Muslim's Tableeghi Jamaat In India: Extremist Or Pacifist?

After relative quiet, the Tableeghi Jamaat (TJ), a loosely based religious organisation, is back in news. And this time, it is the Centre which has issued a circular instructing state governments to keep an eye on foreign nationals flouting visa rules and indulging in preaching. It is being widely construed within the community that it is the TJ which is in the government's crosshairs.

The TJ is no stranger to controversy. Its origins can be traced to the 1920s when its revered `Hazratji', Maulana Mohammed Ilyas, from Kandhla in Uttar Pradesh, laid the foundations for the shape in which it finds itself today.
With an impressive worldwide presence, it comprises lakhs of people from a crosssection of society , ethnicities and nationalities aligned to it. 

The operative word here being aligned, for the TJ has no card-carrying members, unlike the politically active Jamat-e-Islami. But the TJ does have centres across countries, the worldwide centre being in Nizamuddin, New Delhi. It is from here that all important decisions are taken.

The movement of Tableeghi Jamaat is being utilised by the enemies of Islam as an effective instrument in their struggle to prevent the emergence of a true  Islamic movement in Europe and elsewhere in the world. Therefore, it is incumbent on all Muslims to disown it and discourage its activity in every way.

Despite it being apolitical and nonconfrontational, it has been dissected frequently within large sections the community , and also without. The TJ has been branded “ritualistic“ and “extremist“ and also as an organisation whose teachings could lead its members to harbour hard-line beliefs, and thus, could give rise to a wave of radicalisation. Many have also criticised its interpretation of Islam, largely of the Deobandi strain, as “obscurantist“. It comes as no surprise that it is primarily the Barelwis, or the Sufis, among others who have described the organisation thus.

It was recently that a delegation of Sufis met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They demanded that the government put an end to radicalisation. It is being implied that this “radicalisation“ was on account of Wahabi leanings of certain organisations. It is in this case that the TJ poses a threat to the Sufis. An intercessor between man and God for them holds no water. 

It also discourages visits to dargahs, but only in the context of the worshipper seeking intercession. It is this belief that many have misconstrued, at times deliberately, as “Wahabism“. And the labelling of a person or an organisation as Wahabi conjures to the mind Saudi ultraorthodox Wahabism. But the fact remains that the TJ is officially banned in Saudi Arabia. This is because the Saudi government and its scholars find TJ's preaching on a collision course with its own. 

Further, there have been no instances of the TJ encouraging jihad or promoting violence. In fact, the Fazaile-Aamal, a widely read book among Tableeghi circles, is replete with parables which, at times, have strong fragrances of Sufi mysticism. Despite this, there have been instances when the Tableeghis have been barred from entering mosques in the custody of the Barelwis, leave alone preaching in them.

But are the Tableeghis the Islamic equivalent of the Hindu right-wing Ghar Wapsists and is conversion at the top of their agenda? The answer is no. The TJ is an organisation which largely looks inwards ­ within the Muslim community. By means of their decades old practice of going door to door on foot, it encourages Muslims to go back to the basics of the religion and engage themselves in prayers and meditation, charity work and “character building“.

But despite many denials, the activities of the TJ have been on the governments' radar. The Jamiat-e-Ulama pointed out that Tableeghis in Nalgonda were photographed by police and their movement being watched. The suspicion is increasing.

Those in the know say that while the MHA circular does not mention the TJ in particular, it does list a number of Muslim countries or Muslim populated nations such as Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Indonesia and Malaysia apart from others such as Sri Lanka. The signals are clear.

A valid concern is many foreign antisocial elements in the guise of preachers have gone off the police's radar after assimilating in states such as West Bengal and Assam. Now, the TJ must ensure that its guests and potential members are screened, though its leaders maintain that all stipulations are followed.

The rules prescribe that foreign nationals must seek clearance from the MHA and police to carry out missionary activity, and the Centre is justified in asking security agencies to deport those flouting these rules. But by encouraging one group of Muslims and seemingly undermining another, is the government seeking to divide the community?

Sabka saath, sabka vikas, ring a bell?

Read More on this subject:  TABLEEGHI JAMAAT- FAZAIL O AAMAAL