Tablighi Jamaat

Tablighi Jamaat ("Conveying Group") (Arabic: جماعة التبليغ , also Tabligh) is a Muslim missionary and revival movement. Their activities are not limited to the Muslim community.

Leaders of Tablighi Jamaat claim that the movement is strictly non-political in nature, with the main aim of the participants being to work at the grass roots level and reaching out to all Muslims of the world for spiritual development. In Britain, the movement gained press attention with its attempts to build the controversial London Markaz, termed Mega Mosque by the press, Europe's largest mosque in Newham next to the site for the London 2012 Olympics.

Organization and Activities

Tabligh Jamat seeks to revitalize the Muslim community, especially those it believes are in danger of losing their Muslim identity. It emphasizes Muslim practice and participation in the Muslim community. It gathers its members and aids in community activities such as mosque building and education.

Tabligh Jamaat has been criticized by some Muslim scholars, mainly from Salafi groups, for its self financed, apolitical, non-militant nature.

It recently has attracted much attention for its efforts to build a very large mosque in London near the site of the 2012 Olympics.

Tabligh maintains an international headquarters, the Markaz, in Nizamuddin, and has several national headquarters to coordinate its activities in over 80 countries. Throughout its history it has sent its members to travel the world, preaching a message of peace and tolerance. It organizes preachers in groups (called Jamaats). Each group, on average, consists of 10 to 12 Muslims who fund themselves in this preaching mission.

History of the Movement

The Tablighi Jamaat was founded in the late 1920s by the well known scholar Maulana Muhammad Ilyas Kandhalawi in the Mewat province of India. The inspiration for devoting his life to Islam came to Ilyas during his second pilgrimage to the Hijaz in 1926. Maulana Ilyas put forward the slogan, ‘Aye Musalmano! Musalman bano’ (Urdu) which translates 'O Muslims! Become Muslims' (in English). This expressed the central focus of Tablighi Jamat, which has been renewing Muslim society by renewing Muslim practice in those it feels have lost their Muslim-ness.

Ilyas was a prominent member of the Deobandi movement and throughout Tabligh's history there has been a degree of association between the two groups, although Tablighi Jamat does not see itself as Deobandi. Tabligh was formed at a time in India when some Muslim leaders feared that Indian Muslims were losing their Muslim identity to the majority Hindu culture.

In 1978, construction of the Tablighi mosque in Dewsbury, England commenced. Subsequently, the mosque became the European headquarters of Tablighi Jamaat.

Ameer or Zimmadar are titles of leadership in the movement. The first Ameer, also the founder, was Maulana Muhammad Ilyas Kandhalawi (Maulana Ilyas) (1885-1944). The second was his son Maulana Muhammad Yusuf Kandhalawi. The third one was Maulana Inaam ul Hasan. Now there is a shura which includes two leaders: Maulana Zubair ul Hasan and Maulana Saad Kandhalawi. In Pakistan the duties of the Ameer are being served by Haji Abdulwahab. Maulana Muhammad Zakariya al-Kandahlawi is also among the prestigious personalities of the jamaat, as he compiled the famous book Fazail-e-Amal.

With the ascent of Maulana Yusuf, Ilyas’ son, as its second emir (leader), the group began to expand activities in 1946, and within two decades the group reached Southwest and Southeast Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America. Initially it expanded its reach to South Asian diaspora communities, first in Arab countries then in Southeast Asia. Once established, the Tablighi Jamaat began engaging local populations as well.

In the 1990s, the official apolitical stance of Tabligh was challenged by a break-away sect which added a seventh tenant to Tabligh's 6-point ideology, "jihad in Pakistan and abroad."

Although the Movement first established itself in the United States, it established a large presence in Europe during the 1970s and 1980's. It was especially prominent in France during the 1980s, although its influence has fallen since then, with many of its members becoming associated with UOIF, although one of its members is still represented in the French Council of the Muslim Creed. Tabligh's influence has grown, though, in the increasing Pakistani community in France, which has doubled in the decade before 2008 to 50,000-60,000.

However, Britain 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. By 2007, Tabligh members were situated at 600 of Britain's 1350 mosques.

By 2008 it had a presence in nearly 80 countries and had become a leading revitalist movement. However, it maintains a presence in India, where at least 100 of its Jamaats go out from Markaz, the international headquarters, to different parts of India and overseas.

