[Day 24] Most local Malegaon Muslims belong to the “Ansari” people group. Many Ansaris are employed in the city’s textile factories – dark, hot warehouses where raw cotton and polyester is processed, spun into thread, dyed and woven into cloth. Traditional Indian clothing is then produced from this cloth, sold and sent nationwide.

[Day 07] Earlier this year Aisha decided that she could start a similar gathering … at the market! So most late afternoons when the market has quieted, she gathers with up to six others. “We are God’s creation,” she says. “Sharing with each other and praying together will help us stay close to God.” In recent weeks this small group has enjoyed readings from Genesis and from the life of Jesus. Jesus is with Aisha as she loves others in His name.

Sufism goes back to the founding of Islam; as Islam spread from Arabia to other parts of the world, it interacted with new cultures and philosophies. Islam encountered Christian monks in the desert, Gnostics of various sorts, Neoplatonic philosophy, and Buddhism and Hinduism from India. Some Muslims came under these influences