Tablighi Jamaat

Tablighi Jamaat تبلیغی جماعت
2009 Malaysian Annual Congregation of Tablighi Jamaat Sepang Selangor, Malaysia
Total population
70,000,000 to 80,000,000[1]
Founder
Muhammad Ilyas
Regions with significant populations
France 50,000 to 60,000 (2008) [2]  Kyrgyzstan 10,000 (2007) [3]  United States 50,000 [1]  India over 30 million  Bangladesh over 30 million  Pakistan over 25 million  South Africa 200,000 to 300,000  France over 70,000  Germany  Sri Lanka
Religions
Predominantly: Deobandi Hanafi Muslims. Minorities include: Shafi`i, Hanbali, Maliki Muslims; and various Muslim minorities
Scriptures
Quran
Languages
Liturgical: Arabic In Bangladesh: Bengali In Pakistan and India:Urdu In the diaspora: Respective regional languages

Part of a series on Sunni Islam
Beliefs
Monotheism Prophethood & Messengership Holy Books • Angels Judgement Day • Predestination
Pillars
Declaration of Faith • Prayer Charity • Fasting • Pilgrimage
Rightly Guided Caliphs
Abu Bakr • Umar ibn al-Khattab Uthman ibn Affan • Ali ibn Abi Talib
Schools of Law (Shariah)
Hanafi • Shafi`i • Maliki • Hanbali
Schools of Theology
Maturidi • Ash'ari • Athari
Modern Movements
Barelvi • Wahabi • Deobandi
Hadith Collections
Sahih Bukhari • Sahih Muslim Al-Sunan al-Sughra Sunan Abu Dawood Sunan al-Tirmidhi Sunan ibn Maja • Al-Muwatta Sunan al-Darami
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Tablighi Jamaat (Urdu: تبلیغی جماعت, Arabic: جماعة التبليغ‎, English: Conveying Group)^[4] is an apolitical religious movement for whose principal aim is reformation of Muslims. In 1926, Muhammad Ilyas founded TJ as a voluntary, pacifist and independent movement. The main aim of the organization is to work at the grass roots level, reaching out to Muslims in all social and economic spectra, bringing them closer to the life practices of the prophet Muhammad.^[1][5]

TJ's inception was also believed to be a response to Hindu revivalist movements, which were considered a threat for vulnerable and non-practicing Muslims. TJ gradually expanded from local to national to a transnational movement and now it is operating in 150 countries on every inhabited continent.

TJ maintains a non-affiliating stature in matters of politics and jurisprudence to eschew the controversies which would otherwise accompany such affiliations.^[6] Although, TJ emerged out of Deobandi sub-school in Hanafi jurisprudence of Islam, no particular jurisprudence or interpretation of Islam has been endorsed since movement's inception.^[6][7] TJ has largely avoided any form of electronic media and has emphasized on personal communication as its preaching channel. Teachings of TJ are mainly rudimentary and Six Principles set by Muhammad Ilyas influence most of their teachings.

Despite its pacifist stance, TJ has appeared on the fringes of numerous terrorism investigations.^[8]. TJ gained much public and media attention, particularly in UK, when it announced plans for the largest mosque in Europe.

History

The emergence of TJ as a movement for the reawakening of faith can be seen as a continuation of the broader trend of Islamic revival in North India in the wake of the collapsed Muslim political power and the consolidation of the British rule in India in the mid-nineteenth century. This emergence also coincides with the rise of various Hindu proselytizing movements which launched massive efforts in the early twentieth century to reconvert Hindus who had previously converted to Islam. Notable among these Hindu revivalist movements were several Shuddhi (purification) and Sangathan (consolidation) movements.^[9] The magnitude of these movements generated widespread concerns regarding the vulnerability of non-practicing and new Muslims to conversion.

