The Story of Muhammad Sisei (1788 - 1838)

Ramadan 2009: With the holy month of Ramadhan at its climax, Muslims culminate their fast to celebrate the auspicious day of Eid-ul-Fitr. Eid-ul-Fitr will be celebrated tomorrow, with a public holiday declared on Monday. At the Macoon Street Mosque, Victoria Village in San Fernando, fasting Muslims have been frequenting the mosque throughout the day to pray, meditate and remember Almighty Allah. Since the start of the fast on August 22, many have been gathering at the mosque to break their fast with hot, mouth-watering meals prepared by a hard working group of women from the mosque, headed by chief cook, Hajjin Marilyn Mohammed.

From as early as 8 am, these women arrive at the mosque and begin preparations for dishes like curried goat, channa and aloo, pumpkin, stewed chicken, rice, dhal, mango anchar, callaloo, red beans, macaroni pie, fried rice, vegetables, fish and shrimp. To complete their tasty meals, cake and ice cream are served for dessert or a hot cup of coffee. For each day in Ramadhan, meals were sponsored by members of the mosque and other generous Muslim families. Last Saturday, the breaking of the fast and dinner were sponsored by Haji Mubeen Rambally and his family. Coincidentally, it was Rambally’s 55th birthday.

Hajjin Marilyn Mohammed, right, and several of the women take pleasure in dishing out food in the kitchen. Photos: Rishi Ragoonath

“Following Custom”? Representations of Community among Indian Immigrant Labour in the West Indies, 1880–1920 ¹

Abstract

On 25 June 1887, a curious incident was reported in the San Fernando Gazette of Trinidad in the British West Indies. At the end of the month of Ramadan that year, on the great festival day of Eid ul-Fitr, the Indian Muslims of Victoria village and of nearby estates congregated for the mass prayer in the Little Masjid. A fracas began unexpectedly when several Muslims objected to facing east in the direction of Mecca for the prayer. They argued instead that they should face west as they were wont to do in India. Theological debates soon gave way to a free exchange of blows between the votaries of eastward and westward prayer. Peace was restored after a considerable period, but with appeals to the eminent lawyers, Messrs Wharton and Farfan, to mediate in the dispute. Was the dispute simply due to ignorance as to the true direction of Mecca? Or was it a case of “following custom”, the much maligned traits that the Indian Muslims shared with their compatriots?

The estate proved to be the first place for the reconstitution of organized religion. While men well-versed in Islamic knowledge generally did not leave India, there were a few who arrived and served a full or abbreviated indentureship: Syed Abdul Aziz of Iere Village came to Trinidad in 1883 from Afghanistan; Ruknudeen Meah, a Punjabi of Tunupuna, arrived in 1893; and Hafiz Nazruddeen of Tunupuna came to Trinidad in 1913. These were some of the indentured immigrants who assisted in the reconstitution of Islam. The unlettered immigrants depended upon these learned men to nurture their faith, either on the estate or in the villages. At some estates, for instance that of Waterloo, there were mosques, or  "bamboo sheds near to the barracks where Muslims met nightly to read their prayers and read the Qur'an" (Fazal Ali, interview with exindentured immigrant, 26/02/1998).

Until recently we didn’t pay much attention to Muslims living next door, in the Caribbean and Latin America--not even to one of the first ‘hejab’ incidents, which occurred in Trinidad in 1995. However some of the fastest growing Muslim communities (primarily through conversion and immigration) are located in this region. And, right away it’s the women (or some of them) that we recognize--from their elaborate African-inspired headdresses or their Indian-inspired shawls. In their religious practices, individual Muslim women in Trinidad, like women of other religious backgrounds, range from the more “secular” to the very devout, distinctions which are often signified by their head coverings. And, women tend to select styles of ‘hejab’ based on their perceived ancestral heritages.