In short
Egypt’s history and revival of women publicly reciting the Quran, from 1920s–30s radio celebrity reciters to a late-1930s ban, and today’s return via social media, new fatwas, and public performances.
Guests (backgrounds)
- Aya Mahmood (24), Egyptian Muslim; began Quran recitation at 4, memorized by 12; video editor; posts online; ~700,000 followers; interviewed by Quran radio; recited on air.
- Dr Yasmin Amin, representative of Orient Institute Beirut in Egypt; academic researcher using archives on women reciters.
- Horeya Burai, Egyptian Quran reciter; ~400,000 Instagram and 1.1M TikTok followers; parents moved to support her; supported by Al-Azhar scholars.
- Naama Fatih, leader of Egypt’s first all-female chanting troupe Al-Hur; ~13 years chanting; Sufi-linked; formed troupe after auditions.
Key claims
- Late-30s fatwa: “woman’s voice is awra” led to radio ban; Al-Azhar later allowed public recitation (2021 mentioned).
- Women never stopped reciting privately; modern activism and media exposure helped.
- Chanting differs from Quran recitation (Sufi rhythms, sometimes instruments; Quran has strict rules).
Notable examples
- Munira Abdu (blind; famous radio reciter; recorded Quran on vinyl; paid in 1920; married another blind reciter).
- Umm Waraka taught men; women taught Quran in early Islamic expansions.
- Amina Wadud (2005 mixed-gender prayer controversy) as an early catalyst.
- Zahra Hilmi (Quran competition winner; invited by president; TV exposure in 2020–21).
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOThe Beginning of Female Quran Reciters
0:30 to 1:13
Exploration of the historical significance of women reciting the Quran in Egypt.
“we do the things we do, and how to make better choices to help avoid costly mistakes.”
Meet Salma El-Wadani
1:13 to 1:46
Introduction of the host and her personal connection to Quran reciting.
“For one day, every week, their voices soared across the airwaves, broadcasting to the entire country.”
Aya Mahmood's Journey
1:46 to 2:48
Aya Mahmood shares her experiences and impact as a modern Quran reciter.
“I'm in Egypt meeting the women who are bringing female Quran reciting back into the public domain.”
Influence and Followers
2:48 to 4:25
Discussion on Aya's influence and her journey as a Quran reciter on social media.
“Aya has been interviewed by the Egyptian radio station that broadcasts the Quran and she's recited on air, just as women did 100 years ago.”
Historical Context of Quran Recitation Ban
4:25 to 6:41
Aya discusses the historical ban on women Quran reciters and its implications.
“How old were you when you shared your first post on social media?”
Women Reciters in History
6:41 to 7:48
Exploration of notable female Quran reciters and their impact in the past.
“How does it make you feel to recite the Quran?”
The Shift in Perception
7:48 to 11:30
Discussion on the shift in perceptions regarding women's voices in Islam and the Quran.
“who have been journeying through the archives.”
Modern Changes and Freedoms
11:30 to 12:21
How modern changes are allowing more freedoms for women in Quran recitation.
“Some of these women who had been reciting Quran then went on to become singers.”
Horeya Burai's Experience
12:21 to 14:00
Horeya Burai discusses her journey and experiences as a contemporary Quran reciter.
“I wonder if this has contributed to Allah's mosque, mosque, the highest Islamic authority in Egypt, issuing a fatwa in 2021 stating, it's now permissible for women to recite the Quran publicly.”
Women's Voices in Quran Recitation
14:00 to 16:07
Explore the historical and cultural significance of women's voices in Quran recitation.
“In any issue like this, we usually refer to the house of Iftah or a certain body which is dealing with legal opinions.”
Show all 16 chapters
The Tradition of Women Reciters in Egypt
16:07 to 18:09
Learn about the legacy of female Quran reciters in Egypt, dating back to the Prophet's time.
“You're listening to The Documentary on the BBC World Service with me, Salma El-Wadani.”
Chanting vs. Reciting: Understanding the Differences
18:09 to 19:44
Discover the distinctions between chanting and reciting the Quran, including techniques and traditions.
“That's fascinating and so ahead of its time.”
The Al-Hur Troupe: A New Era of Female Chanting
19:44 to 23:24
Meet Egypt's first all-female chanting group and hear their journey and performances.
