Tablighi Jamaat: Jihad's Stealthy Legions

by Alex Alexiev, Middle East Quarterly (Winter 2005)

Every fall, over a million almost identically dressed, bearded Muslim men from around the world descend on the small Pakistani town of Raiwind for a three-day celebration of faith. Similar gatherings take place annually outside of Dhaka, Bangladesh, and Bhopal, India. These pilgrims are no ordinary Muslims, though; they belong to a movement called Tablighi Jamaat ("Proselytizing Group"). They are trained missionaries who have dedicated much of their lives to spreading Islam across the globe. The largest group of religious proselytizers of any faith, they are part of the reason for the explosive growth of Islamic religious fervor and conversion.

Despite its size, worldwide presence, and tremendous importance, Tablighi Jamaat remains largely unknown outside the Muslim community, even to many scholars of Islam. This is no coincidence. Tablighi Jamaat officials work to remain outside of both media and governmental notice. Tablighi Jamaat neither has formal organizational structure nor does it publish details about the scope of its activities, its membership, or its finances. By eschewing open discussion of politics and portraying itself only as a pietistic movement, Tablighi Jamaat works to project a non-threatening image. Because of the movement's secrecy, scholars often have no choice but to rely on explanations from Tablighi Jamaat acolytes.

As a result, academics tend to describe the group as an apolitical devotional movement stressing individual faith, introspection, and spiritual development. The austere and egalitarian lifestyle of Tablighi missionaries and their principled stands against social ills leads many outside observers to assume that the group has a positive influence on society. Graham Fuller, a former CIA official and expert on Islam, for example, 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 compares 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." Governments normally intolerant of independent movements often make an exception for Tablighi Jamaat. The Bangladeshi prime minister and top political leadership, many of whom are Islamists, regularly attend their rallies, and Pakistani military officers, many of whom are sympathetic to militant Islam, even allow Tablighi missionaries to preach in the barracks.

Yet, the Pakistani experience strips the patina from Tablighi Jamaat's façade. Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif (1990-93; 1997-99), whose father was a prominent Tablighi member and financier, helped Tablighi members take prominent positions. For example, in 1998, Muhammad Rafique Tarar took the ceremonial presidency while, in 1990, Javed Nasir assumed the powerful director-generalship of the Inter-Services Intelligence, Pakistan's chief intelligence agency. When Benazir Bhutto, less sympathetic to Islamist causes, returned to the premiership in 1993, Tablighis conspired to overthrow her government. In 1995, the Pakistani army thwarted a coup attempt by several dozen high-ranking military officers and civilians, all of whom were members of the Tablighi Jamaat and some of whom also held membership in Harakat ul-Mujahideen, a U.S. State Department-defined terrorist organization. Some of the confusion over Tablighi Jamaat's apolitical characterization derives from the fact that the movement does not consider individual states to be legitimate. They may not become actively involved in internal politics or disputes over local issues, but, from a philosophical and transnational perspective, the Tablighi Jamaat's millenarian philosophy is very political indeed. According to the French Tablighi expert Marc Gaborieau, its ultimate objective is nothing short of a "planned conquest of the world" in the spirit of jihad. 



Origins of Tablighi Jamaat

The prominent Deobandi cleric and scholar Maulana Muhammad Ilyas Kandhalawi (1885-1944) launched Tablighi Jamaat in 1927 in Mewat, India, not far from Delhi. From its inception, the extremist attitudes that characterize Deobandism permeated Tablighi philosophy. Ilyas's followers were intolerant of other Muslims and especially Shi'ites, let alone adherents of other faiths. Indeed, part of Ilyas's impetus for founding Tablighi Jamaat was to counter the inroads being made by Hindu missionaries. They rejected modernity as antithetical to Islam, excluded women, and preached that Islam must subsume all other religions. The creed grew in importance after Pakistani military dictator Zia ul-Haq encouraged Deobandis to Islamize Pakistan.

The Tablighi Jamaat canon is bare-boned. Apart from the Qu'ran, the only literature Tablighis are required to read are the Tablighi Nisab, seven essays penned by a companion of Ilyas in the 1920s. Tablighi Jamaat is not a monolith: one subsection believes they should pursue jihad through conscience (jihad bin nafs) while a more radical wing advocates jihad through the sword (jihad bin saif). But, in practice, all Tablighis preach a creed that is hardly distinguishable from the radical Wahhabi-Salafi jihadist ideology that so many terrorists share.

Part of the reason why the Tablighi Jamaat leadership can maintain such strict secrecy is its dynastic flavor. All Tablighi Jamaat leaders since Ilyas have been related to him by either blood or marriage. Upon Ilyas' 1944 death, his son, Maulana Muhammad Yusuf (1917-65), assumed leadership of the movement, dramatically expanding its reach and influence. Following the partition of India, Tablighi Jamaat spread rapidly in the new Muslim nation of Pakistan. Yusuf and his successor, Inamul Hassan (1965-95), transformed Tablighi Jamaat into a truly transnational movement with a renewed emphasis targeting conversion of non-Muslims, a mission the movement continues to the present day.

While few details are known about the group's structure, at the top sits the emir who, according to some observers, presides over a shura (council), which plays an advisory role. Further down are individual country organizations. By the late 1960s, Tablighi Jamaat had not only established itself in Western Europe and North America but even claimed adherents in countries like Japan, which has no significant Muslim population.

The movement's rapid penetration into non-Muslim regions began in the 1970s and coincides with the establishment of a synergistic relationship between Saudi Wahhabis and South Asian Deobandis. While Wahhabis are dismissive of other Islamic schools, they single out Tablighi Jamaat for praise, even if they disagree with some of its practices, such as willingness to pray in mosques housing graves. The late Sheikh ‘Abd al ‘Aziz ibn Baz, perhaps the most influential Wahhabi cleric in the late twentieth century, recognized the Tablighis good work and encouraged his Wahhabi brethren to go on missions with them so that they can "guide and advise them." A practical result of this cooperation has been large-scale Saudi financing of Tablighi Jamaat. While Tablighi Jamaat in theory requires its missionaries to cover their own expenses during their trips, in practice, Saudi money subsidizes transportation costs for thousands of poor missionaries. While Tablighi Jamaat's financial activities are shrouded in secrecy, there is no doubt that some of the vast sums spent by Saudi organizations such as the World Muslim League on proselytism benefit Tablighi Jamaat. As early as 1978, the World Muslim League subsidized the building of the Tablighi mosque in Dewsbury, England, which has since become the headquarters of Tablighi Jamaat in all of Europe. Wahhabi sources have paid Tablighi missionaries in Africa salaries higher than the European Union pays teachers in Zanzibar. In both Western Europe and the United States, Tablighis operate interchangeably out of Deobandi and Wahhabi controlled mosques and Islamic centers.

The West's misreading of Tablighi Jamaat actions and motives has serious implications for the war on terrorism. Tablighi Jamaat has always adopted an extreme interpretation of Sunni Islam, but in the past two decades, it has radicalized to the point where it is now a driving force of Islamic extremism and a major recruiting agency for terrorist causes worldwide. For a majority of young Muslim extremists, joining Tablighi Jamaat is the first step on the road to extremism. Perhaps 80 percent of the Islamist extremists in France come from Tablighi ranks, prompting French intelligence officers to call Tablighi Jamaat the "antechamber of fundamentalism." U.S. counterterrorism officials are increasingly adopting the same attitude. "We have a significant presence of Tablighi Jamaat in the United States," the deputy chief of the FBI's international terrorism section said in 2003, "and we have found that Al-Qaeda used them for recruiting now and in the past."

Recruitment methods for young jihadists are almost identical. After joining Tablighi Jamaat groups at a local mosque or Islamic center and doing a few local dawa (proselytism) missions, Tablighi officials invite star recruits to the Tablighi center in Raiwind, Pakistan, for four months of additional missionary training. Representatives of terrorist organizations approach the students at the Raiwind center and invite them to undertake military training. Most agree to do so.

Tablighi Jamaat has long been directly involved in the sponsorship of terrorist groups. Pakistani and Indian observers believe, for instance, that Tablighi Jamaat was instrumental in founding Harakat ul-Mujahideen. Founded at Raiwind in 1980, almost all of the Harakat ul-Mujahideen's original members were Tablighis. Famous for the December 1998 hijacking of an Air India passenger jet and the May 8, 2002 murder of a busload of French engineers in Karachi, Harakat members make no secret of their ties. "The two organizations together make up a truly international network of genuine jihadi Muslims," one senior Harakat ul-Mujahideen official said. More than 6,000 Tablighis have trained in Harakat ul-Mujahideen camps. Many fought in Afghanistan in the 1980s and readily joined Al-Qaeda after the Taliban defeated Afghanistan's anti-Soviet mujahideen.

Another violent Tablighi Jamaat spin-off is the Harakat ul-Jihad-i Islami. Founded in the aftermath of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, this group has been active not only in the disputed Indian provinces of Jammu and Kashmir but also in the state of Gujarat, where Tablighi Jamaat extremists have taken over perhaps 80 percent of the mosques previously run by the moderate Barelvi Muslims. The Tablighi movement is also very active in northern Africa where it became one of the four groups that founded the Islamic Salvation Front in Algeria. Moroccan authorities are currently prosecuting sixty members of the Moroccan Tablighi offshoot Dawa wa Tabligh in connection with the May 16, 2003 terrorist attack on a Casablanca synagogue. Dutch police are investigating links between the Moroccan cells and the November 2, 2004 murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh.

There are many other cases of individual Tablighis committing acts of terrorism. French Tablighi members, for example, have helped organize and execute attacks not only in Paris but also at the Hotel Asni in Marrakech in 1994. Kazakh authorities expelled a number of Tablighi missionaries because they had been organizing networks advancing "extremist propaganda and recruitment."Indian investigators suspect influential Tablighi leader, Maulana Umarji, and a group of his followers in the February 27, 2002 fire bombing of a train carrying Hindu nationalists in Gujarat, India. The incident sparked a wave of pogroms victimizing both Muslims and Hindus. More recently, Moroccan authorities sentenced Yusef Fikri, a Tablighi member and leader of the Moroccan terrorist organization At-Takfir wal-Hijrah, to death for his role in masterminding the May 2003 Casablanca terrorist bombings that claimed more than forty lives.

Tablighi Jamaat has also facilitated other terrorists' missions. The group has provided logistical support and helped procure travel documents. Many take advantage of Tablighi Jamaat's benign reputation. Moroccan authorities say that leaflets circulated by the terrorist group Al-Salafiyah al-Jihadiyah urged their members to join Islamic organizations that operate openly, such as Tablighi Jamaat, in order "to hide their identity on the one hand and influence these groups and their policies on the other." In a similar vein, a Pakistani jihadi website commented that Tablighi Jamaat organizational structures can be easily adopted to jihad activities. The Philippine government has accused Tablighi Jamaat, which has an 11,000-member presence in the country, of serving both as a conduit of Saudi money to the Islamic terrorists in the south and as a cover for Pakistani jihad volunteers.

There is also evidence that Tablighi Jamaat directly recruits for terrorist organizations. As early as the 1980s, the movement sponsored military training for 900 recruits annually in Pakistan and Algeria while, in 1999, Uzbek authorities accused Tablighi Jamaat of sending 400 Uzbeks to terrorist training camps. The West is not immune. British counterterrorism authorities estimate that at least 2,000 British nationals had gone to Pakistan for jihad training by 1998, and the French secret services report that between 80 and 100 French nationals fought for Al-Qaeda.

A Trojan Horse for Terror in America?

Within the United States, the cases of American Taliban John Lindh, the "Lackawanna Six," and the Oregon cell that conspired to bomb a synagogue and sought to link up with Al-Qaeda, all involve Tablighi missionaries. Other indicted terrorists, such as "shoe bomber" Richard Reid, "dirty bomber" Jose Padilla, and Lyman Harris, who sought to bomb the Brooklyn Bridge, were all members of Tablighi Jamaat at one time or another. According to Robert Blitzer, head of the FBI's first Islamic counterterrorism unit, between 1,000 and 2,000 Americans left to join the jihad in the 1990s alone. Pakistani intelligence sources report that 400 American Tablighi recruits received training in Pakistani or Afghan terrorist camps since 1989.

The Tablighi Jamaat has made inroads among two very different segments of the American Muslim population. Because many American Muslims are immigrants, and a large subsection of these are from South Asia, Deobandi influences have been able to penetrate deeply. Many Tablighi Jamaat missionaries speak Urdu as a first language and so can communicate easily with American Muslims of South Asian origin. The Tablighi headquarters in the United States for the past decade appears to be in the Al-Falah mosque in Queens, New York. Its missionaries—predominantly from South Asia—regularly visit Sunni mosques and Islamic centers across the country. The willingness of Saudi-controlled front organizations and charities, such as the World Muslim League, the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY), the Haramain Foundation, the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO) and others, to spend large amounts of money to co-opt the religious establishment has helped catalyze recruitment. As a result Wahhabi and Deobandi influence dominate American Islam.

This trend is apparent in the activities of Tanzeem-e Islami. Founded by long-term Tablighi member and passionate Taliban supporter, Israr Ahmed, Tanzeem-e Islami flooded American Muslim organizations with communications accusing Israel of complicity in the 9/11 terror attacks. A frequent featured speaker at Islamic conferences and events in the United States, Ahmed engages in incendiary rhetoric urging his audiences to prepare for "the final showdown between the Muslim world and the non-Muslim world, which has been captured by the Jews." Unfortunately, his conspiracy theories have begun to take hold among growing segments of the American Muslim community. For example, Siraj Wahhaj, among the best known African-American Muslim converts and the first Muslim cleric to lead prayers in the U.S. Congress, is also on record accusing the FBI and the CIA of being the "real terrorists." He has expressed his support for the convicted mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, and advocating the demise of American democracy.

