Tablighi Jamaat
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Tablighi Jamaat is a movement founded in the late 1920s by Muhammad Ilyas in the Mewat province of India. Tabligh in Arabic means "to deliver (the message)" and Tablighi Jamaat claims to revive this duty which they consider as a primary duty of Muslims. They usually limit their activities within Muslims itself and their main aim being to bring spiritual awakening to the world's Muslims.
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Aims
The movement asks the Muslims at-large to spend their time and money in spiritual journeys to seek religious knowledge and promote the faith. During these scheduled jouneys (usually for a specified period of 4 months, 40 days, 10 days, or at least 3 days), members of each travelling group (called jama'ats) learn the basic tenets of Islam from each other. Apart from these, a list of desired qualities of the sahabah (companions of the Prophet are studied and practiced. These are:
- Conviction of Faith - Belief in the oneness of God. This is expanded to mean that the creation cannot do anything without the will of God, but God can do everything without the creation. It also has the adjunct of belief that complete success in this world and the hereafter is only achieved in following the way of life shown by Muhammad and every other way leads to failure in this world and the hereafter.
- Humility & Devotion in Salah - Perfection in observance of salah (prayers).
- Acquiring knowledge and remembrance of God
- Good behaviour towards Muslims, and others. Sacrificing ones own needs in order to fulfill anothers needs. Includes respecting ones elders and showing kindness to somebody younger.
- Purity of intention. Meaning that all good actions should be solely for the pleasure of God.
- Inviting to God - Spending ones time and money in the "Path of God", calling people towards God, as Muhammad was the last messenger of God.
Constitution and Activities
Members of any given Jama'at usually hail from varied backgrounds. Each Jama'at is usually constituted in a village or town mosque. They decide upon a route and time period of the Journey by Mash'wara or group counselling.
Each Jama'at has 5 to 20 members with one leader or Amir who is usually chosen by the members themselves before the actual journey. They usually camp in Masjid (Mosque) along the way, and preach to the people who attend the Mosque. During the day, members of the Jama'at visit Muslim houses door to door and roam the markets of the town or village they have camped in and exhort Muslims to lead a pure religious life and invite them to attend a sermon in nearby Mosque after sunset prayers. Usually after the sermon, they encourage the attendees to come forward for spiritual journeys like them.
Since they encourage other Muslims to join in their spiritual journeys, any Muslim can easily join. There is no strict membership rules to be part of Tablighi Jamaat.
The Jamaat as a missionary organization is popular in South Asia and has a number of adherents in the West, especially the United Kingdom, North America and South Africa.
Social Impact
Most hamlets in the Indian subcontinent usually have a mosque called the Markaz, or centre, where weekly meetings occur. Preachers during these meetings urge people to go in Jama'at for as many days as their financial condition permits. The recommended period is four months once in a life-time, a periodic planned tour schedule of 40 days in a year and 3 days in a month.
A strong grassroots support for the movement can be found in some districts of Uttar Pradesh, North West Frontier of Pakistan, Malaysia, the Gulf countries and some parts of Bangladesh.
In Pakistan the movement is based in Raiwind, near Lahore. The annual Tablighi congregation in Bangladesh, the Biswa Ijtema, attracts over 3 million devotees from around the world. A large participation in Tabligh efforts are also seen in Europe, North America and South Africa.
Criticism within Islam
Some groups within Islam, like the Salafis of Saudi Arabia and the Jamaat-e-Islami of India and Pakistan, accuse Tablighi Jammaat for its policy of refraining from warning its followers of activities that could be labelled as forms of shirk (polytheism) in Islam. This, the Tablighi Jamaat claim, is done in the hope that it stays united within its community, as Tablighi Jamaat emphasise stability and unity immensely.
The Jamaat's activities were not fully functional in Saudi Arabia, but in recent times, the Saudi government and religious clergy is gradually allowing their activities in the country. However, there are many obstacles to the normal practice of their activities. For example, Tablighi Jamaat usually goes on "Jamaat" at mosques - however, this can rarely be practised in Saudi Arabia due to the fact that the majority of Saudi mosques are Salafi/Wahhabi-inclined and by virtue of this are hostile to the activities of Tablighi Jamaat. In such situations, as is the case in Saudi Arabia, Tablighi Jamaat undertakes its activities at guest hostels in lieu of mosques, as is normal practice.
On the other hand, anti-Wahhabi/Salafi groups like the Shiites and Barelvis accuse the Jamaat of propogating Wahhabi beliefs and associating with them. This is, however, untrue; the Jamaat adheres to all four schools of thought of Ahlus'Sunnah and also Sufi lineages and are professedly against Wahhabism, although much less hostile to them than other aforementioned groups, the Barelvis and the Shias.
Allegations from U.S. counter-terrorist officials
A number of the Combatant Status Review Tribunals conducted by the United States on their captives imprisoned at their Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, in Cuba. say:<ref>Two prisoners suspected of al-Qaida links appear before review tribunals, Fox News, November 17 2004</ref>
"The Jamat al Tabligh, a Pakistani-based Islamic Missionary organization, is being used as a cover to mask travel and activities of terrorists including members of al Qaida." <ref>Combatant Status Review Board Letters, final release (.pdf), Department of Defense - Freedom of Information Office -- see page 4 of the .pdf</ref> <ref>Combatant Status Review Board Letters, final release (.pdf), Department of Defense Freedom of Information Office -- see page 6 of the .pdf</ref>
The New York Times reported that a brief stay at a Tablighi Jamaat hostel lead to the decision to capture Guantanamo Bay detainee Murat Kurnaz.<ref>One Muslim's Odyssey to Guantanamo, New York Times, June 5 2005</ref>
See also
- Islam in India
- Islam in Pakistan
- Islam in Bangladesh
- Biswa Ijtema, the annual congregation in Bangladesh
References
<references/>
Alex Alexiev, "Tablighi Jamaat: Jihad's Stealthy Legions."
Barbara Metcalf, "Traditionalist Islamic Activism: Deoband, Tablighis and Talibs," Social Service Research Council, Nov. 1, 2004.
Marc Gaborieau, "Transnational Islamic Movements: Tablighi Jamaat in Politics," ISIM Newsletter (International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World), July 1999, p. 21.
B. Raman, "Dagestan: Focus on Pakistan's Tablighi Jamaat."
Dietrich Reetz, "Keeping Busy on the Path of Allah: The Self-Organization (intizam) of Tablighi Jamaat," in Daniela Bredi, ed., Islam in Contemporary South Asia (Rome: Oriente Moderno, 2004), pp. 295-305.
External links
- Dawah
- Scholar’s attachment with Tabligh site in South Africa
- Scholar’s attachment with Tabligh site in Chicago, IL, USA
Critical Perspectives