Celebrity and Political links

The second largest gathering of Muslims after the Hajj, (the pilgrimage to Mecca which is obligatory to each able Muslim at least once in a life time) is known as "Bishwa Ijtema", a non political gathering of Muslims from all over the world hosted by the leaders of "International Tabligh Jama'at". It takes place in "Tongi" which is on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh.

There are many renowned personalities associated with the movement.

Former President of India, Dr. Zakir Hussain was associated with the Jamaat. Rafiq Tarar (former president of Pakistan), Lieutenant General (retd) Javed Nasir (former head of Inter-Services Intelligence), and General Zia-ul-Haq have also been linked with the movement. Major General Ziaur Rahman, former President and COAS of Bangladesh, was a strong supporter and member of Tablighi Jamaat, and popularized it in Bangladesh.

Former singer Junaid Jamshed has close links with the Jamaat. His departure from professional singing career is attributed as the result of his inclination towards this organization. Among Pakistani cricket professionals, Shahid Afridi, Saqlain Mushtaq, Inzamam-ul-haq, Mushtaq Ahmed and Saeed Anwar are active members. It is also widely believed the Pakistani middle order batsman Mohammad Yousuf embraced Islam with the help of the Tablighi Jamaat.

Dr. Arbab Ghulam Rahim the former chief mininster of Sindh, and Ijaz-ul-Haq have strong ties with the Tablighi activities.

The six principles

Tabligh in Arabic means "to convey (the message)" and Tablighi Jamaat strives to revive this duty which they consider as one of the primary duties of a Muslim. They encourage people to follow Islamic principles and the life of Muhammad through his teachings, going out for months or years in the same fashion as the companions of the Prophet.

When an individual goes out in a Jamaat, he tries to bring 6 qualities into his life. These six qualities are:

Firm belief in the Kalimah	"An article of faith in which the tabligh accepts that there is no god but Allah and the Prophet Muhammad is His messenger. and that Allah can do each and every thing without the help of the creation, and the creation cannot do anything without the help of Allah. The only way to succeed in this world and the next (life after death) is to walk on the path shown by Prophet Muhammad."
Concentration and Devotion in Salaat	"Five daily prayers that are essential to spiritual elevation, piety, and a life free from the ills of the material world. To build a connection with Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and to gain from his unlimited treasures"
Ilm and Dhikr	"The thirst for knowledge and remembrance of Allah conducted in sessions in which every individual contributes whatever knowledge which one can regarding performing prayers, reciting the Quran and reading Hadith and to gain the remembrance of Allah in every action make Dhikr by reciting 3 Tasbihaat, Third Kalimah, Durood and Istighfaar."
Ikram-i-Muslim	"The treatment of fellow humans with honor and deference, to love the youngsters and respect the elders and have respect for the scholars of Islam"
Ikhlas-i-Niyyat	"Reforming one’s life in supplication to Allah by performing every (good) human action for the sake of Allah and toward the goal of self-transformation"
Dawat-o-Tabligh	"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. Since Rasoolullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam was the last and final prophet, it is our duty to now carry on this work of the prophets, i.e. call others towards good and prevent evil"

The Tablighi Jamaat also sets guidelines for local masjids (mosques) to increase the level of worship and local Muslim involvement in the masjid. These guidelines include having the local tablighi workers implement these steps: two weekly jawlas/visits to Muslims (one visit to Muslims surrounding the local masjid and another to the Muslims of a nearby masjid); two daily ta`leems/reading of pious books (one ta`leem in the masjid and another in the worker's home); going out in the path of Allah (SWT) three days a month, forty days a year, and four months once in a lifetime; a daily mashura/council to discuss how to increase tablighi activity in the area; and spending at least two and a half hours in the masjid a day.

Comments by prominent personalities

Graham E. Fuller, a former CIA official and an expert on Islam, (author of The Future of Political Islam) characterized Tablighi Jamaat as a "peaceful and apolitical preaching-to-the-people movement." Barbara Metcalf, a University of California scholar of South Asian Islam, called Tablighi Jamaat "an apolitical, quietist movement of internal grassroots missionary renewal" and compared its activities to the efforts to reshape individual lives by Alcoholics Anonymous.