Tablighi Jamaat has appealed to African American Muslims for other reasons. Founded by Elijah Mohammed in the early 1930s, the Nation of Islam was essentially a charismatic African American separatist organization which had little to do with normative Islam. Many Nation of Islam members found attractive both the Tablighi Jamaat's anti-state separatist message and its description of American society as racist, decadent, and oppressive. Seeing such fertile ground, Tablighi and Wahhabi missionaries targeted the African American community with great success. One Tablighi sympathizer explained,

Not only foreign Tablighis but also the movement's sympathizers within the United States enunciate this goal. The president of the Islamic Research Foundation in Louisville, Kentucky, a strong advocate of Tablighi missionary work, for instance, insists that "if all the Afro-American brothers and sisters become Muslims, we can change the political landscape of America" and "make U.S. foreign policy pro-Islamic and Muslim friendly."As a result of Tablighi and Wahhabi proselytizing, African Americans comprise between 30 and 40 percent of the American Muslim community, and perhaps 85 percent of all American Muslim converts. Much of this success is due to a successful proselytizing drive in the penitentiary system. Prison officials say that by the mid-1990s, between 10 and 20 percent of the nation's 1.5 million inmates identified themselves as Muslims. Some 30,000 African Americans convert to Islam in prison every year.

The American political system tolerates all views so long as they adhere to the rule of law. Unfortunately, Tablighi Jamaat missionaries may be encouraging African American recruits to break the law. Harkat ul-Mujahideen has boasted of training dozens of African American jihadists in its military camps. There is evidence that African American jihadists have died in both Afghanistan and Kashmir.

*  The TJ has been able to establish contacts and centres throughout the Muslim world. (Comment: By "Muslim world" he does not only mean Islamic countries, but all countries where there is a sizable Muslim community)

*  It has thousands of dedicated and disciplined workers who never question any order from the high-ups. What has helped the TJ to expand (without creating alarm in the security agencies) is its policy of a deliberate black-out of its activities. It does not interact with the media and does not issue any statements or communiques. It believes in human communication through word of mouth. (Comment: It does not bring out any journals or other propaganda organs to explain its policies and objectives. All explanations to its workers and potential recruits are given orally).

*  During its training classes, it claims to have frustrated the efforts of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to penetrate it and succeeded in converting the CIA agents to Islam.

*  The TJ claims that it never accepts money from anybody and that all its workers who volunteer to go on preaching mission have to spend their own money.

*  Even though the TJ claims to be apolitical and disinterested in political or administrative influence, many of its active members have come to occupy important positions. Examples are Lt.Gen. (retd) Javed Nasir, who was the DG of the ISI during Mr.Nawaz Sharif's first tenure as the Prime Minister, and Mr.Mohammad Rafique Tarar, the President of Pakistan, who has been an active worker of the TJ for many years.

*  "Those who are close to the inner circles believe that the Tablighis were the brain who bailed out Nawaz Sharif from the constitutional crisis. Tarar is believed to be the brain behind the Shariat Bill (which could not be passed by the Senate) and the concept of speedy justice through military courts (the military courts were declared unconstitutional by the Pakistan Supreme Court). However, the contacts of the Tablighis had always been with Mr.Mohammad Sharif (father of Mr.Nawaz Sharif) and not with the son. Mr. Nawaz is well aware of the "tariquah" (the path advocated by the TJ). He has been with the Tabligh for a fairly long time. He takes part in their meetings on a regular basis. He donates money to their welfare projects. As usual, the Tablighis never publicise the donors or the projects or the beneficiaries. All are committed to remain silent."

The Tablighi Jamaat, a conservative Islamic missionary group founded in India 75 years ago, has come under the scrutiny of US investigators, a media report said on Monday.

"We have a significant presence of Tablighi Jamaat in the United States, and we have found that Al Qaeda used them for recruiting, now and in the past," Michael J Heimbach, the deputy chief of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's international terrorism section, was quoted as saying by the New York Times.

The Tablighi Jamaat, which describes itself as a non-political, non-violent group interested only in 'proselytising and bringing wayward Muslims back to Islam', attracted US investigators' interest following the September 11, 2001, attacks. Another senior law enforcement official described the group as 'a natural entree, a way of gathering people together with a common interest in Islam'.

"Then extremists use that as an assessment tool to evaluate individuals with particular zealousness and interest in going beyond what's offered," he said.

According to officials, the group has been 'caught up' in terrorist cases because of its global reach and reputation for rejecting such worldly activities as politics, precisely the qualities that are exploited by terror groups like Al Qaeda. The leaders of the Tablighi Jamaat said the scrutiny is 'unwanted and grossly unfair' as their beliefs are against everything espoused by Osama bin Laden and the Al Qaeda. "It is a very great accusation, a total lie," said Abdul Rahman Khan, a leader of the group's North American council.

Khan, involved with the group for 36 years, said the Tablighi Jamaat's refusal to discuss politics means that people with 'militant views' quickly move on. "If someone starts even one word, we cut him off. So he's going to go somewhere where he can get an audience.

"We don't prevent anyone from coming, but obviously we don't know the nature of the individual who is coming and we don't check. There's no way we can."

Neither the group nor its activists have been accused of committing any crime or of supporting terrorism. Still, the authorities remain alert to what they see as the organisation's 'susceptibility to infiltration and manipulation', the report said.

Tablighi Jamaat in Arabic means a 'group that propagates the Faith', and its members visit mosques and college campuses in small bands, preaching a return to purist Islamic values.

According to the report, the Tablighi Jamaat, is less a formal organisation than a network of part-time preachers. It now has bases and schools in Pakistan, Britain and Canada and its annual gatherings in India and Pakistan draw thousands of people.

UK: Giant Mosque Planned By Extremists For London Olympics Site

The Sunday Times reports that a proposal has been put forward to erect a giant mosque next to the Olympic site, which should be open in time for the London Olympics of 2012.

The mosque has been suggested by Tablighi Jamaat ("proselytising group") an international Islamic missionary group. The mosque is intended by this group to house 40,000 people, with room for another 30,000 in adjacent buildings. The complex is seen as the "Muslim quarter" at the upcoming games.

The proposed complex will be called the London Markaz, and will be built on the site of an existing mosque. The new mosque will have three storeys, and will echo in its design the look of tents, according to Ali Mangera, the architect currently designing the edifice.

Newham council, who are responsible for the area, have said that they are considering approving the mosque proposal, and said "The application will be finalised over the next year."

The cost of the construction is said to be more than 100 million pounds, ($180 million) and it is expected to be financed from donations sought in the UK and abroad.

According to the Middle East Quarterly, Tablighi Jamaat was founded by a Deobandi cleric and scholar Maulana Muhammad Ilyas Kandhalawi (1885 - 1944), in 1927, in Mewat, India. The organisation, being Deobandi in origin, is Sunni, and its founding members were intolerant of other Muslims, and especially Shi'ites. In Pakistan, its proselytisers are currently allowed to preach in the army's barracks.

No wonder they want to erect a giant mosque and Islamic complex at the Olympic Games 2012.

And the multiculturalist appeasers in Newham council, assisted by the appeasing fools in Blair's government, will probably be jumping for joy to prove that Britain is tolerant of Islam by encouraging the construction of this proposed temple of terrorist ideology.

GORDON Brown is under pressure to block a £75million “mega mosque”, amid claims one of the suspected Glasgow Airport bombers belongs to the radical Islamic group behind it. More than 200,000 people have signed a Downing Street petition calling on the Prime Minister to tervene over plans for the mosque near the Olympics site in east London.

It is being funded by the fundamentalist Tablighi Jamaat sect. One member of the sect is said to be Kafeel Ahmed, who was engulfed in flames when a Jeep laden with gas canisters crashed into a Glasgow Airport building two weeks ago. The 27-year-old from Bangalore is fighting for his life in hospital after suffering 90 per cent burns.

He is said to have taken up the teachings of Tablighi Jamaat after he was asked to leave his local mosque which he had tried to convert to what he called a purer form of Islam.

The 7/7 suicide bombers Moham­med Siddique Khan and Shehzad Tanweer attended the European headquarters of Tablighi Jamaat at Dews­bury, West Yorkshire. The sect’s plans for a huge mosque just a mile from the main Olympics stadium have caused much concern. Local Tory councillor Alan Craig said: “It will be a horrendous security nightmare if they are allowed to build this large mosque so close to the Olympics.

“They have a growing and ominous track record as further young men follow Tablighi teaching about Islam and then go on to plan horrendous atrocities.”
The Newham councillor accused the sect of radicalising and dehumanising young Muslims and said: “The dangerous truth about Tablighi Jamaat is coming out.

For Immediate Release

Olympics mega-mosque linked to London and Glasgow car bomb plots

Arrested suspects radicalised by mosque promoters Tablighi Jamaat -"Government must ban construction of mega-mosque" says Cllr Alan Craig. Newham councillor Alan Craig today called on the government to formally ban the construction of a massive mosque on a site less than a mile from the main 2012 Olympic stadium at Stratford, east London.

Reports that Tablighi Jamaat – the fundamentalist Islamic sect who propose to build the mosque as their international headquarters – are directly responsible for radicalising two of the London and Glasgow car bomb suspects has added to suspicions that the sect are not the peaceable group they claim to be.

"The dangerous truth about Tablighi Jamaat is coming out. We must watch the gap between what they say and what they do," said Cllr Craig, leader of the Christian Peoples Alliance group on Newham Council, who lives with his young family a mile from the mosque site. "It will be a horrendous security nightmare if they are allowed to build this large mosque so close to the Olympics."

In the last few days friends and neighbours of Kafeel and Saheel Ahmed in Bangalore, India, have told how the brothers changed dramatically a few years ago when they joined Tablighi Jamaat. They were reportedly barred from the local mosque because they insisted on praying in the prescribed Tablighi manner. Kafeel is now in a critical condition in Glasgow Royal Infirmary with 92% burns following the failed attempt to blow up a flaming Jeep at Glasgow Airport last Saturday. Saheel remains under arrest in Paddington Green police station.

Furthermore it is also significant that a number of suspects arrested in connection with last August’s Atlantic airline terror plot too were followers of Tablighi Jammat. Friends and families of Assad Sarwar and Waheed Zuman have spoken publicly about how Tablighi Jamaat changed the two men and radicalised their religious commitment prior to their alleged involvement in the planned atrocity.

7/7 suicide bombers Mohammed Siddique Khan and Shehzad Tanweer are reckoned to have attended Tablighi Jamaat’s European headquarters mosque in Dewsbury, west Yorkshire, where Tanweer also attended Tabligh’s madrassa or Islamic school. And Richard "Shoe bomber" Reid worshipped at a Tablighi mosque.

"Tablighi Jamaat radicalises and dehumanises Muslim young men," said Alan Craig. "They have a growing and ominous track record as further young men follow Tabligh teaching about Islam and then go on to plan horrendous atrocities."

Cllr Craig also demonstrated the radicalising effect of Tablighi Jamaat by pointing to a Muslim publication that highlights the dramatic impact of Tablighi teaching on individuals and families. See Islamic Research Foundation International webpage:                                                    http://www.irfi.org/articles/articles_151_200/miseries_of_a_tableeghi.htm

The Observer reports that the planned mega-mosque at Newham in east London is now encountering opposition from local Muslims. Previously, Christian groups had opposed the development of the mosque.

The mosque is expected to house any amount from 30,000 to 70,000, depending on planning permission. When the plans were first unveiled last November, it was announced that the mega-mosque would be open in time for the London Olympics in 2012.

Since then, it has been revealed that the London Olympics will take place at the same time as Ramadan, and this news has upset those who are backing the mosque construction. The group which intends to construct the mosque are Tablighi Jamaat, and they are associated with global terrorism and the moves to force women to wear both the Muslim headscarf (hijab) and the face-veil (niqab).

Tablighi Jamaat every year sponsors hundreds of British Muslims to travel to Pakistan, where they attend extremist madrassas.

The group's name means "missionary group", and their headquarters is the Markazi mosque in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire. This mosque, based in Savile Town, was funded by Saudi money, and is the largest purpose-built mosque in Europe. It was opened in 1980. Adjoining the Markazi is a school, the Jaamia Talimul Islam, which is also run by Tablighi Jamaat. Here 300 students from around the world take a seven-year course in Arabic, and are indoctrinated into Tablighi's narrow and orthodox version of Islam.

A measure of how socially unhealthy both the TablighiJamaat and its Dewsbury Markaz are can be seen by the people who frequented the Savile Town mosque. Among its congregation of 5,000 mostly Pakistani Muslims, two are no longer with us. Shehzad Tanweer and Mohammed SIdique Khan took the extreme ideology of Islam to its logical conclusion, and last year they blew themselves up on London Underground trains. Tanweer killed 17 people near Aldgate, and Khan murdered 6 on a train near Edgware Road station. With their two co-religionists, Jermaine Lindsay and Hasib Hussain, Tanweer and Khan managed to kill 52 people and injure hundreds on July 7, 2005.

The Daily Mail revealed last month that Aishah Azmi, the trouble-making teacher who worked at Headfield Church of England Junior School in Dewsbury, also attends the Savile Town Markazi.

Azmi attended the job interview while not wearing a veil, but once employed insisted that she had a "right" to wear the niqab. Even though children had complained that they could not understand her, Azmi was more concerned with getting attention for her political "cause" than the educational needs of her subjects.

After Jack Straw, former foreign secretary, wrote on October 5 that the face-veil hindered communication, Aishah Azmi took advantage of the situation to push herself into the limelight. She was challenging the decision of the school to suspend her, and appeared on BBC TV on numerous occasions, stating that her rights to wear the veil were more fundamental. Phil Woolas, the Race and Faith Minister, her MP Shahid Malik, and even the prime minister said that Azmi should be sacked.

