Intermingling

The Shari’ah does not authorise the intermingling of opposite sexes, whether it is in a social or a religious gathering. It is Haraam for men and women to gather for any purpose. Recently, there was intermingling of men and women in a Masjid where a woman conducted a Khutbah and the people performed Salah together. Similarly, in Mauritius, there is a sect that assembles men and women together to do Zikr. The women, dressed in white clothes, surround the men and they do Zikr while making movements and beating the Duff. All this is forbidden in Islam. It is an anti-Islamic way of doing Zikr. Doing Zikr in this way has nothing to do with Islam. Such practices do not exist in Islam. It is those who are deviated who are propagating such practices under the cover of Deen.

[English version of "Pêle-mêle" – Al Jamiat – Vol.3 No.15]