Tablighi Jamaat

The emergence of Tablighi Jamaat also coincided closely with the rise of various Hindu revivalist movements such as Shuddhi (purification) and Sanghatan (consolidation) launched in the early twentieth century to reconvert Hindus who had converted to Islam and Tablighi Jamaat has been called a "missionary offshoot" of the revivalist Deobandi movement of India. Origin Muhammad Ilyas Kandhlawi, the founder of Tablighi Jamaat, wanted to create a movement that would enjoin good and forbid evil as the Quran decreed, Ilyas abandoned his teaching post at Madrasah Mazahir Uloom in Saharanpur and became a missionary for reforming Muslims (but he did not advocate preaching to non-Muslims). He relocated near Dargah Hazrat Nizamuddin in Delhi, where this movement was formally launched in 1926, or 1927. When setting the guidelines for the movement, he sought inspiration from the practices adopted by Muhammad at the dawn of Islam. Muhammad Ilyas put forward the slogan, , "O Muslims, become [true] Muslims!". This expressed the central focus of Tablighi Jamaat: their aim to renew Muslims by socially by trying to unite them in embracing the lifestyle of Muhammad. The movement gained a following in a relatively short period and nearly 25,000 people attended the annual conference in November 1941. Muhammad Ilyas died in 1945 and he himself is buried in the Nizām Ad-Dīn Mosque. The Mewat region where Tablighi Jamaat started near Delhi Expansion in Bangladesh The group began to expand its activities in 1946. The initial expansion within South Asia happened immediately after the partition of India in 1947, when the Pakistan Chapter was established in the hinterlands of Raiwind town near Lahore, Pakistan. The Pakistan Chapter remained the largest until Bangladesh became independent from Pakistan in 1971. Today, the largest Chapter is Bangladesh followed by the second largest in Pakistan. Within two decades of its establishment, the group reached Southwest and Southeast Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America. The Tablighi Jamaat's aversion to politics, and also its lack of any direct and practical economic-political-social viewpoints, helped it enter and operate in societies, especially western countries and societies where politically active religious groups faced restrictions. The United States followed and during the 1970s and 1980s the Tablighi Jamaat also established a large presence in continental Europe. In France, as of 2004, it was represented on the French Council of the Muslim Faith. However, the United Kingdom is the current focus of the movement in Europe, primarily due to the large South Asian population that began to arrive there in the 1960s. By 2007, Tablighi Jamaat members were situated at 600 of Britain's 1,350 mosques. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the movement made inroads into Central Asia. As of 2007, it was estimated that 10,000 Tablighi Jamaat members could be found in Kyrgyzstan. Pew Research Center estimates there are between 12 and 80 million adherents, spread across more than 150 countries. The majority of the followers of the Tablighi Jamaat live in South Asia. It is estimated that nearly 50,000 members of Tablighi Jamaat are active in the United States. ==Beliefs and objectives==

Members of Tabligh Jamat are allowed to follow their own fiqh as long as it does not deviate from Sunni Islam. Those two verses are: Six Attributes (Sifāt) When Tablighi Jamaat visits a village or neighborhood, it invites the local Muslims to assemble in the mosque to hear their message in the form of "Six Attributes". These six Attributes were derived from the lives of the companions of Muhammad, since Muslims believe Sahabah (companions) are the best human beings after Muhammad—It is stated in one hadith, "My Sahabah (companions) are like [guiding] stars, whosoever follows [any] one of them will be guided." The Six Sifāt are basically a discussion about six special Attributes that when achieved, will just make it easy to follow the entire Dīn. These objectives are: • Kalimah (ʾImān'i Sifāt) — T.J Believes, to achieve it, One must have to strive. To make his iman into Yaqeen. That, Creation cannot do anything without the will of Allah, but Allah can & Peace-Happiness, Success is lying only in the way that Muhammad shows, not in any other worldly ways. • Salah (Namaz) — T.J Believes, One must have to try to achieve the sahaba standard salah. in both the inward and outward manners, that the Companions learnt from Muhammad. Have to make a Yaqeen that, by doing so one can become direct recipients from the vast Treasuries of Allah. ==Activities, traditions, methodology==