Tablighi Jamaat originated in 1926 in Mewat, in North India, which was inhabited by Rajput tribes known as Meos. At the time, some Muslim Indian leaders feared that Indian Muslims were losing their religious identity to the majority Hindu culture.^[10] There is evidence that several Meo converted to Islam, followed by re-conversion to Hinduism when Muslim political power declined in the region. Meos were generally benighted Muslims before the emergence of TJ, and they lacked the necessary acumen required to resist the overbearing cultural and religious influence of Hindus.^[9]

Muhammad Ilyas, the founder of a Jamaat, wanted to set forth a movement that would exemplify the Quranic decree. "Let there arise out of you a band of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong. They are the ones to attain felicity."^{[Qur'an 3:104][11]} The inspiration for devoting his life to Islam came to Ilyas during his second pilgrimage to the Hejaz in 1926.^[12] His initial effort was to establish a network of mosque-based religious schools to educate Mewati Muslims about correct Islamic beliefs and practices. Shortly afterwards, he was disappointed with the reality that these institutions were producing religious functionaries but not preachers.^[9]

He abandoned his teaching profession at Madrasah Mazharul Ulum in Saharanpur and embarked on his life as a missionary.^[9] He relocated to Nizamuddin near Delhi, where Tablighi movement was formally launched in 1926.^[9] When setting the guidelines for the movement, he sought inspiration from the practices adopted by Islamic prophet Muhammad at the dawn of Islam.^[11] Muhammad Ilyas put forward the slogan, Urdu: "!اﮮ مسلمانو! مسلمان بنو", "O Muslims! Be Muslims". This expressed the central focus of Tablighi Jamat; their aim to renew Muslim society by uniting them in embracing the lifestyle of Muhammad. The movement gained a phenomenal following in a relatively short period and nearly 25 thousand people attended the annual conference in November 1941.^[9]

The group began to expand activities in 1946, and within two decades the group reached Southwest Asia and Southeast Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America. Initially it expanded its reach to South Asian diaspora communities, firstly in Arabic countries, and then in Southeast Asia. The first foreign missions were sent to Hijaz and Britain in 1946.^[13] Before Europe, the movement first established itself in the United States. It established a large presence in Europe during the 1970s and 1980s. In 1978, construction of the Dewsbury Markaz in Dewsbury, England commenced which subsequently became the European headquarters of Tablighi Jamaat. It was especially prominent in France during the 1980s.^{[citation needed]} The members of Tablighi Jamat are also represented in the French Council of the Muslim Faith.^[14]

Tabligh's influence has grown in the increasing Pakistani community in France, which has doubled in the decade before 2008 to 50,000-60,000.^[2] However, the United Kingdom is the current focus of the movement in the West, primarily due to the large South Asian population that began to arrive there in the 1960s and 1970s.^[15] By 2007, Tabligh members were situated at 600 of Britain's 1350 mosques.^[16]

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the movement made inroads into Central Asia. As of 2007, it was estimated 10,000 Tablighi members could be found in Kyrgyzstan alone.^[3] FBI believes that nearly 50,000 members of Tablighi Jamaat are active in United States.^[1] By 2008, organization had a presence in nearly 150 countries and with a global following of 70 to 80 million people, it has now become the largest Muslim movement in the world. However, it maintains a majority presence in South Asia.^[1][17]

Organization

Kakrail Mosque, Dhaka. The Tablighi Jamaat movement in Bangladesh is mostly based on here.

Tablighi Jamaat follows an informal organizational structure and keeps an introvert profile. It keeps distance from mass media and avoids publishing details about its activities and membership. The group also exercises complete abstinence from expressing opinions on political and controversial issues mainly to avoid the disputes which would accompany these endorsements.^[18][19]

The movement has never officially released any texts and interviews with its elders have been discouraged.^[13] The scope of their activities is not limited to the Deobandi community and muslims from many schools of thoughts can and do join it.^[15][6] TJ does not seek any donations and is largely funded by volunteers where each individual is asked to pay for his or her own expenses. It has no permanent membership and organization can be joined or left at discretion.^[1]

The organization's activities are coordinated through centers and headquarters called 'Markaz'. Since its inception, the Tablighi Jamaat has maintained its international headquarters in the Nizamuddin West district of Delhi called Nizamuddin Markaz. It also has country headquarters in over 120 countries to coordinate its activities. These headquarters organize volunteer, self-funding people in groups (called Jama'ats, Arabic: جماعتِ ‎ meaning Assembly) ,averaging ten to twelve people, for reminding Muslims to remain steadfast on path of Allah.^[17]

Their operations in the UK are coordinated through Dewsbury Markaz, Yorkshire. This centre holds one major gathering annually, generally in Dewsbury itself. It has also constructed a busy madrassah (Islamic educational institution), where future British Islamic scholars are trained.

