Bangalore: A Kerala woman who on January 26 became the first woman in India to lead Friday prayers has challenged to an open debate any scholar who claims the Quran allows only men to perform the task.

Jamida Teacher, 34, who had earlier faced threats for opposing the instant talaq and religious conversions through force or allurement, said she had begun receiving critical as well as appreciative phone calls.

In Malappuram on Friday, the mother of two had led the prayers at the central committee office of the reformist Quran Sunnat Society, established by the progressive cleric Chekannur Moulavi. She later delivered a sermon quoting Quranic verses.

"Now callers from various mosque committees are accusing me of defying Islam. Some people on social media said I was destroying the religion," she told The Telegraph on Saturday. "But many called me to appreciate what I did."

Jamida, whose husband works in Kuwait, is an expert on Islamic studies. She is general secretary of the Quran Sunnat Society, which appointed her as imam to lead Friday prayers and ensured sufficient police presence.

In December, two men were arrested for allegedly barging into her home in Kappad, 18km from Kozhikode, and threatening to kill her for her stand on the instant talaq and conversions.

"I'm prepared to face any consequences as I have done nothing wrong," she said. "The patriarchs can never prove through Quranic references that what I did was wrong."

She said she had drawn inspiration from Amina Wadud, who in 2005 became the first woman to lead Friday prayers anywhere, performing the task in New York.

Maulana Mohammed Maqsood Imran, the imam of the Jama Masjid in Bangalore, said Islam does not allow women to lead any prayers attended by men. "Women are only allowed to lead the Taraweeh prayers, attended solely by women, during Ramazan."

But Jamida said: "The Quran does not say male or female but addresses us only as believers. So the holy text does not deny us women the right to lead prayers."

Social worker and scholar M.N. Karrassery said Jamida's initiative would "lead to discussions on gender equality in the Muslim community".