Hyderabad: No tutors, Muslim girls log on for Islamic class

Hyderabad: Young Muslims girls and women in the city are now banking on technology due to shortage of women ‘maulvis’ to impart Islamic courses, including reading and understanding the Quran and the Hadith. 

Women maulvis are not willing to take classes owing to the conservative background of their own families. 

“Parents are not willing to send the women maulvis to take home tuitions owing to their conservative background. Al-though about 2,000 girls study in our institution many of them are not willing to undertake home tuitions,” said Mufti Mastan Ali, rector of Jamiat-ul-Mominaat, a women’s seminary at Moghalpura. 

Girls aged below ten years take the Quran classes at the local mosque or the madrasa where classes are held in the evening. 

“But we cannot send young girls outside. So, there is always a need for women maulvis,”  said a parent. A few women maulvis, who are willing to undertake home tuitions, demand extra money like travel expenses. 

“They come in an auto rickshaw and want the families to pay the monthly conveyance to the driver. The auto fare is two times more than what they charge for tuition,” said a woman from Malakpet. 

As an alternative, the parents are now going for mobile phone-based apps like  ‘Learn Quran’, ‘Quran for Android’, ‘QforQuran’, ‘Quran with Urdu Translation’, etc., 

Mr Abdul Basith Shakeel, proprietor of HUDA book store, said that interactive Quran CDs are available in the market. 

“A few websites offer online Quran tutorials and collect the fees through e-payment options,” he said.