Religion in Cuba; Women's Mosque of America; Upanayanam

>>> COMING UP -- AS THE CUBAN FLAG WENT BACK UP OVER CUBA'S EMBASSY IN WASHINGTON, AND DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS RESUME, DAN LOTHIAN REPORTS ON RELIGION IN THAT COUNTRY AFTER MORE THAN 50 YEARS OF COMMUNIST REPRESSION.

>>> AND MANY AMERICAN MUSLIM WOMEN SAY THEY CAN FEEL MARGINALIZED AT TRADITIONAL MOSQUES.

KIM LAWTON LOOKS AT THE WOMEN'S MOSQUE OF AMERICA, IT'S LED BY WOMEN AND ATTENDED BY WOMEN ONLY.

>>> ALSO -- THE HINDU "SACRED THREAD CEREM WELCOME.

I'M BOB ABERNETHY.

IT'S GOOD TO HAVE YOU WITH US THIS WEEK AS ARGUMENTS AND PROTESTS BEGAN ABOUT THE NUCLEAR DEAL WITH IRAN.

>>> AT THE CAPITOL, AS ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS PRESENTED THEIR CASE, SHARP CRITICISM FROM REPUBLICAN SENATORS CHARGING THE DEAL IS DANGEROUS.

MEANWHILE, IN NEW YORK, PRO-ISRAEL GROUPS WERE AMONG THE 10,000 PROTESTERS WHO PACKED TIMES SQUARE URGING CONGRESS TO KILL THE DEAL, SAYING THAT CONCESSIONS HAD BEEN MADE TO IRAN THAT WOULD THREATEN ISRAEL.

CONGRESS HAS 60 DAYS TO DECIDE WHETHER TO ACCEPT THE AGREEMENT.

PRESIDENT OBAMA HAS SAID HE WILL VETO ANY EFFORTS TO BLOCK IT.

>>> IN LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA, THIS WEEK, A SHOCKING MASS SHOOTING AT A MOVIE THEATER.

A 59-YEAR-OLD GUNMAN KILLED AT LEAST TWO PEOPLE BEFORE COMMITTING SUICIDE.

IT'S THE LATEST OF A NATIONWIDE STRING OF MASS SHOOTINGS IN RECENT WEEKS.

>>> MEANWHILE, ON CAPITOL HILL A GROUP OF EVANGELICAL AND MUSLIM LEADERS CONDEMNED LAST WEEK'S SHOOTINGS IN CHATTANOOGA BY A YOUNG MUSLIM MAN THAT TOOK THE LIVES OF FIVE SERVICEMEN.

THE LEADERS SAID THEY WERE WORKING TO STRENGTHEN NATIONAL SECURITY, AND THEY PLEDGED TO SAFEGUARD THE RELIGIOUS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES OF AMERICAN MUSLIMS WHO FACE STEREOTYPING AND THREATS IN THE WAKE OF THE ATTACKS.

>>> AT THE VATICAN, SOME 60 MAYORS FROM AROUND THE WORLD GATHERED FOR A TWO-DAY CONFERENCE ON REDUCING GLOBAL WARMING AND PROTECTING THE POOR FROM CLIMATE CHANGE.

THEY SIGNED A DECLARATION URGING WORLD LEADERS TO APPROVE A QUOTE "BOLD CLIMATE AGREEMENT" AT A PARIS SUMMIT ON CLIMATE CHANGE IN DECEMBER.

THE VATICAN CONFERENCE CAME ALMOST A MONTH AFTER THE RELEASE OF POPE FRANCIS'S ENCYCLICAL ON THE ENVIRONMENT.

>>> A GALLUP POLL SAYS FRANCIS'S APPROVAL RATINGS IN THE U.S. HAVE BEEN DECLINING, ESPECIALLY AMONG CONSERVATIVES.

59% OF AMERICANS HAVE FAVORABLE VIEWS OF THE POPE, DOWN FROM 76% A YEAR AGO.

JUST 45% OF CONSERVATIVES VIEW FRANCIS FAVORABLY, DOWN FROM 72%.

>>> THIS WEEK IN WASHINGTON, THE FLAG OF CUBA WENT UP AGAIN OVER THE CUBAN EMBASSY AFTER MORE THAN 50 YEARS OF BROKEN RELATIONS BETWEEN CUBA AND THE U.S. WE ASKED CORRESPONDENT DAN LOTHIAN WHAT THE STATE OF RELIGION IS IN CUBA AFTER ALL THOSE YEARS OF OFFICIAL COMMUNIST REPRESSION.