“I'm here with all of the girls in the Al-Hur chanting troupe.”
Changing Attitudes Towards Women's Voices
23:24 to 26:13
Examine the evolving perception of women's voices in Islam and the cultural shifts facilitating this change.
“I suppose the opposite of what you might envisage of a religious chanting troupe.”
A New Generation of Female Reciters
26:13 to 28:00
Anticipate the future of female Quran reciters and their increasing presence in contemporary society.
“It's clear we've come a long way, and there has been a shift.”
Closing Remarks
28:00 to 28:13
Listeners are encouraged to subscribe for more content.
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Sheikha Munira Abdou:This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK.
0:30Umm Kulthum:we do the things we do, and how to make better choices to help avoid costly mistakes. Each episode covers the latest research in behavioral science and dives into themes like the power of self-control, shaping your mindset for success, navigating new beginnings, and why starting over can feel so hard. Listen to choiceology at schwab.com slash podcast, or wherever you listen. Episodes of World of Secrets are released weekly, wherever you get your BBC podcasts. But if you can't wait, you can listen to episodes a week early by subscribing on BBC.com.
1:12Sheikha Munira Abdou:Once upon a time, in Egypt, women who recited the Quran on the radio were considered celebrities. For one day, every week, their voices soared across the airwaves, broadcasting to the entire country. They were household names in the 1920s and 30s. Then one day, everything changed. A religious ruling was issued, women's voices were banned, and the era of female Quran reciters in Egypt came to an end. Until now. Welcome to the documentary on the BBC World Service. I'm Salma El-Wadani, and for Heart and Soul, I'm in Egypt meeting the women who are bringing female Quran reciting back into the public domain.
1:57Sheikha Munira Abdou:I was born in Egypt. I'm Muslim. And like many other Muslims, I grew up listening to the Quran. I learned it as a kid. It was played constantly in my home. And I heard it recited in congregational prayers. But it was always male voices that I heard. In fact, I'd never heard of women publicly reciting the Quran. It was always something that happened in private with other women, but never ever in mixed company. But now, thanks to a new generation and social media, women are sharing their recitations online for the whole world to hear. I started by going to meet Aya Mahmood, who shares videos of herself chanting religious songs and reciting the Qur 'an.
2:37Sheikha Munira Abdou:Her videos are beautifully filmed, which makes sense given her day job as a video editor.
2:48Sheikha Munira Abdou:Aya has been interviewed by the Egyptian radio station that broadcasts the Quran and she's recited on air, just as women did 100 years ago.
3:06Sheikha Munira Abdou:My Arabic is shamefully rudimentary. So to have more meaningful conversations, I brought along BBC journalist Naveen Youssef to help translate, and you'll hear her throughout the programme.
3:19Sheikha Munira Abdou:Thank you so much for the tea and for your generosity in having us here. We're here in your living room, and it's a beautiful space, and right opposite me I'm looking at a gorgeous painting of you and your family. Can you tell me a little bit more about it?
3:39Umm Kulthum:It's a gift from one of my followers from Germany. She sent it to me because she...
3:51Umm Kulthum:This follower likes my reciting of Quran and the chants I do. And she sometimes sends me gifts. She sent me clothes. She also sent me some chocolate. And then this painting. And later on she studied more about Islam and she converted to Islam. That's amazing that you've had that influence on her
4:13Sheikha Munira Abdou:and that curiosity driven from your work led her down a path to change her faith. So you were four years old when you started reading Quran. By the time you were 12, you'd memorized all of the Quran. How old were you when you shared your first post on social media?
4:30Umm Kulthum:20. Shreem Sana.
4:32Sheikha Munira Abdou:So you were 20 years old when you decided to post online. How many followers do you currently have?
4:40Umm Kulthum:On all platforms, 700 ,000 followers.
4:45Sheikha Munira Abdou:What was your understanding of female Quran reciters in Egypt?
4:53Umm Kulthum:When I started posting my first ever posts reciting Quran, there were few female Quran reciters in Egypt. But I know that long ago, there were female reciters of Quran that broadcast in radio stations across Egypt. Then this stopped for a long time. So I just wanted to go through this new experience.