The activism of Tablighi Jamaat can be characterised by the last of the Six Principles. This principle, Tafrigh-i-Waqt (English: sparing of time) justifies the withdrawal from World, though temporarily, for travelling. Travel has been adopted as the most effective method of personal reform and has become an emblematic feature of organisation. 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. These individual jamaats, each led by an ameer, are sent from each markaz across the city or country to remind people to persist on the path of God. The duration of the work depends on the discretion of each jamaat. A trip can take an evening, a couple of days or a prolonged duration. Tabligh Jamaat encourages its followers to follow the pattern of spending "one night a week, one weekend a month, 40 continuous days a year, and ultimately 120 days at least once in their lives engaged in tabligh missions". Generally, the assumed role of these jamaat members cycle in a way that they may be engaged as a preacher, a cook or as a cleaner at other times. Among Tabligh Jamaat members, this is generally referred to as khidmat which essentially connotes to serving their companions and freeing them for tablighi engagements. Ijtema (annual gathering) '' (World Gathering) of Muslims at Tongi, Bangladesh 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. The second largest Tabligh Jamaat gathering takes place in Raiwind, Pakistan which was attended by approximately 1.5 million people in 2004. In 2011 Pakistan divided the Ijtema into two parts and a total of 1 million people attended each of the two Ijtema. Methodology The method adopted by Muhammad Ilyas was to organise units (called jamaats, meaning Assembly) of at least ten persons and send them to various villages or neighborhoods to preach. These outings, Dawah tours (see below), are now organised by Tablighi Jamaat leaders. In these tours, emphasis is laid on "A hadith about virtues of action" (imitating Muhammad). In the ahadith (reported sayings of Muhammad) of fazail (virtues) these has been called Eemaan (faith) and Ihtisab (for the sake of Allah) and Tablighi Jamaat believes this is the most vital deriving force for reward in akhirah (afterlife). The Tablighi Jamaat founder Ilyas preached that knowledge of virtues and ''A'amalu-Saliha (Good Deeds and Actions) takes precedence over the knowledge of Masa'il'' (jurisprudence). Knowing jurisprudence detail (Fara'id (mandates) and Sunan (traditions) of Salat) is useful only if a person is ready to perform rituals such as offering Salat. They insist that the best way of learning is teaching and encouraging others, with the books prescribed by Tabligi Jamaat Movement in the light of Quran and Hadith stories of Prophets, Sahaba (Companions of Prophet) and Awlia Allah ("Friends of Allah"). 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 Ahadith). In its early days and in South Asia, the Tabligh movement aimed to return to orthodoxy and "purify" the Muslim religio-cultural identity of heterodox or "borderline" Muslims who still practised customs and religious rites connected with Hinduism. Especially to counteract the efforts of Hindu proselytising movements who targeted these often recently converts from Hinduism. Unlike common proselytising movements, Tablighi Jamaat has mostly focused on making Muslims 'better and purer' and ideally "religiously perfect", rather than preaching to the non-Muslims. This is because (it believes) dawah to non-Muslims will only be effective (or will be much more effective) when a Muslim reaches "perfection". ==Organisation==

, Dhaka. The Tablighi Jamaat movement in Bangladesh is mostly based here. Tablighi Jamaat follows an informal organisational structure and keeps an introverted institutional profile. It has been described as "a free-floating religious movement with minimal dependence on hierarchy, leadership positions, and decision-making procedures." It keeps its distance from the 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 that would accompany these endorsements. As an organisation, Tabligh Jamaat does not seek donations and is not funded by anyone; in fact, members have to bear their own expenditures. Since there is no formal registration process and no official membership count has ever been taken, the exact membership statistics remain unknown. The organisation's activities are coordinated through centers called Markaz. It also has country-wise centers in over 200 countries to coordinate its activities. These centers organise volunteer, self-funding people in groups (called jamaats), averaging ten to twelve people, to remind Muslims to remain steadfast on the path of Allah. Since 2016, Tableeghi Jamat has functioned as two groups after a bitter division, one led by Maulana Saad Kandhelvi with headquarters in India, and the other led by a collective Shura with headquarters in Punjab, Pakistan and Bangladesh. There have been at least three violent clashes, one in Delhi, India and two in Bangladesh. ==Role of women==

In Tablighi Jamaat, women are encouraged to stay at home, and to choose a life of "segregation between female and male". However they also engage in proselytising activities, discussing among themselves in small groups the basics of Tabligh and traveling with their husbands (or another mahram) on proselytising trips. Tabligh inculcates in them that dawah is also important alongside taking care of their spouses or taking care of their children. According to a 1996 study by Barbara Metcalf, the Tablighi Jamaat has encouraged women to participate since the beginning of the movement. Some scholars objected to the participation of women, but Muhammad Ilyas slowly gained their support and the first jamaat of women was formed in Nizamuddin, Delhi. Accompanied by a close male relative, (mahram), women are encouraged to go out in jamaats and work among other women and family members while following the rules of modesty, seclusion and segregation. They observe hijab by covering their faces and hands. Jamaats of women sometimes