HE REPORTS WARY BUT EMERGING SIGNS OF RELIGIOUS LIFE AND WIDESPREAD HOPE THAT MEMBERS OF CUBA'S YOUNGER GENERATION CAN SOMEHOW DISCOVER THE RELIGIOUS PRACTICES THEY HAVE NEVER KNOWN.

>> Reporter: THIS IS CUBA.

OLD CARS, HORSE-DRAWN CARTS, HAND TOOLS TO CUT GRASS.

A POOR COUNTRY IN THE MIDST OF HISTORIC CHANGE IN GOVERNMENT AND IN THE CHURCH.

>> A LOT OF THINGS ARE COMING TOGETHER.

IT'S NOT SOMETHING TODAY.

IT CAME FROM A LONG PROCESS AND NOW I THINK IT'S THE TIMING.

EXCITEMENT IS MORE AND MORE.

EXPECTATION, HOPE AND ESPECIALLY FOR THE NEW GENERATION.

>> Reporter: EVERYONE POINTS BACK NEARLY A DECADE, WHEN FIDEL CASTRO FIRST RELINQUISHED POWER TO HIS BROTHER RAUL.

THIS SOCIALIST COUNTRY, HANGING ON TO THE PAST, BEGAN TAKING SMALL STEPS INTO THE FUTURE.

I ASKED THIS WOMAN IF SHE FELT FREE TO PRACTICE HER FAITH.

"NOW IN CUBA?

YES," SHE TOLD ME.

"BEFORE?

NO."

DURING THE CUBAN REVOLUTION, PRIESTS WERE ROUTINELY JAILED OR EXILED.

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION WAS AT YOUR PERIL.

THE ISLAND OF CUBA IS PREDOMINANTLY CATHOLIC, BUT ONLY A SMALL FRACTION OF THE PEOPLE HERE REGULARLY ATTEND MASS.

WHILE MOST PEOPLE WOULD AGREE THERE'S A NEW OPENNESS TOWARD RELIGION, THE GOVERNMENT STILL CONTROLS AND MONITORS WHAT GOES ON.

BUT SOMETHING THAT HASN'T HAPPENED IN MORE THAN 50 YEARS CAUGHT OUR ATTENTION AND RESULTED IN THIS TRIP TO CUBA.

IT DIDN'T TAKE PLACE IN HAVANA, BUT A FOUR HOUR DRIVE TO THE FAR-WESTERN PROVINCE OF PINAR DEL RIO, IN THE REMOTE VILLAGE OF SANDINO.

ALL THAT YOU SEE NOW IS THIS ROCK, BUT WHAT IT REPRESENTS IS SOMETHING MUCH BIGGER.

THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT HAS GRANTED PERMISSION TO BUILD THE FIRST CATHOLIC CHURCH IN DECADES ON THIS SITE, A BUILDING THAT WHEN COMPLETED WILL SEAT 200 PEOPLE.

IS THIS NEW CHURCH IMPORTANT FOR YOU AND THE COMMUNITY?

>> YES.

WE WILL HAVE A TEMPLE WHERE WE CAN WORSHIP GOD.

IT WILL BE A LIGHT IN THE COMMUNITY.

>> Reporter: FOR YEARS THE "TEMPLE" HAS BEEN A BACK YARD CARPORT AT A NEARBY RENTED HOUSE.

EVERY SUNDAY FATHER CIRILO CASTRO-——NO RELATION TO THE PRESIDENT, UNLOCKS AND UNPACKS CABINETS TO PREPARE FOR MASS.

ON THIS DAY HE GOT A LITTLE HELP SETTING THINGS UP.

IN THIS CONGREGATION MADE UP OF MOSTLY WOMEN AND YOUNG GIRLS, IT'S NOT UNUSUAL FOR MASS TO BE INTERRUPTED BY ANGRY CHICKENS.

BUT THIS IS WHERE PEOPLE WORSHIP AND TAKE HOLY COMMUNION, IN A VILLAGE CREATED BY FIDEL CASTRO'S REVOLUTIONARY FORCES DECADES AGO FOR PEASANTS SUSPECTED OF SUPPORTING THE RESISTANCE.

