Women of faith

The women’s jamaat is called Masturat. Tabligh means “to convey” in Arabic and followers try to imitate the companions of the Prophet by going out and spreading the teachings of Islam. From the Markaz in Nizamuddin,Delhi,jamaats travel to different parts of India and abroad. Besides 40-day chillahs,there are four-month-long tours too. Recently,the thrust has been on rural India and jamaats have been assigned remote villages,a participant said.

In Nizamuddin West,home to the famous Sufi shrine of Nizamuddin Auliya,people filter in and out of cyber cafes tucked away in alleys behind the Markaz that towers over everything else. They flock to the biryani vendor in the mornings and in the evenings,after the Maghrib prayers,they crowd at Nasir Iqbal’s little store for firni and kheer. The women,though,hardly come out. Before they leave for their destinations,they stay at the Markaz for three days preparing for the journey.

Inside the women’s section,the floors are covered with mats,and the curtains keep out the light. This is where the women gather and read from the Koran,and wait for the Markaz to issue them instructions on where they are to go. But Refai,53,isn’t worried. As long it is for the faith,she is prepared to bear any inconvenience. When she returns,she will write a report on her work—like all the other women—and submit it at the Markaz,and go back to Puttalam,her village 80 miles north of Colombo. Refai was 40 when she first went for a jamaat in Sri Lanka. That was for three days. This is her first 40-day chillah in a foreign country. She had applied to the Markaz in Colombo and when her turn came,she packed her bags and accompanied her husband here.

It is the journey that’s most important,says Nida Ahmed,who is an alima or a Muslim woman scholar. “Women were always part of the movement but in the last ten years,more and more women have joined it. They want to learn more about Islam,their faith,” she says.