5:16Sheikha Munira Abdou:Yeah, that's so interesting that you speak about the Quran reciters from a long time ago. Because, can I ask, how old are you now?
5:24Umm Kulthum:24.
5:25Sheikha Munira Abdou:You're 24 years old now. and the women who were reciting Quran on the radio in Egypt, it was in the 1930s. Who told you about those women?
5:37Umm Kulthum:So I gave three interviews to Al-Quran Al-Karim radio station in Egypt, which is specialized in Islamic religion, of course, and Quran. And when I met the presenter there and everyone there, they told me how there were female Quran reciters long time ago that used to be listened to on the radio. I also knew a lot about them from media and from social media as well.
6:01Sheikha Munira Abdou:Of course, there came a point in history in which they banned women from reciting Quran on the radio. In the late 30s, there was a fatwa issued that said a woman's voice is awra, so it's haram, so she shouldn't be reciting it. What's your thoughts on that?
6:17Umm Kulthum:Right now Al-Azhar has said that it's okay for any woman to recite Quran as long as she is committed to the Islamic uniform and that she adheres to the rules of reciting and everything. And Al-Azhar is the greatest authority regarding the religion of Islam in the Arab world and in Egypt. And as long as they said it's okay, so it's fine. I trust their opinion.
6:43Sheikha Munira Abdou:How does it make you feel to recite the Quran?
6:47Umm Kulthum:It's hard to describe how I feel but we know that when someone is reciting the Quran we are surrounded by angels so when I recite the Quran I live with angels and now I have a feeling for every word it's so different and so hard to describe I get so emotional and so sensitive while I'm reciting the Quran
7:07Sheikha Munira Abdou:That's a beautiful way of putting it Should we do a little bit of Quran reciting?
7:15Umm Kulthum:I am the most powerful man.
7:20Umm Kulthum:In the name of Allah, the most merciful.
7:27Umm Kulthum:I am the most powerful person.
7:33Sheikha Munira Abdou:I am new about the women who recited on the national station that broadcasts the Quran, and I've been doing a bit of digging myself. Recently, more has been published about these women, from academics like Nadine Shekhar and Dr Yasmin Amin, who have been journeying through the archives. I'm here in Zemelec to meet Dr Yasmin Amin, who is the representative of Orient Institute Beirut here in Egypt. We're looking out into a lush garden, a little oasis in the heart of Cairo. Dr Yasmin, thank you so much for being here with us. It's my pleasure. In that time in the 30s, 40s, when, you know, they had women on the radio reciting Quran, I wonder if you could tell me about any of them.
8:19Salma El-Wardany:Well, the women reciters become very famous. They are actually in competition with the male reciters. They get paid a little bit more than half of the male reciters. They had an entire day for themselves at a radio station. A whole day dedicated to female Quran reciters. one of the reciters that I've heard about. Is it Munira Abdu? Yes. She was a very small woman, tiny, and she had a fantastic voice.
9:00Salma El-Wardany:And she has a lovely love story with another reciter. They were both blind. Wow. And she was reciting in the mosque where he used to say the Eden, call for prayers. They got married in the end. She became very, very famous. She was paid five pounds in 1920, which is a lot of money then. Why was she so prolific and so famous? Because she recorded the Quran on vinyl.
9:31Sheikha Munira Abdou:Oh, wow.
9:32Salma El-Wardany:Was she one of the first to do this or the first woman to do this? She was not the only one, but there is also a collection of Sakina Hassan.
9:45Salma El-Wardany:And strangely enough, a lot of the very famous singers started off as Quran reciters, like Um Kalthum, for example.
10:02Salma El-Wardany:When does it all start to go wrong? I think it started with Wahhabism taking foot. And there was a fatwa issued that women's voices are awra, which translates to nakedness. So you shouldn't be hearing them.
10:17Sheikha Munira Abdou:Because there is the thought process in Islam that women cover their awra. So if your voice is awra, you should essentially cover it and not let it be heard.
10:26Salma El-Wardany:Yeah, but this is a misinterpretation totally. Because in the Quran, you have women talking right, left and center. So if the Quran allows women to speak, who are you? To forbid them from speaking or declaring their voice as awra Or accusing the voices of causing fitna, which is like temptation Right, who issued that fatwa? I have not been able to find out the beginning of it And no one's taking responsibility for it? No, nobody is But it was issued? Yeah, it was issued and it proliferated like mushrooms after the rain. You know, everyone was using it to try to shut these women up and silence them.