The Daily Mail revealed that Azmi's father Dr Mohammed Mulk had until recently headed the secondary school attached to the Tabighi Jamaat school in Savile Town, Dewsbury. This school was criticized by UK government schools inspectors as less a place of learning and more of a "madrassa". The report by Ofsted claimed that the school's "over-emphasis" on religion meant secular studies were neglected. It wrote: "Teachers showed limited understanding of pupils aptitudes, needs and prior attainments."

Azmi's father had responded to the Ofsted report by saying: "Parents send their children here for an Islamic education. They don't want their sons to take exams."

Last weekend, the Sunday Times reported that Aisha Azmi was obeying a fatwa which had been made by Mufti Yusuf Sacha, a West Yorkshire Muslim cleric. Azmi had claimed that she was following her personal beliefs, and had not been influenced by anyone.

Azmi's lawyer, Nick Whittingham, confirmed that she had consulted Sacha before starting the job at Headfield Church of England Junior School. She had asked Sacha if a woman had a choice to wear the niqab. He had said it was obligatory. Sacha is a follower of Tablighi Jamaat.

Aishah Azmi was an irritant, in more ways than one. She is not, however, associated with terrorism. But the Tablighi Jamaat, despite its claims to be "peaceful" is associated with terrorism and political activity. As well as Shehzad Tanweer and Mohammed Sidique Khan, another British terrorist attended Tablighi-run mosques. Richard Reid attended such institutions, before he decided to try blowing himself up on a Miami-bound plane using a bomb concealed in his shoe.

The recent terror plot, which was revealed on August 10, involving liquid explosives on board transatlantic planes, also involved Tablighi Jamaat. One of the suspects, 26-year old Assad Sarwar had only become radicalized after coming into contact with Tablighi Jamaat. Another suspect, Waheed Zaman, was a Tablighi Jamaat member.

Tablighi Jamaat was founded in 1927 in Mewat, India, by Maulana Muhammad Ilyas Kandhalawi (1885 - 1944). An article in the Middle East Quarterly by Alex Alexiev states:

In France, the group is treated with mistrust. Reports by the Renseignement Generaux, the internal intelligence agency, have noted that the Tablighi is instrumental in the radicalization of Muslims in prisons, and has been doing so since 1972.

Marc Gaborieau, head of the School of Indian and South Asian Studies in Paris, states that Tablighi Jamaat's aim is "the conquest of the world". He states: "It is extremely secretive and suspicious of outsiders and no one at the centre of its activities has been fully identified or has spoken about how it operates. We know that it does not recognise national borders and that, despite its claim to be apolitical, it does have ties with politicians and branches of the military, particularly in Pakistan and Bangladesh."

In Waziristan in Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province, the Taliban who took control of the region announced a temporary cease-fire from May 1 to May 11 this year. This was because the Tablighi Jamaat were holding a national conference in the area. Such is the level of respect accorded to the group by terrorists.

Tablighi has been linked with extremism, but its links to terrorism are the most worrying. Jose Padilla, Lyman Harris, (who sought to bomb the Brooklyn Bridge), and the "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh all had Tablighi connections.

Two French members of Tablighi Jamaat, states Alexiev, were among gunmen who carried out the attack upon the Atlas Asni Hotel in Marrakesh, Morocco on August 24, 1999. Two Spanish tourists were killed.

In Morocco, Ilamado Yusef Fikri was sentenced to death on July 12, 2003. He was a member of Tablighi Jamaat, but also headed a terror group called Salafia Jihadia or At-Takfir wal-Hijrah. In letters to local press, he confessed to killing two people for being "against Islam". His terror group was linked with the Casablanca bombings of May 16, 2003, which killed 45 people.

Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, who already supports individuals like Yusuf al-Qaradawi (spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood who approves of terrorism against Israeli civilians) has openly supported the construction of the Newham mega-mosque. The London Development Agency has recently been involved in talks about the construction.

The mosque design, which also aims to be the centerpiece of an "Islamic village", is the handiwork of architect Ali Maghera, who states: "We've tried to develop a concept mosque that's inclusive. It will be not just for Muslims but for non-Muslims. In the present political climate it's important to create dialogue between different groups. This will be a radical new approach. Islamic architecture, philosophy, maths and science have been at the forefront of ideas and we're trying to go back to that idea."

"The funding will come from a variety of sources....some from the UK, some from abroad.....If Tablighi Jamaat was anything like some people say they are, they wouldn't go for a building like this: it wouldn't make sense," he claims.

Previously, the opposition to the construction of the giant Markaz has been led by Dr Patrick Sookhdeo of the Barnabas Fund, a Christian who had been born into a Muslim family on Guyana. He said: "I think, at the very least, we need to know much more about Tablighi Jamaat. Who runs it and what it is up to? And I think we need to ask whether we want an unequivocally 'Islamic Village' in London....and there ought to be some serious debate about it."

Last month, one Muslim member of the London Assembly criticized the Tablighi's plans to transform the brownfield site. Murad Qureshi said: "I would be concerned if the financing all came from Saudi Arabia because of the strong Wahhabist influence that comes from there. As for the planning application itself, l would like to see 50 per cent of the floor space given to women who normally don't get a look-in at mosques, let alone facilities."

Tablighi Jamaat treats women as second-class citizens. Its "religious" reasoning for women to be encouraged to wear the face-veil is not backed up by any religious texts. It stems from the belief that women are inferior. In Pakistan they tried to overthrow the government of Benazir Bhutto because she was a woman.

Today, the Observer reveals that the Christians who object to the construction of the Newham mega-mosque have been joined by local Muslims. 2,500 Muslims living in the Newham area have signed a petition, objecting to the construction of the mosque. Asif Shakor, chairman of a group calling itself Sunni Friends of Newham said of Tablighi Jamaat: "It is radicalising the younger generation. We have to make a stand."

Additionally, the mosque is now threatened by issues of planning permission. There are temporary buildings standing on the site where the mega-mosque is planned to stand, which serve as a temporary mosque. Tablighi Jamaat bought the Abbey Mill site in Newham more than a decade ago.

Last week on October 31, the planning permission for the temporary mosque at Abbey Mill expired. This was the date that Tablighi Jamaat had agreed to submit its plans for the mega-mosque for approval by local authorities. A representative of Newham Council said that Tablighi Jamaat had breached planning laws.

Hopefully, Newham Council will see sense and veto plans for the giant mosque. If 2,500 members of the local Muslim community are objecting to its construction, the council must acknowledge this. Tablighi Jamaat exists as a political group, and is not representative of many Muslims in Britain. It has too many links to extremism and terrorism to be allowed to proselytize on such a grand scale. The headquarters in Raiwind, Punjab province, would make a far more appropriate location for the giant mosque.

source

The Muslim YMCA : by Robert VerBruggen

12.01.2006

Tabligh Jamaat is far from a household name, but the reach and nature of the worldwide evangelical Muslim organization poses complex challenges to U.S. counter-terrorism officials, The Nixon Center’s Alexis Debat and the Middle East Institute’s Marvin G. Weinbaum argued Thursday.

The organization is present in more than 80 countries, and about 99.9 percent of its activities are legitimate, peaceful and apolitical, Debat said. “It’s dedicated to improving society through individual development”, said Debat, who returned from a trip to Pakistan two weeks ago. “They claim it’s not a political goal, but I’d argue that trying to change a society’s values is a political project, philosophically speaking.”

The central goal is Muslim withdrawal from Western society.

“Their main activity is sending preachers—for four days, ten days, forty days, four months—to preach their brand of Islam in another community”, Debat said. They also hold gatherings in Bangladesh and Pakistan. The group’s structure is both chaotic and organized. Members come from all ethnic and national Muslim groups, and it is easy to form a “Jamaat” unit with 10 or more people.

Yet there is a central hierarchy, with each unit led by an “emir.” The top-tier leadership has stayed in one family since the group’s founding in the mid-to-late 1920s.

Tabligh Jamaat’s activities are incredibly secretive, Weinbaum added.

However benign most of the group’s activities may be, they offer many opportunities for terrorists. “It’s a vehicle for moving money, moving people and organizing travel and recruiting”, Debat said.

While in Pakistan, Debat was able to attend a massive Muslim gathering (an “ijtima”) after a guard let him in upon learning he is French, though afterwards the expert was followed by about six different individuals, and questioned about his intentions in Pakistan by about 40 people. “It’s a series of flat fields, with 1.8 million people in tents praying, and there’s a mosque and a compound”, Debat said. “I was told that, in the compound, Al-Qaeda came to raise money from Arab sheikhs and recruit foreign Muslims.”

Dozens of shops sold nothing but Osama bin Laden posters.

Much of the problem lies in the fact that leaders cannot attack Tabligh Jamaat. Weinbaum said that would be akin to “cracking down on the YMCA” in Muslims’ eyes. In addition, terrorists can pose as Tabligh Jamaat evangelists to access other countries. “It’s been hijacked by elements that realize the opportunity it presents”, Weinbaum said. “It’s not unlike the mosque or the madrassa—this is fertile ground, where terrorists can create a mindset among people who are susceptible. They can send the message that if you really want to act on your faith, there are places you can go.”

As with mosques and madrassas, though, Weinbaum cautioned against assuming the organization causes terrorism in itself.

“If a terrorist has ties to Tabligh Jamaat, that doesn’t mean that’s where he learned his trade”, he said. “It just shows it’s becoming universal, a rite of passage for everyone.”

Dealing with the organization’s terrorism connections could prove difficult for U.S. officials.

“The question is how to root out the 0.1 percent that are terrorists without antagonizing the rest of the community”, Debat said. “It can let terrorists paint the issue as the West versus Islam, and that serves their purposes.” Weinbaum said political change in Pakistan is a prerequisite to addressing the threat. “Pervez Musharraf could put more pressure on them, by bringing up how they’ve been abused by the terrorist element”, he said. “Essentially, we want to keep them from being hijacked.”

SOURCE
Robert VerBruggen is an apprentice editor at The National Interest. His e-mail is rverbruggen@nationalinterest.org

TOP

Tabligh Jamaat is far from a household name, but the reach and nature of the worldwide evangelical Muslim organization poses complex challenges to U.S. counter-terrorism officials, The Nixon Center’s Alexis Debat and the Middle East Institute’s Marvin G. Weinbaum argued Thursday.

The organization is present in more than 80 countries, and about 99.9 percent of its activities are legitimate, peaceful and apolitical, Debat said. “It’s dedicated to improving society through individual development”, said Debat, who returned from a trip to Pakistan two weeks ago. “They claim it’s not a political goal, but I’d argue that trying to change a society’s values is a political project, philosophically speaking.”

The central goal is Muslim withdrawal from Western society.

“Their main activity is sending preachers—for four days, ten days, forty days, four months—to preach their brand of Islam in another community”, Debat said. They also hold gatherings in Bangladesh and Pakistan. The group’s structure is both chaotic and organized. Members come from all ethnic and national Muslim groups, and it is easy to form a “Jamaat” unit with 10 or more people.

Yet there is a central hierarchy, with each unit led by an “emir.” The top-tier leadership has stayed in one family since the group’s founding in the mid-to-late 1920s.

Tabligh Jamaat’s activities are incredibly secretive, Weinbaum added.

However benign most of the group’s activities may be, they offer many opportunities for terrorists. “It’s a vehicle for moving money, moving people and organizing travel and recruiting”, Debat said.

While in Pakistan, Debat was able to attend a massive Muslim gathering (an “ijtima”) after a guard let him in upon learning he is French, though afterwards the expert was followed by about six different individuals, and questioned about his intentions in Pakistan by about 40 people. “It’s a series of flat fields, with 1.8 million people in tents praying, and there’s a mosque and a compound”, Debat said. “I was told that, in the compound, Al-Qaeda came to raise money from Arab sheikhs and recruit foreign Muslims.”

Dozens of shops sold nothing but Osama bin Laden posters.

Much of the problem lies in the fact that leaders cannot attack Tabligh Jamaat. Weinbaum said that would be akin to “cracking down on the YMCA” in Muslims’ eyes. In addition, terrorists can pose as Tabligh Jamaat evangelists to access other countries. “It’s been hijacked by elements that realize the opportunity it presents”, Weinbaum said. “It’s not unlike the mosque or the madrassa—this is fertile ground, where terrorists can create a mindset among people who are susceptible. They can send the message that if you really want to act on your faith, there are places you can go.”

As with mosques and madrassas, though, Weinbaum cautioned against assuming the organization causes terrorism in itself.

“If a terrorist has ties to Tabligh Jamaat, that doesn’t mean that’s where he learned his trade”, he said. “It just shows it’s becoming universal, a rite of passage for everyone.”

Dealing with the organization’s terrorism connections could prove difficult for U.S. officials.

“The question is how to root out the 0.1 percent that are terrorists without antagonizing the rest of the community”, Debat said. “It can let terrorists paint the issue as the West versus Islam, and that serves their purposes.” Weinbaum said political change in Pakistan is a prerequisite to addressing the threat. “Pervez Musharraf could put more pressure on them, by bringing up how they’ve been abused by the terrorist element”, he said. “Essentially, we want to keep them from being hijacked.”

SOURCE
Robert VerBruggen is an apprentice editor at The National Interest. His e-mail is rverbruggen@nationalinterest.org

FBI monitors Islamic group for terror ties

The FBI and the Pentagon are keeping a close eye on an Islamic missionary group with thousands of U.S. members. In a secret intelligence document obtained by NBC News, terrorism analysts say members of the evangelical movement are ideal recruits for terrorist organizations inside the United States. On Dec. 13, in Queens, New York, members of a conservative Islamic missionary group known as Tablighi Jamaat brought sleeping bags to their mosque to spend the night discussing religion.

