indonesia — As the call to prayer boomed over this midsize university town on a recent Sunday evening, rows of conservatively dressed Muslim women laid out their prayer mats, bowed toward Mecca and murmured prayers in Arabic. As dusk fell, it was a ritual being carried out in mosques and prayer academies across the city. What set this academy apart is that most of the worshipers here had been born as men. Tucked away behind a large mosque on a side street in Yogyakarta, Al Fatah Pesantren is, according to its leader, the only Muslim academy or madrasa for transgender people in the world. Shinta Ratri, the school’s 53-year-old director, founded it with other transgender women in 2008, two years after a major earthquake convulsed the city. “It was a time of suffering, and transgender people needed a way to pray,” she said. “We needed a place to worship together and learn about Islam.” Muslims praying during Ramadan at a mosque in Jakarta in Indonesia. The country has the world’s largest Muslim population.From Indonesia, a Muslim Challenge to the Ideology of the Islamic StateNOV. 26, 2015 Lens Blog: Islamic Faith Healing in IndonesiaNOV. 4, 2015 Rohingya migrants with airdropped food. A boat carrying them and scores of others, including young children, was found floating in Thai waters; passengers said several people had died.Rohingya Migrants From Myanmar, Shunned by Malaysia, Are Spotted Adrift in Andaman SeaMAY 14, 2015 Police officers in Jakarta at a roll call on Monday in preparation for this week’s vote. Polls show Islamic-based parties faring poorly.Memo From Indonesia: In a Nation of Muslims, Political Islam Is Struggling to Win VotesAPRIL 7, 2014 Transgender women have few opportunities to worship, as their defiance of strict gender categorization challenges conservative Muslim views about gender. -