The Six Principles

Muhammad Ilyas devoted to what he described as “the mission of the prophets”. The method adopted by him was simple. It was to organize units of at least ten persons and send them to various villages. These units (jamaat), would visit a village, invite the local Muslim to assemble in the mosque and present their message in the form of Six Principles. Muhammad Ilyas articulated six demands in the form of Six Principles which are quintessential to Jamaat's teachings. When an individual goes out in a jamaat, he tries to inculcate six principles in his life. These six principles are:

1. Kalimah: "An article of faith in which the tabligh accepts that there is no god but Allah and the Prophet Muhammad is His messenger."^[15]
2. Salah: "Five daily prayers that are essential to spiritual elevation, piety, and a life free from the ills of the material world."^[15]
3. Ilm and Dhikr: "The knowledge and remembrance of Allah conducted in sessions in which the congregation listens to preaching by the emir, performs prayers, recites the Quran and reads Hadith."^[15]
4. Ikram-i-Muslim: "The treatment of fellow Muslims with honor and deference."^[15]
5. Ikhlas-i-Niyyat: "Reforming one’s life in supplication to Allah by performing every human action for the sake of Allah and toward the goal of self-transformation."^[15]
6. Tafrigh-i-Waqt: "The sparing of time to live a life based on faith and learning its virtues, following in the footsteps of the Prophet, and taking His message door-to-door for the sake of faith."^[15]

Muhammad Ilyas later added another principle asking members to abstain from wasting time in idle talk and from sinful deeds.

Amirate

Ameer is the title of leadership in the movement and is instated by the recommendation of a council or concerned group members. The international ameer is appointed by a central council which generally comprises of experienced members. The first international ameer, also the founder, was Muhammad Ilyas, second was his son Muhammad Yusuf and the third was Inaam ul Hasan. Currently, there is a council of two people performing as the global ameer: Zubair ul Hasan and Saad Kandhalawiboth of whom are from India.^[17] In Pakistan, the duties of the ameer for Pakistan are being served by Muhammad Abdulwahhab. The ameer for outgoing preaching groups is selected by consulting the group members.

Activities

This section requires expansion.

The activism of Jamaat can be characterized by the last of Six Principles. This principle, Tafrigh-i-Waqt (English: sparing of time) justifies withdrawal from world, though temporarily, for travelling and physical movement. Travel has been adopted as most effective method of personal reform and has become an emblematic feature of TJ. They describe the purpose of this retreat as to patch the damages caused by the worldly indulgence and occasionally use the dry-dock parable to explain this.^[13]

Travelling, in Tablighi discourse, means movement from one's house, city or country to another. It is generally compared to the Hijra where people left behind their worldly pursuits and migrated for religious concerns. Groups, called Jamaats, each led by an ameer, are sent from each markaz across the country to remind people to persist on the path of Allah. The duration of work is depends on the discretion of individual jamaats which generally spans from three days to years. During these tours, they live in mosques and go door to door inviting people to prayers and sermons, and develop the urge to follow the path of salvation. The markaz keeps records of each jamaat and its members, the identity of whom are verified from their respective mosques. Mosques are used to assist the tablighi activities of individual jamaats that voluntarily undertake preaching missions.^[1][17]

TJ also sets guidelines for local mosques to increase the level of worship and local Muslim involvement in tabligh and mosque. These guidelines include having the local members of the mosque implement five steps: two weekly visits to nearby Muslims. One visit to Muslims surrounding the local mosque and another to the Muslims of a nearby mosque. Daily readings from Fazail-e-Amaal in mosque and home. Spending time in tablighi jamaat for at least three days a month and forty days a year, after spending four months once in a lifetime to learn and understand tabligh. A daily shura to decide a plan of action for the day and spending at least two and a half hours in the tablighi activities a day.

