MUSLIM WOMEN BREAKING FREE FROM MALE DOMINATED ISLAM

Muslim women kneel for the prayer service at the Women's Mosque of America in downtown
Los Angeles, January 30, 2015. (Reuters/Lori Shepler)

Some women traveled to LA from as far as New Jersey, with a flight time of over 5 hours, to be a part of what many hail as a breakthrough. In traditional mosques, women pray separately from men, which as many complain, can distance them from the speaker. Some women also feel excluded for other reasons, such as male-only Quran studies.The first all-female mosque has opened its doors in America, with up to 150 women coming from across the country not to miss the historical prayer lead by a female imam at a former synagogue that's now a multifaith center in Los Angeles.