FATHER CIRILO SAYS THIS NEW CLIMATE CREATES SIGNIFICANT OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE CHURCH AND A GENERATION RAISED IN WHAT UNTIL RECENTLY WAS CLASSIFIED AS AN ATHEIST STATE.

"IS THIS AN IMPORTANT MOMENT?"

I ASKED.

>> THIS IS AN IMPORTANT MOMENT FOR THE CHURCH AND ALL OF CUBA.

IT IS A BLESSING.

>> Reporter: GETTING PERMISSION TO BUILD A CHURCH IS ONE THING.

PAYING FOR IT IN A COUNTRY WHERE THE AVERAGE WAGE IS BETWEEN $20 TO $30 PER MONTH IS QUITE ANOTHER.

THAT'S WHERE FATHER CIRILO'S LONGTIME CHILDHOOD FRIEND FATHER RAMON HERNANDEZ COMES IN.

>> THAT'S ANOTHER PASTORAL AREA.

>> Reporter: ST. LAWRENCE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN TAMPA, FLORIDA, HAS BEEN COLLECTING MONEY FOR SEVERAL YEARS TO FUND THE $92,000 PROJECT.

THEY'VE RAISED $75,000 SO FAR.

>> PEOPLE, NOT ONLY THE CUBANS, SPANISH COMMUNITY IN GENERAL, ARE SO PROUD TO BE INVOLVED IN THIS, BECAUSE IT'S LIKE REPAY SOMETHING FOR THE CUBAN CHURCH.

>> Reporter: THE THAWING OF TENSE RELATIONS BETWEEN THE CHURCH AND STATE IS NOT LOST ON THE PROTESTANT COMMUNITY EITHER, WHICH MAKES UP ABOUT 5% OF THE POPULATION.

CAPTAIN JULIO MORENO RUNS THE SALVATION ARMY AND SAYS THIS IS A "HEALTHY" MOMENT.

>> THE ISLAND IS VERY FERTILE FOR EVANGELISM.

WE ALSO HELP PEOPLE WITH ADDICTIONS, ALCOHOLICS, PEOPLE WITH HARD ECONOMIC CONDITIONS.

>> Reporter: THEY ALSO HOLD WEEKLY CHURCH SERVICES.

BUT THE SALVATION ARMY IS LOW-KEY, ISN'T LISTED IN THE PHONE BOOK, AND THIS IS CAPTAIN MORENO'S FIRST ON-CAMERA INTERVIEW.

WHERE DO YOU SEE THE CHURCH HERE IN CUBA OVER THE NEXT FIVE OR SIX YEARS?

>> THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND CUBA HAS BEEN VERY POSITIVE.

WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO REACH MORE PEOPLE AND SERVE MORE NEEDS.

>> Reporter: THE UPCOMING VISIT OF POPE FRANCIS IN THE FALL, THE THIRD PONTIFF TO COME HERE, IS EXPECTED TO BE A BOOST TO MORE REFORMS.

>> RECEIVING A POPE'S VISIT IS A GREAT EVENT IN ANY COUNTRY.

BUT IN THIS CASE IT HAS SPECIAL SIGNIFICANCE.

>> Reporter: ORLANDO MARQUEZ, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR AT THE ARCHDIOCESE OF HAVANA AND EDITOR OF ITS "PALABRA NUEVA," OR "NEW WORD," MAGAZINE, SAYS PEOPLE HERE ARE AWARE OF THE POPE'S HAND IN U.S.-CUBA RELATIONS.

>> HE SENT LETTERS TO BOTH PRESIDENTS CASTRO AND OBAMA AND HE ENCOURAGED THE PROCESS.

HE WANTED TO REMOVE OBSTACLES IN ORDER TO IMPROVE RELATIONSHIPS.

>> Reporter: PRESIDENT RAUL CASTRO PUBLICLY THANKED THE PONTIFF DURING A TRIP TO THE VATICAN A FEW MONTHS AGO AND PROMISED TO NOT ONLY GO TO MASS DURING THE POPE'S CUBA VISIT, BUT POSSIBLY START PRAYING AND ATTENDING CHURCH IN THE FUTURE.

WHILE SOME MAY DOUBT PRESIDENT CASTRO'S MOTIVES AND SEE THIS AS JUST ANOTHER POLITICAL MOVE, ONE CUBAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL TOLD ME CASTRO MEANT WHAT HE SAID, THAT IT WAS WELL THOUGHT OUT AND THAT HE WOULDN'T HAVE JUST MADE THESE COMMENTS FOR THE SAKE OF GOOD PUBLICITY.

