[1]These differences came to a head in March 2005, when PMU endorsed a mixed-gender prayer led by a woman imam, Professor Amina Wadud.
The event, which was attended by about 150 congregants in New York City and heavily covered by international media, became a huge controversy, galvanizing both supporters and detractors around the world.
Supporters, however, asserted that nothing in the Qur'an, the Muslim holy scripture, prevents a woman from leading mixed-gender prayers, and that restrictions are based on outmoded cultural and patriarchal notions.
[citation needed] PMU's co-chair, Pamela Taylor, reinforced PMU's position when she joined hands with the Muslim Canadian Congress and the United Muslim Association to be the first woman to deliver the Friday sermon and lead the mixed-gender congregation in a mosque on July 1, 2005.
Two of the original eighteen leaders of PMU,[3] Ani Zonneveld and Pamela Taylor, created a new organization, Muslims for Progressive Values (MPV) in May 2007.