Female voices on Jakarta's da'wa stage

Abstract

Youngfemale preachers have become important agents for the proliferation of majelis ta'lim (meeting places for learning Islam) in Jakarta. This article focuses on two talented female preachers belonging to the family of the Prophet, Sharifah Halimah Alaydrus and Sharif ah Khadijah Al-Junayd. They are not only active in arranging majelis ta'lim but also in strengthening the position of other female preachers belonging to the family of the Prophet. I analyse their role in the development of da'wa and their position amidst the increasing number of mostly male 'pop'preachers in Indonesia. Their talent and their achievement in becoming students of Habib Umar bin Hafiz have made them authoritative voices both locally and transnationally. The case of Sharifah Halimah and Sharifah Khadijah demonstrates not only the new visibility of such women in Indonesian public Islam, but also illuminates the significant role played by female Indonesian preachers in the global Muslim world.