Tablighi Jamaat
Tablighi Jamaat (Urdu: تبلیغی جماعت, Arabic: جماعة التبليغ, English: Society for spreading faith)[2] is a transnational religious movement which was founded in 1926 by Muhammad Ilyas al-Kandhlawi in India.[5] The movement primarily aims at Islamic spiritual reformation by working at the grass roots level, reaching out to Muslims across all social and economic spectra to bring them closer to the practices of the Prophet Muhammad.[4][6]Tablighi Jamaat came forth as an offshoot of the Deobandi movement. Its inception is believed to be a response to Hindu reform movements, which were considered a threat to vulnerable and non-practicing Muslims.[7] It gradually expanded from local to national to a transnational movement and now has followers in over 150 countries.[4]
Tabligh Jamaat maintains a non-affiliating stature in matters of politics and fiqh (jurisprudence) so as to eschew the controversies that would otherwise accompany such affiliations.[8] Although, Tabligh Jamaat emerged out of the Deobandi sub-school in the Hanafi fiqh, no particular interpretation of Islam has been endorsed since the beginning of movement.[8][9] Tabligh Jamaat has largely avoided electronic media and has emphasized a personal communication for proselytizing. The teachings of Tabligh Jamaat are mainly rudimentary and the Six Principles put forward by Muhammad Ilyas influence most of their teachings.
Despite its pacifist stance, Tabligh Jamaat has appeared on the fringes of numerous terrorism investigations. Tablighi Jamaat's role as a springboard to terrorist organizations has been questioned several times but there is no evidence that the Tabligh Jamaat deliberately act as a recruiting arm for Islamic militant organizations.[4][10] Tabligh Jamaat attracted significant public and media attention when it announced plans for the largest mosque in Europe to be built in London, United Kingdom.
History
The emergence of Tablighi Jamaat represented the intensification of individual reformation aspect of the original Muslim and it is not only the movement of Deobandi but it is a KAAM (work)of every muslim who belived in One ALLAH and HIS last Messenger prophet Mohammad (SAW). It was also a continuation of the broader trend of Islamic revival in 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 and Christianity.[11] Notable among these Hindu revivalist movements were Shuddhi (purification) and Sangathan (consolidation) movements. The Tabligh movement aimed to reaffirm Muslim religiocultural identity of these borderline Muslims who still carried customs and religious practices from Hindu past. Unlike common proselytizing movements, TJ never strove to convert non-Muslims to Islam, rather it exclusively focused on making Muslims 'better and purer'.[12][13]Expansion
The group began to expand its activities in 1946, and within two decades the group reached Southwest Asia and Southeast Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America.[21] Tabligh Jamaat's aversion to politics helped it enter and operate in societies where politically active religious groups faced severe restrictions.[22] 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 Hejaz and Britain in 1946.[23] Before entering Europe, the movement first established itself in the United States. It established a large presence in Europe during the 1970s and 1980s.[14] The construction of the Markazi Masjid in Dewsbury, England commenced in 1978 which subsequently became the European headquarters of Tablighi Jamaat. This centre holds one major gathering annually, generally in Dewsbury itself. It has also constructed a busy madrasah, called the Institute of Islamic Education.[24]Introduced in France in 1960s, it grew prominently during 1970-80s.[25] Tabligh Jamaat declined around 1989, although some members still represent it in the French Council of the Muslim Faith.[14] In the few years before 2006, Tabligh Jamaat's influence has exponentially grown in France, which now has around 100,000 followers.[1] 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.[26] By 2007, Tabligh members were situated at 600 of Britain's 1,350 mosques.[24]
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the movement made inroads into Central Asia. As of 2007, it was estimated 10,000 Tabligh Jamaat members could be found in Kyrgyzstan alone.[2] The FBI believes that nearly 50,000 members of Tablighi Jamaat are active in United States.[4] By 2008, organization had a presence in nearly 213 countries and with a global following of 100 to 150 million people, it has now become the largest Muslim movement in the world. However, it maintains a majority presence in South Asia.[4][27]
Tablighi Jamaat follows an informal organizational structure and keeps an introvert institutional profile. It keeps its 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.[34][35] As an organization, Tabligh Jamaat does not seek donations and is largely funded by its senior members. Since there is no formal registration process and no official membership count has ever been taken, the exact membership statistics remain unknown.[36] The movement discourages interviews with its elders and has never officially released texts. Even though there are publications associated with the movement, particularly by Zakariya Kandahalwi, the emphasis has never been on book learning, but rather on first-hand personal communication.[7][37] A collection of books, usually referred as Tablighi Nisaab (Tablighi Curriculum), is recommended by Tabligh Jamaat elders for general reading. This set includes four books namely (Hayatus Sahabah, Fazail-e-Amaal, Fazail-e-Sadqaat and Muntakhab-e-Ahadis).[38]profile. It keeps its 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.[34][35] As an organization, Tabligh Jamaat does not seek donations and is largely funded by its senior members. Since there is no formal registration process and no official membership count has ever been taken, the exact membership statistics remain unknown.[36] The movement discourages interviews with its elders and has never officially released texts. Even though there are publications associated with the movement, particularly by Zakariya Kandahalwi, the emphasis has never been on book learning, but rather on first-hand personal communication.[7][37] A collection of books, usually referred as Tablighi Nisaab (Tablighi Curriculum), is recommended by Tabligh Jamaat elders for general reading. This set includes four books namely (Hayatus Sahabah, Fazail-e-Amaal, Fazail-e-Sadqaat and Muntakhab-
The organization's activities are coordinated through centers and headquarters called Markaz. Tablighi Jamaat maintains its international headquarters, called Nizamuddin Markaz, in the Nizamuddin West district of South Delhi, India, from where it originally started. It also has country headquarters in over 213 countries to coordinate its activities. These headquarters organize volunteer, self-funding people in groups (called jamaats), averaging ten to twelve people, for reminding Muslims to remain steadfast on path of God.[27] These jamaats and preaching missions are self funded by their respective members.
Leadership
Ameer is the title of leadership in the Tabligh Jamaat and the attribute largely sought is the quality of faith, rather than the worldly rank.[32] The ameer of Tabligh Jamaat is appointed for life by central consultative council (shoora) and elders of Tabligh Jamaat.[37][39] First ameer, also the founder, was Muhammad Ilyas, second was his son Muhammad Yusuf Kandhalawi and the third was Inaam ul Hasan.[21] At present, there is a council of two people — Zubair ul Hasan and Saad Kandhalawi — acting as ameer.[27]Ijtema - annual gathering
An annual gathering of followers, called ijtema, is summoned at headquarters of the respective countries. A typical ijtema continues for three days and ends with an exceptionally long prayer.[1] These gatherings are considered moments of intense blessings by Tabligh Jamaat members and are known to attract members in excess of 2 million in some countries.[7] The largest of such annual gatherings are held in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The Bengali gathering, called Bishwa Ijtema (World Gathering), converges followers from around the world in Tongi near Dhaka, Bangladesh and with an attendance exceeding 3 million people, it is assumed to be the second largest annual Muslim gathering in the world after Hajj.[43][44] The second largest Tabligh Jamaat gathering takes place in Raiwind, Pakistan which was attended by approximately 1.5 million people in 2004.[45]