THERE ARE STILL SKEPTICS, AND SOME IN THE CUBAN EXILE COMMUNITY DON'T THINK REFORMS, RELIGIOUS OR OTHERWISE CAN TRULY TAKE PLACE WITHOUT AN END TO THE CASTRO REGIME.

BUT INSIDE CHURCHES ACROSS THE ISLAND, THERE IS LESS TALK ABOUT POLITICS AND MORE FOCUS ON HEARTS AND MINDS.

>> HOW DO YOU RESTORE THE SOCIAL VALUES?

MAYBE THE BOOM, ECONOMICAL BOOM, RESTORING MONEY WILL BE FAST.

BUT RESTORING VALUES, ESPECIALLY IN THE NEW GENERATION, WILL BE DIFFICULT.

>> RELIGION IS NOT ONLY LIVING IN A TEMPLE AMONG FOUR WALLS.

RELIGION FOR US MUST BE INVOLVED.

>> Reporter: YOU CAN TRAVEL TO CUBA AND SEE A SNAPSHOT OF THE PAST, BUT THESE DAYS MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ARE SPEAKING ABOUT THE FUTURE.

FOR "RELIGION AND ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY," DAN LOTHIAN IN HAVANA, CUBA.

>>> NOW, A KIM LAWTON REPORT.

MANY AMERICAN MUSLIM WOMEN SAY THEY CAN FEEL MARGINALIZED AT TRADITIONAL MOSQUES.

BUT A NEW PROJECT IN LOS ANGELES, THE WOMEN'S MOSQUE OF AMERICA, IS LED BY WOMEN AND ATTENDED BY WOMEN ONLY.

>> Reporter: IN LOS ANGELES, IT'S JUST AFTER NOON ON FRIDAY, THE DAY MUSLIMS GATHER FOR THEIR WEEKLY JUMMAH PRAYER SERVICE.

BUT AS THE TRADITIONAL CALL TO PRAYER ECHOES, SOMETHING VERY NON-TRADITIONAL IS TAKING PLACE -- IT'S BEING GIVEN BY A WOMAN.

THIS IS THE WOMEN'S MOSQUE OF AMERICA, BELIEVED TO BE THE FIRST FEMALE-ONLY MOSQUE IN THE U.S.

HERE, WOMEN HAVE ALL THE LEADERSHIP ROLES OF THE SERVICE AND MAKE-UP THE ENTIRE CONGREGATION.

>> A WOMAN'S RELATIONSHIP TO ISLAM IS DIFFERENT THAN A MAN'S RELATIONSHIP TO ISLAM.

AND TO HAVE THE SPACE TO TALK ABOUT THAT AND JUST HAVE A SPACE TO BE IN THAT TOGETHER, I MEAN THIS IS, I THINK IT'S LIKE, REVOLUTIONARY.

THIS HASN'T HAPPENED BEFORE.

>> Reporter: AMERICAN MUSLIM WOMEN SAY THEY CAN FEEL MARGINALIZED AT WORSHIP SERVICES IN TRADITIONAL MOSQUES.

ONLY MEN ARE ALLOWED TO LEAD THE PRAYERS AND PREACH THE SERMONS.

WOMEN ARE USUALLY SEATED IN SEPARATE AREAS, OFTEN AWAY FROM THE MAIN PART OF THE SANCTUARY.

>> IT'S OFTEN EITHER TO THE SIDE OR SMALL, NOT WELL VENTILATED, MAYBE VISUAL ACCESS TO THE IMAM IS NOT VERY GOOD.

IN THE UNITED STATES, THE MOSQUE HAS BEEN NOT, I'M JUST GOING SAY, NOT AN OPTIMAL SPACE FOR MUSLIM WOMEN.

>> Reporter: PROFESSOR RUQAYYA KHAN IS CHAIR OF THE MASTER'S PROGRAM IN ISLAMIC STUDIES AT CLAREMONT GRADUATE UNIVERSITY.

SHE SAYS MANY US MOSQUES ARE STILL ORGANIZED AROUND THE CENTURIES-OLD CULTURAL TRADITIONS OF THE IMMIGRANTS WHO ESTABLISHED THEM.

>> GENERALLY THE MOSQUE HAS BEEN A MALE SPACE, GENDERED MALE.

