Bearded Lady Caught
Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2004 9:28 am
MANAMA (Reuters) - Defying Islamic traditions, a Bahraini woman disguised herself as a bearded Muslim sheikh to lead Friday prayers but was stopped before she reached the pulpit, a cleric said on Thursday.
Sheikh Adnan al-Qattan of al-Fateh Grand Mosque said the 40-year-old woman identified as Fatima donned a fake beard and robe and entered his mosque last Friday to deliver a sermon.
"She was racing to get to the stand before me ... and I got suspicious and asked the guards to stop her and call the police," he told Reuters.
"At first I didn't think it was a woman. I thought it was just a cleric I didn't know. Then when her beard began to slide off and her voice grew soft during a scuffle we found out she was a woman," the sheikh said.
Under Islam, women are not permitted to lead prayers.
Sheikh Adnan al-Qattan of al-Fateh Grand Mosque said the 40-year-old woman identified as Fatima donned a fake beard and robe and entered his mosque last Friday to deliver a sermon.
"She was racing to get to the stand before me ... and I got suspicious and asked the guards to stop her and call the police," he told Reuters.
"At first I didn't think it was a woman. I thought it was just a cleric I didn't know. Then when her beard began to slide off and her voice grew soft during a scuffle we found out she was a woman," the sheikh said.
Under Islam, women are not permitted to lead prayers.