Iconic Coimbatore church invites Muslim woman to speak at Sunday service

Shehanaz Parveen spoke about her work with the Jeeva Shanthy Trust, an NGO that conducts last rites for unclaimed bodies in the city.

Shehnaz Parveen at Coimbatore's CSI All Souls’ Church | Jeeva Shanthy Trust

Chennai: It was a rare sight at the Sunday service in Coimbatore’s iconic CSI All Souls’ Church. Shehanaz Parveen, dressed in a hijab, was invited to the lectern to speak about her work with the Jeeva Shanthy Trust, an NGO that conducts last rites for unclaimed bodies in the city.

The 800-member strong congregation gave Parveen and her colleagues from the trust a standing ovation when the church presented them with shawls.

“I wish to end with a verse from the Holy Bible in which we truly believe in: ‘One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the Lord, and He will repay him for his good deed’,” she said.

The CSI All Souls’ Church wanted to honour the trust after one of its members, Mohammed Ashick, received the Chief Minister’s State Youth Awards on India’s 75th Independence Day, for his work with the trust. The award carries Rs 1 lakh and a citation.

“It felt really good to be the face of Jeeva Shanthy’s ‘women warriors’ and to be invited to speak as a woman from another faith and one who wears a hijab,” Parveen told ThePrint.

“Coimbatore is seen as a sensitive area where people think religious harmony is not present. This (invitation by the church) proves that whoever and in whatever way they try to divide us, we will live in harmony, brotherhood, and peace. We hope this will set an example,” she added.

The Jeeva Shanthy Trust has so far arranged last rites for more than 10,000 bodies, including those abandoned and unclaimed in the Coimbatore region.

A. Saleem, the 37-year-old founder of the trust, said they have 13 ambulances and rites are performed according to three different faiths — Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. “We believe in some way the soul will attain peace. We also think of it as a good way to teach youngsters about harmony and peace,” he told ThePrint.

Of the 120 members in the trust, 40 are women. “The beauty is that women also participate. Men themselves get scared looking at bodies, especially since those we handle are usually highly decomposed. The women in our team, irrespective of how they find the bodies on the streets, respect and treat them like they would a family member,” he added.

‘Criticised for inviting woman from another faith’

At the Sunday service, Parveen also said how the trust had joined hands with the church during the pandemic to provide burial services for victims.

“We, Jeeva Shanthy Trust, have been performing final rites of the unclaimed, unknown, abandoned and dead, irrespective of their caste, creed and religion, but with due respect to their beliefs and faiths,” she said in her speech.

“We thank all for being so supportive to us and pray to the Almighty to keep us all united and guide us with lots of love, which is what every religion emphasizes,” she added.

Presbyter and chairman of the church, Reverend Charles Samraj, told ThePrint that he met members of the trust during the first wave of the pandemic.

“A family requested me to perform prayers at the cemetery, when I saw four-five young men from the trust helping with the burial. Their work really moved me a lot,” he said.

“On Sunday, the Church of South India had asked us to meditate on ‘God and People of All Faiths’, so I wanted to invite the Jeeva Shanthy Trust to talk on what inspires them to do their work,” he added.

Father Samraj, however, said he did receive criticism for inviting a Muslim woman to speak. “I was asked by some people how I could allow a woman from another faith to stand at the lectern where we read gospels,” he said.

But he did not pay heed. “After the service Sunday, I saw a woman standing under a tree, crying, and learnt that during the pandemic it was members from the trust who had helped bury her mother when she could not. She had come to thank them in person,” he added.