Mosques ban trousers, travel and Facebook

It isn’t just Blackburn Muslim Association with un-English instructions to women on their website. The Times has other examples from elsewhere. From The Times via the Daily Mail.

The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) is facing calls to demand that affiliated institutions remove online advice that curtails the freedom of women. Research by The Times found that other MCB members had published similar statements.

A document written by a mufti at the Croydon Mosque and Islamic Centre, entitled ‘Advice for the husband and wife’, also stated: ‘A woman should seek her husband’s permission when leaving the house and should not do so without his knowledge.’ In another article, the mosque calls abortion ‘a great sin’ and describes acting and modelling as ‘immoral acts’.

An article entitled ‘Dangers of Facebook’ was published on the Central Masjid of Blackburn’s website, stating: ‘Facebook has opened the doors for sin. Muslim girls and women alike have become prey to this evil.’ It cites a quotation from the Koran about the sin of alcohol, and applies it to the social network…describes the social media website as a “vicious network”.

In a Q&A, one Muslim asked the Green Lane Masjid in Birmingham if women could wear jeans. Citing an Islamic scholar, the reply was that women were not permitted to wear trousers, even in front of their husband, as they show off ‘the details of her body’. It said: ‘The ones who wear trousers are men, and the Prophet . . . cursed women who imitate men.’