participate in large annual meetings; otherwise, they commonly hold neighbourhood meetings. Tablighi Jamaat tends to blur the boundaries of gender roles and both genders share a common behavioural model and their commitment to tabligh. The emphasis is on a common nature and responsibilities shared by both genders. Just as men redraw the gender roles when they wash and cook during the course of ''da'wa'' tours, women undertake the male responsibility of sustaining the household. Women do not play any role in the higher echelons of the movement, but their opinions are taken into due consideration. Women and the family members are told to learn Quran and follow 5 Amaals in everyday life, Taleem of Ahadees, Quran recitation, 6 Points muzakera, and mashwara for daily life work and fikr for the whole world as people from around the world will be coming and they are the ones who have to learn before they can teach. , Aceh Besar, Aceh ==Criticism and controversy==

Lack of political activism Tablighi Jamaat avoids scrutiny and official ban by maintaining absolute secrecy and neutral stance towards the Political Islam by remaining neutral towards extremist Islamic groups "neither condemning nor supporting their actions" as " any overt connection with these groups is not in the best interest of the Tablighi Jamaat", thus allowing it to coexist even in modern Western world. Many analysts find this neutrality of Tablighi Jamaat towards extremist political Islamist groups sufficient to make Tablighi Jamaat culpable because Islamist militant groups often attend TJ congregations "where they hand out recruitment pamphlets". This allows those radicals to obtain the cover of Tablighi Jamaat to gain visa for overseas travel. "It is thus possible that a [extremist Islamist] flame sparked and fueled by Tabligh could begin to burn out of control." Tabligh Jamaat has been criticised—especially by the radical islamist groups, The Tablighi Jamaat, in response, states that it is only by avoiding the political debates that the Tablighi Jamaat has been successful in reawakening the spiritual conscience of the followers. The apolitical stance also helped it operate in difficult times, such as during the governments of Ayub Khan (1960s) and Indira Gandhi (1975–77), when other sociopolitical Islamic groups faced restrictions. The exclusive focus of the Tablighi Jamaat's attention is the individual, and members believe the reformation of society and institutions will only be effective through education and reform of individuals. It insists that nations and social systems exist by the virtue of the individuals who form them; therefore, the reform must begin at the grass-roots with individuals and not at the higher level of political structure. Nasiruddin al-Albani in his book "Darsush Shaikhul Albani" talks about Tabligh Jamaat's aloofness from politics, Ideological opposition Tablighi Jamaat has received criticism in the Indian subcontinent from the Barelvi movement. One of the main criticisms against them is that the men neglect and ignore their families, especially by going out on ''da'wa'' tours. Tablighi Jamaat participants, in response, argue that both genders should be equally engaged in Tabligh. They further say that women, like men, are also urged to carry the responsibility of Tabligh and that men should facilitate women's participation by providing childcare. denounced Al-Qaeda, At least three western experts on Islam have testified to its apolitical, quietist and/or peaceful character: • "peaceful and apolitical preaching-to-the-people movement" (Graham E. Fuller). • "completely apolitical and law abiding" (Olivier Roy). • "an apolitical, quietist movement of internal grassroots missionary renewal" (Barbara D. Metcalf). According to the American Foreign Policy Council (AFPC), the Tablighi Jamaat teaches that jihad is "primarily as personal purification rather than as holy warfare". Because of its disavowal of violent jihad, the Tablighi activities have been banned in Saudi Arabia and some Islamist groups have accused the Tabligh of weakening support for jihad amongst Muslims. Interviews with TJ members, based on primary research, indicate that they emphasise self-reform, unity, and adherence to Islamic teachings before considering any broader struggles. Some TJ adherents describe their primary jihad as 'Tabligh'—the act of preaching and reviving faith among Muslims—arguing that external struggles are secondary to internal spiritual development. TJ followers highlight that division and lack of religious adherence within the Muslim community make any form of militant jihad ineffective and premature. Furthermore, some members view controlling one’s 'Nafs' (self) as the greatest form of jihad, placing emphasis on personal piety rather than political activism. the teachings and beliefs of Tablighi Jamat have been a cornerstone for joining in radical Muslim groups. • By asking Muslims to "shun politics and public affairs", TJ leaves "a gap" in members' worldview/belief system; since "some people find they cannot ignore what is happening in the world around them, especially when that world includes wars". When jihadist groups "offer religiously sanctioned prescriptions as to how 'good Muslims' should deal with life's injustices", some TJ members listen. Law enforcement officials says that Tablighi Jamaat's presence