Now, NBC News has obtained a secret government memo which says U.S. anti-terror officials believe radical extremists have been infiltrating this otherwise peaceful Islamic movement and are using Tablighi's U.S. organization "as cover... to network with other extremists in the U.S."

Tablighi preaches a return to fundamental Islamic values and has major mosques in at least 10 states, with as many as 50,000 U.S. members. Recent pilgrimages in Bangladesh and Pakistan attracted millions. Experts say they were fertile ground for al-Qaida recruiters.

The memo, written in April by the Defense Intelligence Agency, claims some Tablighi members in the U.S. "have the capability to conduct a terrorist attack in the U.S.," though there's no evidence of planning. The document also says seven Tablighi leaders in the U.S. are under investigation and claims a Tablighi official at a major Midwestern mosque "has associations with several al-Qaida supporters" and may be recruiting "converts for nefarious purposes."

The imam in Queens says the FBI questioned him. He insists that radicals who espouse violence aren't even allowed at his mosque. "We stop them," says Imam Zia Hafez Paracha. "We don't even let them come." 

"We don’t have any numbers as to how successful al-Qaida or other militant groups have been, but they are present and they do see this as opportunity to recruit youth to their cause," says Vali Nasr, an Islamic expert and professor of Middle East politics at the Naval Postgraduate School.

Tablighi does not endorse terrorism, but investigators allege some known militants have Tablighi ties:

• So-called American Taliban John Walker Lindh was radicalized at a Tablighi-affiliated mosque in California. 
• Iyman Faris, who plotted to destroy the Brooklyn Bridge, posed as a Tablighi missionary to get into the U.S.

The Pentagon denies spying on the group and says it merely analyzed intelligence collected by the FBI about possible threats posed by terrorists who "exploited this legitimate religious organization."

source

Address: South Street, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire WF12 9NG

Date established in UK: 1982

Founder: Hafiz Patel

Related Organisations: Institute of Islamic Education (or Jaamia Talimul Islam),

Summary: The Dewsbury Central Mosque is a mosque and seminary which is widely said to be the European headquarters of Tablighi Jamaat, a pietistic Sunni movement that began in India in the early twentieth century but has since become a worldwide movement.

Although the group does not carry out acts of violence and is notionally apolitical, its global aspirations and the separatism which it deliberately fosters among Muslims work against social cohesion in Britain, as well as inadvertently making it easier for those involved in violent extremism to gain new recruits.

Legal and Financial Status:Neither a registered charity nor registered company. No published accounts.

Foundation and Purpose:

Dewsbury's Markazai Masjid (MM), or 'Central Mosque' comprises a mosque, seminary and administrative complex. It was opened in 1982 and was reportedly built with the assistance of Saudi Arabian money.

The building complex reportedly serves as the European headquarters of Tablighi Jamaat (TJ), literally 'the Preaching Party'. This ultra-conservative pan-national Islamic movement was founded in the early decades of the twentieth century by Maulana Muhammed Ilyas, an alumnus of the highly influential Dar ul-Ulum madrassa of Deoband in northern India. This madrassa was established in the mid-nineteenth century by a group of Wahhabi-influenced Sunni Muslims keen to 'purify' their religion by ridding it of extraneous practices they considered it had acquired from other religions as it moved eastwards into India. Such practices include intercessionary prayer at the tombs of saints.

Worldwide Islamic state

Although TJ rejects any form of overt party political activity let alone carrying out violent jihad, the group explictly aims to create a worldwide Islamic state which adheres to TJ's version of Islam. All the group's activities are geared towards achieving this goal.

In regard to Britain, TJ's aim is "winning the whole of Britain to Islam", as reportedly was said by the movement's then leader, Yusuf Ilyas, the son of its founder, in a supplication to Allah he made in front of the Ka'aba when he appointed Hafiz Patel to carry out its missionary work to Britain.

[Yoginder S. Siskand, 'The Origins and Growth of the Tablighi Jamaat in Britain', Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, vol. 9, no. 2, 1998, 171-192, p. 180.]

Thus, as Professor Marc Goborieau, a Paris-based world authority on the movement, said: "The Tablighis … have a far-sighted conception of politics. Going beyond the narrow borders of nation-states, they have not set fixed short-term ends. Putting politics most often in parentheses, they first build individuals and institutions, which over time may exert a more lasting political influence."

Whilst TJ seeks to win over converts to Islam, it simultaneously discourages its adherents from having any cultural or social contact with non-Muslims, regarding them all to be irredeemably tainted.

As H.E.Y.B. Rangooni, one of TJ's most fervent British-based supporters, wrote of it in the April 1996 issue of this journal Al Islam Bartanniya: "A major aim of tabligh is to rescue the ummah [-- world community of Muslims] from the culture and civilisation of the Jews, Christians and [other enemies] of Islam and to create such hatred for their ways as humans have for urine and excreta."

[H.E.Y.B.Rangooni, Al Islam Bartanniya vol.2, no. 1, April 1996, pp.25-6; quoted in Yoginder S. Siskand (1998) op cit., p. 189.]

The disdain which Tablighis hold for all non-Muslim thought, activities and achievement is, perhaps, indicated by the relative lack of interest in the secular side of the curriculum in their schools compared with their heavy emphasis on Islamic teachings. This was noted by Ofsted inspectors when they inspected the seminary attached to the Masjid Markazi mosque in late February-early March 2005.

A further indication of their separatist beliefs is indicated by how self-segregated an enclave the Savile Town area of Dewbsury has become, since the construction and opening of the Masjid Markazi in 1982.

While Asians account for approximately one quarter of the population of Dewsbury as a whole, in Savile Town, they comprise nearly 90 per cent of the population, almost all of whom have immigrated or descend from immigrants from Pakistan or Gujarat in India.

In addition, while the white population of Dewsbury fell by 2 per cent in the ten year period between 1991 and 2001, the Indian population increased by 25 per cent and the Pakistani population increased by 60%.'

It has been remarked of Savile Town today, by Times journalist Andrew Norfolk in a 2006 report on how this part of Dewsbury is turning into a bombers' enclave, that 'it is possible for a Muslim child to grow up - in the family home, at school and in the mosque and madrassa - without coming into any contact with Western lifestyles, opinions or values' [emphasis added].

London Olympic Mosque

In 2005 TJ announced that they hoped to construct a giant mosque and Islamic centre in Newham in East London close to the site of the 2012 London Olympics.

Critics have said that in light of TJ's separatist tendencies the construction of the mosque should be seen as part of its vision of a global Islamic super-state.

At a cost of £100 million the mosque is likely to be financed at least in considerable part by Saudi Arabia. The mosque will have a proposed capacity of 40,000 with a capacity of 70,000 for the complex as a whole.

The leaders of the mosque project have said that they will use the mosque to impose TJ's values and ideology both on Muslim athletes from around the world and on the Games as whole.

Abdul Khaliq, a director of the Tabighi centre on which it is proposed to build the new mosque and building complex, has reportedly stated that: "We would like to think that the Olympic authority will use it as the Islamic quarter of the 2012 Games."

Many local residents, both Muslim and non-Muslim, have expressed misgivings as to the adverse impact on social cohesion that construction of the mosque and centre would be likely to have.

They foresee that it would be likely to encourage within Newham, only on a much greater scale, the kind of Muslim self-segregation that construction of the Dewsbury Markazai Masjid had on Savile Town.

A group of Muslim local residents called 'Sunni Friends of Newham' have gathered 2,500 signatures in a petition against the proposed new mosque.

Asif Shakoor, chairman of the group, has said of the proposed new Tablighi initiative in Newham: "It is radicalising the younger generation. We have to make a stand."

Connection with Violent Extremism

Spokesmen for TJ vehemently deny that their movement in any way advocates or supports any form of violent extremism. However, a substantial number of those either convicted of terrorist-related offences or who have carried out attacks have been at one time involved with Tablighi Jamaat activities.

Former members of TJ-linked groups include: the 'American Taliban' John Walker Lindh; Richard Reid, Mohammed Siddiqui Khan; Shehzad Tanweed; one of the 21/7 attempted suicide-bombers in London; several of those awaiting trial in Britain having been arrested in August 2006 over an alleged plot to blow up transatlantic planes, and two of the suspects arrested for the failed car-bombings in London and Glasgow in June 2007.

That so many violent extremists at one time may have attended Tablighi events strongly suggests that the group's policies and teachings may contribute to the creation of a worldview that endorses attacks on non-Muslim civilians.

At the same time the TJ's organisational methods may facilitate terrorist recruitment. For instance, al Qaeda operatives may well exploit the regular gatherings of TJ adherents or potential adherents in remote parts of Pakistan to spot potential sympathisers.

Alex Alexiev, vice-president for research at the Institute for Security Policy in Washington DC, explained how these meetings could be used by al-Qaeda:

'The method … is simple and is practised wherever the Tablighi operates. After being brought into the organisation by missionaries, promising recruits are typically invited to Pakistan for additional training. There, albeit seemingly without the Tablighi's knowledge or approval, they are liable to be approached by representatives of terror organisations.'

The way in which TJ can operate - perhaps unintentionally as a 'gateway to terrorism', has been described by Khaled Abou El Fadl, professor of Islamic law at UCLA and a former member of the group:

"You teach people to exclude themselves, that they don't fit in, that the modern world is an aberration, an offence, some form of blasphemy…. By preparing them in this fashion, you are preparing them to be in a state of warfare against this world…. I don't believe there's a sinister plot where they're in bed with Osama bin Laden but are hiding it. But I think that militants exploit the alienated and withdrawn social attitude created by the Tablighis by fishing in the Tablighi pond."

SOURCE

A global Islamic missionary group has emerged as a key influence on terrorists targeting Britain. Tablighi Jamaat, a powerful, grass-roots religious organisation based in South Asia, is a common link to a string of attacks and conspiracies. One of the four men convicted this week of attempting to carry out suicide bombings on the London transport system attended a mosque run by Tablighi.

The group has been linked to two of the suspects, both from India, arrested for last week's failed car bomb attacks in London and Glasgow.

Tablighi has its European headquarters in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, where Shehzad Tanweer, one of the July 7 suicide bombers, attended classes after dropping out of university. Mohammed Sidique Khan, the leader of the July 7 cell, went to the Tablighi mosque in Dewsbury. A number of those suspected of involvement in last summer's alleged airline plot are believed to have been regular attendees at Tablighi meetings.

Richard Reid, the "shoe bomber", and John Walker Lindh, who became known as the "American Taliban" after being discovered during the US-led military action in Afghanistan in 2001, are also said to have had connections.

The group has a reputation for peaceful missionary work, going out to mosques to emphasise a reliance on the basic teachings of the Koran. But it is increasingly being associated with radicalising young Muslims.

Concern has been raised about its plans to build a "supermosque" next to the site of the 2012 Olympics in east London, although it has yet to submit a planning application.

Tablighi was founded in India in 1927 by a cleric from the Deobandi sect of Sunni Islam from which the Taliban regime emerged 70 years later. Its followers, estimated to number between 70 and 80 million, are asked to give up their free time to encourage Muslims to return to their "true faith" as it was practised in the era of the Prophet.

Adherents follow a narrow interpretation of Islam that believes non-Muslims are destined for perdition in hell and enforces the seclusion of women behind the veil. The Tablighi has always resisted interpretation by outsiders, refusing to speak to the press and producing little written literature.

Some see them as the Islamic equivalent of the Jehovah's Witnesses, a faintly cultish but ultimately harmless group. Others see a more sinister side to the organisation, whose teachings have become a plain-clothes recruiting sergeant for jihad.

American intelligence has voiced growing concerns about Tablighi after a number of detainees in Guantanamo Bay said they had been affiliated to the organisation. A French counter-terrorism official called it the "antechamber of fundamentalism" because it acted as a stepping stone to more extremist action.

Arif Jamal, one of Pakistan's foremost writers on fundamentalist Islam, said that during the Afghan-Soviet war of the 1980s and the Islamic insurgency in Kashmir in the 1990s, Deobandi terrorist groups infiltrated parts of the Tablighi Jamaat for recruiting purposes.

"The jihadist groups encouraged their members to devote some time in the Tablighi Jamaat activities, if for nothing else, to fulfil their religious duty. Since jihad is an essential part of Islam, the Tablighi Jamaat never discouraged such activities," he told The Daily Telegraph.

However, Yoginder Sikand, who published a study of the Tablighi Jamaat in South Asia in 2001, said fringe elements do not reflect the peaceful spirit of the whole. He said the group was "a very loose organisation", adding that it was "simply wrong to describe Tablighi Jamaat as a terrorist recruiting organisation".

