"women's religious meetings" Top 5 Page for this destination Religion/History/Culture Tip by Manyana

I recently have been to a Sufi service which is quite commong among the Sufi community men and women respectively. Since it's mainly a segregated culture when it comes to conducting such services, it's always women-only the events i attend. i've been to several religious services, Anglican, Catholic, Hindu and some few spiritual services while travelling. But this kind of meetings are more social and identity-reaffirming than anything else.

women usually get together from time to time, have a religious service, then finish their evening with a chat and dinner.

These meetings serve different purposes; celebrating the birthdate of the Prophet is one of the big services; performing prayers upon individual requests mainly for marriage, illness or school or work performance; or giving a small talk on religion in relation to women's issues such as fasting and menstruation, marital relationships, superstition or what society is out to speak about. They are always conducted in groups where friends and acquaintances can be invited over such evenings. The age group of attendees is usually 40+ though the young generation, like myself, may attend but not as a regular habit.

The nature of such activities involves religous chanting, dressing up, and lending a hand in preparing the after-meeting meal. Many women contribute to making the dinner by making a dish or two and giving it to the house mistress or the lady who's in charge.

i guess this's one of the way how saudi women socialise and get to know each other as friends and acquaintances. religion certainly is the master that brings the social units together. do you know why religion has such an important value in saudi life?