Hyderabad

July 18

Servants, too many of them, but they need the jobs.  It is overwhelming at times having so many people hovering over you.  One to pull out our chair at breakfast, one to carry your plate, another to pour your coffee.  I used the downstairs restroom this morning to give my roommate some alone time.  A woman opened both doors for me and waited while I used the facilities.  She held the soap for me and then the towel.  It is humbling and an every day reminder of how blessed I am in the opportunities I have and in the quality of my everyday living. All you can do in return for service that actually seems ridiculous is to give a sincere thank you and a good smile and then the servants are the ones who reply with thank you Ma'am.  That thank you Ma'am or thank you Sir that we must be hearing one-hundred times a day always comes with a look and tone of sincerity.  These are good jobs in India..................

Okay, we had a day of Islam in India.  It was vexing, confusing, interesting, celebratory  and eventually clarifying.  We began with a visit to a fundamentalist Islamic entity the IREF.  I've just got to call this guy the YouTube brother, no different than any kind of tele-evangelist I guess, but a little scary as everything we experienced was highly controlled and everything was on film.  One of my colleagues summed it up as gracious hospitality and a big dose of self-righteousness.  I guess we've seen that at home as well in many venues.  It is point of view and behavior that divides rather than unifies. Some of my blog readers are religious scholars so they may want to analyze Brother Mateen a bit.  He travels to the USA to speak. His second wife, of a current two and hoped for four (the wives hope for two more as the first has had four children and the second is about to give birth to number five),  gave a well prepared speech on women's world history with a strong point of view on Islam as the faith that prizes women. His well rehearsed presentation on Islam in India was perhaps more accurately based on his Islamic training in Saudi Arabia.  The question and answer period was videoed and we weren't sure we had any questions answered.Later in the men's room my male colleagues carefully asked some questions about human rights and the men in the room said that only Brother Muteen could answer questions and that he would email them answers.  Yes, it felt cultish.  We haven't had any speakers like this previously, we've always received scholarly background on a faith.  The brother' s Islam did not seem like the Islam of the families we had visited.  We asked our directors why they had chosen this particular visit and they said they were surprised at our experience as well, but the US Consulate had recommended it.  In the evening I had the opportunity to ask a representative of the consulate about the recommendation and he was surprised we had been to the IREF and said it was on a consulate list but they never make recommendations.  Anyway, it was an experience, but it left us wondering bout Islam in India.  I think you'd agree that Americans resist being controlled, so it took us until late evening to shake the experience off.  It was our motivator for digging deeper for Islam in India for the majority.  www.irefworld.in , YouTube.com/IREFPEACE   

In the afternoon we visited the Madrassa Darul Uloom Rahmania and as you can see by the banners they posted in our honor it was a big event and part of the work of an interfaith council.  There were many speakers in Hindu and Urdu as well as English - this means that we didn't always know what was being said, sorry, my Urdu is rusty but I wish it weren't. The presentations showcased the Madrassa and Islamic education in India.  The second part of the program featured the US Consulate General who gave a nice presentation on Islam in America which focused on opportunities and the right to a personal life and faith in our country. A lot of US effort is going in to developing positive bonds with India.  Hyderabad offers a major exchange program for a semester for students from the USA.  I think it is part of the Obama Singh initiative which means a lot to people in India.

The school is a Quranic School and it appeared that the main purpose of the school was the memorization of the Quran, an impressive feat for sure.  We couldn't get a handle on the overall education, but two local Muslim doctors who were in attendance and talked a lot to us said they were very disappointed in the school.  They said that the school was teaching that Islam was best and that rhetoric was not the majority Muslim point of view in India.  They said the majority point of view was that Islam was one of many religions in India and that all were important, not one better than the other. They brought their point of view to the public and to us in private conversation. The female doctor took public exception when the leader of the school said that Islam was the only faith that truly honored women.  There are both men and women stepping up for women's rights in this culture.  Educated women have a strong voice, and scholars think that in twenty years the strong patriarchal system of India will be gone.  They say it cannot exist in the democracy this nation is striving for.  