11:09And it started to become more and more strict until they forbade women from being on the radio.
11:20Sheikha Munira Abdou:Okay, so Egyptian radio really took this fatwa to heart and really implemented it. and the voices of people like Munira Abdu then disappeared. Yes, sadly.
11:35Sheikha Munira Abdou:Some of these women who had been reciting Quran then went on to become singers. So why was it that singing was allowed on the radio and a woman's voice singing a cabaret song or pop song or whatever it might have been, why was that allowed but Quran recitation wasn't? Because if we're going to assume from the fact it was ruling that a woman's voice is aura, then why does it not translate? Exactly. Thank you very much. It's interesting to note that Dr. Yasmin linked the ban on women reciting the Quran publicly to Wahhabism, the strict, some might say puritanical, interpretation of Islam favoured by Saudi Arabia.
Read the full transcript
12:13Sheikha Munira Abdou:However, even in Saudi Arabia, times are changing. Women are granted more freedoms, such as now being allowed to drive. I wonder if this has contributed to Allah's mosque, mosque, the highest Islamic authority in Egypt, issuing a fatwa in 2021 stating, it's now permissible for women to recite the Quran publicly. That's certainly what Ayah told me encouraged her to start sharing her recitations. I went to meet Horeya Burai, another Quran reciter who has been emboldened to share her work online. She has over 400 ,000 followers on Instagram and 1.1 million on TikTok. Her parents are so supportive of her that they moved the whole family from a rural village to be closer to Cairo to support Huraya's career.
12:58Sheikha Munira Abdou:When I met her, I asked her to recite for me.
13:13Sheikha Munira Abdou:Huraya, when you're reciting Quran, Can you talk to me a little bit about the emotional feeling that it gives you or how it affects you mentally and emotionally?
13:29Umm Kulthum:As God said in the Holy Quran, Quran is some kind of cure to anything that we face in life, particularly the stress. So whenever we are very stressed, we just run and embrace Quran and recite Quran. and it gives us a lot of serenity, peace and peace of mind.
13:50Sheikha Munira Abdou:Hureya, there are some people who argue that a woman reciting Quran is haram or that it's part of her aura and she shouldn't do it publicly. What's your reaction to those criticisms?
14:07Umm Kulthum:In any issue like this, we usually refer to the house of Iftah or a certain body which is dealing with legal opinions. And I've asked many times about this. And also I've asked in Al-Azhar, which is the highest Sonia authority in the Arab and Muslim world. And I have a lot of support from al-Azhar scholars and from al-Azhar Institute. And also the Quran says that the woman's voice should not manipulate or should not be seductive to men. And that's not what I'm doing.
14:40Sheikha Munira Abdou:Do you ever receive criticism online from people that follow you?
14:47Umm Kulthum:Not very much. Only one comment of criticism out of 100 positive comments.
14:54Sheikha Munira Abdou:It's great that you've had the support of scholars from Al-Azhar. What types of things have they said?
15:05Umm Kulthum:I'm always invited to the major conferences and events held by Al-Azhar, and its scholars are usually supporting me. And even one prominent scholar told me once to never pay attention to those criticizing me. And he gave me the example of Aisha, the wife of Prophet Muhammad, who used to convey his hadith or sayings to everyone. And definitely men used to attend her lessons and hear what she was saying back then. Islam has honored women and God is just. It's injustice that only men do everything and only men's voice is heard. Any woman has the same right.
15:48Sheikha Munira Abdou:I agree with Hureya. Islam is a religion that honours women, despite the patriarchal distortions. And Egypt has a long history of women sharing their voices in different ways, from the time of the Prophet Muhammad to chanting in groups today. I'll be finding out more and meeting women from an all-female chanting troupe. You're listening to The Documentary on the BBC World Service with me, Salma El-Wadani.
