August
1 , 2000
AP
News
Iran -- Iranian
religious leaders have lifted a restriction on women leading
congregational prayers, the official Islamic Republic News Agency
reported Tuesday.
The religious decree, or fatwa, was issued by six senior Shiite Muslim clerics. It allows
women to lead members of the same sex in prayers for the first time,
IRNA reported.
Until now, only male clerics were allowed to lead prayers.
The decree solves a major problem in all-girl schools, where
women had not been allowed to lead prayers, IRNA quoted Ali Asghar
Nuri, an education official, as saying.
"The employment of women as leaders of Friday congregation
prayers at the head of other women during prayers held at schools
constituted a major development,'' the agency quoted Nuri as saying.
Muslims are required by their faith to pray five times a day and,
if possible, to pray with a group of other Muslims. Mass prayers are
held in all Islamic countries each Friday, the Muslim Sabbath.