The male doctor took part in the Iftar with me, breaking the Ramadan fast, or Ramazan fast as the Hindus refer to it.  He asked the students questions and then told me that they knew nothing, only fantasies about memorizing the Quran and receiving jewel studded crowns, nonsense he said.  He said they were not prepared for work or college opportunities and that some were as old as 28 with no prospects as a result of their education. The doctors were very interesting and kind and their distress was leaning toward an effort to work in partnership with the Madrassa.

The fact that the school opened its doors to us and the community and shared their Ramadan meal with us was a big sign of their interest in sharing their school and community.  It was also a sign that they wanted to help their school and country grow.  We were the first Americans these students had ever met and we had fun smiling at one another and sharing their special meal.  Very few students spoke any English.   We really appreciated this "interaction", our programs lingo for meeting and talking, because they took the time to put us at different tables with at least two community members who spoke English and Hindu. We had great conversations and our group shared afterwards.  What a wonderful opportunity.  Don't some of the faces speak a thousand words?

July 19

Today was a winner!  We spent the entire morning with students and teachers at the Mount Mercy Muslim School.  This school reflected the unity and diversity in India in relationship to religious plurality.  It was very progressive.muslims have the highest illiteracy in India and are often considered socially backward.  This school has aimed to level the playing field for equal numbers of girls and boys.  Non-Muslims may and do attend.  In fact the school reenacted a Hindu wedding service for us.  Instead of separating religious holidays from school they celebrate them all.  In India that is a lot of celebrating! The students are being educated to build community in a culture of respect.  Strong emphasis is on core education.

Our favorite part of course was "interacting" with the children.  Most of them speak three to six languages and their English is very good.  One girl said "you are Susan and your daughter is Mary and you have been to Turkey".  They have learned Turkish in the last year as they had a number of Turkish students in their school recently.  I asked them what they would like me to teach my students about India.  One girl stood of course, and then answered "We would like them to know about our culture and our religions.  We would like them to know that we wish to find unity through diversity."  They are learning to walk the talk, that is for sure.  They asked me what I loved about India.  I of course said that I loved their faces and their spirits and the joy in their hearts for India and sharing India with us.  The school visits are the best experience for me here.  The human connections and their hopes and dreams combined with their efforts and energy are so exciting to be a part of.  

In the afternoon we met with the scholars and we were ready for that background!  Hinduism and Hindus were named by the British and the Indians still don't have a definite association with those terms.  The British saw them as people south of the Indus River and somehow that became Hindu.  Much of the Hinduism can be found with a basic Internet search.  The scholar believed that the only way India could "work" was to place emphasis on Hinduism.  The Hindus purpose is to live life as well as one can ethically.  Respect for all other religions is the "warp and weft" of Hindu thinking.  The scholar also believed that a casteless society is a "pipe dream" because the caste system is central to Hindu celebration.  Temple worship is importantly Hindus, and tht is evident to us as we are constantly driving and walking by temples.  The scholar said that Hindu idols are the repository of all ones feelings for god.  He also emphasized that secular in India means a positive acceptance of different faiths, promotion of faith and a godly, not godless government.

The Islamic Scholar gave a history of Islam in Hyderabad where it has existed since the early Indian Ocean trade routes.  Muslim came on the monsoon winds in Dhows and stayed and lost contact with their homelands.  Islam blended into an Indian form and that is the case with Christianity as well.  The indian forms of Christianity and Islam are relaxed and allow individual freedom in practice, they are generally fluid. The liberal and fundamental forms of Islam are not typical Indian Islam (which explains the IREF).  They exist though now as a result of recent migrations for employment and are being accepted as part of the fabric of modern India.  As we discussed, not a woven fabric, but a patchwork quilt of different patterns.  Just as the USA is a "salad bowl", a mix with many community and individual identities.

The afternoon was put on by the Christian Henri Martin Institute, International Centre for Research, Interfaith Relations and Reconciliation.  They accommodate interfaith scholars as well.  Http://www,him india.org. It was a good day all round, there were a few anti-American points made, some credible and some incredible.  We got through it with relative peace though.  

When we got back we risked our lives:) to walk to the grand opening of a grocery store.  We didn't know it was the grand opening.  It was fun and we got some snacks.  Should have just brought an empty suitcase and bought what I needed here.  We had fun taking to some of the shoppers and looking at all of the Masala snacks.