ABSTRACT
The following sections give a first insight into the setting wherein the actual fieldwork took place. As mentioned earlier, the onset of my fieldwork was influenced by the aftermath of 9/11. Madrasas increasingly drew public attention due to the alleged link between madrasa education and forms of violence. As a result, access to girls’ madrasas was problematic. Once a first contact with the Madrasatul Niswan was made, I first got to know the men in charge of running the madrasa from ‘behind the curtain’. It turned out that the men were affiliated with the lay preachers’ movement known as the Tablighi Jamaat, which seemed to have an impact on the worldview and educational outlook of the men in charge.