IT WASN'T THAT WOMEN WEREN'T ALLOWED TO GO TO THE MOSQUE, BUT THEY WEREN'T ENCOURAGED TO GO.

>> Reporter: FOR SOME WOMEN, THIS HAS CREATED A BARRIER TO PRACTICING THEIR FAITH.

>> I DIDN'T ALWAYS FEEL COMFORTABLE BECAUSE OF THE ATMOSPHERE BEING VERY MUCH MALE DRIVEN AND THE COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT IS VERY MUCH LIMITED.

>> Reporter: AS SEVERAL PROMINENT MUSLIM WOMEN IN LOS ANGELES DISCUSSED THE PROBLEM, THE IDEA EMERGED OF CREATING A MOSQUE EXCLUSIVELY FOR WOMEN.

THERE ARE A FEW SIMILAR MOSQUES IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD.

THE WOMEN'S MOSQUE OF AMERICA LAUNCHED EARLIER THIS YEAR.

MUSLIM ACTIVIST EDINA LEKOVIC IS ON THE BOARD.

>> ULTIMATELY THE GOAL IS TO EMPOWER WOMEN WITH THE MESSAGE OF THE QURAN, AND TO INCREASE THEIR QURANIC LITERACY, SO THAT THEY CAN GO BACK AND SERVE THEIR COED MOSQUES.

>> Reporter: THE WOMEN'S MOSQUE HOLDS ITS JUMMAH PRAYERS AT THE PICO UNION PROJECT, AN INTERFAITH SPACE THAT WAS FOUNDED AS A SYNAGOGUE.

THE FEMALE-ONLY JUMMAH SERVICES TAKE PLACE ONCE A MONTH AND FOLLOW A TRADITIONAL FORMAT, STARTING WITH THE CALL TO PRAYER.

>> I'VE NEVER EVEN THOUGHT THAT A WOMAN COULD GIVE IT.

I HAVEN'T FELT SAD ABOUT THAT OR OPPRESSED OR ANYTHING.

BUT HEARING IT BY A WOMAN WAS AMAZING, AND IT WAS REALLY LIBERATING.

>> FROM THE MOMENT THAT I HEARD THE CALL TO PRAYER FROM THE MOUTH OF A WOMAN, I WAS ELEVATED IN A WHOLE NEW WAY.

I FELT A SPIRITUAL CONNECTION TO GOD THAT I HAVEN'T FELT, THAT KIND OF JOLT, IN A WHILE.

>> Reporter: THE MOSQUE HAS SELECTED SEVERAL PROMINENT PROFESSIONALS FROM THE COMMUNITY TO DELIVER THE KHUTBAH, OR SERMON.

TOPICS HAVE INCLUDED SOCIAL EMPOWERMENT, ENVIRONMENTALISM AND SEX ABUSE.

>> WHAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT IS NOT JUST THE FACT THAT WE HAVE A WOMAN AT THE PULPIT, BUT SHE IS INVOKING ISLAMIC SOURCES, USING ISLAMIC EXAMPLES TO MAKE CLAIMS AND ARGUMENTS, TO PROVIDE INSIGHTS, THAT ARE REALLY ATTUNED TO THE REALITIES OF THESE WOMEN'S LIVES.

>> Reporter: LAILA AL-MARAYATI, AN OB-GYN DOCTOR, WAS ONE OF THE PREACHERS.

>> EVERY ONE OF US READS THE TEXT THROUGH A DIFFERENT LENS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF WHERE WE ARE IN OUR PERSONAL LIVES, HISTORICALLY.

AND WOMEN READ THE QURAN DIFFERENTLY THAN MEN DO.

THE VERSES WILL APPEAL TO US IN DIFFERENT WAYS.

BY NOT HAVING WOMEN TALKING ABOUT IT, YOU'VE ELIMINATED HALF OF YOUR COMMUNITY AND WHAT THEIR PERSPECTIVE COULD BE.

>> SOMETIMES IT'S A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE, SOMETIMES IT'S EVEN THE SAME PERSPECTIVE AS IF, AS HAD A MAN GIVEN THE KHUTBAH, OR THE SERMON, BUT IT'S JUST, IT'S JUST SO NICE TO HEAR.

THERE'S A CERTAIN RELATABILITY AND THERE'S A CERTAIN CONNECTION, I THINK, THAT I PERSONALLY FEEL WHEN I HEAR A FELLOW SISTER REALLY GIVING US THE KHUTBAH.

