Tablighi Jamaat, the religious outfit that is in eye of storm over Coronavirus

New Delhi: Tablighi Jamaat, the religious outfit is under the scanner for organising an Islamic congregation in Delhi’s Nizamuddin locality, which was attended by thousands of its followers from India and abroad. The religious congregation by Jammat not only defied the nationwide lockdown and has also put many lives in jeopardy.

What is Tablighi Jamaat?

Tablighi Jamaat is a Muslim outfit with presence in about 150 countries, including Western Europe. With its global reach, the main objective of Tablighi Jamaat is to encourage Muslims around the world to be more religiously observant.

However, the Jamaat owes its origin to Mewat in India. It was founded by Islamic scholar and teacher Maulana Muhammad Ilyas in 1926 in Mewat.

Unlike some other Muslim Jamaats, Tablighi Jamaat works only among Muslims. It is believed to have millions of active members in more than 150 countries.

Tablighi Jamaat’s objective & how it operates

Small groups of missionary preachers travel together and reach out to Muslims of all social strata and encourage them to attend mosque prayers and listen to sermons.

These preachers operate from mosques. They do ‘gasht’ or go around in the neighbourhood, interact with Muslims, invite them to ‘namaz’ and ‘ijtema’ or seminars at the mosque.

The preachers, who usually venture out on 40-day mission, stay in mosques.

About Markaz Nizamuddin

Markaz Nizamuddin is the international headquarters of Tabilghi Jamaat for close to 100 years. Visitors/guests/devotees/worshippers from across the globe throng the place for pre-scheduled programs lasting for no more than 3-5 days. All the programs are decided a year in advance in order to facilitate visitors from far-off places to plan their participation.

The Tablighi network is strong across the Indian sub-continent and people from various walks of life are associated with the religious organisation.