Women's mosques

Women's mosques (Chinese: [清真]女寺; pinyin: [Qīngzhēn] nǚsì) have existed in China for several hundred years.[1] They can be found in the provinces of Henan, Shanxi and Hebei.[2]

In China, separate women-only mosques were built by the Muslim communities. At the end of the Ming dynasty and early Qing dynasty, Hui women had begun to form their own mosques. The oldest surviving women's mosque in China, is Wangjia Hutong Women's Mosque of Kaifeng, which dates to 1820.[3]

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.[4]

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).[5]

Female Islamic clerics are referred to as nü ahong (女阿訇) in Chinese.

In the province of Henan:

• Beidajie Nusi, Zhengzhou[6][7]
• Beixiajie Nusi, Zhengzhou
• Minzhulu Nusi, Zhengzhou
• Xishilipu Nusi, Zhengzhou
• Hexi Nusi, Zhoukou
• Tiedanjie Nüsi, Kaifeng, one of 16 women's mosques in that city

Elsewhere:

• Jiangfanglu Nusi, Xi'an[8] (Shaanxi)
• Qian Xinchengdao Nusi (Hohhot Nüsi), Hohhot (Inner Mongolia)
• Botou Qingzhen Nüsi, Botou, Cangzhou City (Hebei)
• Beijing (Women's mosque, jap.)
• Xiaotaoyuan Mosque, Shanghai

• Bukhara,[9] see Islam in Uzbekistan
• Kabul,[10] see Islam in Afghanistan
• Maldives,[11][12] see Islam in the Maldives
• Padang[13] and Yogyakarta, see Islam in Indonesia
• Byblos, see Islam in Lebanon