Deviation of Tabligh al-Jama'at from the Ahl as-Sunnat

  There is a group of people who have been visiting Islamic countries and preaching and advising Muslims under the name Tabligh Jama'at. Leaving India and Pakistan in gangs of three to five persons, these people have been going all over the world. They say that they try to spread Islam. They claim to be in the path of as-Sahaba. Some of them also say that they follow the Hanafi madhhab and admire Ibn Taymiyya. Though they speak very usefully and righteously and since the fact that they never mention the names and words of Islamic scholars and seem to hush up part of the Ahl as-Sunnat knowledge, they arouse suspicion and sorrow. In the following, the writings of some of the religious authorities living in India and Pakistan about them is given:

Their center is in Delhi [with large branches in Karachi and Lahore in Pakistan.] Wherever they go, they lay very much stress upon performing salat. They give useful and necessary religious information. They call these activities of theirs 'kast' in Urdu language. It is said that their organization was founded by an Indian named Mawlana Muhammad Ilyas. This man was born in Kandla in 1303 A.H. (1886). He was Rashid Ahmad Gangohi's disciple. It is written on the 43rd and 49th pages of the book Mawlana Ilyas Uranki din Dawat by one of Ilyas's close disciples that he stayed near him for ten years. When Rashid Ahmad died in 1323 (1905) he was taught by Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri. In his Urdu book, Khalil Ahmad [d. Medina, 1346 (1928)] says that the devil is more learned than Rasulullah ('alaihi 's-salam). Rashid Ahmad says on the 51st page of Barahin-i qati'a that Khalil Ahmad's book was a blessed one and kept it at the place called 'Bait-i 'ain-i Islam.' Rashid Ahmad was the Khalifa of Haji Imdadullah al-Madani [d. Mecca, 1317 (1899)], and was first taught by Ismail Dahlawi, who wrote on the 38th page of Taqwiyat al-iman which is the Urdu translation of Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab's Kitab at-tawhid,

Another tutor of Ilyas was Ashraf 'Ali Tahanawi who also was a Khalifa of Haji Imdadullah of the Chishtiyya Tariqa. In the first part of his Urdu book Hifz al-iman, he writes very loathsome things which reduce the high grade of Rasulullah ('alaihi 's-salam) to the low degree of a child, of a mad person or of animals. All the four tutors of Ilyas became unbelievers because of such writings of theirs in their books. Ilyas praises, exalts and excessively respects these unbelievers. He says that they are the most eminent awliya' of their time. The 114th page of the book Malfuzat-i Hadrat-i Mawlana Ilyas Rahmatullahi 'alaih is full with such praises. He says about his shaikh Rashid Ahmad, 'Had not I seen him, my heart would not have attained tranquility. Whenever I woke up at night I would go to his room, look at his face and then come back and go to sleep. His love, like the blood in my veins, has penetrated everywhere in me.' (pp. 44, 49, Mawlana Ilyas Uranki). Allahu ta'ala declares in the last ayat of the surat al-Mujadala, 'Those who believe in Allahu ta'ala and the Day of Resurrection will dislike those [unbelievers] who do not obey Allahu ta'ala and His Messenger ('alaihi 's-salam). Allahu ta'ala will fill with iman the hearts of those who dislike unbelievers even though they were their fathers, sons, brothers or relatives.' All the members of Tabligh jamaat exaggerate and praise 'Ilyas' and his teachers very much and say 'rahmatullahi 'alaih' when they mention or hear their names. They spread their above-mentioned books everywhere.

"The Ahl as-Sunnat scholars wrote many books in order to refute the Tabligh group and to reveal the fact that they were heretics. They could not answer these books at all. Hadrat Mawlana 'Abd al-'Alim Siddiqi alayhir rahman wrote that Ilyas's teachers were in an endeavor to demolish Islam from within." [This is written in detail also in the books al-mustanad, Usul al-arba'a fi tardid al-Wahhabiyya, ad-dawlat al-Makkiyya and Hediyya-t-ul-Mehdiyyin, which were reproduced in Istanbul in 1395 (1975).]

When Ilyas died in 1363 (1949) the successor was his son, Muhammad Yusuf Kandhlawi [b. Delhi, 1335 (1917); d. Lahore, buried Delhi, 1394 (1974)]. Yusuf's three-volume book, Hayat-us-Sahaba, was translated into Turkish and published in 1395 (1975). Because as-Sahaba are praised much in this book it arouses admiration in the reader. But there is a famous saying: "Judge a man by his actions, not by his words." One who believes in the superiority of as-Sahaba and loves them has to follow in their path, which is the path shown by the Ahl as-Sunnat scholars. The sign of love for as-Sahaba is to learn the fiqh books of one of the four Ahl as-Sunnat madhhabs, to endeavor to disseminate this knowledge and to live up to it. Muhammad Yusuf was succeeded by his son, Shaikh In'am al-Hasan, who was the hadith teacher at Mazahir-i 'Ulum Madrasa in Saharanpur, India. Abu 'l-Hasan 'Ali Nadwi, the director of Nadwat al-ulama' [founded in Lucknow, India in 1310 (1891)], praises al-Imam ar-Rabbani Ahmad as-Sirhindi and his services in his book Ad-da'wat al-Islamiyya [Lucknow, 1395 (1975)], but adds his praises for Ismail Dahlawi (killed in 1246), Nadhir Husain Dahlawi (d. 1320), the madrasa in Deobend which was founded by Muhammad Qasim Nanawtawi [d. 1317 (1899)], one of the Khulafa' of Imdad-ullah, in 1288 (1871), Ashraf Ali Tahanawi (d. 1362), the Tabligh group and its founder, Muhammad Ilyas. This faqir, the author, has read the book Taqwim al-bayan, Persian translation of Ismail Dahlawi's Taqwiyat al-iman [Pakistan, 1396 (1976)] and come to the conclusion that Ismail is not only a sheer ignoramus but also a non-madhhabi idiot who strives to censure the right by alloying it with the wrong. May Allahu ta'ala protect Muslims from reading and believing such heretical writings and falling into endless calamity! Amin!

In the Shawwal 1399 A.H. (1979) and following issues of the monthly periodical Al-muallim which is published by the Jamiyat al-'ulama' called "Samasta" located in the Malappuram City of the Kerala State, South India, Mawlawi Abu Ahmad, one of the Ahl as-Sunnat scholars, wrote under the heading 'Disclosure of the Suspicions about Jamaat at-Tabligh': "Various groups of people have appeared in North India who say that they will renew the religion and disseminate it everywhere. Many people, judging them only by their ostensible words, follow them without investigating their and their founders' faith. Upon seeing their inner nature, many of them have departed and expose their lies and tricks. History has witnessed many such heretics, who are slaved by their nafs and vicious thoughts. They have interpreted the documents of Islam wrongly. They dissent to the rotten principles of and Ibn Taymiyya and Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab an-Najdi. Those who know little about religious knowledge think that they are on the right path and believe that they serve Islam. One of these heretical groups is that which follow the path put forward by Mawlana Ilyas. They call themselves 'Jamaat at-tabligh.' They travel around the world. With their worship, attractive speech and attire, they look like religious, pious people. They never speak about their beliefs and the path they follow. They began to spread their seed in Kerala, too. The 'ulama' of Samasta Kerala have opened jihad against them by displaying their heretical books, beliefs and background and their founders' life-stories and path. Studying them, they understood their artifice and that they were ahl al-bidat. They issued the fatwas that they have dissented from the righteous path of Ahl as-Sunnat wal-Jamaat and that they were on the route of bidat and dalala (heresy). These fatwas of the 'ulama' of southern and northern India and Ceylon Island (Sri Lanka) became an ijma'. And we, with the guidance of Allahu ta'ala and by keeping on the footsteps of the Salaf as-Salihin, will explain their vicious beliefs and heretical path: "The founder of this heretical path was Muhammad Ilyas ibn Ismail, who was born in 1303 A.H. (1886) and died in 1363 (1944). He formerly taught at Mazahir al-'ulum Madrasa. When he became unsuccessful there, he started to live as a shaikh. He made his living by writing amulets and prayers for ignorant people. Meanwhile, he established the Tariqa of 'Tabligh'. Jamal Muhammad Sahib, Director of the madrasa called 'Kulliyat-i kaid-i millat' in Madras, gave extensive information about this movement in the July 24, 1976 issue of the paper Jandaraka. "Head of Jamaat at-tabligh, which is located in Delhi, and his friend Muhammad Idris al-Ansari explain the causes of the establishment of this path in the booklet Tabligh-i Dustur al-'amal (published by the Jamal printing house in Delhi) in this way: 'If thought well and the history is studied, it will be seen that men could not attain to peace and bliss with the four fundamental usul. This is understood from the 139th ayat of the surat Al 'Imran which states "You are more honorable and superior than them, for you have belief." Firstly, the aim of Islam is to change the batin (internal aspect), that is, the heretical beliefs and habits. Secondly changing them is possible only through the way chosen by prophets. Thirdly, the works done up to now by Muslims either singly or wholly have not been for this aim, and they did not follow the way of prophets. Fourthly, for this reason, it is necessary to establish a salih jamaat (pious community), that is, Jamaat al-Islamiya, which must work according to the way shown by Islam. Now, this job is done by Muhammad Ilyas, one of the salih servants of Allah. Gathering the ones who want to work in the way of Islam, he formed a new community called the Jamaat at-tablighiyya.'

"Another similar one, Abul Ala Mawdudi, recently founded an organization called Jamaat Islami in Pakistan. On the fifteenth page of his Urdu booklet Min Musliman ur mawjuduhu siyasi, he explains the cause of his founding this organization in this way: 'I have investigated and studied much. I decided to take the present Islamic ring off my neck. If I did not do so, I, too, would be in the footsteps of the irreligious called ilhad and dahriyya [he calls the religion of his ancestors as 'ilhad and dahriyya'.] Therefore, I have put forth a new religion conformable to the meaning of kalimat at-tawhid.' He claimed to be the first true Muslim of his time and called everybody, Muslim or not, to this new religion.

"Muhammad Ilyas said the same, claiming that what the Ummat al-Muhammadiyya had done for centuries were not conformable to the way of prophets. Muhammad Manzur an-Numani, on the twelfth page of his booklet Malfuzat, quotes him: 'All of what the Ummat al-Muhammadiyya do now are rusum and customs. Those who taught religion and directed religious affairs depended on rusum and customs.' Muhammad Hasan Khan, one of the leaders of Jamaat at-tabligh, wrote in the preface to Miftah at-tabligh, 'Because religious affairs are misdirected at the present time, many people are caught by the current of shirk, kufr and ilhad. Pitying at this situation of men, Allahu ta'ala sent Shaikh Muhammad Ilyas as a mujiza to awaken Muslim from unawareness and to initiate them into the spirit of religion. This mujahid endeavored to awaken people in the Mivat town, south to Delhi, as possible as the conditions of his time permitted.' It would not be easy for them to answer the question, from where did Ilyas find the right path while the whole Umma was in kufr and dalala?' "In summary, the group of Jamaat at-tabligh, like their other upstart colleagues, say that the Ummat al-Muhammadiyya has fallen for dalala, dissented from the right path. These words are exactly opposite to what our Prophet (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) had conveyed, for he said in a hadith reported by at-Tirmidhi, 'My umma do not agree on deviation.' This hadith absolutely tells that the knowledge on which the mujtahidin, that is, Muslim scholars agreed are always right. Not only scholars, but also every sane person will immediately understand this. "In the following, the establishment of the Jamaat at-tablighiyya will be detailed: "Abu 'l-Hasan Ali Nadwi, famous authority on religion and history in India, quotes the founder of the Jamaat at-tablighiyya, Ilyas, as saying, 'I started this job when I was in Medina in 1345 A.H. (1926). I was given the good news that realization of this movement would be through my hands.' These are written in Urdu on the 77th page of the book Mawlana Ilyas Uranki dini Da'wat. On the next page, it is written that he began to call people to religion after his return from Medina to India. From the two lines quoted from him, it is understood that he claimed to begin this invitation upon the command and good news of Allahu ta'ala. The inner aspect of this movement is written in detail in Malfuzat al-Ilyas. On page 50 of this book, his pupil Muhammad Manzur an-Numani gives this good news of his master to his friends: 'Ru'ya (dream) is one of the 46 parts of prophethood. Promotions (taraqqi) that cannot be obtained through riyada and mujahada can occur to some selected men in ru'ya. Teachings that dawn upon them in ru'ya are parts from prophethood. Won't promotion come about with these? Knowledge increases marifa. And marifa makes one closer to Allah. Therefore, Allahu ta'ala commanded us to say, "Oh Allah! Increase my knowledge!" Man is given sahih knowledge in ru'ya. Therefore, pray so that this leader of yours shall sleep much. When I sleep little because of getting angry, I resort to a physician and use the medicines he gives me to increase my sleep. This way of invitation through tabligh was shown to me in ru'ya. The interpretation of the ayat, "You are the best umma. You have been created for the welfare of human beings. You command the goodness to be done and prohibit the wrong," was told to me in ru'ya. Like prophets, I have been created for the invitation of the people. The phrase 'You have been created' in the ayat indicates that this invitation will not be completed by doing it at one place or city, that it is necessary to get out of one's place to go to other cities and to visit houses.' look at these words! The Qur'an is interpreted in dream, he claims, and sahih knowledge was given to him in dream, and it cannot be obtained through riyada or mujahada. From the word 'Ukhrijat' in the ayat, he derives a meaning which has not been reported by any mufassir. He tells his followers to endeavor to sleep much and teaches many other things as understood from his writings. Are not these the examples of interpreting the Qur'an according to his own point of view? Our Prophet prohibited and frightened Muslims against such interpretation with the hadith, 'Let Hell fire be the residence of who interprets the Qur'an according to his own view.' This hadith was reported by at-Tirmidhi. Those who cannot differentiate their left side from the right or recognize fard and sunnat travel to carry out tabligh just because of this interpretation in ru'ya. After the spread of Islam everywhere from the East to the West, their going from house to house to complete al-amru bi 'l-maruf, too, was all commanded in dream! 'Allama ibn Jarir at-Tabari and many mufassirs among the Salaf as-Salihin interpreted this ayat, and 'Allama Imam as-Suyuti reported them in his book Durar al-mansur. On the 64th page of the second part of this work, it is written, ' 'Abd Ibn Hamid, Ibn Jarir at-Tabari and Ibn al-Munzir reported from Imam Mujahid that, in the ayat, "You are the beneficial umma. You have been created for the welfare of human beings," 'human beings' were the people other than the Arabs, while the 'beneficial umma' were the Arabs.' It is apparent that none of the scholars of tafsir had interpreted this ayat as Ilyas did. Then, his movement of tabligh is not in conformity with the path of the Qur'an, Hadith and Salaf as-Salihin. It is based on an interpretation done in a dream, in sleep. And this is ibtida' in Islam, that is, inventing a bidat. Our Prophet (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) declared, 'Reject it when a thing absent in Islam comes up in our religion.' This hadith ash-Sharif is quoted in the Sahihain of al-Bukhari and Muslim.