16:15Umm Kulthum:Episodes of World of Secrets are released weekly wherever you get your BBC podcasts but if you can't wait you can listen to episodes a week early by subscribing on bbc.com
16:29Sheikha Munira Abdou:I've been speaking to Egypt's female Quran reciters I went back to Dr Yasmeen to find out more about women reciting the Quran in the time of the Prophet Muhammad
16:38Salma El-Wardany:The first one who actually taught men was Umm Waraka. She was at the time of the Prophet. She knew the anti-Quran by heart from cover to cover. And when they were writing down the Quran, they asked for her expertise. The women who knew the Quran by heart were sent with the armies for the battles because when they conquered a territory, the men were busy administering it, you know, collecting taxes, etc etc and it was the women who taught the Quran to convert to others in the conquered territories.
17:14Sheikha Munira Abdou:Dr Yasmin also told me that women continued reciting through the centuries. The tradition of wailing women at funerals developed in the Mamluk times and they were promoted to reciters who went into the harems.
17:26Salma El-Wardany:The first ones, the first lot were the wailing women but then there were professional reciters and this continued until Muhammad Ali's time and Muhammad Ali was particularly fond of them and he got some into his harem. So there were very famous ones and Egypt at some point was called the Republic of Women Reciters because we had so many women reciters who were famous. Wow, what era, what year would we talk about? 1800. 1800s? up to 1950, I would say.
18:03Sheikha Munira Abdou:And so Egypt is known as a place that kind of cultivates and nurtures these female Quran reciters. That's fascinating and so ahead of its time.
18:21Sheikha Munira Abdou:So women using their voices to recite the Quran and to praise and worship God isn't new. Along Along with reciting, I and Hureyya both talked about chanting, so I wanted to find out more. It's a tradition which comes from a Sufi practice, and I asked Hureyya how it differs from reciting.
18:43Umm Kulthum:Quran is specifically related to the word of God, and it is very distinctive, and we have certain rules to recite Quran, and we have certain schools and approaches to recite Quran. But when we are chanting, it's totally different because we usually offer something related to Prophet Muhammad and also honoring him and speaking about his qualities and so on. Also, chanting includes different rhythms and also sometimes there are instruments used. But in Quran, there's nothing like that.
19:34Sheikha Munira Abdou:To learn more about chanting, I went to Vibe's studio in Dui in downtown Cairo to meet Egypt's first all-female chanting group, the Al-Hur Troupe, led by Naama Fatih.
19:52Sheikha Munira Abdou:I'm here with all of the girls in the Al-Hur chanting troupe. They're going to give us a performance. hi hi and we're about to get into a performance of the 99 names of God which I'm so excited to hear coming from the mouths of women and girls which I've never heard before
20:30Sheikha Munira Abdou:Nama, how long have you been chanting for? I've been chanting for almost 13 years. Why did you set up this group?
20:42Umm Kulthum:So I wanted to do something different. I wanted female chanters to be in the field and to be well-known as well. And I also looked at older female chanters like the renowned singer Ommu Kalsum. and also Suad Mohamed and other singers, female singers who shifted to chanting as well.
21:03Sheikha Munira Abdou:It's funny that you mentioned Umm Kalthoum because she's been mentioned quite a few times as a real beacon of inspiration for so many people when it comes to chanting and reciting. So what's the reaction been from other people in the chanting community since you set up the all-female group?
21:24Umm Kulthum:We received a lot of discouraging responses, a lot of ugly comments sometimes. Most of the people around us told us that this was forbidden in Islam and that a female voice is forbidden to be heard as well. And it was something like a surprise or a shock to others because at the beginning I did not say what kind of troop I am going to establish. I just made the audition and then I picked about 30 candidates to establish the first female chanter troop. We performed our first event in a cultural centre in Old Cairo. And I decided to do so because I wanted to show everyone that we will succeed. And then the reaction to the event was great and people loved it and the attendees were in huge numbers.
22:16Umm Kulthum:So I felt that I did what I wanted to do.
22:19Sheikha Munira Abdou:That's really interesting that once people see you perform at an event, they maybe change their minds about you or perhaps they realize that actually it's a beautiful practice that you're doing. When you're chanting, what does it emotionally do for you? How do you connect it to your faith?
22:40Umm Kulthum:I've been chanting since I was a young child and my mother encouraged me a lot to do so. She belongs to Al-Ashraf, which are the descendants of Prophet Muhammad. And I also follow a certain Sufi trend. Chanting for me is like a very good connection with my soul, and it feeds my soul. So chanting for me is something that I really enjoy so much.
