Suhail Hashim recounts his contrasting experiences with two Muslim ethnic communities.
“Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain
While pursuing my Master of Global Health studies in the year 2017, I had to make a trip to the Philippines to complete my course requirement. This was a part of a field practicum to research “the effects of climate change on the health of residents in the Philippines.” My team was placed in a small town called Ivisan located towards the north side of the country. The mid-July monsoon weather, banana palms and coconut trees brought back memories of my home town Kerala. In my team of five students of diverse backgrounds, I was not just the only male student, but also the only student of the Muslim faith. Two out of four students belonged to a sect of Christianity called the Seventh Day Adventists (SDA). The Seventh Day Adventists have a tradition of following Sabbath (meaning resting and refraining from all kinds of work) on the seventh day of the week (Friday sunset to Sunday sunrise). Hence, by Friday afternoon the team started to wind up to relax.
As a Muslim, I knew there was a provision to miss Friday prayers while travelling, but hearing of a small mosque in this Catholic town aroused my curiosity to meet the Muslim community of this region. I decided to visit this mosque for Friday prayer. I informed my team and got into the Filipino rickshaw “tuk tuk.” The driver was able to understand that I wanted to go to “a Muslim church.” Finally, I reached the mosque, upon entering this small house of worship, I was greeted and welcomed as a guest. The worshippers informed me in some broken English and Arabic, that the Imam who was supposed to deliver the “Qutbah”(Friday sermon) is running an hour late and I, “as a guest from outside,” was welcome to deliver the sermon. I didn’t want to let go of this opportunity. Following the “Fard” (essential constituents) of Friday Qutbah of praising The Creator, His Messenger (PBUH) and reminding the audience to be steadfast in their faith, I coupled this spiritual message with the importance of health among Filipinos in general, and Filipino Muslims in particular. I was aware of health problems prevalent in this population such as obesity and respiratory concerns due to tobacco smoking. I kept my sermon short and concluded the second part of my sermon with "Duas" (prayers in Arabic). The next day, I came to know from my Christian colleagues that offering the outsider an opportunity to preach is a tradition in the Philippines, as this happened to them at the church as well.
This travel was a wholesome experience to nourish my soul. In this case, I was able to provide services by educating a community about health from a spiritual perspective, as well as gain knowledge about a new country and its culture. Despite the differences in culture and traditions, travel enriches one with wisdom. To me, travel is a way to ponder upon the blessings of the Creator, not only the beautiful nature but the very fact that, despite differences in traditions and culture, human beings are alike in appreciating good values.
New Delhi, the capital city of India, is one of my all-time favourite cities. The city has a cosmopolitan outlook juxtaposed with historical structures showcasing the ancient, medieval and modern civilizations in India. I had to move to Delhi in the year 2013. I worked in the city of Gurgaon (now Gurugram), which is a border city for Delhi, located in Haryana state. In the Booker-Prize-winning novel “The White Tiger” authored by Arvind Adiga, Gurgaon is referred to as the America of Delhi. This is due to its fast-paced developments and enormous foreign investments. As of 2016, Gurgaon has more than 250 companies included in the Fortune 500 list. Around 60 km south of Gurgaon is the district Mewat, one of the most underdeveloped and neglected districts in India. The population of Mewat predominantly follows the Islamic faith, they are known as Meo Muslims. Apart from district Mewat, the Meo Muslim population of Haryana state is scattered over neighbouring regions of Gurgaon, Faridabad, Mahendargarh and Ambala districts.
During my professional tenure in Gurgaon, I had the opportunity to work with an Islamic organization based in Delhi, who has been working towards the empowerment of underprivileged Muslims in Haryana, especially the Meo Muslims. The mosques in Gurgaon speak volumes about the Muslim community in this region. These mosques are poorly maintained with no proper prayer rugs and loudspeakers. One could hardly hear the Imam during the Friday sermons. I cannot forget the incident where one of the meat vendors in the main market region of Gurgaon asking me “kya aap asli Musalmaan hai?”(Are you a real Muslim?) He further said “I haven’t seen a Muslim with knowledge of Deen and Duniya (worldly and religious knowledge). “I am glad to know that such Muslims exist in India,” he continued. I thought to myself of the blessing of being a Mappila Muslim of Kerala. In most parts of Kerala, there are mosques in every corner, with the managements quarrelling with each other on petty differences of opinion, while in this part of the country, Muslims find it difficult to find a suitable place to perform Jumuah (Friday) prayers.
The situation is worse as we move towards Mewat District; a lot of small abandoned mosques are found in villages with no responsible caretakers. I had first-hand encounters of Muslim homes where the even oldest member in the family has never seen or learned the Quran. There are homes where individuals worship idols and yet identify themselves as Muslims. Apart from Muslim organizations such as the Tableegi Jamaat, which has its origins in Mewat, which was established to revive the principles of religion (deen) among Meo Muslims, there are other mainstream Islamic and education organizations working towards holistic upliftment of the Meos. However, with the right-wing coming into power in India and the rise of Hindutva politics, Mewat and Meo Muslims continue to be mere vote banks and victims of oppression both from state and central governments.
Recently, there have been incidents of mob lynchings and cold-blooded murders in Mewat due to the allegations of consuming and trading cow’s meat (which many Hindus in the region consider sacred). In April 2018, some radical Hindu groups, disrupted Friday prayers (Jumuah) happening on open grounds at various locations in Gurgaon. These worshipers attending Friday prayers on open grounds for many years, mostly comprise of Muslim employees working in various private corporate firms in Gurgaon.
The story of Mewat and Gurgaon which is only 60 km apart in distance, but clearly two extremes of a pole in many other factors, teaches us about how wealth is unequally distributed, raising concerns of economic inequity. It also calls for action for the need to enrich the Meos in this region. In my opinion, Mewat is not devoid of resources, it needs community engagement and education in order to empower them through resource management. Interactions with underprivileged communities are a reminder of blessings bestowed on us by the Creator. Travel hence instills a sense of responsibility and makes one humble towards other human beings.
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