Founding and opposition to partition Since Emperor
Aurangzeb’s reign is widely seen as the most sharia-oriented phase of Mughal rule, exemplified by the pre-British
Fatawa 'Alamgiri, scholars admired such earlier periods when rulers attempted to align governance with Islamic law, viewing them as partial historical precedents for what a modern Islamic state might look like, even though he also criticised past Muslim empires for their shortcomings. Mawdudi's concepts of ḥākimiyyah,
islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) and moral reform echo themes associated with earlier South Asian Islamic revivalist traditions, including the Mughal-era scholars who advised Aurangzeb. Although Maududi’s ideology was shaped by some modern forces such as colonialism, the Aurangzeb-Islamic era ideal of sharia-based governance is commonly cited as one of the historical influences on his thought. Maududi opposed British rule but also opposed both the anti-colonialist
Muslim nationalist Muslim League's proposal for a separate Muslim state led by
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and the
composite nationalism (
muttahida qaumiyyat) idea of
Jam'iyyat al-Ulama-ye Hind and
Deobandi scholar
Maulana Sayyid Hussain Ahmad Madani for a united independent India with separate institutional structures for Hindus and Muslims. In 1940, the Muslim League met in Lahore and passed the
Lahore Resolution, calling for autonomous states in the Muslim-majority areas of India. Maududi believed that Islam is a universal religion that calls for a single, globally unified government and therefore nationalism in any form was un-Islamic. In response he launched his own party, Jamaat-e-Islami, founded on 26 August 1941, at
Islamia Park, Lahore. Seventy-five people attended the first meeting and became the first 75 members of the movement. Maududi saw his group as a vanguard of Islamic revolution following the footsteps of early Muslims who
gathered in
Medina to found the first "Islamic state". Jamaat-e-Islami was and is strictly and hierarchically organised in a pyramid-like structure. All supporters work toward the common goal of establishing an ideological Islamic society, particularly through educational and social work, under the leadership of the emir. Being a
vanguard party, not all supporters could be members, only the
elite. Below members were/are "affiliates", and "sympathisers" beneath them. The party leader is called an
ameer (commander). Maududi sought to educate the elite of the Muslim community in the principles of Islam and correct "their erroneous ways of thinking" both because he believed societies were influenced from the top down. In his view, Muslims were not one religious or communal group among many working to advance their social and economic interests, but a righteous ideological group capable of transforming India into
Dar al-Islam. He believed that a government based on the tenets of Islam would be benevolent to its constituents and would avoid falling into tyranny and oppression, unlike the fascist and communist government structures that were gaining popularity at the time. At the time of the
Indian independence movement, Maududi and the Jamaat-e-Isami actively worked to
oppose the partition of India.
After partition After partition, Maududi settled in Pakistan and the group split into two separate organisations on either side of the border: Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan and Jamaat-e-Islami Hind. Other groups related to or inspired by Jamaat-e-Islami developed in
Bangladesh,
Britain, and
Afghanistan. The Pakistani branch of the movement has remained the most prominent, due to both their prominence in electoral politics and repression of the group in other countries. The Jamaat-e-Islami parties maintain ties internationally with other Muslim groups. Since 2003, the organisation is designated as a terrorist organisation by Russia for its close relations with the
Muslim Brotherhood. ==Branches==