>> Reporter: AFTER THE SERVICE, THERE'S A TIME WHERE THE WOMEN CAN DISCUSS THEIR REFLECTIONS ABOUT THE SERMON OR SHARE THEIR OWN EXPERIENCES, SOMETHING THAT LIKELY WOULD NOT HAPPEN IN A COED SETTING.

MANY SAY THEY'RE SPIRITUALLY ENRICHED BY IT.

SOME WHO HAVE BEEN ALIENATED FROM OTHER MOSQUES HAVE BEEN INSPIRED TO RETURN TO FRIDAY SERVICES.

>> I HONESTLY DIDN'T REALLY FEEL LESS MUSLIM BECAUSE I WASN'T GOING TO THE MOSQUE, I DIDN'T FEEL LIKE I WAS LESS CONNECTED TO GOD.

I WAS MISSING THAT SENSE OF COMMUNITY.

>> Reporter: THE WOMEN'S MOSQUE DESCRIBES ITSELF AS AN INCLUSIVE MIDDLE GROUND THAT WELCOMES PEOPLE FROM ALL PERSPECTIVES.

>> YOU CAN BE CONSERVATIVE, YOU CAN BE LIBERAL, YOU CAN BE SECULAR, YOU CAN BE WHATEVER KIND OF PERSON, WHATEVER KIND OF FOLLOWER YOU ARE, BELIEVER YOU ARE, AND COME AS YOU ARE.

THERE'S NO JUDGMENT, THERE'S NO POLICING OF, YOU KNOW, HOW YOU INTERPRET YOUR FAITH.

>> Reporter: THAT INCLUDES WOMEN OF OTHER FAITHS WHO MAY NOT FEEL COMFORTABLE VISITING A TRADITIONAL CO-ED MOSQUE.

FOR DEBRA LINESCH, WHO IS JEWISH, THIS WAS HER FIRST MUSLIM WORSHIP SERVICE.

>> YOU GO TO A SERVICE OF ANOTHER TRADITION AND YOU DON'T KNOW AM I SUPPOSED TO STAND, AM I SUPPOSED TO KNEEL, AM I SUPPOSED TO PUT MY FOREHEAD TO THE FLOOR?

AND I JUST DID IT.

I KINDA SURRENDERED TO WHAT THE WOMEN, THE KIND OF HOLISTIC EXPERIENCE OF THESE WOMEN, IT FELT TERRIFIC.

IT FELT HONEST.

>> Reporter: WITHIN THE BROADER AMERICAN MUSLIM COMMUNITY, REACTIONS TO THE WOMEN'S MOSQUE HAVE BEEN GENERALLY POSITIVE.

BUT THERE HAS BEEN SOME CRITICISM.

SOME QUESTION WHETHER IT'S APPROPRIATE FOR WOMEN TO BE TAKING SUCH LEADERSHIP ROLES.

PROFESSOR KHAN SAYS THERE IS NOTHING SPECIFICALLY IN THE QURAN ABOUT THE GENDER OF THOSE WHO MAY LEAD PRAYERS.

AND SHE SAYS OTHER TRADITIONAL ISLAMIC TEXTS DO ALLOW FOR WOMEN LEADING WOMEN.

>> THEY CANNOT LEAD MIXED GENDERS IN PRAYER, BUT THEY CAN LEAD WOMEN IN PRAYER.

AND THE SAME GOES FOR HOLDING FORTH FROM THE PULPIT.

THEY CANNOT SERMONIZE A MIXED GENDER CONGREGATION, CERTAINLY NOT AN ALL-MALE CONGREGATION.

HOWEVER, THEY CAN ALL WOMEN.

>> WOMEN HAVE FOR A LONG TIME FELT SHUT OUT FROM MOSQUES EVERYWHERE.

AND SO INSTEAD OF TRYING TO ARGUE AGAINST WHETHER THIS WOMEN'S MOSQUE SHOULD EXIST OR NOT, THEY SHOULD REALLY BE LOOKING AT THEIR OWN COMMUNITIES AND WONDERING HOW THEY CAN MAKE THEM A MORE WELCOMING PLACE FOR EVERYONE.

>> Reporter: OTHER MUSLIM LEADERS HAVE RAISED CONCERNS ABOUT SEGREGATING A PARTICULAR SEGMENT OF THEIR COMMUNITY.

