This is Randi Hacker with another Postcard from Abroad from KU Center for East Asian Studies.

Recent Muslim controversies inspired this Postcard. Except for the Women’s Mosque of America in LA, women-only mosques seem to be unique to China. Though the Communists pretty much eradicated institutional religion in 1949, Islam, with 20 to 30 million followers, is now the third largest religion here. Traditionally, orthodox Islamic practice meant that mosques were not “women’s spaces” to say the least; women attending prayers, if allowed, were relegated to worshipping behind screens in back or in balconies. And many Muslim communities believe that God gives more favor to women who pray at home in private. But, in the women-only mosques of Kaifeng, women can worship as men do: including acting as imams and teaching the Koran, a surprising and fascinating twist within a religious tradition often understood as patriarchal. Snaps to China for taking the “mosque” out of “mosque-ulinity!

With thanks to Mike Wuthrich for improving this text, from the Center for East Asian Studies, this is Randi Hacker. Wish you were here.