An annual gathering of followers, called Ijtema, is summoned at the headquarters of respective countries. The largest annual gathering of TJ followers is known, in Bengali, as Bishwa Ijtema, (English: World Gathering), which converges followers from all over the world. It takes place in Tongi near Dhaka, Bangladesh and with an attendance exceeding 2 million people, it is assumed to be the second largest annual Muslim gathering in the world after Hajj.^[20][21] The second largest of such gatherings takes place in Raiwind, Pakistan. In 2008, around 1.5 million people attended the Raiwind congregation.^[22]

Tablighi Nisaab

This section requires expansion.

Tablighi Nisaab (Tablighi Curriculum) is a collection of recommended readings by TJ. It includes Hayatus Sahaba, Fazail-e-Amaal, and Fazail-e-Sadqaat.

Celebrated members

There are many eminent personalities associated with this movement. These include the former Presidents of Pakistan, Muhammad Rafiq Tarar and Farooq Leghari. Former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif lives in the town of Raiwind and has attended Jamaat's activities many times. Former President of Bangladesh Ziaur Rahman has been a supporter and member of TJ, and popularized it in Bangladesh.

Former renowned singer and pop star Junaid Jamshed has close links with Jamaat, and his departure from professional singing career is attributed to his inclination towards this movement. Many more famed singers, actors and models, including Gulzar Alam,^[23] Alamzeb Mujahid,^[24] and stage performers like Javed Kodu,Jawad Waseem and Moin Akhter, are also affiliated with the movement.

Lieut. Gen. (R) Javed Nasir of the Pakistan Army and former head of Inter-Services Intelligence along with former. Many well-recognized writers and scholars, such as Dr. Nadir Ali Khan (famous Indian writer) and others. Among Pakistani cricket professionals, Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Yousuf; and the former Pakistani cricketers Saqlain Mushtaq, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mushtaq Ahmed, Saeed Anwar, Saleem Malik, Waqar Younis are active members. It is also widely believed that batsman Mohammad Yousuf embraced Islam through the influence of the TJ. Others include South African batsman Hashim Amla. Former reputed Pakistani motorcar and motorcycle jumping specialist Sultan Golden is also affiliated with the movement.^{[citation needed]} Muhammad Zakariya, who compiled the book Fazail-e-Amaal, was among the revered personalities of the Jamaat.^[18]

Abbey Mills Mosque

Tablighi Jamaat gained much media and public attention in Europe, particularly in United Kingdom, when it announced the plans for an 18 acre mosque near 2012 Olympics park in east London. This mosque was to have a capacity in excess of 70,000 people making it the largest religious building in United Kingdom and the largest mosque in Europe. The scope of project raised much criticisms and concerns in general public.^[1] However, the mosque was downsized in its revised project plans for a capacity of 12000 people.^[25]

The plan sparked controversy for various reasons including its initially reported size, the possible chemical contamination risk associated with the site^[26], the uncertainty as to the sources of funding that will be used by Tablighi Jamaat^[27], and alleged links between Tablighi Jamaat and Islamic terrorism.^[28] Mosque officials are engaged in resolving the controversies, as well as countering the perception implied by the term "mega-mosque".^[29] Public response to the mosque and associated controversies has included online petitions, various public talks, debates, speeches, and websites, and even apparent threats against people opposing the mosque.^[30] With the expiration of the permit to use the site,^[31] and neither a current plan permission nor application for a mosque,^[32] the building's future remains uncertain.

Allegations about terrorism connections

In recent years, particularly after 9/11 attacks on US , concerns have risen about Tablighi Jamaat's role as a springboard to terrorist organizations. It was cited on the cases of John Walker Lindh,^[33] and dozens of the captives the USA holds in extrajudicial detention in its Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba, had their continued detention justified through their alleged association with the Tabligh movement. Other nation's counter-terrorism agencies also suspect the movement, or some of its members, of ties to terrorism.