23:21Sheikha Munira Abdou:It was lovely spending time with the troupe. They were heaps of fun and full of joy and laughter. I suppose the opposite of what you might envisage of a religious chanting troupe. I wondered what's changed in the last few years to give them the confidence to step out publicly, knowing that they would face backlash. I asked Dr Yasmin how we got from the 1940s, when women's voices disappeared from the radio, to now, when they're sharing their voices so proudly and loudly online.
23:49Salma El-Wardany:Well, it was never enforced, this ban, except on the radio station. But the women never stopped reciting. They were reciting, they were learning to recite, they were teaching to recite, and they were being hired in private celebrations and so on, until, of course, women's voices suddenly erupted in other countries. It all started, I think, with Amina Wadud leading the mixed-gender prayer in America.
24:18Sheikha Munira Abdou:I remember when I was a kid, and it was super controversial at the time. I remember my mum talking about Amina Wadud leading a prayer for Jum 'a prayer on a Friday in America of both genders, and there was a huge amount of backlash from it as well. 2005.
24:36Salma El-Wardany:So it started very early on to fight against this ban because that ban, I mean, with the proliferation of Wahhabi Islam, this ban was kind of worldwide.
24:48Sheikha Munira Abdou:So you have lots of strands that are impacting this, but what's happening actually in Egypt?
24:55Salma El-Wardany:Well, there were two televised incidents on national TV where a woman recited the Quran, Zahra Hilmi, who won a Quran competition in 2020, was invited by the president to open an international Islamic conference in 2020 and to lead the Eid celebration in 2021.
25:30Salma El-Wardany:So I think that this exposure gave other young ladies the confidence to appear in public. If she can be on TV reciting the Quran, why can't we?
25:43Sheikha Munira Abdou:Yeah, absolutely. And perhaps that's why they then create videos and post them on social media, because they know that it's been almost co-signed by the president of the country.
25:52Salma El-Wardany:I think it's also shifting petrodollar attitudes, because it was the Wahhabi thing that silenced these women when the Wahhabis were distributing their dollars everywhere to change the interpretations of Islam. And when they themselves started to modernize, that was no longer an issue. I mean, look at them. Now women are driving. Why shouldn't they be reciting?
26:22Sheikha Munira Abdou:It's clear we've come a long way, and there has been a shift. With opportunities now up for grabs, I asked Aya what's next for her.
26:34Umm Kulthum:Right now I'm recording the whole Quran and reciting the whole Quran in a studio. and then after recording this and after being reviewed by more than one sheikh and one scholar, it will be shared on all platforms.
26:47Sheikha Munira Abdou:I can't wait because I currently have a playlist called Quran and it's only men on that playlist and I can't wait to have women on it. So as soon as you finish, you must tell me so then I can add it all.
27:00Umm Kulthum:Of course.
27:02Sheikha Munira Abdou:I want women instead. I can't wait to hear more women reciting the Quran. I wonder if perhaps we're entering into a new era of female Quran reciters. In just four years, we've come a long way. Maybe the Munira Abdoos and Umm Khalthooms paved the way for this. A new generation of women who will one day become household names. I hope so. Religion has, for too long, been dominated by the male voice. It's time for women to be heard and for their voices to ring out in celebration, in worship and in faith.
27:48Sheikha Munira Abdou:Oh, that's amazing. You've been listening to the documentary on the BBC World Service with me, Salma Elwadani. The producer was Miriam Williamson.
28:09Umm Kulthum:a week early by subscribing on bbc.com.
From the publisher
Salma El-Wardany meets young women in Egypt using their voices to amplify their faith – drawing inspiration from the long tradition of female Quran reciters in the country. Following in the footsteps of pioneering women like Sheikha Munira Abdou who was first heard on Egyptian Radio 100 years ago and the renowned singer Umm Kulthum, more Egyptian women are sharing their recitations of the Quran publicly. They’re stepping out of the shadows of a fatwa (an Islamic ruling on a point of Islamic law) that denounced women’s voices something to be covered or not heard, which led to a ban of public recitation on the radio in the 1940s. The ban lasted years but the tradition is being restored thanks to a new generation.