THEY WORRY THAT OTHER GROUPS COULD BREAKAWAY OR THAT WOMEN COULD BE ENCOURAGED TO ABANDON LOCAL MOSQUES ALTOGETHER.

LEADERS OF THE WOMEN'S MOSQUE SAY IT'S JUST THE OPPOSITE.

>> IT WAS NEVER INTENDED TO BE AN ALTERNATIVE.

IT'S A COMPLEMENTARY SPACE FOR WOMEN TO FIND THEIR VOICES AND THEN TAKE THAT EXPERIENCE AND THEN GO BACK TO COED MOSQUES, GO BACK TO WHATEVER INSTITUTIONS THAT THEY BELONG TO AND FEEL MORE EMPOWERED TO USE THEIR VOICES.

>> Reporter: KHAN ADMITS SHE TOO IS TROUBLED BY THE NOTION OF A SEGREGATED MOSQUE.

BUT SHE ALSO BELIEVES THIS COULD HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON THE LARGER ISLAMIC COMMUNITY.

>> WHAT'S REALLY AMAZINGLY POWERFUL IS THE REACH BEYOND THE PHYSICAL SPACE, THROUGH THE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA.

SO THEY'VE GOT FACEBOOK, THEY'VE GOT TWITTER, THEY'VE GOT YOUTUBE.

>> Reporter: LEKOVIC SEES THE WOMEN'S MOSQUE AS A CONTINUATION OF THE LEGACY OF MUSLIM WOMEN.

>> IF WE GO BACK TO THE QURAN, THAT IT'S OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO STEP UP.

INSTEAD OF WAITING FOR PERMISSION, WE HAVE TO STEP OUTSIDE OF OUR COMFORT ZONE AND TAKE ON NEW RESPONSIBILITIES THAT MIGHT BE UNFAMILIAR, UNCOMFORTABLE, EVEN MIGHT CHALLENGE THE NORMS.

BUT THAT THAT'S GOOD FOR US AND GOOD FOR THE COMMUNITY AND GOOD FOR OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD IN THE PROCESS.

>> Reporter: AND SHE SAYS IT'S THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO PASS THAT LEGACY ON TO THE NEXT GENERATION.

>> WHEN I THINK TODAY ABOUT MY OWN DAUGHTER AND THAT A WOMEN'S MOSQUE IS JUST GOING TO BE NORMAL IN HER LIFE AND IN HER VOCABULARY, THAT TO ME IS OVERWHELMING.

AND I THINK THAT THAT'S REALLY A TESTAMENT TO WHERE WE'RE AT AS A COMMUNITY AND AS A FAITH TODAY.

>> Reporter: I'M KIM LAWTON IN LOS ANGELES.

>>> WE HAVE A BELIEF AND PRACTICE SEGMENT TODAY ABOUT A BOY'S COMING OF AGE IN THE HINDU TRADITION.

IT'S CALLED THE SACRED THREAD CEREMONY AND IT LASTS TWO DAYS.

OUR STORY COVERS SOME OF THE RITUALS AS A 9-YEAR-OLD BOY WAS HONORED AT A TEMPLE IN ADELPHI, MARYLAND.

THE PRESIDER, AND OUR GUIDE, WAS DR. SIVA SUBRAMANIAN, A NEONATOLOGIST AT GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER AND A LEADER OF THE HINDU COMMUNITY IN THE WASHINGTON AREA.

>> THE EVENT THAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT IS UPANAYANAM, WHICH MEANS TAKING ONE TO SOMETHING OR SOMEONE.

THIS IS A RITE OF PASSAGE IN THE YOUNG MAN'S LIFE, USUALLY BETWEEN 8 AND 16 YEARS OF LIFE.

IDEALLY THE CEREMONY IS DONE IN TWO DAYS, AND THE VERY FIRST DAY THE BOY AND THE PARENTS GO AND GET THE BLESSINGS OF THE ELDERS.

ALL THE GENERATIONS THAT WERE THERE, GOING TO 3 TO 5,000 YEARS, THEY ARE INVOKED TO COME AND BLESS THE PARENTS AND THE STUDENT WHO IS TAKING THIS MAJOR STEP IN HIS LIFE.

IN HINDUISM THERE'S ALMOST NOTHING THAT IS DONE WITHOUT FIRE AS THE WITNESS.