A December 2001 article by the Boston Herald cited Indian security concerns branches of the jamaat were related to Al-Qaeda. Yet "shoe-bomber" Richard Reid apparently did not remain with the group because they were not violent enough.^[34] It is also alleged extremist members of MULTA, with ties to the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence agency, passed into Bangladesh under the guise of members of TJ.^[35] A very direct comment from the FBI in the article stated, "We have a significant presence of Tablighi Jamaat in the United States," the deputy chief of the FBI's international terrorism section said in 2003, "and we have found that Al-Qaeda used them for recruiting now and in the past."^[36]

On the other hand, some notable people hold opinions contrary to these allegations.

"peaceful and apolitical preaching-to-the-people movement."^[37]

—Graham E. Fuller, a former CIA official and an expert on Islam, (author of The Future of Political Islam)

"completely apolitical and law abiding."^[38]

—Olivier Roy, a prominent authority on Islam at French National Centre for Scientific Research

"an apolitical, quietist movement of internal grassroots missionary renewal"

—Barbara D. Metcalf, University of Michigan (While comparing its activities to the efforts to reshape individual lives by Alcoholics Anonymous)

See also

• Islam in Pakistan
• Islam in India
• Islam in Bangladesh
• Abbey Mills Mosque

References

Citations

Bibliography

• Agwani, Mohammed (1986), Islamic Fundamentalism in India, Twenty-First Century India Society 
• Ayoob, Mohammed (2007), The many faces of political Islam The many faces of political Islam: religion and politics in the Muslim world, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, ISBN 0-472-06971-3, http://books.google.com.pk/books?id=x-vMd1jIdTIC The many faces of political Islam, retrieved 2009-08-10 
• Ballard, Roger (1994), Desh Pardesh Desh Pradesh, C. Hurst & Co, ISBN 1-85065-091-8, http://books.google.com/books?id=74ZVFb37zuIC Desh Pardesh, retrieved 2009-08-10 
• Kepel, Gilles (2004), The war for Muslim minds The war for Muslim minds: Islam and the West, Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, ISBN 0-674-01575-4, http://books.google.com/books?id=U1l9acGQJQkC The war for Muslim minds, retrieved 2009-08-10 
• Marty, Martin E.; Appleby, R. Scott (1991), Fundamentalisms observed Fundamentalisms observed, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, ISBN 0-226-50878-1, http://books.google.com/books?id=Q_-yQsX6oRcC Fundamentalisms observed, retrieved 2009-08-10 
• Rabasa, Angel (2004), The Muslim world after 9/11 The Muslim world after 9/11, Santa Monica, CA: RAND, ISBN 0-8330-3712-9, http://books.google.com.pk/books?id=yOkYAzCl2bEC The Muslim world after 9/11, retrieved 2009-08-10 
• Masud, Muhammad Khalid (2000), Travellers in faith Travellers in faith, BRILL, pp. 268, ISBN 9004116222, http://books.google.com/books?id=IJlamhIR7m8C Travellers in faith, retrieved 2009-10-02 

External links

• Andrew Gilligan on Tablighi Jamaat's role in the building of a new East London supermosque
• Official website of the Abbey Mills Mosque (broken)
• Abbey Mills Mosque's Youtube page
• Article in Daily Times
• Islamist Networks: The Case of Tablighi Jamaat United States Institute of Peace Audio, August, 2006
• "Suspected Islamists Detained In Kazakhstan". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. July 27, 2006. http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/07/C7D0C1A8-1F16-4AA9-B845-0F8E24DABC45.html. Retrieved 2007-07-09. 
• Yoginder Sikand (August 19, 2006). "Plane 'Plot': Media Targets Tablighi Jamaat". http://www.milligazette.com/dailyupdate/2006/20060819_Tablighi_Jamaat_terrorism.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-10. 
• Dominic Kennedy, Hannah Devlin (August 19, 2006). "Disbelief and shame in a community of divided faith: High Wycombe is coming to terms with notoriety". The Times. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article613756.ece. Retrieved 2007-07-10. 

Coordinates: 31°15′25″N 74°13′22″E / 31.25694°N 74.22278°E / 31.25694; 74.22278