#MosqueMeToo is predominantly a

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

women's movement where female pilgrims speak up about

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is re ...

, such as being groped, inappropriately touched or having someone rub against them in the crowd, experienced on the

Hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

, the Islamic pilgrimage to one of Islam's holiest places,

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

. The movement spread to Muslim women sharing sexual abuse experiences at other Muslim religious centers and holy places across the world such as at

Jama Masjid A congregational mosque or Friday mosque (, ''masjid jāmi‘'', or simply: , ''jāmi‘''; ), or sometimes great mosque or grand mosque (, ''jāmi‘ kabir''; ), is a mosque for hosting the Friday noon prayers known as ''jumu'ah''.See: * * * * ...

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

, India. The usage of the 'Me Too' in the movement stems from the

Me Too movement #MeToo is a social movement and Consciousness raising, awareness campaign against sexual abuse, sexual harassment and rape culture, in which women publicize their experiences of sexual abuse or sexual harassment. The phrase "Me Too" was init ...

, which gained worldwide prominence in October 2017, and is similar to the #ChurchToo campaign in

Evangelicalism Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

Background

In February 2018, a Pakistani Muslim woman shared her experiences on

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

at the Hajj. The post was subsequently deleted, but not before it had been seen by enough people to inspire more women to share their experiences.

Mona Eltahawy Mona Eltahawy (, ; born August 1, 1967) is a freelance Egyptian-American journalist and social commentator based in New York City. She has written essays and op-eds for publications worldwide on Egypt and the Islamic world, on topics including wo ...

, an Egyptian American journalist, shared her experiences of sexual abuse on Hajj in a book in 1982, which were retweeted in February using the hashtag #MosqueMeToo. The first experience occurred when Eltahawy was 15 years old. Her tweet was shared more than 2,000 within a 24-hour period. At the time of the event she remembered thinking, "Who wants to talk about sexual assault at a holy place? No one would believe it." Many other women came to the social media using the hashtag #MosqueMeToo to also share their experiences of sexual abuse on this religious pilgrimage. As of August 2018, hundreds of women had shared stories of sexual assault at the Hajj. According to stories collected by

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

, most assaults occurred during the

Tawaf The Kaaba (), also spelled Kaba, Kabah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaba al-Musharrafa (), is a stone building at the center of Islam's most important mosque and Holiest sites in Islam, holiest site, the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Sa ...

ritual at the

Kaaba The Kaaba (), also spelled Kaba, Kabah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaba al-Musharrafa (), is a stone building at the center of Islam's most important mosque and Holiest sites in Islam, holiest site, the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Sa ...

Critiques

On social media some people reacted to this movement critically, by saying that it is a tool of

Islamophobia Islamophobia is the irrational fear of, hostility towards, or hatred against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general. Islamophobia is primarily a form of religious or cultural bigotry; and people who harbour such sentiments often stereot ...

or Western propaganda. Supporters countered that victims should not stay silent just to avoid negative impressions of Muslims.

References

{{Weinstein effect MeToo movement Internet-based activism Feminism in the Middle East Hashtags Sexual harassment Women's rights in the Middle East Sexual misconduct allegations Violence against women in Asia Hajj accounts History of women in Saudi Arabia Incidents during the Hajj

Background

Critiques

See also

References