Voice of British Muslim Women

M Rehman, Cheam

Part I

‘Have they not travelled in the land, so that they may have hearts wherewith to understand, or ears wherewith to hear?…’ (Holy Qur’an 22:47)

Allah the Almighty in the Holy Qur’an encourages all Muslims to travel and observe the world around them. And by His grace, I was given the opportunity to make such a journey to Bangalore in the state of Karnataka in southwest India, through a summer internship.

I was in the penultimate year of my Integrated Master course in Computer Science at King’s College London which has a partnership with an international technology consultancy based in India. During the application process, I did not expect to get an offer, let alone take the placement. I merely wanted to see how far in the application process I could go. Having been rejected by three other companies in London, I wasn’t too optimistic.

However, this company was providing me with the opportunity to spend 8-12 weeks living on a fully facilitated campus, along with a large stipend, to be part of one of their projects. However, it was very far from my home, family and my Jama’at. [i]

After much prayer, deliberation and research, my parents and I decided it was not something that I could turn down and my mother encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity. Hence it was finalised, that I would leave on the 1^st June and come back the week before Jalsa Salana UK.[ii]

However, there were two conditions, first, that I have my own private accommodation (which was already provided by the company) and that I stay in touch with the Jamaat in Banglore. As soon as signing my offer letter, my family wrote to Amir Sahib UK, and his office provided us with the contact details of the Amir Jama’at of Bangalore, the Missionary Incharge and the Sadr Lajna. Prior to my departure, I contacted the Sadr informing her of my arrival.

Being from the UK, and never having travelled to India or Pakistan alone before, it was terrifying. Upon my arrival, everything…and I mean everything, seemed like a surprise. The traffic, the people, the sights, sounds, smells were all so vastly different from home, it was both scary and exciting. It was a very interesting experience to delve back into the culture of my origin, and forefathers, and I realised that despite being raised in the UK, I still felt that the values I espoused were more common with the local people.

Upon arriving at campus, I immediately called home and made this a daily habit. I called my parents, sister, grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles, almost every day. And made a habit of ensuring that everyone knew what I would be doing and that I was being very well looked after.

I arrived on Sunday the 2^nd of June, and company orientation and formalities began. Fortunately, on the 5^th of June, everyone was given a holiday for Eid, and I requested a cab to take me to the Ahmadiyya mosque. When I arrived at the mosque, I found that arrangements had been made for Lajna also, such that women on chairs were sitting outside in a canopy made of scarves and those that could sit, would go upstairs. I was very surprised to find that many ladies in Jama’at knew who I was and had been anticipating my arrival.

I was delighted by the amount of love and respect they showed me, and despite being a very small and entirely different setup, I felt like I was in my local Jama’at back home. On Eid, I was introduced to Saliha Baji, who lived very close to my campus, and we immediately became friends. I then met Sadr Sahiba, who took us to her home for lunch. Both Sadr Lajna of Bangalore and Saliha Baji, looked after me a lot and showed me many places during my stay and I am very grateful to them. At this time, I could truly feel the blessings of the Jama’at showering upon me.

Part II

The following week, I was assigned my project and introduced to my team. This was the first time I realised that I had a very strong advantage, due to the fact that I could speak to the employees in both Urdu/ Hindi and English. My mother had taught me Urdu, due to the guidance of Khalifatul Masih IV, and this was as ever a blessing of Khilafat. This made me feel much more at home in this new place and I did not feel foreign at all. By the grace of Allah, I was part of a historic project, which was very successful. I had the opportunity to also be part of two other projects, one of which I got due to my work with MTA international. I was also blessed with a very nice and caring team, who encouraged and taught me a lot.

Other than having the opportunity to travel Kerala and Mysore, I was also given the opportunity to get to know the Jama’at, who like us held a Youm-e-Umahat (Day of Mothers), Youm-e-Khilafat (Khilafat Day), their Meena Bazaar (delicious food only) and their regional Tarbiyati class, at which they requested me to speak.

Later during my stay, I realised that Amtul Baji, who I met in the mosque, also worked for the same company, on the same campus, and we had dinner together. I expressed a desire to want to visit a village, and she arranged for me to visit her village 8 hours away, called Shivamogga. Despite living simple lives, the level of respect and hospitality that I was shown, was beyond anything that I had ever experienced before, it was phenomenal. This was an incredibly eye-opening experience, I realised how vastly different people can be in how they live, speak and even what they eat. Yet we are all united under the umbrella of Ahmadiyyat. I was honoured to meet many families, all of whom gave me the utmost regard. Their love and esteem stemmed from the fact that I had met and spoken to His Holiness, the fifth Khalifa of our Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. Both in Bangalore and Shivamogga, most people wanted me to tell them what it was like meeting His Holiness and growing up as a child in the headquarters of the Jama’at. For these people, seeing His Holiness, was like a dream, and I realised how lucky and privileged we are to have Khilafat so close to us in the UK in the physical sense. Many of us will never understand this pain and longing.

Furthermore, there were many times where I felt like Allah Almighty protected me either by changing circumstances or sending the right person at the right time. Additionally, there were many times that I had to make decisions on my own. This was a new experience because I quickly came to know that I was completely independent and without support or guidance, nor could I ask someone what I should or should not do. In these times, I would think, what does Islam say? What have the Khulafa told us? And what have my parents taught me?

I hope that all Ahmadi Muslim women keep these in mind whenever they have a chance to be independent, and represent the Jama’at in the best manner possible. Ameen.

[i] Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in the UK

[ii] The Annual Convention of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in the UK