[An-Nabulusi, too, gives extensive explanations concerning this subject on the 128th page of Al-Hadiqa. [The first volume of Al-hadiqat an-nadiyya has been reproduced by Hakikat Kitabevi in Istanbul.] He writes on its 168th page, "Dreams seen in sleep, like spiritual inspiration (ilham ruhani), cannot be reasons that disclose the rules of Islam." On its 170th page, he writes, "It is possible (jaiz) that Allahu ta'ala opens and fills with ma'arif and haqiqa the heart of someone who has not read any book. When this person hears an ayat or a hadith, he interprets it and bewilders 'ulama'. But adapting oneself to him is not sahih. He is a wali but not an imam or murshid. To be a scholar of Islam, one has to have a full understanding of the ahkam of the hadiths." He says on the 187th page, "Forgetting about Islam, that is, Islam's becoming like customs, or following not Islam but reason and one's own views, stems from four things: firstly, not to do what one has learned; to do without knowing, that is, instead of learning Allahu ta'ala's commands, to follow one's own intelligence and views, to try to make everybody to do the same way, and to believe in their righteousness and benefits, while bearing hostility against those who do not like them; thirdly, not to learn beforehand the ahkam (Islamic rules) of the things one will do; to prevent people's learning religious teachings and to slander at those who want to learn or teach them to the youth by calling it old-fashioned or retrogressive. The superiors of tasawwuf, awliya' and murshids, have always followed Islam. They attained to high degrees in this way. Following Islam means to follow its four guides which are the Qur'an, the Sunnat, ijma' al-Umma and qiyas al-fuqaha'. Those who adapt themselves to things other than these four references will be taken to Hell torment. They are the liars who show the wrong as truth and block the way to endless bliss."]

"Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-Askalani said, 'Dreams of people other than prophets do not communicate the rules of Islam, which are understood through wahi and ijtihad.' Then, how can an ayat be interpreted through a person's dream? How can people be ruled through dreams? Depending on a dream, how can people be sent to every part of the world? Aren't the rules of Islam altered by this. Even one who has little religious knowledge understands this exactly. "Allahu ta'ala has declared that He sent the Qur'an to be explained to people. The leader of Jamaat at-tabligh, however, says that the Qur'an was interpreted to him in his dream. According to him and as it is claimed in Tanbihat by Abul Ala Mawdudi, who had the same views with him, explanation of the Qur'an through the known tafsir books is not necessary, while Arabic dictionaries are sufficient to understand what is shown in dream. These two reformers of religion, like every man of bidat, give meanings to the Qur'an according to their own views, while they still claim to follow the Qur'an and the Sunnat; this, however, is an open lie. "It is said in their booklet Dustur al-'amal, 'The aims and beliefs of the members of Jamaat at-tabligh are three:

To reform the madhhab, ethics and education.' To understand their beliefs better, it was necessary to study their books. Some of their beliefs are discussed in the following: "Muhammad Ilyas, the head of the Tabligh movement said, 'Our aim is to teach what Rasulullah had taught to as-Sahaba. It is the first step of this movement to go around every country to tell about salat and give advices,' (Malfuzat, p. 31) These words mean that they tell Rasulullah's teachings according to their own understanding of them and according to their view point. He said to his friend Zahir Hasan, 'Our movement is supposed to be a group teaching only salat. I swear by Allah that our movement is not aimed at teaching salat. We bring up a new nation.' (Dini da'wat, p. 205) These words openly displays his aim. It is apparent that the followers of Ilyas are not sincere in trying to make everybody perform salat. This behavior is a beginning, a trap to make everybody join themselves. As a matter of fact, the statement, 'To this humble person myself, our Tabligh is composed of Islam, Tariqa and haqiqa,' (Makatib, p. 66) shows that this community, which was established on a dream of Ilyas, included in itself a new Islam, and Tariqa. In fact 'din' (religion) is made up of these three fundamentals. Masked under the name of Islam, a new religion based on a dream is introduced. It is apparent that their above statement is of bidat and dalala. "Muhammad Idris Ansari, one of the followers of Ilyas, said, 'The belief of this community is "La ilaha ill-Allah Muhammadun Rasulullah" ' (Dustur, p. 4) This is Islam's fundamental belief. Qadianis (Ahmadis) and Bahais, who were unanimously ruled out as non-Muslims, also claimed this belief, and these, too, started new groups of bidat by claiming the same. By saying, 'In order to do a task or an 'ibada or to prohibit something, it should have been declared by Rasulullah. No other document is needed,' (Dustur, p. 5) Ilyas denied ijma' and qiyas among al-adillat ash-Shariyya. Nevertheless, he did not claim to be a mujtahid mutlaq; if he had done so, he would not have been believed by anybody among those who had known his background and knowledge.

"One's joining this community is explained in the book Dustur al-'mal as such: 'Anybody who says and believes the meaning of kalimat ash-shahada becomes a member of this community. The group, nation or country he belongs to has no effect in this.' (p. 5) This passage shows that anybody who says he is a Muslim, whether he be a Qadiani or a member of other groups of bidat, e.g. one of the heretics of Kharijiyya, Qadariyya, Mutazila or Mawdudiyya, may become a partner to this group and do his worship depending only on hadiths. They do not pay attention to what the Salaf as-Salihin had done and to ijma' and qiyas. They do not follow one of the four madhhabs. On the other hand, they claim to adapt themselves to Islam, Tariqa and haqiqa wholly. This, however, is an apparent dalala, a heretical confusion. This movement as named Jamaat at-tabligh resembles the heretical group called Jamaat Islami of Abul Ala Mawdudi. "He comments on the selection of the Jamaat's leader, 'In Islamic order, the status of amir (head, leader) is very important. The Amir selected from among Jamaat at-tabligh means the Ulu 'l-amr defined by Islam. It is fard for everybody to obey his known commands just as the commands of Allah and his Rasul are obeyed (p. 6)... It is wajib to obey without objection those commands of the Amir which are conformable to Islam. It is not permitted to investigate the Amir's documentation. It is a grave sin not to carry out his command and to do what is opposite to his will: it brings about Allah's punishment and torment.' (p. 7) As is seen, they promote their amirs to the status of prophethood. On the eighth page, it is said, 'Before the Amir will give a command, it is wajib for him to consult with the prominent of the Jamaat, and later with the members of the High Council. If their opinions fall apart, he prefers the one he wishes, and commands it.' As it is stated, they obey only hadiths and their amir, as if the Qur'an commanded obeying only their amir as a fard and, to them, Allahu ta'ala will revenge those who do not follow him. They confess that obedience to the amir is compulsory even if he does not conform to what the members of the council say. The leaders and members of this council and the amir will be from among themselves, that is, among those who have come together just upon saying kalimat ash-shahada without investigating their cult or knowledge or looking for any other condition. However, the Salaf as-Salihin, that is, the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat, have defined the characteristics of the person to be 'Ulu 'l-amr. Allama Abu 's-Su'ud Effendi said, 'Ulu 'l-amr are the commanders who follow the Divine Path and the judges who are just. They are the Khulafa' ar-rashidin, the four caliphs, and those who follow in their footsteps.' Imam al-Karkhi said, 'They are the commanders of the time of Rasulullah (sal-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) and those who come later. Judges and military leaders are similar.' To some, however, Ulu 'l-amr means the 'ulama' of Islam. It is apparent that the amirs of Jamaat at-tabligh, whom they choose from among themselves, cannot be included. Also, it is without foundation that it is a wajib to obey and a grave sin to disobey their amirs' commands. "While telling about what will happen to his umma, Rasulullah ('alaihi 's-salam) declared, 'The Sons of Israil parted into 72 nations. And my umma will part into 73 groups. Of them, only one will be saved, and all others will go to Hell.' As-Sahabat al-kiram upon hearing this, asked, 'Oh Rasul-Allah! Which is that?' He declared, 'They are those who follow my and my Sahaba's path.' This hadith ash-Sharif was reported from 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar (radi-Allahu 'anh). As reported from Muawiya (radi-Allahu 'anh) by Imam Ahmad and Abu Dawud, Rasulullah ('alaihi 's-salam) declared, 'Of them, 72 are in Hell, and the remaining one is in Paradise. And this is one jamaat.' This hadith ash-Sharif is also quoted in the chapter on 'I'tisam' of the book Mishkat. Oh Muslims! We must search and find this single community of salvation mentioned in this hadith and their beliefs which cause entrance to Paradise and should beware of heretical groups who oppose these beliefs! In this way, we shall endeavor to get saved from the Hell fire and flame! Hadrat Ghawth al-azam 'Abd al-Qadir al-Geilani radi Allahu ta'ala anhu explained the former hadith and the word 'jamaat' in the latter hadith in these words: 'The believer (Mumin) should adapt himself to the Sunnat and to the Jamaat. The Sunnat is the way shown by Rasulullah ('alaihi 's-salam). The Jamaat is composed of the things done unanimously by as-Sahabat al-kiram who lived in the time of the four caliphs called Khulafa' ar-rashidin. A Muslim must prevent the multiplication of the men of bidat and be away from them and should not greet them. Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, the imam of our madhhab, said that greeting a man of bidat meant loving him since it had been declared in a hadith ash-Sharif, "Disseminate [your] greeting (salam)! Love one another in this way!" ' These are written on the 90th page of Gunyat at-talibin. Great alim Ahmad ibn Hajar al-Haitami, the last muhaqqiq, wrote on this subject in detail on page 149 of his work Sawa'iq al-muhriqa, where he said, 'Those who dissent from the Ahl as-Sunnat faith are called mubtadi'. They began to come forth in the first century [of Islam].'

"Hadrat Ibn Hajar al-Haitami said in his work Fat'h al-jawad, 'Mubtadi' is the person who does not have the faith (itiqad) conveyed unanimously by Ahl as-Sunnat. This unanimity was transmitted by the two great imams Abu 'l-Hasan al-Ashari and Abu Mansur al-Maturidi and the 'alims who followed their path.' On the 205th page of the book Al-fatawa al-hadithiyya, it is written, 'Man of bidat means one whose beliefs are different from the Ahl as-Sunnat faith. The Ahl as-Sunnat faith is the faith of Abu 'l-Hasan al-Ashari, Abu Mansur al-Maturidi and those who followed them. One who brings forth something which is not approved by Islam becomes a man of bidat.' Shafi'i alim Ahmad Shihab ad-din Kalyubi al-Misri wrote on the fourth volume of his marginalia to the book Kanz ar-raghibin: 'One who departs from what Abu 'l-Hasan al-Ashari and Abu Mansur al-Maturidi reported is not Sunni. These two imams followed the footprints of Rasulullah ('alaihi 's-salam) and his Sahaba.'

"From the foregoing passages, it is understood that only one of the seventy-three groups that have come out of the partition of this umma will be saved against Hell. It is wajib for every Muslim to search for, to find and to adapt himself to this group, members of which follow the path of Abu 'l-Hasan al-Ashari and Abu Mansur al-Maturidi. How could it be correct of one who comes afore by establishing a new group in this age sees saying 'La ilaha illa-Allah Muhammadun Rasulullah' sufficient and stays away from the faith of Ahl as-Sunnat wal-Jamaat? The speeches and writings of the upstart group called Jam'at at-tabligh show that uttering 'La ilaha ill-Allah Muhammadun Rasulullah' is the only condition necessary for admission to this group. Any person, whether he belongs to a heretical group or disobey everybody except Rasulullah, immediately becomes a member of this group upon this utterance, even if he would disobey as-Sahaba and mujtahids. People representing Qadianism, Nijari, Wahhabism, Mawdudism and various non-Muslim movements are witnessed to belong to this jamaat. What else would it be if this behavior of theirs isn't a proof of their intention to disunite the Umma?

"Do they correct the heretics after accepting them into their group? The opposite of this is seen in their books and behavior. They prohibit speaking on the madhhabs. They give freedom to everybody in his beliefs. On the 16th page of Dustur al-'amal, it is written, 'Disunionist, unnecessary subjects should not be spoken on. The essence of tawhid and fundamental of Islam shall be studied.' The same is written on page 218 of Miftah at-tabligh. Their leader Muhammad Ilyas wrote on the 116th page of Malfuzat: The basis of our movement is to strengthen iman. It is not correct to widen the knowledge concerning beliefs (aqa'id). If we do so, there will arouse sedition in hearts and suspicions in minds.' He says on the 142nd page of Makatib, 'Sometimes you use the word bidat. Do not utter such words! Such words cause disunion among people.' "In conclusion, they do not have the Ahl as-Sunnat faith. All of the seventy-three groups may come together among them freely; moreover, non-Muslims, too, may join them. They do not deal with the knowledge of faith; they even prohibit learning it. They say that they follow only the Prophet. They do not study the single right path which was stated in the hadith. They say that it will cause disunion if studied. They do not use the word 'bidat' or similar ones, which, they claim, cause sedition. Despite all these heretical behaviors, they claim to belong to Ahl as-Sunnat wal-Jamaat. However, in view of the followers of this path of truth, there is no doubt about their heresy.

