From the Mosque to the Mahfil: Regulations, Limitations, and Opportunities in the Development of Women’s Religious and Educational Rights

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Gümrükçüoğlu S.

KADEM Kadın Araştırmaları Dergisi, cilt.11, sa.2, ss.328-368, 2025 (TRDizin)

Özet

In the early years of Islam, mosques were not merely places of worship;

they served as centers of education, social solidarity, political decisionmaking,

and cultural interaction, thereby serving as foundational

institutions that fostered social cohesion. The Prophet’s era offers the

most salient examples of women’s active participation in the mosque.

During this period, women took part not only in congregational

prayers but also in study circles, social welfare activities, and scholarly

debates. The Prophet’s practice of allocating separate days for women

through special lessons and conversations enhanced their access to

knowledge. In subsequent periods, however, social transformations,

security concerns, and discourses of “fitna” curtailed women’s visibility

in mosques; restrictive juridical interpretations developed within the

fiqh tradition further reinforced this trend. In the Seljuk and Ottoman

eras, women’s experiences of the mosque were largely confined to

special days and nights, and the introduction of designated women’s

sections (mahfil) physically separated them from the main body of the

congregation. Today, the inadequacy of mosques in meeting women’s

needs for worship, education, and social engagement is widely debated.

In this context, revitalizing the socially integrative role of mosques

and interpreting women’s relationship with the mosque in line with

Islam’s universal principles are crucial for religious equality and social

inclusivity.