THE FIRES GOD ALSO IS A REPRESENTATION OF THE SUPREME AND SO ANY OBLATIONS GIVEN TO THE FIRE IS TAKEN TO THE APPROPRIATE GOD AND GODDESS.

THEN, THEY BLESSED THE WATERS, YOU KNOW, THAT WERE IN THE POT.

ALL THE AUSPICIOUS WATERS FROM THE WORLD ARE BROUGHT IN AND INVOKED, AND EACH RIVER IS CONSIDERED AS A GODDESS, AND SO THEY ACTUALLY INVOKE THE GODDESSES INTO THAT WATER BY THE CHANTING, AND THE WATER BECOMES SACRED AND HOLY, AND WITH THAT WATER THEY DO THE PURIFICATION AND CLEANSING.

THE SACRED ASH, THIS IS TO REMIND THAT INDIVIDUAL THAT YOU ARE MADE UP OF THESE FIVE ELEMENTS EARTH, AIR, SPACE, WATER, AND FIRE, ALL THE FIVE ELEMENTS AND YOU ARE GOING TO GO BACK TO THESE ELEMENTS.

ONE OF THE TWO MAJOR COMPONENTS OF THIS FESTIVAL UPANAYANAM IS GIVING THAT BOY THE SACRED THREAD WHICH IS MADE OF THREE STRANDS AND THESE THREE STRANDS SIGNIFY SEVERAL COMPONENTS IN HIS LIFE.

THE FIRST AND FOREMOST THAT HE'S SUPPOSED TO DO THREE TIMES A DAY, RITUAL WORSHIP SERVICE, PUJA.

IT ALSO REPRESENTS WHAT IS CALLED THREE GUNAS, OR THE CHARACTERISTICS OF INDIVIDUALS AND THE HOPE IS THAT THE GOOD QUALITIES WILL GET BETTER AND HE WILL BE IN A LIFELONG PURSUIT INTO THINKING ABOUT GOD.

THIS CEREMONY ACTUALLY IS LIKE A SECOND BIRTH.

HE'S MADE INTO A TWICE BORN.

SO THE FIRST BIRTH IS FROM THE WOMB OF HIS MOTHER AND THE SECOND BIRTH IS ACTUALLY GIVEN THE MANTRA FROM THE FATHER, SO IT IS THE SECOND BIRTH THAT COMES TO THIS BOY.

>>> ON OUR CALENDAR THIS WEEK, MORMONS OBSERVE PIONEER DAY, WHICH COMMEMORATES THE ARRIVAL OF BRIGHAM YOUNG AND THE FIRST MORMON PIONEERS IN THE SALT LAKE VALLEY IN 1847.

ALSO, JEWS MARK THE SOLEMN HOLIDAY OF TISHA B'AV, THE SADDEST DAY IN THE JEWISH CALENDAR.

IT RECALLS THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLES IN JERUSALEM AND ALL THE OTHER ATROCITIES JEWS HAVE ENDURED.

>>> FINALLY, THE VERSATILE ACTOR AND SINGER THEODORE BIKEL DIED THIS WEEK.

HE WAS BEST KNOWN FOR HIS PORTRAYAL OF THE POOR JEWISH MILKMAN TEVYE IN FIDDLER ON THE ROOF.

>> IF I WERE A RICH MAN.

♪♪ >> ALONGSIDE HIS PERFORMANCES, BIKEL WAS A STRONG ADVOCATE OF ALL CIVIL RIGHTS.

HE WAS 91 YEARS OLD.

>>> THAT'S OUR PROGRAM FOR NOW.

I'M BOB ABERNETHY.

YOU CAN FOLLOW US ON TWITTER AND FACEBOOK AND WATCH US ANYTIME ON THE PBS APP FOR iPHONES AND iPADS.

THERE IS MUCH MORE ON OUR WEBSITE, INCLUDING AN EXTENDED VERSION OF OUR VISIT TO THE HINDU COMING-OF-AGE CEREMONY.

YOU CAN ALSO LISTEN TO OR WATCH EVERY PROGRAM.

JOIN US AT PBS.ORG.

AS WE LEAVE YOU, MORE SCENES OF THE LATE THEODORE BIKEL IN FIDDLER ON THE ROOF AT THE PROVIDENCE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER.

>>> NEXT TIME, A RARE INTERVIEW MUTUAL OF AMERICA.

THAT'S WHY YOUR RETIREMENT