"The 'ulama' of Islam prohibited Muslims from friendship with men of bidat. Hadrat Qutb al-aqtab 'Abd al-Qadir al-Geilani said that it was much reward-deserving (thawab) to believe that the madhhab of people of bidat was corrupt, and not to follow them and to bear hostility against them. Our Prophet (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) declared, 'Allahu ta'ala fills with aman (courage) and iman the heart of the person who stare with enmity at the man of bidat. The one who knows the man of bidat as wicked is saved by Allahu ta'ala against the fear of the Day of Resurrection. [Rank of] a hundred degrees is endowed by Allahu ta'ala in Paradise upon him who insults the man of bidat. One who meets the man of bidat with smiling face or does goodness to him will have disliked Islam sent to Muhammad ('alaihi 's-salam) by Allahu ta'ala.' The hadith ash-Sharif reported by Mughira from 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas (radi-Allahu 'anhuma) says, 'Unless a man of bidat gives up his bidat, Allahu ta'ala will not accept any of his worship.' Fudail ibn 'Iyad said, 'Allahu ta'ala destroys the 'ibadat and takes the light of iman out of the heart of the one who loves the man of bidat.' Even in case the 'ibadat of the one who does not love the man of bidat is limited, it is hoped that his sins will be forgiven. In order not to come across a man of bidat, change your direction! The above-given hadiths and advices are written on the 90th page of the book Gunyat at-talibin. The followers of Jamaat at-tabligh, who call themselves Muslim and introduce themselves as Ahl as-Sunnat, accept heretics of every kind into their community. Whether of Ahl as-Sunnat or ahl al-bidat, any Muslim can join their movement. Despite this confusion, they claim to be on the right path. This situation resembles the state of keeping two opposite things, like fire and powder, together, which is impossible.

"While the founder of Jamaat at-tabligh, Muhammad Ilyas, was putting forth what he had seen in dream as a new religion, he was also inoculating the evil germs injected to him by the non-madhhabite. On page 90 of Makatib, he says, 'It is certainly good to attend at the gatherings of hatm al-Qur'an and dhikr. The prominent people of the religion said so.

However, because there is the risk of being like the men of bidat, it is better to refrain from attending at such places. There is the same danger both in saying salat and salam upon the Prophet with the thought in mind that he is present and sees, and in saying salat and salam as the men of bidat [?] say. Yes, though it is permitted to say it unconsciously out of extreme love, the Satan may intervene and spoil iman. And this is a greater danger.'

"look at these words! He does not permit saying salat and salam upon this great Prophet with the thought of his being present and seeing, even if it would be done unconsciously out of extreme love for him! This is a Wahhabite belief. His prohibiting it even in case of extreme love is a heresy that surpasses that of the Wahhabis. One who is Muslim does not prohibit it. What does he think about all Muslims' saying, 'As-salamu 'alaika ayyuha 'n-Nabiyyu,' in salat? See what the 'Document of Islam' (Hujjat al-Islam) Imam al-Ghazali (rahmat-Allahu 'alaih) wrote in his work Ihya al-'ulum: 'At first, bring to your heart the holy figure of Rasulullah ('alaihi 's-salam). Then recite As-salamu 'alaika ayyuha 'n-Nabiyyu and believe that he will hear you and answer you.' (First volume, p. 129) Ottoman alim Muhammad Hakki Effendi (d. Mecca, 1301 A.H.)/1884) wrote in the first article on page 166 of his Hazinat al-asrar, 'The Muslim should think of himself as being in the presence of Rasulullah ('alaihi 's-salam) and, showing honor, respect and manners and keeping in mind that he is the intercessor, wasila and savior between him and Allahu ta'ala, say salat and salam. At this holy place, the most suitable is to say, As-salamu 'alaika ayyuha 'n-Nabiyyu.'

"Al-'arifu bi 'llah Sayyid Muhammad 'Uthman al-Mirghani al-Makki al-Hanafi (d. Mecca, 1268 A.H./1852) said on page 14 of his work Akrab at-turuki ila 'l-haqq: 'Think of Rasulullah's ('alaihi 's-salam) presence facing you, his seeing and hearing you! Even if you are far away, Allahu ta'ala makes your voice be heard and displays you. Here, being near or distant is the same.' All these passages show that Rasulullah ('alaihi 's-salam) sees and hears those who think of facing him. The founder of Jamaat at-tabligh does not believe in this. He prohibits it even if it would be out of extreme love and says that the Prophet does not see or hear those who think of him. This word of his, however, stems from the basic Wahhabite tenet that states, 'The dead do not hear.' The most correct comment on this subject is the following fatwa of Ahmad ibn Hajar al-Haitami, the last of profound 'ulama', which is written on the ninth page of the second volume of Fatawa al-kubra:

"Answer : 'It is true that Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) is seen by everybody who is about to die, and he is asked, "What would you say about that person?" This shows the Supremacy of Allahu ta'ala's Power. The word that is used for pointing to the person who is at his presence. This word is the answer to the person who does not believe that Rasulullah ('alaihi 's-salam) can be seen in various ways at various places at the same moment. In fact, this can be believed through intellect, too: adh-dhat ash-Sharif (honorable person) of his becomes like a mirror, and everybody sees the image of his own beauty or ugliness in this mirror. There takes place no change in the beauty of the mirror. The life in grave and that in the hereafter do not resemble to worldly life. Each person has a single figure in the world. It has been witnessed many times that awliya' have taken various figures in this world, too. It is famous that Kadib al-ban Hasan al-Musuli and others have been seen as such.'

"He wrote in the first fatwa on the 29th page: 'The dead recognize those who visit them. The hadith reported by Ibn Abi 'd-dunya says, "When one visits the grave of a brother-in-Islam and sits [at the side], the dead person recognizes him and responds his greeting." Another hadith says, "When a person passes by the grave of a Muslim brother of his acquaintance and greets the dead person recognizes him and responds his greeting." ' He writes in the second fatwa, 'The dead hear the voices of the alive. The hadith reported by Imam Ahmad states, "The dead person recognizes those who wash him, carry him and put him in grave." ' Hadrat Sayyid 'Abdulhakim-i Arwasi, the profound alim and great wali who passed away in Ankara in 1362 A.H. (1943), said, 'Ibn Hajar al-Makki was one of the most superior 'ulama' of Islam. His every word is documented and is a document.'

"How come one can suspect of Rasulullah's (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) becoming present and seeing? The status of prophets, even of awliya', is promoted after their pure souls depart from their bodies; they become possessors of full tasarruf (disposal, effect) like angels. This has been reported unanimously by the 'ulama' of Ahl as-Sunnat and has been denied only by the Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab who was left in heresy by Allahu ta'ala. And Ilyas, the head of Jamaat at-tabligh, was caught by his heretical current. The following is another example from the words of 'ulama' to brighten the eyes of those who believe him and to disgrace the faces of mulhids: "Shah Wali-Allah ad-Dahlawi, one of the great 'ulama' of India, wrote in his work Hujjatu 'Illahi 'l-baligha (vol. I, p. 35), 'When a human being passes away, no relation is left between his soul and the world of matter. The souls return to their origin, become like angels, and, like them, give inspiration and help to men. They help in the dissemination and strengthening of Allahu ta'ala's religion. They rush to help those who work for this path. It has been witnessed that they come to help in groups.' This passage tells that blessed souls do work as angels do. Are these words not sufficient for the correction of those who do not believe that Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) becomes present and hears? The 'ulama' of Islam have unanimously reported that he is the cause of all beings and the unique means of getting near to Allahu ta'ala. "In his work Ar-rawd an-nadir, 'Allama 'Abd ar-Ra'uf al-Manawi wrote: 'After pure souls depart this life and are promoted to their places, nothing is a curtain before them. They see, or learn from angels, everything. This is so mysterious that only few people are informed with it. While blessed souls are such, how the most superior of them is should be pondered and understood well!' "Hadrat Ahmad Zaini Dahlan says on page 58 of Taqrib al-usul: 'Most of the 'arifs said that, after a wali passes away, his soul's connection to his murids continues. With the soul's baraka, nurs and faids come about. This is explained detailedly by Hadrat Qutb al-irshad 'Abdullah al-Haddad, who said in summary: "After a wali passes away, he keeps his concern with his immediate acquaintances. This concern is more than that when he was alive. Because, he has been busy in this world also with his duties of being Allahu ta'ala's servant; sometimes these duties busy him more. It is usually in this manner especially in these times. When the elect die, their forms and bodies vanish, but their haqiqa (reality) continues to exist. They are alive in their graves. Because the wali is alive in his grave, his knowledge and intellectual and spiritual powers do not change at all. Even, they all increase further after death." ' While the case is as such with all awliya', it should be estimated how it is with prophets, especially with the most superior of them. This apparent reality could be denied only by those who have been corrupted by non-madhhabite poison and those who have been caught in the trap of mulhids and dissented from Islam.


May Allahu ta'ala protect all Muslims against this grave disaster! Amin."

[Al-mu'allim, monthly periodical; see above, beginning of this article. The Arabic original of the passage is published together with the book Al-ustad Mawdudi in Istanbul.]

source

The biggest threat to Islam these days is from the Wahabi, Deobandi, Tablighi, Salafi sects. This threat to an average Muslim is not obvious at all. These days they want to call themselves Sunnis to deceive gullible Muslims. It is worth mentioning to some of the misguided youngsters of the above renegade groups that the four madhabs, namely, the Shafi'i, the Hanafi, Maliki and Hambali, all follow the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam and believe in Sunni aqaa'id, and are not one of the 72 firqas (groups) destined for Hell.

The physical appearance of these renegades may deceive one as they decorate their deceitful faces with the sunnah [tradition] of the beard and perform compulsory acts such as salaat, in a most convincing manner. However, their corrupt beliefs prove that they have no true love for the Beloved Messenger Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam and they are the greatest insulters of the Beloved Messenger and should be thrown out of Islam.

Who are these Deobandi/Wahabi people? This is the question raised by the Ulama of Masjid-e-Nabawi, Mufti Shaykh Umar bin Hamadan Al Maharassee, who gave a 'Fatwa of Kufr' on Deobandi/Wahabi/Tabligh Jammaat leaders and founders nearly 100 years ago for insulting the Beloved Messenger Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam. This fatwa was issued after years of study of Wahabi/Deobandi books and clarification sought from the writers of these books which were never received nor did they repent for their opinions. Some of their aqeeda and opinions are printed in this bill. 

The penalty for insulting the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam is death and this is not something invented today but it has origins from the time of the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam who ordered a person to be beheaded in the Haram Shareef [Grand Mosque, Makkah] itself between Maqam-e-Ibrahim and the well of Zam Zam! The person who doubts his (the person who said Kufr) infidelity is also an infidel. This is unanimously accepted by all Ulama and Mufti and there is no forgiveness for this infidelity. However, there is a way out for those who repent genuinely.

Anyone who doubts the seriousness for insulting the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam or harsh punishment for infidelity should recall the following incident. A Jew and a munafiq [hypocrite] went to the Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam to settle a dispute. The Prophet found the decision in favour of the Jew. The two then went to Sayyiduna Abu Bakr radi Allahu ta'ala anhu who also gave a similar verdict. The munafiq then asked the Jew that they should go to Sayyiduna Umar radi Allahu ta'ala anhu. They told him the story and asked for his decision. The Jew, however, told Sayyiduna Umar radi Allahu ta'ala anhu that the Prophet of Allah had already decided in his favour. Sayyiduna Umar radi Allahu ta'ala anhu asked both to wait. He went inside, got his sword and chopped the head of the "Muslim" Munafiq! Sayyiduna Umar radi Allahu ta'ala anhu could not bear the insult of the Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam by the munafiq [hypocrite] due to his refusal to accept the Prophet's Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam. He did not even hear out the munafiq. Some people thought that Sayyiduna Umar radi Allahu ta'ala anhu had gone too far. However, Qur'anic Ayats were revealed to support his action!

There is so much uneasiness among the Wahabis about the birth of the Beloved Messenger Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam or his Meelad that there is no mention of his birth in many of the Wahabi Masaajids. In fact, in one of their Kuthbas [sermons], the Imam [scholar] mentioned that the Muslims were worshipping idols. This was an indirect attack on shrines of the Saints and the Beloved Prophet of Allah that the Sunnis have great respect for. The Wahabis call these shrines idols! The lack of respect and love for the Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam by the Wahabi/Deobandi is clear to see.

Having read about the views and the actions of the Wahabi/Deobandi, one will need to consider his aqeeda and action he will need to take to put his aqaa'id on the path of Sirat-ul-Mustaqeem [righeous path]. One may need to take necessary, corrective steps. One cannot, for example, ignore the basic concepts such as Shafa'at of the Beloved Messenger Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam on the Day of Judgement which the Wahabi/Deobandi leaders have categorically rejected as stated in their aqaa'id book, "Taqwiyatul Imaan", as Shirk, whilst there is specific mention in support of intercession by Allah Ta'ala in the Qur'an to this, and the words of the Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam in the Hadith and in the books of 'Sunni Aqaa'id', and all the Ulamas, and Saints all accept intercession and it is part of Sunni Aqaa'id. The evidence in support of intercession is so overwhelming that no Muslim could reject it.

The Wahabis/Deobandis do not believe or follow the teachings of the Mujaddid Saints and the Awliya of Allah who brought the message of Islam through the centuries. So they have to make up their own aqaa'id [belief] as they go along, mix and match from here and there and for this precise reason they get caught contradicting themselves time and again, issuing 'Fatwas of Kufr' on themselves indirectly.

With the Wahabis utilising vast resources against Sunni Islam, it is time all Muslims took a very serious view of the Wahabi/Deobandi Ulama and their teachings. Would one entertain these remarks directed at themselves or at their parents, let alone the Beloved Prophet of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam? While people of all religions are praising their Prophets, here we see them degrading our beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam. Would one drink from a tank of water which had only a drop poison or a drop of urine? Certainly not! So how could one dare to say or write even one word of insult against the Holy and pure personality of the Prophet of Allah? The Wahabis have written volumes of insults. One may find it difficult to extricate oneself from the machinery of Wahabism, his Wahabi friends and aqaa'id. Like their fathers and founders, the current Wahabi leaders will never change. This could mean a loss of respect and finance from the Saudi Arabian government.

