How SEERAT made a difference in Medak

After a three-year COVID-19-induced break, the Medak’s Islamic festival of the year, Seerat 2023 was finally held on January 21st at Crystal Garden. SEERAT is an annual cultural festival celebrating the biography of Prophet Muhammed (PBUH).

The must-attend Islamic event is a flutter of inspiration. Seerat showcases a spectrum of inspirational, melodious, dramatic, and spiritual performances, as well as hosts an Islamic Exhibition, which celebrates the diversity of the Muslim tradition.

If the last three years have prepared us anything, it's the significance of togetherness and a community that feels like Ummah. Seerat simply able to conjure exactly that: a remarkable feeling of belonging, resistance, and representation.

There is a need to analyse the public discourse happening around Muslim women, with great misconception and distortion due partially to a lack of understanding, but also partially due to the misconduct of some Muslims who have been taken to represent the teachings of Islam. Medak’s minority political and religious organizations which traditionally favor women’s rights, ironically have poorly failed in giving women a proper representation. That’s where the organizers of Seerat 2023’ Jamaat-e-Islami Hind’s Girls Wing, Girls Islamic Organisation (GIO) played a notable role in shifting the debates around Muslim women. Questioning the feudal philosophy and soft patriarchy, standing up for Hijab and challenging the perspective of women being shut up within the four walls of the house, at times in the name of modernism, and at times through cultural limitations. Attending SeeratFest is like coming home. And after three years of the pandemic, we’ve just done that.

SeeratFest is a breath of fresh air in its honest representation of culture and diversity. In light of the recent surge in Islamophobic violence trembling the collective morale of the Indian Muslim community, possibilities like SeeratFest are increasingly crucial.

Public cultural festivals like SeeratFest provide an intensive yet accessible introduction to key aspects of Islam and the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) for community fellows, especially youth, to strengthen their understanding of identity and belonging through creativity, art, and contributions through volunteerism and leadership. They also serve as an open-arm invitation to the wider community of SIO and GIO to catch a glimpse of Muslim culture in all its multi-faceted richness and associate on a deeper tier breeding a sense of rapport and awareness.

The pandemic lockdowns drove us and awarded us the unique opportunity to grow from one annual event to multiple events such as Seerat Competitions and Islamic Exhibition. We carried this forward and for the first time in its history, Seerat 2022 took place in numerous neighborhoods across Medak.

Seerat Festival is an annual cultural celebration that brings together Muslims from all over Medak and even neighboring villages. SeeratFest has played an immense role in encouraging young Muslim talents through arts and creativity as well as showcasing the variousness of Muslim culture and originality. In other words, it’s simply a celebration of Islamic civilisation. Launched in 2014, today, it is acknowledged as a platform to showcase the skills of young Muslim students and a Muslim festival of its kind in Medak, attracting over 10,000+ attendees through the course of three main events.

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With 10+ drama sessions, nasheeds and inspiring speakers, Seerat 2023 was an amazing event. You can still experience this Seerat celebration by viewing the best of the sessions on YouTube.