struggles with funding. And the point in showing the pic isn't to shame poverty, but to show real challenges.

Now, for the impact of the work. Side Entrance was always intended to be an online conversation w/real-world effects, and alhamdulillah, it has been. I have been blessed to collaborate w/ @ISNAHQ, serving on their Welcoming Mosques Taskforce, training imams & mosque leaders.

@ISNAHQ One major outcome of our work with ISNA was the Fiqh Council of North America issuing the 2015 statement on women's rights to enter mosques, to pray in the musalla without a barrier, and to be involved as elected board members. isna.net/isna-statement/ (part one)

@ISNAHQ In 2018, the Fiqh Council of North America then issued a fatwa (legal opinion) on the permissibility of women's prayer in mosques & involvement in board leadership fiqhcouncil.org/general-body-m… The FC is a body of Sunni & Shia, nationally recognized & respected scholars (part two)

@ISNAHQ I was honored to serve as an advisor to, and still lead workshops on, @TheISPU study, "Reimagining Muslim Spaces," which surveyed US Muslims on their relationships to the mosque and developed recommendations on how mosques can become more welcoming ispu.org/rms

@ISNAHQ @TheISPU If you go to our webpage, you'll see a TON of information, khutbah suggestions, studies on non-mosque ways Muslims create religious communities. You'll also find stats on US Muslim women and converts, as well as khutbah topics & articles from our collaboration w/ @yaqeeninstitute

@ISNAHQ @TheISPU @yaqeeninstitute Our study showed that young people, women, and converts (of all ages, genders, races) are the ones who feel most marginalized and unwelcome in US mosques, so our recommendations focus more on these 3 categories, though there are general recs, too.

@ISNAHQ @TheISPU @yaqeeninstitute None of this is an accident. Side Entrance (the tumblr page) was ALWAYS intended to be a starting point, a catalyst for lasting change on the ground. The point was never to name and shame, but to be transparent about the challenges women face in our mosques and offer solutions.

@ISNAHQ @TheISPU @yaqeeninstitute BC I've been doing on the ground trainings & lectures for the last few years (and I'm not a Millennial, LOL) I've been a bit neglectful of my social media output. I do have an IG (instagram.com/side_entrance/) and still have the Tumblr, but looking for a SM assistant. DM me!

@ISNAHQ @TheISPU @yaqeeninstitute I'm thrilled that activism around women and the mosque has gone global. I'm proud that Side Entrance was one of the first platforms to discuss these issues, but as pics from outside the US started pouring in, I knew that this issue requires activists & scholars in each country.

@ISNAHQ @TheISPU @yaqeeninstitute So, check out @kadinlarcamiler for their amazing work in Turkey and upcoming documentary. Check out this IG (instagram.com/_viewofawoman_/) that also features women's prayer spaces around the world.

@ISNAHQ @TheISPU @yaqeeninstitute @kadinlarcamiler Check out @haleemaakhtar_ & @Fatima_Ahdash's new survey collecting information on women's experiences in British mosques amaliah.com/post/56840/the…

@ISNAHQ @TheISPU @yaqeeninstitute @kadinlarcamiler @haleemaakhtar_ @Fatima_Ahdash Direct link to the British Mosque survey: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAI…

@ISNAHQ @TheISPU @yaqeeninstitute @kadinlarcamiler @haleemaakhtar_ @Fatima_Ahdash Finally (in this longest thread ever) check ME out in my upcoming European tour inshallah when I speak on women and the mosque in:

Berlin, Germany 21.9.2019
Rotterdam, NL 27.9.2019
Vienna, Austria 4.10.2019

More events may be possible - will post individual links shortly iA.

@ISNAHQ @TheISPU @yaqeeninstitute @kadinlarcamiler @haleemaakhtar_ @Fatima_Ahdash (Ok that "finally" was more of a suggestion. I'll add more as I get links) Also check out this initiative documenting women's prayer spaces in Germany frauenbereich.tumblr.com