But for the Allah-fearing ordinary Muslim, he needs to make a new start, an important step that every Muslim needs to take to get rid of the Wahabi/Deobandi/Tablighi aqaa'id [belief]. This applies to Sunnis as well who have acquired many wrong beliefs reading Wahabi/Deobandi books.

So, what is stopping Wahabis/Deobandis following the correct Sunni path? Nothing! Each is waiting for one of their friends or relations to make a move, each giving a sense of false support and security to the other when only their own deeds will save them in the Hereafter. It is dangerous to be lethargic in this matter. As stated previously, a person who makes or agrees with the statements like those stated by the Deobandi/Wahabi leaders, commits kufr and a person who doubts their kufr or tries to avoid calling them as kaafirs, he himself becomes a kaafir. This is not the fatwa of the compilers of this bill, but the consensus of ALL Sunni Ulema since the time of the Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam.

Some Wahabis will listen to a new person in his Mosque whom he doesn't know and who has just been converted to their way of thinking, joined the Tabligh Jammat and thinks that he is on a divine mission to save all Muslims when his knowledge of Islam is almost nil. He will not mind following the young Muslim who has been to a Wahabi madressa/Uloom [seminary] for a couple of years, who knows a bit of Arabic and a smattering knowledge of Islam and goes about dishing out his own fatwas in local mosques and college and university campus, corrupting the minds of the youth, demeaning the status and the honour of the Most Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam in the process.

Over the years, Wahabis and Sunni Ulema have confronted each other in Manazara debates], in South Africa, India, UK, and many parts of the world. The Wahabis have always lost the debate, or not turned up at all. This happened in Blackburn (UK) last year when an audience of nearly 5 000 waited for the Deobandi Ulema who did not turn up for the well-publicised debate. A defeat for them would mean loss of prestige and followers to the Sunnis. A Wahabi/Deobandi is also brainwashed not to listen to Sunni Ulema, read about the Saints and the Wali Allah.

A person who comes to know about the Wahabi/Deobandi beliefs and then does not reject them, then his relationship with his family and fellow Muslims becomes untenable. It is Fardh [compulsory] for everyone to have knowledge and correct belief of Islam and to impart this to his children. The Mufti of Makkah Mukarramah, Mufti Jamaal bin Muhammad Hussain, has stated in his fatwa that to expose the wrong aqaa'id [belief] is Fardh-e-Kifaya (collective compulsory act) which imposes a duty on all Muslims to make people in their area and influence aware of the Wahabi/Deobandi views. The Ulema, the Imams, [scholars] the Trustees and the Committee Members of Mosques, Muslim Organisations, Jamaats have a special duty to expose the corrupt beliefs of the Wahabis, by providing resources and Sunni publications and literature in English.

But we are nowadays surprised to find them joining in our Mawlid celebrations, doing Fatiha and eating Ghiyarwee Niaz, and any other way just to get near to us. But they will not celebrate these in their own homes or in their mosques. This is simply a ploy to deceive us. They have had quite bad publicity because of their blasphemous Aqeeda and are trying to win us over. They will never talk about these issues which are fundamentals of Muslim faith and Aqeeda. In fact, some Wahabi/Deobandi Molvis are having Zikr, Baal Mubarak Ziyarat, Khatamul Qur'an, etc. in their Masaajids just to deceive innocent Sunni Muslims. Previously, they regarded all these acts as Shirk and Bid'at and falsely quoted Qur'an and Hadith to show they are correct. Now, all of a sudden, it is O.K. What a deception! Previously, only Ijtima, Ghust, sleeping in a Jamaat Khana and Kitaab reading was a "Sunnah." Why do they do not reject these?

Insha-Allah, we want to help those who are sincere in their belief, who want to follow the right path and who want to protect their faith from these insolent people and not close their eyes and ears to everything that is written by Sunnis, which is followed by over 90% of all Muslims in the world. This article will also help Sunni readers, who don't read Urdu or Arabic and who have been bombarded with Wahabi/Deobandi literature, to correct and to repent for any aspect of their belief which has not been consistent with Sunni Aqaa'id.

The beliefs of these Wahabi/Deobandi are taken from their own original books, in Arabic, Urdu or Farsi. We have provided reference to quotations from their books. We have also found that the recent editions of their books have some of the derogatory remarks deleted.

The Deobandi/Wahabi/Tabligh Jammat beliefs are listed under the relevant headings together with comments and quotations from their own leaders and alims who have contradicted their own aqeeda in many instances, and by doing so they have given a 'Fatwa of Kufr' on themselves. Also, there are very many other points about their belief which we have not been able to include in this article.

Deobandi/Wahabi leader and founder, Maulvi Ilyas Khandalvi, states in his own book, "Deeni Dawat", that whilst speaking to his friend, Maulvi Zahirul Hussien (M.A. Aligarh) he stated: "Zahirul Hassan! We need to form a new sect." (Deeni Dawat, pg. 205) The founder of the Deobandi/Wahabi leader himself admits to forming a new firqa and this is a fact.

Molvi Ilyas has also stated: "Hazrat Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi has done a great job. I am pleased that the religious teachings are his and the method for the tabligh is mine, whereby the teachings of Ashraf Ali will spread far and wide." (Malfuzaat, Maulana Mohammad Ilyas, pg. 57)

It is absolutely clear that the method of propagation of Islam is not that followed by the Sahaba-Kiraams [Noble Companions of the Beloved Prophet], the pious or the Saints like al-Ghawth al-Adham, Sayyadina as-Shaykh Abd'al-Qadir al-Jilani Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu, who was given the title of 'Muhiy'ud-Din' (The Reviver of Islam), or other Mujaddid of Islam, but one which is their own creation.

The Maulvi Ilyas goes on to say: "Think how to attract people towards religion and to get them involved in it (the same methods you use in worldly business) and attract people in the same way you can." (Malfuzaat, Mohammad Ilyas Khandalvi, pg. 129) Here there is no mention of methods or the sunnah of the Prophet to promote Islam but any means.

Now let us see what Maulvi Ilyas Khandalvi, says in his Malfuzaat: "The practise of preaching for me is so important that if one of us is performing salaat, and a new person happens to enter, and when if he is not about to leave, and there is no prospect of seeing him again, then in my belief, one should break salaat and talk to him. Having talked to him or having stopped him from leaving, one should then recite the prayers again." (Malfuzaat, Ilyas Khandalvi, pg. 171)

According to their Maulana, to think about the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam in salaat is worse than adultery, but it is perfectly all right for them to think in their salaat about the person who has just come into the mosque and break their salaat!

Deobandi leader, Ashraf Ali Thanvi, writes: "A person complained to an elderly religious person that a certain person was undertaking Zikr for showing off. He replied, 'Don't you show off in your Zikr! That Zikr will help him cross the Pul-Sirat on the Day of Judgement.'" Maulwi Thanvi then stated, "It seems the elderly person knew about the man's showing off. I would suggest that if in any work the intention of showing off comes to mind, then don't abandon that work. But carry out the work and make the intention that you will do the Tauba (repentance) afterwards." (Majalis-e-Hakimul-Ummat, pg. 33)

So even Ikhlas, the essential and pure intention of any prayer for the sake of Allah Ta 'ala, will not entertain any showing-off in Zikr by a person even if it equivalent to a mustard seed. The above prove to what extent the Wahabis will go towards spreading their religion.

Hardly a Tabligh/Deobandi meeting or congregation would pass without the mention of the Ayaat from the Noble Qur'an: "Quntum khaira ummati'n ukhrijit lin-nas-e ta'moruna bil-ma'a-roof'e wa tan'haina anil-munkar wa tu'aminnon billahi." The Ayaat mentions the Ummat of the Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam as being better than others because the people of the Ummah are asked to do good and stop people from commiting evil. Of course the reward for work of the Prophets attract God-fearing people.

At the same time the Deobandi/Tablighi are promoting their Tablighi work and Jamaat to gullible Muslims, and their own status. Their leaders, like Maulvi Ashraf Ali Thanvi, have insulted the Prophet and Awliyas as:

"Worthless little than nothing." (Taqviyatul Imaan, pg 42). And he has further added: "I keep on stating that in these times any person who does a good deed, gets the reward of 50 Abu Bakr Siddiqs' radi Allahu ta'ala anhu." (Ashrafus-Suaneh, Part 2, pg. 99)

Not to be left behind with his Fatwa, Deobandi's Maulvi Qasim Nanotvi, states "... the followers can exceed the Prophets in their deeds." (Tahzeeru-n-Naas, Page 25) No doubt! Gullible Muslims fall for his talk and join Tabligh Jamaat!

The founder of the Tabligh Jamaat, Maulvi Ilyas, stated:

NO PROOF OF KALIMA SHARIF: "LA ILAHA ILLALLAHO MOHAMMADUR RASOOLALLAH."


Wahabi and Deobandi Maulvi, Nazeer Hussain Delvi writes: "There is no proof for recitation (wazifa) of the whole Kalima, 'La Ilaha Illallaahu Muhammadur Rasulallah,' for Wazifa purposes, there is proof for just 'La Ilaha Illallah'." (Fatwa Naziriah, pg. 449) 

The above shows how much hatred they have for the Beloved Messenger Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam. 

The Beloved Prophet Muhammad Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam has said:

With Courtesy from SUNNI WORLD. P.O. BOX 48928. QUALBERT. 4078

Reference: http://www.raza.co.za/Articles/Articles_Deobandi,Wahabi,%20Tablighi.htm

Source : Islamic Academy

BRIEF BACKGROUND TO THE SUBJECT MATTER IN THIS BOOK


Ever since the advent of Islam some 1400 years ago the adversaries of Islam have continued to increase and will go on increasing till the Day of Judgement as predicted in numerous Ahadith. The Beloved Messenger of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam had to undergo innumerable hurdles and hardships in Makkah and the birth of Islam was only achieved after excruciating pain and labour. In the face of such determined and resolute opposition from the Kufaar-e-Quraysh, the undeniable Message of Islam was proclaimed which culminated in the splitting of the Makkan Community into three distinct Jama'ats. The first group who whole-heartedly accepted the message was known as Jama'at-e-Muslimeen. The second group, which vehemently rejected the message, was Jama'at-e-Kafireen. The third group, which inwardly rejected and insulted Allah ta'ala's Most Beloved Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam and his Divine Message but outwardly pretended to accept Islam was known as Jamaat-e-Munafiqeen. Incidentally, specific chapters on all these three Jama'ats can be found in the Qur'an al kareem.

Needless to say that after the passage of over 100 years, these three Jama'ats still exist today. However, for the purpose of this disclosure we will focus our attention on the third Jama'at, the Munafiqeen, because of its relevancy to the subject matter in this book.

DEFINITION OF A HYPOCRITE

Before proceeding further in expounding in some detail regarding this third Jama'at, it is necessary that the reader first sufficiently acquaints himself with the definition of Munafiq (Hypocrite) in the light of the Qur'an and the Ahadith. The simplest manner it which to describe a Munafiq to the lay-Muslim is thus; the present-day Kufaar are divided into two groups. The one whose Kufr is open is called a Kaafir and the other; whose Kufr is hidden is called a Munafiq. In brief, the Munafiq is a hidden Kaafir. You must be wondering how and where can a person hide his Kufr where a Muslim cannot see it.

BELIEFS OF THE MUNAFIQEEN

The beliefs of the Munafiqeen who lived during the time of the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam makes interesting reading and something to really ponder about. After scanning the pages of the books of Ahadith we discover that the Munafiqeen in the era of the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam had the following beliefs and characteristics. Space does not permit to deal with each incident in detail as found in the books of Ahadith, the gist should suffice.

The Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam and his Companions finally threw them out of the mosque and the Munafiqeen were compelled to build their own mosque nearby called Masjid-e-Dirar, subsequently Allah ordered the Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam to burn and raze their mosque to the ground. After 1 400 years the Munafiqeen of this 15th Century built their mosque in the same vicinity where Masjid-e-Dirar once stood. This mosque is now called Masjid-e-Noor. What an appropriate coincidence.

THE PERFECT POST-MORTEM


This invaluable book was specifically written for the Muslim masses who are unfortunately and generally simple-minded, unwary and tragically gullible. It is strongly recommended that the Muslims saturate themselves with this book in order to safeguard themselves from these thieves of Faith masquerading as Muslims and your friends, deceiving and hood-winking the simple and unwary Muslims behind their artificial garb of piety. This great work deals entirely with the Munafiqeen of this 15th Century of Islam who were in incubation for 1 400 years and have now emerged in our midst under a new label. This is indeed the great eye-opener from the incomparable pen of Hadrat Allama Arshad al-Qadiri 'alayhir rahman who unravels some startling and mind-boggling facts and conducts the perfect post-mortem on a 'Living Corpse' as he uses the razor-sharp pen like a surgeon's scalpel and rips open the secrets and inner workings of the Tableeghi Jama'at and the fraudulent and deceptive methods employed by its central leaders in their recruiting campaigns.

MASTERPIECE

This masterpiece from Hadrat Allama Arshad al-Qadiri could be the last chance for the Muslims of the World to decide between damnation and salvation. You are requested to read this book with a open mind and a receptive heart and endeavour to see the great conspiracy carefully designed and planned against your Imaan by the enemies of Islam. It is hoped that those sincere and unwary Muslims snatched by the tentacles of this great octopus-like monster should read this book with an unbiased and unprejudiced mind and stop to ponder, so that Allah in His Infinite Mercy guides you back to the Sirat al-Mustaqeem.