Informal Links A Girls’ Madrasa and Tablighi Jamaat

Abstract

The Tablighi Jamaat opposes formal associations with educational institutions. In this article, based upon a fieldwork in a girls’ madrasa in New Delhi, Winkelmann argues that a larger network connects that madrasa to the Tablighi Jamaat. This network is based on common areas of origin and the active involvement in the Tablighi Jamaat of the men who are in charge of the madrasa. This is illustrated by the author’s analysis of a particular ideal of Islamic womanhood of the Tablighi Jamaat that is part of the curriculum of the madrasa and that is different from their standardized curriculum.