First woman Imam leading Friday prayer in India faces ‘death threat’

Jamida K, 34, vows to continue leading prayer despite facing death threat and criticism

Defying the age-old religious practice, a woman Imam for the first time in the history of India led Friday prayer in the southern state of Kerala, The Hindu reported.

34-year-old Jamida K, also known as ‘Jamida Teacher’ in her secluded village of Cherukode, Malappuram district, went against centuries of Sharia law but said she "did it knowing well the consequences it is going to have”.

The prayers were led for a mixed group of approximately 50 men and women at the central committee office of the Quran Sunnath Society which Jamida supports.

However, fundamentalists have threatened to eliminate Jamida. According to them, she “defiled the religion”.

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The Quran Sunnath Society was a movement established by Chekannur Moulavi, a radical Muslim scholar, who was believed to be murdered after he mysteriously disappeared in 1993.

“We follow the [Holy] Quran. It addresses humankind as men and women, and does not discriminate between them. Both men and women have an equal role in religion,” asserted the woman prayer leader.



Speaking about leading Friday prayer, she said it was a male-dominated religious practice which needs to be challenged and she will continue to lead prayer alongside other women.

Moreover, she has been receiving a barrage of criticism on social media.