Olivier Roy, a prominent authority on Islam at Paris's prestigious Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, described Tablighi Jamaat as "completely apolitical and law abiding."

Councilor Alan Craig, the Christian Choice candidate for Mayor of London, complained after his Party Election Broadcast was censored by both the BBC and ITV: The broadcast initially referred to Tablighi Jamaat as "a separatist Islamic group", but the word "separatist" was replaced by "controversial" on the BBC and was removed entirely for broadcast on ITV.

Criticism

Although accepted as a legitimate tariqa by most traditionalist Muslims, they have yet to gain complete acceptance from Salafi scholars who have criticised the group for not addressing the important issues related to Aqidah and instead focusing on the peripherals like Dhikr.

Often mistaken for the Barelwi sect concerning the issue related to the validity of the celebration of the birth of the Holy Prophet, requesting his assistance, etc.

The Tablighi Jamaat base their beliefs on original Islamic texts and are within conformity to traditional Islamic teachings.

Allegations that Tablighi Jamaat has ties to terrorism

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

Main article: Allegations that Tablighi Jamaat has ties to terrorism

The American counter-terrorism analysts who prepared the allegations against Yasim Muhammed Basardah wrote:

"The detainee was recruited by Jamaat Tablighi (sic), a group that recruits young men for Jihad in Afghanistan. Many of these young men are poor and on drugs. The detainee attended meeting sponsored by Jamaat Tablighi (sic) for two months."

The allegations prepared for Saad Masir Mukbl Al Azani's Administrative Review Board hearing, stated:

"Jama'at Al Tablighi (sic), a Pakistan-based Islamic missionary organization, is becoming increasingly radicalized, and is being used as a cover to mask travel and activities of terrorists including members of al Qaida."

Fayad Yahya Ahmed asked his Personal Representative to provide him with a document explaining how al Qaida was related to Tablighi Jamaat.

His Personal Representative replied:

"We searched for a document to show that there is a connection but did not find one."

Murat Kurnaz's lawyers prepared a long dossier for his Administrative Review Board hearing, that included letters from three American professors of Religion, who assured his Board that the Tabligh movement was founded on a principle staying out of politics.

Qamar-ul Huda	"From the very beginning the Jama'at al-Tablighi has deliberately distanced itself from politics, political activities, and political controversies."
Barbara D. Metcalf	"I will also attempt to explain why it is implausible to believe that the Tablighis support terrorism or are in any way affiliated with other terrorist or 'jihadi' movements such as the Taliban or Al Qaeda."
Jamal J. Ellias.	"I must emphasize this last point, that the Tablighis formally and actively believe that traveling to engage in missionary activity fully discharges any religious obligation to engage in Jihad."

See also

• Deobandi Analysis of the Madrassah Darul Uloom, Deoband.
• Islam in India
• Islam in Pakistan
• Islam in Bangladesh
• Biswa Ijtema, the annual congregation in Bangladesh

External links

• A great site with Tablighi Bayans/Lectures
• An extremely detailed discussion on this topic on Sunni Forum
• Urdu Fazail-e-Amaal
• The Beginnings of Jama'at Tabligh
• Fiqh of Dawah
• Dawah
• Scholar’s attachment with Tabligh site in Chicago, IL, USA
• Maulana Tariq Jamil
• Andrew Gilligan on Tablighi Jamaat's role in the building of a new East London supermosque
• Article in Daily Times
• Islamist Networks: The Case of Tablighi Jamaat U.S. Institute of Peace Audio, August, 2006
• "Suspected Islamists Detained In Kazakhstan". Radio Free Europe. July 27, 2006. Retrieved 2007-7-9. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
• Yoginder Sikand (August 19 2006). "Plane 'Plot': Media Targets Tablighi Jamaat". Retrieved 2007-07-10. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Text "publisherThe Milli Gazette Online" ignored (help)
• Dominic Kennedy, Hannah Devlinhe is very good. (August 19, 2006). "Disbelief and shame in a community of divided faith: [[High Wycombe]] is coming to terms with notoriety". =The Times. Retrieved 2007-07-10. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); URL–wikilink conflict (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
• "ITV & BBC Censor London Mayoral Election Broadcast "in Fear of Radical Islam"". The Christian Choice. 2008-04-28. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)