Sherin Khankan (born Ann Christine Khankan; 13 October 1974) is

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

's (and Scandinavia's) first female

imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...

; she founded a women-led mosque in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. She is also an activist on Muslim issues including female integration and extremism, and has written numerous texts discussing

Islam and politics Political aspects of Islam are derived from the Quran, ''ḥadīth'' literature, and ''sunnah'' (accounts of the sayings and living habits attributed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad during his lifetime), the history of Islam, and elements of ...

Early life

Khankan was born in Denmark in 1974, to a

Syrian Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...

father and a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

mother. Her father was a political refugee and a feminist. Khankan studied in

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

and returned to Denmark in 2000. She sees herself as being born between two worlds and considers her goal to reconcile opposites. She started at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

in 1992 studying religion supplemented by courses in Arabic. Despite her father's background, Arabic is not her mother tongue. She graduated with a Master's Degree in Sociology of Religion and Philosophy in 2002.

Career

In February 2016, the Mariam mosque in

, Denmark's first female-run mosque, was founded by Khankan; it has only female imams. The mosque is open to male and female worshippers, with the exception of

Friday prayers In Islam, Friday prayer or Congregational prayer ( ar, صَلَاة ٱلْجُمُعَة, ') is a prayer ('' ṣalāt'') that Muslims hold every Friday, after noon instead of the Zuhr prayer. Muslims ordinarily pray five times each day according ...

, which are only open to female worshippers. Khankan became Scandinavia's first female imam when she opened that mosque. Khankan also founded Critical Muslims, an organisation to link religion and politics. In 2007, she published a book titled ''Islam and Reconciliation - A Public Matter''. Khankan notes that Christianity, Jewish, and Muslim institutions have become patriarchal, and she sees women-run mosques as a challenge to this tradition. She has had some moderate opposition but, in general, she says the reception has been supportive. The mosque opened in February 2016 and held its first formal service that August. Khankan gave the

call to prayer A call to prayer is a summons for participants of a faith to attend a group worship or to begin a required set of prayers. The call is one of the earliest forms of telecommunication, communicating to people across great distances. All religions ...

and 60 women gathered above a fast food shop. Another imam, Saliha Marie Fetteh, took the service where she spoke on the subject of

women and Islam The experiences of Muslim women ( ''Muslimāt'', singular مسلمة ''Muslimah'') vary widely between and within different societies. At the same time, their adherence to Islam is a shared factor that affects their lives to a varying degree a ...

. The new mosque has conducted several weddings. The mosque marries couples of different religions, which some mosques will not allow. She stood for parliament as a candidate for the

Danish Social Liberal Party The Danish Social Liberal Party ( da, Radikale Venstre, , Radical Left) is a social-liberal political party in Denmark. The party was founded as a split from the Venstre Reform Party in 1905. Historically, the centrist party has played a centra ...

. Khankan was named one of the BBC's 100 Women of 2016.

Personal life

Khankan has two daughters and two sons. She is divorced.

References

Bibliography

Women lead Friday prayers at Denmark's first female-run mosque
Harriet Sherwood, 26 August 2016, The Guardian, Retrieved 27 November 2016
Khankan (right), with Saliha Marie Fetteh and Özlem Cekic [Facebook] Date of publication: 23 September 2016
23 September 2016, The New Arab, Retrieved 27 November 2016
Danmarks første kvindemoske slår dørene op
10 February 2016, Politiken, Retrieved 27 November 2016
Women-led mosque opens in Denmark
12 February 2016, The Guardian, Retrieved 27 November 2016 {{DEFAULTSORT:Khankan, Sherin 1974 births Living people Danish women Danish imams Danish people of Finnish descent Danish people of Syrian descent Danish sociologists Danish women activists Women clergy Female Islamic religious leaders Islam and women Muslim activists Muslim reformers Sociologists of religion University of Copenhagen alumni BBC 100 Women Proponents of Islamic feminism