In this paper I look at how participation in a transnational Islamic missionary movement as well as pious volunteerism during the month of Ramzan form a significant aspect of the public expressions of Islam and community consciousness in a poor Muslim neighbourhood. Public expressions of Islam through acts of charity, construction and maintenance of places of worship and the ‘public’ observation of days of religious significance (since these remain largely confined to the boundaries of Muslim localities in the city) not just mark the Muslim neighbourhood as a religio-cultural space distinct from the rest of the city but also seek to forge a civic solidarity rooted in ethics and fraternity that often transcend neighbourhood boundaries. For the Muslim poor, acts of piety that juxtapose discourses of morality, ethics and community within the public realm of the Muslim life space I suggest are also about exploring the possibilities and challenges of modernity and egalitarianism.