Province Henan | ||
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Address Xiangfu, Kaifeng, Henan, China | ||
Women's mosques (Chinese: [清真]女寺; pinyin: [Qīngzhēn] nǚ sì) have existed in China for several hundred years. They can be found in the Chinese provinces of Henan, Shanxi and Hebei. Some countries beyond China also have women-only mosques, but they are rare.
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In China, separate women-only mosques were built by the Muslim communities there. This is in contrast to Muslim communities outside China, where usually men and women will use the same mosque, with gender-segregated washing and prayer rooms. At the end of the Ming dynasty and early Qing dynasty, Hui women had begun to form their own mosques. The oldest surviving nǚsì in China, is Wangjia Hutong Women's Mosque of Kaifeng, which dates to 1820.
For religious reasons, Hui communities had started to cultivate more theological learning among the women. As a result, a portion of the female Muslims who had experienced a religious education, gradually incorporated Islamic observances into their daily religious activities, and this produced the establishment of women's mosques.
By the 20th century, there were separate places of worship as women-only mosques. They are a special form of the sacred building, either as a separate institution or mosque attached to an existing larger mosque. Their managers are women, wives of the imam of a larger mosque. The commonly used title for it is Shiniang (师娘).
Female imams are referred to as ahong.
Women's mosques in China
Asia
Africa
Europe
North America
Qal'bu Maryam Women's Mosque, Oakland, California. The first women's mosque in the San Francisco Bay area, and the second in the United States, opened March 4, 2017, is located in City of Refuge Church in Oakland.