all around the world and its apolitical stance have been exploited by militant groups. A former homeland security employee described Tablighi Jamaat as a "trans-national Islamist network". According to Alex Alexiev, "perhaps 80% percent of the Islamist extremists have come from Tablighi ranks, prompting French intelligence officers to call Tablighi Jamaat the 'antechamber of fundamentalism.'" • In addition, some argue Tablighi Jamaat is not as apolitical as it might first appear. According to Patrick Sukhdeo, TJ is an extremely secretive group and the core of the group does not disclose how it operates. Despite claims of being apolitical, it has ties with the political and military sector of countries such as Pakistan and Bangladesh. Some have compared the group's ideology to Khawarij whereas others point out that the Tablighi Jamaat takes a "traditionalist" approach to Islam in contrast to Khawarij's extremist and often heretical approach. The Tablighi Jamaat tried to expand the Abbey Mills Mosque into the largest mosque in the United Kingdom. The plan attracted controversy, and the Tabligh was denied permission. Bans on Tablighi Jamaat in several countries Tablighi Jamaat has been banned in Russia as well as several Muslim nations such as Iran, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan, and Saudi Arabia. Central Asian Muslim countries which banned TJ, such as Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan, view TJ's puritanical preachings as extremist. In February 2020, a counter-terrorism operation in Russia led to the arrest of seven Tablighis and dismantled the terrorist cell affiliated to the Tablighi Jamaat. According to Russian intelligence, the terrorist cell was involved in dissemination of materials and radicalisation. The Tablighi Jamaat has been banned in Russia since 2009. The Supreme Court of Russia also recommended the Tablighi Jamaat to be included into the list of terrorist groups monitored by the Kremlin. On 10 December 2021, Saudi Arabia further warned against Tablighi Jamaat, calling it a "danger to society" and "one of the gates of terrorism", while all forms of innovated Islamic preaching are already banned in the kingdom. The announcement was made by the country's Minister of Islamic Affairs, Abdullatif Al Al-Sheikh. All other Arab countries specifically Gulf Arabic countries including United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman have Tablighi Jamat Maraakez (centres) and many locals are openly involved in Tabligh activity. COVID-19 pandemic Tablighi Jamaat attracted significant public and media attention during the COVID-19 pandemic. Malaysia Between 27 February and 1 March 2020, the movement organised an international mass religious gathering at the Masjid Jamek in Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. The Tablighi Jamaat gathering has been linked to more than 620 COVID-19 cases, making it the largest-known centre of transmission of the virus in Southeast Asia. The Sri Petaling event resulted in the biggest increase in COVID-19 cases in Malaysia, with almost two thirds of the 673 confirmed cases in Malaysia linked to this event by 17 March 2020. Most of the COVID-19 cases in Brunei originated here, and other countries including Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines have traced their cases back to this event. By 20 May 2020, Director-General of Health Noor Hisham Abdullah confirmed that 48% of Malaysia's COVID-19 cases (3,347) had been linked to the Sri Petaling tabligh cluster. Indonesia Despite the outbreak, Tablighi Jamaat organised a second international mass gathering on 18 March in Gowa Regency near Makassar in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Though the organisers initially rebuffed official directives to cancel the gathering, they subsequently complied and cancelled the gathering. Pakistan Yet another gathering was organised in Pakistan near Lahore at Raiwind, for 250,000 people. The event was "called off" in response to the officials' requests, but the participants had already gathered and communed together. When they returned, the virus travelled with them, including two cases in the Gaza Strip. During testing, around 40 members of the Tablighi Jamaat were found to be COVID-infected. Another 50 people including four Nigerian women, suspected to be the carriers of the virus were quarantined 50 km from Lahore. In Hyderabad, Sindh, 38 members of the organisation were found to be positive for coronavirus. Raiwind, the place where the event was held has been locked down by Pakistani authorities and the police arrested Tablighi Jamaat members from their offices in Sindh and Punjab for violating the law. Ninety-four more Tableeghi Jamaat members tested positive for the coronavirus on 31 March 2020 in Hyderabad, in the Sindh province. India The Tablighi Jamaat wanted to arrange the program somewhere in Vasai, Maharashtra. After the outbreak of COVID-19 in Maharashtra, the Government of Maharashtra and Mumbai Police called off the meeting. After the rejection from the Government of Maharashtra, the Nizamuddin faction the Tablighi Jamaat held the religious congregational program (Ijtema) in Nizamuddin West, Delhi. There were also other violation of rules by foreign speakers including misuse of tourist visa for missionary activities and not taking 14-day home quarantine for travellers from abroad. The Nizamuddin Markaz Mosque added that the officials there"met the Ld. DM and apprised him of the stranded visitors and once again sought permission for the vehicles arranged by us," to clear the Markaz premises and take the devotees back home. "Under such compelling circumstances there was no option for Markaz Nizamuddin but to accommodate the stranded visitors with prescribed medical precautions till such time that situation becomes conducive for their movement or arrangements are made by the authorities," the Tablighi Jamaat HQ said. It is believed that the sources of infection were preachers from Indonesia. Many had returned to their states and also housed foreign devotees without the knowledge of local governments. and eventually started local transmissions especially in Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir and Assam. The entire Nizamuddin West area has been cordoned off by the police as of 30 March, and medical camps have been set up. After evacuation from the markaz, of the scores of jamaat attendees, 167 of them were quarantined in a railway facility in south east Delhi amid concerns over their safety and transmission of the virus. The Tablighi Jamaat gathering emerged as one of India's major coronavirus hotspots in India, after 1445 out of 4067 cases were linked to attendees according to the Health Ministry. On 18 April 2020, Central Government said that 4,291 cases (or 29.8% Of the total 14,378 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in India) were linked to the Tablighi Jamaat, and these cases were spread across 23 states and Union Territories. Questions have been raised as to how the Delhi Police, which under direct control of the Union Home Ministry headed by the Home Minister & the then Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah allowed this event to proceed in the midst of a pandemic, while a similar event was prohibited in Mumbai by the Maharashtra Police. Once the COVID lockdown came into effect in Delhi from 22 March onwards, the missionaries remaining in the Nizamuddin Markaz were trapped, and the functionaries began to seek assistance from the authorities for their evacuation. As of 4 April, more than 1000 cases, representing 30% all confirmed cases in India, were linked to the Nizamuddin event. Some 22,000 people that came in contact with the Tablighi Jamaat missionaries had to be quarantined. On 31 March 2020, an FIR was filed against Muhammad Saad Kandhlawi and others by Delhi Police Crime Branch. On 8 April 2020, the Delhi Police traced Tablighi Jamaat leader Maulana Saad Kandhalvi in Zakirnagar in South-East Delhi, where he claimed to be under self-quarantine. People associated with the ruling Hindutva-aligned Bharatiya Janata Party called out Indian Hindus to socially boycott Indian Muslims. This drew criticism from Arab leaders and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation; the Prime Minister Narendra Modi responded: "the virus did not discriminate between people on the basis of faith, community, race or nationality". On 12 October 2020, Mumbai court discharged the members with the order stating they didn't act negligently to spread COVID and didn't disobey to the orders of the Indian authorities. ==Notable members==

The Tablighi Jamaat has no membership lists nor formal procedures for membership, which makes it difficult to quantify and verify affiliations. One of the most famous and popular contemporary leaders of the Tablighi Jamaat is the Pakistani preacher Maulana Tariq Jamil who has amassed a huge online social media following. The former chief minister of the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pervaiz Elahi is also a strong supporter of the Tablighi Jamaat. During his tenure in 2011, 75 kanals of land (, ) were purchased for a Tablighi Jamaat mosque at the Raiwind Markaz. In India, Munawar Faruqui, an Indian stand-up comedian, and Sana Khan, an ex-Bollywood star, and Arif Khan, an ex-Bollywood actor, are associated with Jamaat. The Former Pakistan Presidents- Farooq Leghari and Muhammad Rafiq Tarar were believed to be associated with the movement, the Indian president Dr Zakir Hussain was also affiliated with tabligh jammat Singers, actors and models, including Attaullah Essa Khailwi, Gulzar Alam, Bacha, and Junaid Jamshed are also affiliated with the movement. Former Lieutenant General and head of Inter-Services Intelligence Javed Nasir and General Mahmud Ahmed of the Pakistan Army both became members of Tablighi Jamaat during their service. The Tablighi Jamaat also has a notable following among Pakistani professional cricketers: Shahid Afridi, Mohammad (formerly "Youhana") Yousuf and the former cricketers Saqlain Mushtaq, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mushtaq Ahmed, Saeed Anwar and Saeed Ahmed Muhammad Rizwan are active members. Mohammad Yousuf's conversion from Christianity to Islam is widely attributed to the influence of the Tabligh Jamaat. In Malaysia, prominent actors and singers such as Azmil Mustapha, Nabil Ahmad, Aliff Aziz, Anuar Zain, Amar Asyraf, Dato' Nash and Dr Sam have all been involved with Tablighi Jamaat. One of Malaysia's most prominent actress Neelofa, has also participated in Tablighi Jamaat's Tours with her husband (PU Riz), as a result of which she now dons the Islamic face veil ever since. == See also ==